Latest from Tv Technology in 2019-ibc

2019 IBC: Why Hollywood Can’t Wait to Be Cloud

Ann-Marie Colvin — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 19:12:16 +0000

AMSTERDAM—While hot topics around OTT, AI and the growing dominance of Silicon Valley were in abundance, the biggest innovations at IBC this year were arguably to be found in the Auditorium. This year’s Big Screen strand ran throughout the entire conference and the sessions offered delegates a glimpse into future production techniques and workflows that will set the bar for years to come.

Employing a live-action film crew that can work virtually to set up and execute shots in an animated world is one example; a technique employed on Disney’s all-digital, astoundingly photorealistic “The Lion King” remake. In one keynote session the film’s cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and its VFX supervisor Rob Legato demonstrated how they used VR headsets to plan out their shots.

“VR allows you to walk around the CG world like you would on a real set and put the camera where you want,” Deschanel said. “You know where the light goes, you know where the camera goes, you know where the actors are. We were able to get some obscure points of view and tell a different story about the characters—and VR gave us that opportunity.”

According to Legato, the film’s budget could have been much larger had the production gone to Africa to shoot and then composited CG characters into the shots. As a result he predicted that VR previsualisation would change how movies were made and scheduled, while Deschanel argued that it would democratize the film-making process for a new generation of filmmakers.

“A 25-year-old aspiring director will be able to practice a shoot at home virtually before sharing their vision with the world,” Deschanel predicted. “This is where the next generation of talent will come from.

VISION FOR 2030

In another Big Screen session, Hollywood studios’ tech bosses gathered to discuss a new whitepaper that is set to transform production workflows in an industry where massive increases in content production across multiple platforms is proving a real challenge.

Michael Wise, CTO of Universal Pictures, argued that “faster production cycles and more rapid iterations” were needed.

MovieLabs—an independent body founded by five prominent studios to explore new technologies and workflows—believes the answer lies in the cloud.

The body’s 10-year vision is for all studio assets to be created and ingested straight into the cloud, and furthermore, any tools used on content assets in this new workflow must come to the cloud, rather than the other way around, (for more insight, read “SMPTE 2019: MovieLabs CTO Lays Out Vision For Media Creation In 2030,” in this month’s Broadcast Engineering Extra).

For this to happen, Arjun Ramamurthy, senior vice president of technology for Disney, acknowledged that the studios would need the support from “everyone in the production ecosystem.”

“We want the best of breed tools, but they need to be interchangeable and interoperable,” he said. “I would say that this is the key message here for manufacturers at IBC.”

BBC’S NHU PUSHES ENVELOPE

Actor, director, producer and expert on all things performance capture Andy Serkis received IBC’s International Honour for Excellence. Read an exclusive Q&A with Serkis and TVB Europe Editor Jenny Priestley in the October issue of TVB Europe.

Another production trailblazer—and a big influence on “The Lion King,” according to its cinematographer—is the BBC’s Natural History Unit. Big Screen delegates were wowed by UHD HDR versions of the NHU’s recent hits including “Planet Earth II,” “Dynasties” and its latest production, “Seven Worlds, One Planet.”

Colin Jackson, senior innovation producer at BBC Studios, revealed that most of its productions are now filmed in 7.5K and 8K and the unit was “committed to driving innovation.” According to Jackson, this includes the use of drones in ways that would have been unthinkable only a couple of years ago; at night, over water, in caves and circling around the Russian Arctic.

Rachel Butler, a producer at the unit, added that new technology was literally taking its crews to new depths: “Using air rebreathers, for example, means our underwater teams can now stay down for 3-6 hours at a time.”

FRIENDLY FAANGS

Those other California players 350 miles north of Hollywood—the socalled FAANGs (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google)—were also out in force at this year’s IBC, hungry for partnerships and insisting that they were friends, not foes.

In her conference opener, Cecile FrotCoutaz, head of content for YouTube, urged pay-TV companies to harness the platform to reach new audiences. The former Fremantle chief executive said that YouTube’s partners in the pay-TV space were increasingly viewing the platform as an essential part of their content offering.

Traditional European free-to-airs are also embracing VoD on social, with examples provided of how ProSiebenSat.1 and France Télévisions are harnessing Facebook’s Watch video on demand service to drive audiences to their TV programming, with previews and exclusive content. Erin Connolly, social video product manager for Facebook, added that, on average, audiences are currently spending 26 minutes in Watch.

“We have a long way to go, but are excited about the progress we have seen,” she said, adding that the platform was looking for “long-term sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships.”

Facebook was also an exhibitor this year and during the conference announced updates that it has made to two Facebook Live features, Watch Party and Creators Studio.

Also delivering keynotes at the conference were Shalini Govil-Pai, head of Android TV (Google), and Alexa’s Max Amordeluso (Amazon), who both espoused the benefits of voice control technology.

“We find that the user has to be trained to use Google Assistant, but when they get it, it’s a magical experience,” said Govil-Pai.

However, not everybody believes the way that the FAANGS are operating is magical. During Friday’s keynote, Noel Curran, director general of the EBU, warned that any partnerships between broadcasters and social media companies would remain “unbalanced” while platforms coveted broadcasters’ audience data.

“We need to have access to the data social media platforms hold on our output and we need to get to a position where we get due prominence on those platforms,” Curran insisted. Regulation, Curran continued, was the answer, as he called for governments to get tougher on Silicon Valley.

“Why is there no regulation in terms of data? Right now we have an unregulated social media sector, dominated by four or five big players that have an unprecedented amount of control.”

AI BUSTS FAKE NEWS

Another strand running through IBC this year was Tech Talks, which sees the show’s Conference committee anonymously select whitepapers on the basis of their merits, and then invites the authors to give their presentations to IBC delegates.

This included a session on AI, which saw Grant Totten, head of media and emerging platforms for Al Jazeera, present a proof-of-concept AI aimed at busting fake news.

Totten explained that the work involved combining enriched metadata with contextual video analysis to perform a number of compliance-related tasks on its news-based content. These ranged from ensuring political candidates get equal speaking time to validating maps of disputed territories.

The most challenging level of the research, he added, was the detection of deep fakes— AI-generated synthetic videos of events and actions that haven’t occurred. “Detecting deep fakes is the most advanced level of our research because it takes a visual orientated approach to fake news and is also textual as well as visual,” Totten said. “We’re pushing contextual video analysis to its limits.”

Medialooks Introduced a Low-Latency, Cost-Effective and Dependable Remote Video Production Solution at IBC2019

harriet@desertmoon.tv — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 20:28:43 +0000

Medialooks Introduced a Low-Latency, Cost-Effective and Dependable Remote Video Production Solution at IBC2019

Company’s user-friendly, cloud-based VT Server features industry’s fastest set-up time, connects multiple locations seamlessly, and runs on off-the-shelf hardware

Amsterdam – October 3, 2019 – Medialooks, provider of ground-breaking video transport streaming solutions for remote production, extended the product range with its new cost-effective VT Server that was introduced to the European market at IBC 2019. VT Server allows 4K video to be transported over the public Internet to multiple destinations via a single interface with an average latency of only 100 ms. The 100% software solution runs on off-the-shelf hardware, on both CPU and GPU codecs, to provide maximum flexibility and value by eliminating the need for bespoke equipment. Visitors at IBC were the first to see demonstrations of VT Server at a major European show.

VT Server, suitable for live production and developed to target TV stations, video production companies, event venues, stadiums, houses of worship, esports studios or any organization with the need to link multiple remote sites on a regular basis, features the industry’s quickest setup with installation easily accomplished on both receiver and sender sides in three clicks. The new software-only solution allows PTZ cameras to be controlled remotely, can scale up to dozens of locations, and is all monitored and managed via a user-friendly cloud-based application.

“We’ve designed VT Server to not only withstand the demands of uninterrupted 24/7 operation, but to deliver unparalleled performance and consistent reliability under those circumstances,” says Andrey Okunev, Medialooks CEO. “VT Server can be deployed faster than any competitive solutions and can quickly scale to serve many locations with ease. The latest release features a way to integrate third-party video production teams by letting them contribute guest streams with just a browser.”

Based on SRT and WebRTC technologies, VT Server features auto-synchronization of streams during multi-camera production and delivers broadcast quality transmission with up to 4K 60p video with multichannel 512 kbps audio. Ideal for both NDI® and SDI workflows (Blackmagic Design and AJA supported), it also supports alpha channel in both modes, as well as fill and key output. VT Server is configured and operates in either Medialooks’ cloud or the customer’s own cloud.

VT Server is offered as a subscription with a predictable pricing plan that allows operators to prepare properly and remain within budget.

Added Okunev, “We were delighted to debut this new innovation to the European market at IBC, but we are also excited to keep getting better at integrating SRT and WebRTC technologies and building new capabilities—such as transporting uncompressed video.”

About Medialooks

Medialooks, established in 2005, serves as a partner to global companies seeking fast, quality software development tools to transform ideas to reality, and to organizations requiring low-latency video transport over the public Internet for remote production. Medialooks has provided services to a wide range of markets, including broadcast, entertainment, sports, media serving, medical, surveillance, education, house of worship, and more.

For further information: www.medialooks.com

Medialooks contact:

Tim Tselikovski

Email: Tim@medialooks.com

Press contact:

Desert Moon Communications / Harriet Diener

Email: harriet@desertmoon.tv

Phone: +1-845-512-8283

Tedial and Telefonica Announce Major Evolution MAM Upgrade Project with RTVE

harriet@desertmoon.tv — Thu, 12 Sep 2019 19:47:01 +0000

Tedial and Telefonica Announce Major Evolution MAM Upgrade Project with RTVE

Spain’s national broadcaster will migrate its entire Historical Archive to new Tedial Evolution MAM and will benefit from a fully automated MAM workflow

IBC, Amsterdam, Stand 8.B44 – 11 September 2019- Tedial, the leading independent MAM technology solutions specialist, and Telefónica, one of the biggest telecommunications companies across the world, have announced that Spain’s national broadcaster Radio y Televisión Española (RTVE) has renewed its MAM technology contract.

RTVE is currently immersed in a leading digital transformation process, which includes multiple technology advancement projects within its headquarters, that will allow it to adapt to present and future technology evolutions. Within this digital strategy is the renovation project of the broadcaster’s historical archive, which will allow greater synergy between its systems and digital workflows, enabling it to adapt to changing requirements years after implementation of the original project.

RTVE installed Tedial’s Tarsys MAM back in 2011 when it began one of the most ambitious digitization projects in the broadcast sector, and certainly the largest in the Spanish speaking world, carried out by its technological partner Telefonica. The broadcaster’s aim was to digitize its entire Historical Archive “Fondos Documentales” (based on videotapes as U-matic, 1-Inch, and cinema formats as Open Reel), which spanned more than 50 years dating back to the beginning of Spanish television transmission. The archive covers many important events in Spanish history. Using Tedial Evolution, RTVE can now focus its strategy on its production ingest and production delivery processes, and can broadcast this valuable content to its TV channels or offer it to other TV networks. The upgrade provides new virtualized servers and a storage infrastructure, that allows it to automatically review workflows to improve system and operational efficiency.

The deep archive will be fully integrated with all areas of production enabling RTVE operators to archive all content from any point in the production chain to Tedial Evolution and to quickly and easily restore content from the Historical Archive. The Tedial upgrade led by Telefonica also means that RTVE now has a centralized system that can manage content from all three of its sites in Torrespaña, Prado & Barcelona from one central site (Prado) with disaster recovery situated in Barcelona.

Esther Mesas, Tedial CSO/CMO says, “We are delighted that RTVE has continued to trust Tedial and Telefónica to update and migrate its Historical Archive to the new Evolution platform. The project comprises the complete RTVE archive that nowadays is handling more than 500,000

hours of content, which is one of the largest digitized archives in the world. The system is already in use and the amount of historical content archived is increasing every year”.

José Luis García, Telefónica Servicios Audiovisuales Platforms and Audiovisual Systems Director says, “It has been a pleasure for us to work again with RTVE and Tedial. This new project will offer easier operation and will deliver optimized workflows adapted to the new customer requirements, due to changing needs since the original Historical Archive Digitization project took place”.

###

About Tedial

18 years of technology leadership
Tedial is a leading provider of Media and Content Management solutions designed to maximize business efficiency and profitability.

Its multi award-winning Media IT platform, Tedial Evolution, provides global media companies and broadcasters next-generation MAM and business driven media workflows. Tedial supplies the world’s only fully end-to-end IMF compliant MAM solution, marrying media preparation and logistics into a complete supply chain, and a single workflow, “Version Factory”, that delivers thousands of media versions from a single asset. Tedial’s innovations includeSMARTLIVE, an automated live sports and event solutionthat supports and extends production systems from industry leading vendors. Tedial Evolution is designed to reinforce a collaborative working environment on premises or in the cloud and drive workflows for linear, VOD/OTT and live event services.This provides customers with scalable tools that efficiently and cost-effectively allow them to meet their operational requirements and business objectives.

Tedialisglobal company that consistently and successfully delivers large and complex MAM/Content Management systems. For more information about Tedial: www. Tedial.com

International PR Contact:

Kate Ford

Jump PR

Email: kate@jumppr.tv

Tel: +44 (0)1932 240001

Mob: +44 (0)7740 948065

US PR Contact:

Harriet Diener

Desert Moon

Email:harriet@desertmoon.tv

Tel: +1-845-512-8283

Cell:+1-914-263-0613

About Telefónica

Telefonica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world with its main activities centered on the fixed and mobile telephony businesses with broadband as the key tool for the development of both.

Telefónica’s business goes far beyond that thanks to its extensive experience in B2B market assisting companies in their digital transformations. The capacities present in the different business units in the company, allow the delivery of customized services and solutions in Video, Connectivity, Cloud, Security, IoT and Digital Workplace. With more than 25 years in the broadcast industry, Telefonica also offers comprehensive solutions for TV production, designing and integrating "turnkey" audiovisual projects and transmitting video and audio signals to and from anywhere in the world.

Telefónica group has a significant presence in 25 countries and a customer base that amounts to 268 million accesses around the world. Telefonica has a strong presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America, where the company focuses an important part of its growth strategy.

Contact:

Elena Vicente

Business Transformation

Email: elena.vicenteandres@telefonica.com

Noemí Pérez

Product Marketing

Email: noemi.perezvillanueva@telefonica.com

About RTVE

Spain’s national broadcaster Radio y Televisión Española (RTVE) is the public state-owned broadcaster with the vocation of being the national reference broadcaster for its rigor, independence and plurality.

For more information about RTVE: http://www.rtve.es/

ELEMENTS to Launch New Workflow Automation Engine at IBC 2019

harriet@desertmoon.tv — Thu, 12 Sep 2019 00:56:17 +0000

ELEMENTS to Launch New Workflow Automation Engine at IBC 2019

Utmost flexibility for workflow automation to be seen on Booth 7.D08

Dusseldorf, Germany, Sep 3, 2019: ELEMENTS, developer of advanced solutions for unrestricted collaboration in shared media workflows, is releasing its new Workflow Automation Engine at IBC 2019. The engine is a smart and powerful tool that allows users to steamline workflow processes by consolidating previously independent tasks into combined automated workflows operations for increased efficiency. Demonstrations of the Workflow Automation Engine will be conducted in ELEMENTS’ Stand 7.D08 at IBC 2019 and mark the first time it has been shown at major trade show.

The ELEMENTS Workflow Automation Engine maximizes productivity by letting storage administrators implement pre-defined, yet adjustable workflow operations chains – with virtually no coding skills required. Complex multi-layer workflow steps that weren’t easily possible before can now be performed via a single command. Job parameters can be modified and adjusted prior to the start of a project, and assigned Media Roots prevent clutter in the project folders. For all workflow automation requirements that are not part of ELEMENTS’ set of pre-defined operation tools, embedded Python and Bash scripting support enables advanced users to add anything that is requested. The engine also gives administrators the ability to assign permission to launch jobs to those with or without ‘privileged’ status but allows them to withhold full access so projects can be launched in a secure manner.

ELEMENTS Workflow Automation Engine fully integrates with ELEMENTS’ Media Library - its comprehensive, easy-to-use media asset management tool (MAM), and also Explorer and Finder to give users access to the pre-defined workflow operations. Also, the full integration of Slack enhances collaboration and communications.

Archive set up is a breeze with the new ELEMENTS Automation Engine, and content can be preserved with either external or cloud storage.

“We are excited to take Workflow Automation to the next level while staying true to our basic approach of simplicity.” says André Kamps, CEO of ELEMENTS. “We are confident that our new Workflow Automation Engine will be a tremendous advantage for our customers, as even the most complex workflows become notably easier and faster.”

*****************************

ELEMENTS will demonstrate the new Workflow Automation Engine, alongside its entire range of media storage and server appliances, at IBC (booth# 7.D08).

To schedule a private demo contact events@elements.tv.

Availability

ELEMENTS Workflow Automation Engine will be available at IBC. ELEMENTS’ human-centered storage line-up ONE, NAS, GATEWAY, and the mobile storage CUBE are available immediately.

ENDS

ABOUT ELEMENTS

ELEMENTS, developer of the award-wining all-in-one media server and storage solution ELEMENTS ONE, provides high-performance hardware and software solutions for the post production and broadcast industry. Originally a supplier of high-end turnkey solutions and support for the post- production and broadcast industry, the German solution designers and system engineers leveraged their vast knowledge and expertise in the post-production and broadcast industry to develop ELEMENTS, a line of dedicated products specifically designed to meet the high demands of workflows sharing media. Besides being extremely efficient and delivering excellent performance, ELEMENTS’ StorNext-based products provide a truly unique benefit: native project and media sharing capabilities, including AVID Media Composer, Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro, and other non-linear editing and VFX applications. Equipped with an all-embracing package of exceptionally easy and intuitive management and workflow enhancement tools, ELEMENTS contributes to significantly simplified and increased collaboration and streamlined workflow processes. With almost 15 years of experience incorporated into the products, ELEMENTS has earned a reputation as a provider of exceptionally customer-favorable solutions that deliver high-performance while being easily maintained and managed while virtually requiring no IT skills.

ELEMENTS HQ: Parkstrasse 31, 40477 Dusseldorf, Germany. t: +49-211-749-5350

ELEMENTS US: 7083 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, USA. t: +1-818-876-5850

www.elements.tv

Desert Moon Communications

Harriet Diener (PR)

harriet@desertmoon.tv

P +1-845-512-8283

Timeline Television Selects Tedial Evolution MAM for BT Sport Production Project

harriet@desertmoon.tv — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 20:32:34 +0000

Sophisticated MAM installation includes cutting-edge sports functionality and provides greater control of workflows and future proofing for new technologies

IBC, Amsterdam, Stand 8.B44 – 10 September 2019 – Tedial, the leading independent MAM technology solutions specialist, has announced that Timeline Television has selected its Evolution MAM platform to handle and orchestrate all the media processing and archiving workflows at BT Sport’s Stratford and BT Tower facilities in London. Timeline Television, an industry-leading provider of broadcast technology and services, widely recognized for reliability and trusted by UK networks, manages the BT Sport facility which includes three large TV studios, seven sports production galleries, a master control room, 20 edit suites, a dubbing theatre and an audience holding area.

Timeline Television required an enterprise MAM configuration for this BT Sport production project comprising sophisticated sports functionalities incorporating live logging, live clipping, integration with BT Live and post-production environment systems as well as integration with the deep archive system. Further BT Sport requirements included the capability to allow the sports broadcaster to maintain its entire archive with one system. It also wanted to give production users greater control of their workflow by allowing operators to independently restore content and have the ability to send content via IBM Aspera with ease.

Daniel McDonnell, Timeline Television’s CEO adds, “Creating a future-proof, format-agnostic system that integrated with the existing technology was challenging on all sides. We had to ensure that it could make full use of all Tedial’s technical capability, create workflows that added value for production and anticipate workflows that didn’t yet exist. Our experience as a systems integrator allowed us to create bespoke scripts and profiles to ensure the whole implementation was as seamless as possible. The production teams went from using a PAM only solution to a PAM/MAM overnight. The benefits were obvious from the start and we will continue to develop the product with Tedial to accommodate all future BT Sport requirements.”

Esther Mesas, CSO/CMO, Tedial concludes, “The system had to address all major aspects of a production facility from ingest to archive. It’s been scaled up to include faster access to the tape robot and increased storage capacity, controlled by Tedial’s Evolution aSTORM multi-site content management solution. It’s also future proofed in terms of new technologies including AI, social media, cloud with a micro-services approach. Tedial Evolution is a sophisticated MAM system capable of servicing sports production customers, efficiently and economically and we’re delighted to make this announcement in the run up to IBC 2019.”

###

About Tedial

18 years of technology leadership

Tedial is a leading provider of Media and Content Management solutions designed to maximize business efficiency and profitability.

Its multi award-winning Media IT platform, Tedial Evolution, provides global media companies and broadcasters next-generation MAM and business driven media workflows. Tedial supplies the world’s only fully end-to-end IMF compliant MAM solution, marrying media preparation and logistics into a complete supply chain, and a single workflow, “Version Factory”, that delivers thousands of media versions from a single asset. Tedial’s innovations includeSMARTLIVE, a live sports and event solutionthat supports and extends production systems from industry leading vendors. Tedial Evolution is designed to reinforce a collaborative working environment on premises or in the cloud and drive workflows for linear, VOD/OTT and live event services.This provides customers with scalable tools that efficiently and cost-effectively allow them to meet their operational requirements and business objectives.

Tedialisglobal company that consistently and successfully delivers large and complex MAM/Content Management systems.

International PR Contact:

Kate Ford

Jump PR

Email:kate@jumppr.tv

Tel: +44 (0)1932 240001

Mob: +44 (0)7740 948065

US PR Contact:

Harriet Diener

Desert Moon

Email:harriet@desertmoon.tv

Tel: +1-845-512-8283

Cell:+1-914-263-0613

Medialooks Brings Upgraded Software Development Tools to Market at IBC2019

harriet@desertmoon.tv — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 01:20:40 +0000

Medialooks Brings Upgraded Software Development Toolsto Market at IBC2019

Company’s SDKs Get Additional Support for 8K and HDR Formats

Amsterdam – September 13, 2019 – Medialooks, a prominent source for software developers seeking quick, easy and reliable Software Development Kits (SDKs), is bringing upgraded versions of its popular platforms to IBC 2019. Used by industry visionaries to build market-leading products, Medialooks’ MFormats and MPlatform SDKs are being demonstrated with support for 8K and HDR formats at the show on Stand 3.B39 (X-Dreams).

“We specialise in software development kits and APIs for everything from ingest to contribution and distribution of high-quality video content,” explains Andrey Okunev, Medialooks CEO. “Our solutions save months of work with our flexible video development framework, and they easily integrate with C#, VB.Net, C++, and Delphi. We are especially proud to bring this upgraded tool-set to IBC that includes support for advanced and emerging formats, such as 8K and HDR.”

Medialooks’ MFormats SDK provides a flexible framework that enables users to take control of their video workflow and deliver applications in the shortest time period that fully addresses the proper way video should be processed. It helps create professional broadcasting solutions for a vast range of equipment spanning from Blackmagic devices to easy-to-use web cameras.

Medialooks’ MPlatform SDK is a rapid software development kit for 24/7 ingest, video mixing, CG and playout automation. Users can easily leverage the SDK’s set of high-level features, however, for specific use cases and achieve rapid results.

Medialooks’ support for the new formats in its SDKs is in direct response to the emergence of new devices such as the DeckLink 8K Pro, and developments such as broadcasters migrating to production in 8K. This, along with the Company’s HDR10 update, is based on the introduction of the GPU pipeline earlier this year, which was the foundation for processing 10-bit video.

Other updates include support for industry-compliant DVB streaming and finalizing our implementation of the EBU R 128 (ITU-R BS.1770) audio normalization standard.

Medialooks’ licensing pricing is offered royalty-free.

About Medialooks

For further information: www.medialooks.com

Medialooks contact:

Tim Tselikovski

Email: Tim@medialooks.com

Press contact:

Desert Moon Communications / Harriet Diener

Email: harriet@desertmoon.tv

Phone: +1-845-512-8283

Cartoni announces winners to the ‘Win an SDS Tripod’ contest

Bright Marketing & Communications — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 16:00:00 +0000

Rome, Italy (August 16, 2019) –Cartoni, the Italian leader in premium camera supports for the broadcast, film and pro-video industries, is proud to celebrate winners of the ‘Win an SDS Tripod’ contest. The contest drew entries from the United States, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

“On behalf of everyone at Cartoni, we want to thank everyone for participating,” explains Elisabetta Cartoni, President and CEO of Cartoni. “We are thrilled to see the incredible photos and how people are using our gear! With so many great submissions, we decided to expand the awards to the top seven submissions. We are thrilled to see that camera operators all over the world have fallen in love with our patented SDS Tripod technology, which gives them the speed they need to capture incredible shots.”

Bryan Roy (Canada) chooses Cartoni for shooting sports

Mathieu Cowan, Canada, submitted this photo of his Cartoni

Keaton Bowlby, California, with his Focus 22

Designed for camera operators on-the-go, the SDS Tripod is a set of patented tripod legs that allow camera operators to set up and fold their tripod in an instant. Three SDS Tripods will be awarded to the first four prize winners, and four runners-up will be awarded a Cartoni Monopod.

A Cartoni Focus 12 SDS Tripod System will be awarded to veteran cinematographer Eduardo Ramirez (California) who has worked on 13 feature films, more than 300 commercials and music videos and Season One of Narcos Episodes 4-7.

“Cartoni was my first love, as a Second Camera assistant I began working with Cartoni back in 2006, and from the beginning, I discover how solid, effective, and efficient a Cartoni system is. The C20/C30 are amazing heads. And now I’ve been using the Maxima, which is an incredible head. Now as Dp and owner of a rental house, my first call was Cartoni heads,” says Ramirez.

A Focus 8 SDS System will be awarded to Kent Anderson (South Florida).

“I typically shoot documentary travel-based content and love being outdoors, capturing landscapes, wildlife, and foreign culture. My favorite gear is built tough, works every time, and is versatile. I like hybrid DSLR’s that capture both photo and video really well. Recently I’ve enjoyed using the Lumix GH5 and typically have it rigged with a Smallrig cage and SmallHD monitor for video work, but can quickly strip it down for just photo. I’ve had my Cartoni Focus tripod for almost ten years, and it’s the only piece of gear I still bring on every single shoot,” says Anderson.

An additional Focus 8 SDS System will be awarded to former radio DJ turned corporate filmmaker Frank Lozano (Los Angeles, California).

“I just love what I do. I get to travel and see new places and help people along the way. But most importantly, I like to “share” those experience with others. I think that’s why I love my cameras so much. When I’m a long way from home, I need to have gear that I can trust. That’s why I love Cartoni tripods. I’ve been using them since 2004 and it’s always been the set-up I prefer. Some of these places, I may never get a chance to come back. That’s why it’s got to be right the first time,” says Lozano.

A set of SDS Tripod legs will be awarded to Dubai-based Focus 18 videographer Issam Saadane (Dubai, UAE).

“During a shoot, one of my colleagues was using a Cartoni Tripod, and I fell in love with the quality and the finish of it. Three days later, I got my first Cartoni tripod. Plus, I love the wide range of rigs from the brand,” says Saadane.

A Cartoni Monopod will be awarded to Keaton Bowlby (California), Bryan Roy (Canada) and Mathieu Cowan (Canada).

For more information on the SDS Tripod, join Cartoni at IBC 2019, Booth 12.E30. Register for free by using code 4582.

2019 IBC to Explore Age of New Media

David Davies — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 13:00:00 +0000

AMSTERDAM—The 2019 IBC Show, Sept. 13-17, at the RAI in Amsterdam will provide an unprecedented opportunity for attendees to enhance their understanding of a media production environment whose pace of change is continuing to accelerate.

Themed conference days, increased representation of women on stage, and a brand new esports event are among the developments that will greet visitors to this year’s IBC as organizers continue to strengthen its credentials as the world’s most influential media, entertainment and technology show.

An estimated 55,000-plus attendees are expected to visit the RAI during the five-day show.

In line with the multitude of creative, commercial and technical issues now influencing the development of media production, this year’s IBC conference has a different theme for each day:

Keynote presenters include Cécile Frot-Coutaz, head of YouTube EMEA; Arnaud de Puyfontaine, chairman of Vivendi; and Max Amordeluso, Amazon Alexa evangelist in the EU.

Building on the success of last year, IBC is also bringing back the Global Gamechangers Stage, which has a special focus on the technologies and business developments expected to change the game for the media industry. Speakers on this stage are set to include Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association; Jane Turton, CEO of All3Media; and Lisa Opie, director of factual for BBC Studios.

The final day of the show, Tuesday, IBC host an Esports Showcase, powered by ESL, EVS and Lagardère. Combining a series of conference sessions—which will include the participation of key players such as Ginx TV, Twitch, Riot and Blizzard, as well as developers like EA Sports—with a live demonstration of Counter-Strike featuring professional teams from ESL’s National Championships.

IBC will conclude on Sept. 17 with its first Esports Showcase.

Also new for IBC2019 is the Media-Telecom Convergence Catalyst. This collaboration between IBC and the TM Forum will see three catalyst projects on the show floor that highlight open innovation between the telecoms and media industries. Participation from Al Jazeera, Associated Press, BBC R&D, RTÉ and more will show how 5G, AI and big data management can solve business and technology challenges, and improve the customer experience.

IBC2019 provides a vital annual opportunity to become acquainted with the latest media solutions, it is also a venue for serious networking and dealmaking. IBC is a show where business genuinely gets done and deals are signed on the show floor. It’s great for exhibitors, but good too for buyers, who have the opportunity to compare solutions from all the leading vendors around the world in one convenient showcase.

Attendees will go home equipped with shared unique insight and experience, that will drive their own businesses forward in the year ahead. What visitors will experience at IBC2019 will energize and motivate them, and reveal new opportunities—for their businesses and as individuals in the year ahead.

For more information, and to register, please visitshow.ibc.org.

David Davies is a consultant and conference producer.

Daily Themes

FRIDAY
Create and produce: creating disruption

SATURDAY
Manage: automating media supply chains

SUNDAY
Publish: embracing the platform revolution

MONDAY
Consume: engaging consumer experiences

TUESDAY
Monetize: scaling audiences and revenues

Black Box To Highlight Emerald Unified KVM Developments, AV-over-IP at IBC 2019

Phil Kurz — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 18:04:25 +0000

Black Box will mark the European introduction of its new MCX AV-over-IP system and feature products across its Emerald Unified KVM (keyboard, mouse and video) portfolio, including a new remote app, at IBC 2019, Sept. 13-17, at the RAI in Amsterdam.

The Remote App for the Emerald Unified KVM platform enables authorized users to remotely access sources, including PCs, servers and virtual machines, at the same time across an Emerald KBM network. The app, which supports full-HD up to 45fps, is well-suited for tasks like remote process and application monitoring.

Used with the Black Box Boxilla network manager, the Remote App provides a list of connections and makes access quick and easy. Because the Remote App is not tethered to a fixed position, users can access the Emerald KVM network from anywhere.

The company will also feature its Emerald ZeroU DVI transmitter for its Emerald Unified KVM platform. Compact in size, the ZeroU transmitter works with the Emerald SD receiver, offering users a seamless desktop experience anywhere on a TCP/IP network with hardware housed in a secure corporate data center or in the cloud.

Requiring less than 40Mb/s of bandwidth for 1080p video, the transmitter enables high-performance connectivity for a variety of applications.

The company also will demonstrate the need for convenient, intuitive real-time access to multiple computers from multiple locations at its IBC stand.

See Black Box at IBC 2019 Stand 8.B59.

More information is available on the Black Box website.