Missed any of our recent product news? Here is TV Tech's weekly wrap-up of new products, services and deployments we published in our newsletter between August 12 to August 16. The stories are listed from the newest on Friday August 16, day by day back to our stories from Monday August 12.

Prime Focus Technologies to Debut CLEAR AI Agents at IBC 2024

The CLEAR AI Agents are designed to assist & co-work with professionals to execute specific tasks across content management, post-production, and marketing.

Leader and Phabrix to Show T&M Solutions at IBC 2024

They will be showcasing test and measurement solutions for the complete manufacturing & broadcast production chain.

RTL Deutschland Expands FAST Channel Offering

The new FAST channels are powered by Harmonic; netorium integrated the news FAST channels into RTL’s operations.

MRMC To Unveil Studiobot LT, Cinebot At IBC 2024

Studiobot LT is well-suited for box cameras with a studio lens and supports a wide envelope of motion.

Florida Panthers Launch New DTC Streaming Service

For the new season, every locally-produced game will stream live on new apps and air on broadcast over-the-air.

Cineverse Partners with Wurl on FAST Channels

The agreement will bring new channels to viewers, while also enhancing Cineverse’s monetization and discovery capabilities.

EvertzAV Brings Cutting-Edge AVoIP Solutions to IBC 2024

These IP routable products and solutions deliver high quality and high reliability to AV professionals working across numerous disciplines.

Marshall Brings Auto Tracking To IBC 2024 with New CV612 PTZ Camera

The system automatically tracks, follows and frames presenters using AI facial learning for accurate and smooth self-adjusting maneuvers.

ESPN Inks Deal with Genius Sports to Expand Data Capabilities for Basketball Coverage

The deal will expand ESPN's data-driven storytelling in its coverage of NCAA basketball, NBA and WNBA.

Harmonic Launches New SaaS Version of Its Distribution Management System

Running on the public cloud, Harmonic's DMS X SaaS brings playout control capabilities to its XOS advanced media processor.

Horizon Media Taps Comscore as Preferred Contextual Intelligence Provider

Clients of the largest U.S. media agency will be able to use Proximic by Comscore's AI-powered contextual technology.

ATSC To Exhibit 3.0 Developments At Brazil’s SET Expo 2024

ATSC will exhibit at the SET Expo 2024 at the Distrito Anhembi Convention Center in San Paulo, Brazil, Aug. 19-22, on the heels of the SBTVD Forum recommending adoption of the ATSC 3.0 physical layer to the Brazilian government for its TV 3.0 next-generation terrestrial broadcast standard.

Veritone Makes AI M&E Solutions Available in AWS Marketplace

Among the AI software in the marketplace are Veritone Digital Media Hub, Discovery and Attribute.

CommScope Announces First Major Sale of Newly Acquired Casa vCCAP Solution

vCCAP will be used to support significant distributed access architecture deployment in Hungary.

BNS Partners with NPAW to Enhance Video Analytics Reporting in North America

The partnership will help NPAW expand its footprint in North America.

Elation Delivers Dynamic PULSE For First-Ever Live Broadcast from Sphere

Lighting designer Tom Kenny debuted PULSE PANEL FX for the NHL Draft in Las Vegas.

Signiant to Highlight Latest Innovations, Partnership at IBC 2024

Among the partnerships is the company’s new collaboration with TMT Insights.

DVEO to Introduce Brutus Cloud Video Distribution Platform at IBC 2024

Brutus Cloud provides high-performance, flexible transcoding and streaming for IPTV, OTT and FAST TV.

Globo Shows Off TV 2.5 Enhancements on Hisense TVs During Paris Olympics

The broadcaster demoed Advanced HDR by Technicolor and Fraunhofer’s MPEG-H Audio.

Historic Billy Joel Concert Captured On ARRI Cameras For Multi-Cam Production

To capture Billy Joel’s 100th consecutive performance of his residency at Madison Square Garden, show producers turned to ARRI’s ALEXA 35 and Mini LF cameras.

LAS VEGAS—Elation has announced that its PULSE PANEL FX lights were used in the live broadcast of the NHL Draft on June 28 and 29 from Las Vegas Sphere —the first ever live TV broadcast from that extraordinary space. 

When the NHL decided to elevate the draft experience by hosting it at the Sphere, they sought a top-tier designer with extensive large broadcast TV and touring experience and tapped Tom Kenny for the job. Already familiar with the venue from his early consulting work on the Sphere project, Kenny also has long-time associations with Willie Williams and the entire U2 crew (including Allen Branton and Felix Peralta), who opened the Sphere last fall, not to mention his own experienced crew, all of whom provided the designer with valuable venue insight. 

“The NHL Draft at the Sphere was just amazing and out of this world,” Kenny said. “This was really a historical show and we needed a modern look for this new way to hold a draft. I knew I wanted something that was epic and futuristic looking in that main television shot, and even though you’re up against the biggest backlight in the world with its amazing content, the PULSE looked beautiful and won over a lot of hearts.” Indeed, Kenny reported widespread praise from NHL executives, teams, and the TV network for a job well done.  

Featuring arrays of RGB and cool-white LEDs across its large face, PULSE is ideal for direct view applications like TV visuals, while zone control opens up a myriad of design possibilities. Panel rotation ensures flexible positioning and continuous 360° pan/spin and 180° tilt add an extra level of dynamism, Elation reported.  

Supplied for the NHL Draft by Fuse Technical Group, the fixtures generate a powerful 100,000 lumens, though Kenny only needed to use them at a fraction of that output. “We didn’t have the chance to show them off as much as we could have,” he said, referring to their multi-functional strobe/blinder/wash light/eye candy capability, “but with that amount of power, I can see it being used on big events, tours, and stadium/arena type shows.”

Kenny, who has a tradition of being the first to use new lighting technology in a real-world application, jumped at the chance to debut the PULSE Panel FX. “I have always enjoyed moving forward with new technology and knowing Elation has launched some beautiful, high-tech lights of late, I was eager to incorporate them into my design,” the designer said. 

“Especially in TV, the backgrounds are very important so I was happy to get a new and interesting product in that upstage position, right in the main frame where it can be seen and make an impact. And it worked! The PULSE has this very modern, high-tech look, like something out of Star Wars or a modern video game, and they have all the tricks that we’ve always liked and wanted. They just blew us all away.”

Characterizing the modernized NHL Draft as an “artistic and elegant show,” Kenny placed 14 PULSE PANEL FX fixtures upstage in a semi-circle, prominently displayed throughout the two-day event for “subtle eye-candy bling” in camera shots. Additionally, Kenny created more energetic looks for camera shots when players were drafted.

“Whenever there was a pick, programmers Scott Cunningham and Han Heinz gave us some great ballyhoo looks for the in-house audience,” Kenny said, noting that it wasn’t visible on camera as they cut away to the draft pick. “But it looked great in-house and cut through the heavy lumens of the giant screen, which is very difficult.” 

Kenny added that because the show was filmed in 360-degrees, the back of the PULSE fixture occasionally showed in the frame, but that didn’t concern him. “The fixture has beautiful lines and even the back of it looks good, like sitting behind a beautiful car.” 

Due to the high demand for the Sphere, which runs a unique “Sphere Experience: Postcard from Earth” show multiple times a day, the crew had to load in and out twice daily. “You need lights that can handle constant movement and don’t mind being recalibrated. Another great thing about the PULSE is that they worked every time,” Kenny concluded.

See a video of the NHL Draft here. 

LOS ANGELES—Elation Professional helped bring CBS’ broadcast of Super Bowl 50 to light, literally. The lighting product provider supplied its lighting gear to CBS’ three main television sets and its Elation ELAR Q1 color-changing PAR lights for the halftime show.

The sets featured a package of Elations Platinum Spot 15R Pro color and gobo-changing moving heads, Platinum FLX hybrid moving head Design LED Strip RGBAW strip lights, SixBar 1000 LED battens, and 12 ADJ Pinspot LED Quad fixtures.

For the halftime show featuring Coldplay, Bruno Mars and Beyoncé, Elation supplied about 350 ELAR Q1 color-changing PAR lights mounted directly into the stage deck wings. Each ELAR Q1 fixture has a single 18W RGBW LED that can emit a palette of colors, making it possible to adjust to the performers during the day-time performance.

Elation is headquartered in Los Angeles. Super Bowl 50 took place on Feb. 7 in Santa Clara, Calif.