MONTREAL—Grass Valley has delivered a 4K Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) outside broadcast (OB) truck to Guangdong Radio and Television (GRT), in partnership with Beijing Sailing Hightop Technology Development.

The handover ceremony, attended by senior executives from GRT, Sailing Hightop and Grass Valley, marks a milestone in China’s evolution toward next-generation IP-based broadcast technology.

During the ceremony, a Sailing Hightop spokesperson expressed appreciation to all project partners, noting that seamless collaboration across system design, integration and commissioning ensured the project was completed on time, on budget and to the highest standards.

According to a GRT spokesperson, the new OB unit will enhance the broadcaster’s ability to produce and transmit large sports and entertainment events in 4K UHD, providing strong technical support for the upcoming events.

The OB truck is the first native-IP UHD system in China and represents a transformative shift away from traditional baseband infrastructure. By adopting a fully IP-based architecture, the unit delivers new levels of flexibility, scalability and efficiency for live production, Grass Valley said.

Equipped with Grass Valley’s LDX 135/150 cameras and the Grass Valley K-Frame CXP switcher, the system supports 4K and 8K live production with high dynamic range (HDR) and wide color gamut (WCG) capabilities, while its distributed workflow enables real-time remote collaboration and future cloud deployment via GV Orbit SDN and AMPP (Agile Media Processing Platform). The design also maximizes space and energy efficiency and enables multi-platform content delivery through native landscape and portrait conversion, the company said.

“This project is a powerful example of what’s possible when innovation, collaboration and vision come together,” said Alain Wang, Grass Valley sales director for China. “We’re proud to support Guangdong Radio and Television and Sailing Hightop in delivering China’s first native-IP UHD OB truck, a future-ready solution that sets the standard for 4K and 8K live production in the region.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

Researchers in the U.K. have confirmed what many in the broadcast industry have known for years: most viewers have trouble detecting 8K—or even 4K—video resolution.

According to the researchers at the University of Cambridge and Meta Reality Labs, the human eye has a resolution limit: in other words, there are only so many pixels the eye can see. Above this limit, a screen is giving our eyes more information than they can detect.

To calculate the resolution limit, the researchers conducted a study that measured participants’ ability to detect specific features in color and greyscale images on a screen, whether looking at the images straight on or through their peripheral vision, and when the screen was close to them or further away.

The precise resolution limit depends on a number of variables, including the size of the screen, the darkness of the room, and the distance between the viewer and the screen. However, for an average-size U.K. living room, with 2.5 meters (~8 feet) between the TV and the sofa, a 44-inch 4K or 8K TV would not provide any additional benefit over a lower resolution Quad HD (QHD) TV of the same size.

The researchers have also developed a free online calculator where users can enter the size of their room and the dimensions and resolution of their TV to determine the most suitable screen for their home. Their results are reported in the journal Nature Communications.

Display resolution is considered equally important for the many other screens consumers use, on phones or computers, whether they’re used to take pictures, watch films or play video games, including games in virtual or augmented reality. Even car manufacturers are offering higher and higher resolutions for in-car information displays and satnav screens.

“As large engineering efforts go towards improving the resolution of mobile, AR and VR displays, it’s important to know the maximum resolution at which further improvements bring no noticeable benefit,” said first author Dr Maliha Ashraf from Cambridge’s Department of Computer Science and Technology. “But there have been no studies that actually measure what it is that the human eye can see, and what the limitations of its perception are.”

“If you have more pixels in your display, it's less efficient, it costs more and it requires more processing power to drive it,” said co-author Professor Rafał Mantiuk, also from Cambridge’s Department of Computer Science and Technology. “So we wanted to know the point at which it makes no sense to further improve the resolution of the display.”

The researchers created an experimental set-up with a sliding display that allowed them to measure exactly what the human eye can see when looking at patterns on a screen. Instead of measuring the specifications of a particular screen, they measured pixels per degree (PPD): a measurement of how many individual pixels can fit into a one-degree slice of your field of vision. Measuring PPD helps answer a more useful question than ‘how high is the resolution of this screen?’ Instead, it answers the question ‘how does this screen look from where I’m sitting?’

The widely accepted 20/20 vision standard, based on the Snellen chart that will be familiar to anyone who has ever had their vision checked, suggests that the human eye can resolve detail at 60 pixels per degree.

“This measurement has been widely accepted, but no one had actually sat down and measured it for modern displays, rather than a wall chart of letters that was first developed in the 19th century,” said Ashraf.

Participants in the study looked at patterns with very fine gradations, in shades of grey and in colour, and were asked whether they were able to see the lines in the image. The screen was moved towards and away from the viewer to measure PPD at different distances. PPD was also measured for central and peripheral vision.

The researchers discovered that the eye’s resolution limit is higher than previously believed, but that there are important differences in resolution limits between color and black-and-white. For greyscale images viewed straight on, the average was 94 PPD. For red and green patterns, the number was 89 PPD, and for yellow and violet, it was 53 PPD.

“Our brain doesn’t actually have the capacity to sense details in color very well, which is why we saw a big drop-off for color images, especially when viewed in peripheral vision,” said Mantiuk. “Our eyes are essentially sensors that aren’t all that great, but our brain processes that data into what it thinks we should be seeing.”

The researchers modelled their results to calculate how the resolution limit varies across the population, which will help manufacturers make decisions that are relevant for the majority of the population: for example, designing a display which has retinal resolution for 95% of people rather than an average observer.

Based on this modelling, the researchers developed their online calculator, which enables people to test their own screens or help inform future buying decisions.

“Our results set the north star for display development, with implications for future imaging, rendering and video coding technologies,” said co-author Dr Alex Chapiro from Meta Reality Labs.

Over the past several decades as many television markets worldwide transitioned to higher definition video, BBC, NHK, EBU and ITU all conducted research that agreed with these findings.

At the 2025 IBC Show at the RAI Amsterdam, Sept. 12-15, Lawo and Italian-based broadcast systems integrator ARET Video & Audio Engineering will showcase a new demo OB truck that combines cutting-edge ARET coachworx exclusive Box over Box technology and will be “a showroom of advanced video and audio technology,” the companies said.

The new OB trailer, currently under construction at ARET’s Milan facility, will be presented to the public for the first time at IBC 2025. The truck will showcase samples of next-generation Lawo IP technology designed to redefine mobile production standards, the companies said. At booth 8.B90, Lawo will present its full portfolio of IP-native broadcast solutions, including the HOME platform for broadcast infrastructure management, the mc² audio production console series, the A__line and Power Core audio interfaces, and the flexible VSM control and orchestration system—technology that powers both broadcast studios and OB units around the globe.

Brand new, and ready to start system integration, it will make its debut on site in Amsterdam, giving visitors a firsthand look at what will soon be “one of the most modern OB trucks roaming the world,” according to the companies.

With support for up to 34 UHD cameras, hybrid 12G-SDI/IP workflows, and full UHD HDR production capability, this 14-meter (46-foot) mobile unit is built to perform under the most demanding production and environmental conditions. It also offers a rare “box-over-box” expansion on the left side and one wide traditional “box-in-box” expansion on the right, creating three acoustically optimized and fully separated workspaces for video shading, production, and audio.

Lawo’s IP-native audio and control systems form the technical backbone of this high-end production vehicle. The audio control room is centered around a 64-fader mc²56 audio production console, a top-tier mixing surface designed for agile operation in complex environments. With full native support for SMPTE ST 2110, AES67/RAVENNA, MADI, and Dante, the mc²56 delivers maximum format flexibility. The console is driven by redundant A__UHD Core engines, each offering 1,024 fully processed DSP channels, ultra-low latency, and full support for immersive audio workflows such as Dolby Atmos—making the system future-ready for evolving production demands.

Complementing the mc² system is a Lawo Power Core, which acts as a high-density gateway between IP and baseband audio, while also providing additional DSP resources and I/O expandability. The modular nature of Power Core ensures easy adaptation to any future changes in workflow or signal format.

For control and orchestration, the OB trailer will be equipped with Lawo’s Virtual Studio Manager (VSM)—the industry’s most powerful control system for IP-based broadcast infrastructure. VSM enables unified routing and control of all signal types and devices across video, audio, intercom, and multiviewers. With customizable touch GUIs, logic-based automation, and snapshot-based reconfiguration, VSM gives operators complete control and maximum flexibility, reducing downtime and ensuring operational continuity in fast-paced production environments.

“Lawo technology provides a perfectly integrated and highly flexible IP backbone for this complex project,” says Alessandro Asti, Vice President Sales at ARET. “From the mc²56 console to the A__UHD Core and Power Core, the Lawo infrastructure allows us to build a scalable, future-ready audio environment with full format compatibility, superb sound quality, and rock-solid reliability. Combined with VSM control, and thanks to the great support of Lawo HOME in IP environments we are able to offer a highly adaptable system that’s easy to operate and quick to reconfigure for different production needs.”

To ensure uninterrupted performance even in extreme temperatures and weather conditions, the trailer is equipped with a high-capacity, multi-zone HVAC system and advanced airflow design. Every element of the unit—from coachbuilding to systems integration—has been engineered and tested by ARET in-house, ensuring consistent quality and end-to-end accountability.

The truck will be located at outdoor position 0.A07 at the RAI Amsterdam during the show.

SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Hitachi Kokusai will focus on two 4K UHD camera systems built for live video production during 2024 NAB Show New York, Oct. 9-10 at the Javits Center in New York.

The company’s SK-UHD7000 incorporates three 2/3-inch CMOS image sensors with native 4K resolution to enable the capture of 3840x2160 UHD video. The global shutter technology in the sensors minimizes unwanted artifacts, such as flickering and banding, which could otherwise occur when capturing video on TV sets, at event venues and in worship environments with LED lighting and large LED displays, the company said.

The camera was built to ensure extraordinary sensitivity and consistent results for 4K productions across diverse scenarios. For example, its sensitivity of F11 at 59.94 frames enables high-quality acquisition in low lighting conditions, while a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 62 dB provides ultra-quiet images, Hitachi Kokusai said.

These qualities and all other performance benefits carry over to the SK-UHD7000-S2, a nearly identical model built for users who want high-quality 1080p productions today and a cost-effective path to 4K/UHD in the future. The latter is achieved through a license-upgrade option that provides immediate entry to the 4K/UHD production world, it said.

Introduced in April at NAB Show, Hitachi Kokusai’s DK-H700 4K box camera sits at the opposite end of the design scale, providing users with a compact POV solution that can reliably support focused applications in professional AV, government, broadcast and venue applications. Using the same UHD sensor as the DK-H700, SK-UHD7000 and SK-UHD7000-S2, the DK-H700 blends effortlessly with these cameras, the company said.

The DK-H700 is a multiformat solution that complies with ITU-R.BT-2020 wide color gamut specs and operates within Rec. BT.2100 High Dynamic Range standards. These qualities allow content creators to produce independent programs in a dual workflow configuration for HDTV or UHD SDI output formats, it said.

See Hitachi Kokusai at 2024 NAB Show New York booth 837.

More information is available on the company’s website.

With the advent of UHD workflows, ensuring a premium viewing experience for audiences has never been more important. This, coupled with the break-neck speed with which content creation and distribution technology is advancing, means media professionals are now facing both obstacles and exciting opportunities at the same time. 

This article delves into the challenges of an end-to-end UHD workflow and how they can be overcome with advanced QC solutions.

Video Quality Issues in UHD Workflows
UHD, including HDR, offers a premium and immersive experience to viewers.  However, as is the case with any new technology, it comes with its own set of challenges regarding adoption. Creating an end-to-end workflow that captures, edits, and transcodes in UHD may not be financially or operationally feasible for many content creators, especially those in their first few years of business. Therefore, such creators may resort to upconverting the resolution, framerate, dynamic range, bit depth, and color gamut of their content. 

However, if these aspects are not handled properly, the result could be a host of video quality issues, including blurriness, digital ghosting, color banding, and tone mapping. Furthermore, upconverting from HD to UHD, or poor UHD capture, may result in blurriness at the edges, as these processes may not be capable of maintaining sharpness in these areas. Therefore, blur detection is a critical requirement.

Likewise, frame rates much higher than 30 fps are required to achieve the natural feel of temporal variation on bigger and wider UHD screens. During the capture of large spatial data at a high temporal rate — 48 fps, 60 fps, or 120 fps — visual issues such as motion-blur, ghosting, grains, and dead/stuck pixels may occur. 

Furthermore, during the journey through transcoding, upconversion, and editing, perceptual temporal issues like motion jerks and flickering may also be introduced. It’s important that such quality issues are discovered before content is delivered to end-users, while corrective action can be taken to fix them.

Another challenging aspect of UHD content is the wide color gamut (WCG) specification (e.g., ITU-R BT. 2020, DCI-P3), which extends the range of colors beyond the standard color gamut. It is this extended range that provides the true, in-depth colors that make UHD scenes look more realistic on a big screen. 

During the transformation of content through editing, transcoding, and tone-mapping, the very fine and smooth variations of the content colors can be disturbed, leading to the formation of bands that are quite evident on wide screens. This color banding can ruin the overall viewing experience.

Furthermore, unlike SDR content, where display quality can be predicted by analyzing the loss resulting from compression, HDR content is much more complex. Due to the non-linear relationship between the decoded and displayed data, this perceived video quality analysis becomes much more cumbersome.

Again, this depends on the type of transfer characteristics that have been fixed while creating the HDR content, which involves the automated or manual process of defining the contrast at various scenes. The content needs to be specified with the average and maximum light levels (nits or cd/m2). For the analysis system, it is important to measure these light levels whenever there is any kind of transformation — such as editing or transcoding — of the originally toned content. 

A primary factor affecting HDR viewing performance is interoperability between the video and the display. When a legacy SDR display is used to view a picture created in a color palette with a WCG, contouring — rendering smooth gradient areas as a series of distinct bands — can be an issue if the conversion is not handled carefully. It can be caused by bit depth loss, which is a global issue, or by incorrect region-based tone mapping, a local problem. These conversions need to be appropriately handled in order to maintain a rich viewing experience. 

In addition, while guidelines for photosensitive epilepsy (PSE) have been long defined for SDR content, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and National Association for Commercial Broadcasters for Japan (NABJ) have now updated the guidelines for HDR content as well. This needs to be included as an additional component in the analysis of UHD content. 

The Need for Advanced QC Solutions
To address the above issues, media professionals must employ advanced QC solutions tailored to the UHD landscape. Such solutions must have comprehensive format support from capture to delivery, including ProRES, DNxHR, TIFF, SonyRAW, DPX, EXR, AVC, and HEVC.

Different metadata checks for parameters like resolution, bit depth, frame rate, WCG, and HDR transfer characteristics are also required for ensuring the quality of UHD packages. In the case of HDR, additional checks are available for parameters like MaxCLL, MaxFALL, and white point chromaticity. Due to bigger file sizes, there is also a potential issue of file corruption while transferring UHD content. Therefore, checking MD5 or SHA1 checksums may be important for certain workflows.

Owing to higher processing speeds, and increased hardware and storage requirements, multiple media organizations have shifted their UHD workflows to the cloud. For this reason, it’s imperative that a QC solution have both stable and optimized support for different cloud platforms like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. This will ensure seamless integration with various workflows.

As UHD becomes widespread, it is critical that providers deliver content in pristine quality to match viewers’ ever-increasing expectations. It is important that such content is free from different artifacts, has consistent quality, and meets UHD specifications. This can be achieved with advanced QC solutions tailored specifically for the UHD landscape. 

Such solutions, with comprehensive format support, metadata checks, and cloud integration capabilities, ensure that content retains its quality throughout its lifecycle, from capture to delivery — ensuring a premium viewing experience for audiences.

The move to high definition didn’t make viewers work hard to notice the improvement. It was easy to promote, in TV showrooms or at broadcast equipment conventions. 

The shift from HD to UHD is almost as big a jump in linear pixel count, and while the same level of immediate uptake probably wasn’t expected on the consumer side, broadcast clients have begun demanding it almost as a matter of course.

It’s no surprise to see an outside broadcast truck covering an event in 2023 with “UHD” as a proud part of its livery. Sometimes that’s done for future-proofing, and sometimes to satisfy early adopters at home. Whatever the motivation, UHD creates technological and operational challenges, especially as ever bigger events demand drive for ever higher levels of gloss. That increasingly means high dynamic range and UHD, always with the pressure to somehow do it all with the same resources as conventional HD. 

Future-Proofing
There are now a number of ways to do that, and many of them diverge from the sort of technology that broadcast has long been used to. Arri’s Multicam system marries its Amira camera—itself not quite a UHD device, but usually near enough—with a fiber adapter and compatibility with the sort of control panels and other truck tech that put engineering people in a place of comfort. 

Similar things are possible even on lower budgets with equipment from Blackmagic Design, which not only has cameras with studio accessories and lots of spare resolution, but also switchers, recorders, and the Resolve application.

Sony has also put its high-end cinema cameras into the parts of broadcast which seek to bring a little Hollywood sparkle to live TV, although by sheer hours broadcast, the company’s more conventional studio cameras are still doing the lion’s share of the work. 

Peter Sykes, strategic technology development manager at Sony in the U.K., confirms that the motivations for UHD are “a combination. The future-proofing part is very, very important, because prestige content will be archived. Especially for sports events, archive is a consideration once you get to the top tier events… if you want to put something in the archive, do it at the highest quality.”

In the immediate term, though, the pressure to please subscribers remains key. “The image quality is something people will look at when they’re trying to differentiate themselves from their competitors,” Sykes confirms. “You can get the consumer TVs, and the bitrates are available as they weren’t in the very early days—but if you have a premier league football game, the rights for that game are very, very expensive and you need a good look. They’re always trying to get the best rights, and that’s a way to differentiate.”

It’s been over a decade since Sony launched its first 4K broadcast camera, though Sykes points out that HDR had to wait on standards activity. 

“Live broadcast producers were operating in an HD SDR environment, mainly, and our first developments looked at increasing the resolution,” Sykes said. “As a follow-on stage about a year later, in the mid-2010s, HDR in live production really started to capture everyone’s imagination. It was the ITU which developed the specifications for TV production. When those arrived the pathway was opened up to start producing live content, and that’s where HDR really did capture everyone’s imagination.”

It’s Not Just the Technology
Equipment is one thing; technique is another. “There is a technology aspect to all this,” Sykes confirms, “but there’s also an operational aspect to it as well. It wasn’t just the technology that needed to be addressed, but fitting the technology into existing workflows was a challenge. Imagine you have outside broadcast companies with operators in the trucks, camera shaders, vision supervisors, all having lots of experience in HD SDR, to then come along and say we can’t have two trucks, we have to have a simultaneous workflow so we have some new practices, but we don’t want to have to completely retrain.”

Automatic downconversion is one option—once a picture has been engineered for HDR, there’s enough consistency for a machine to create the accompanying SDR output. 

“If you look at some of the work the BBC has been doing, they’ve developed their own LUTs, and we’ve also issued some LUTs of our own, which are freely downloadable from our website to do conversions from HDR to SDR.”

Sykes concludes, though, with the observation that while truck technique is key, dealing with large sensors and high resolutions demands the best of camera operators, too. “If you’re going to shoot the halftime show at a major event, you’re going to put your exceptionally good talent on that.”

Ready For Anything 
Blackmagic Design’s approach to high-resolution broadcast came from slightly different beginnings. Darren Gosney, technical sales manager for the company, begins on a technical note: 

“We were one of the key manufacturers driving for 6- and 12-gigabit SDI technology across a lot of live products,” Gosney said. “We wanted to move away from dual and quad link for high bandwidth content. One of the things we’ve really pushed for is UHD for HD prices—all the way back to when we launched the first ATEM switcher with 6G SDI capabilities, 10 years ago.”

“What that’s let us do is to allow not only high-end broadcaster to work in UHD, but also other people to experiment,” he added. “What we’ve noticed over the past 10 years is where that’s bled into other areas, the AV and live events workspace. If you’re hosting live music events or high-end concerts, you’ll have huge LED walls at the side of stages and in those instances high resolution is beneficial. If you’re pumping through low-res content it’s hard to distinguish what’s going on.”

High Frame Rates
On smaller screens, some of the most tech-savvy consumers exist in the world of computer gaming. High-bandwidth workflows were adopted early to satisfy viewers who demanded high frame rate, if not high resolution.

 ome of the earliest applications for images beyond traditional 25- or 30-frame broadcast standards were targeted at applications other than broadcast. Esports needs high frame rate for much the same reason that conventional field sports need high frame rate. It’s the same reason 720-line 50- and 60-frame formats existed, and it’s why 1080p60 pictures have since become an everyday occurrence. 

Even before 60p became common for live sports broadcasting, gaming tournaments often meant putting together 3Gbps infrastructure to handle live cameras and feeds from both the player monitors and in-game virtual cameras. Still, pushing resolution beyond HD meant four physically separate links until 6- and 12-gigabit SDI, or more recently various IP options, found ways to fit UHD pictures down a single cable.

“Esports is a huge emerging market,” Gosney says, “and has been for the last few years. The technology there sometimes exceeds what you’d see in broadcast. We’ve done extensive work with the likes of ESL, a big esports conglomerate across Europe. They use capture cards to get content in and out of workstations.”

The company’s Ursa Mini cameras, with their Super-35mm sensors, are examples of a multipurpose approach that’s only recently become commonplace; big sensors with lots of resolution which can be cropped to suit the job at hand.

“We’ve used the really powerful sensor we had in our other 6K camera so that you have the dual-ISO capability, which is really good in low light if you’re in a conference center, or for darker concerts,” Gosney says. “Because it has the resolution, you can also put a B4 broadcast lens on there and go shoot an interview, then shoot the VTs which are interspersed with the live production… that is one of the huge benefits of that camera.”

Much as the Ursa series is perfectly capable of shooting HDR images, Blackmagic’s implementation through its switchers is a work in progress. It’s a reminder that HDR is a system, not a product, although the company is well-placed to build that system. 

“Other manufacturers do cameras, or switching, or routing, but we have every part of the puzzle,” Gosney says. “We can connect end to end and it gives customers confidence that things will work cohesively. Things like the ATEM ISO lets you run a fleet of 4K cameras through our HD television studio switcher, and it’ll record an iso feed in low bandwidth H.264. Then, you’ve got the option to drop that into post, cut, then relink to the camera originals working in 4K or 6K or even higher.”

With that sort of capability available even from the company which positions itself as the affordable option, the offset between what producers want and can have, and what the audience is actually watching, seems set to persist or even widen. With the technology democratising, though, the best conclusion might be that it may not matter that much, because if we want UHD and HDR at 60 frames, we can increasingly have it, from high school sports to the Super Bowl. 

FREMONT, Calif.—The Ultra HD Forum will present three demonstration pods, including an emphasis on efficient delivery of HDR and SDR, especially for live events, during IBC2023, Sept. 15-18, at RAI Amsterdam.

The demos, supported by BBC, InterDigital, KPN, LGE and Ross Video, will examine:

• Efficient, sustainable Ultra HD: The forum will spotlight single-master workflows for SDR/HDR with an emphasis on maintaining creative intent across HDR, SDR, UHD and HD.
• Energy conservation: The demo will spotlight a brightness algorithm that promises up to 30% screen energy savings. There will also be discussion of the effect of ambient light and the choice of SDR and HDR on energy usage.

The Ultra HD forum also made several other announcements during the runup to the convention, including:

• The Ultra HD Forum Sustainability Working Group is working with industry initiatives to ensure Ultra HD technologies are considered fairly and collaborating with groups, such as the Greening of Streaming.
• Collaboration with DASH-IF with the forum contributing its watermarking API to DASH-IF. It is referenced in “DASH-IF Forensic A/B Watermarking v1.0.0,” which has been released as ETSI publication TS 104 002.
• The forum’s Broadcast Subgroup has expanded its signaling methodology to prompt displays into the appropriate mode for different types of content.
• An HTML version (Version 3.1) of the UHD Forum’s guidelines, segmented into nine “Rainbow Books,” will debut at IBC2023.
• The forum’s latest service tracker update, which includes 250 customer-centric Ultra HD services, spotlights ATSC.  

See the Ultra HD Forum at IBC2023 Stand 10.C09.

More information is available on the forum’s website.

DUBAI—Imagine Communications is providing next-generation production and playout facilities for Rudaw Media Network, as part of the broadcaster’s transition to an all-new, state-of-the-art headquarters complex. 

The new infrastructure will be built using SMPTE ST 2110 IP connectivity, providing 4K UHD capabilities for production and playout in a highly agile and scalable architecture that will offer Rudaw operational and cost efficiencies across the network. The new installation will go live in early 2024.

Headquartered in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region of Iraq, Rudaw Media Network is a broadcaster dedicated to providing independent information in English, Kurdish, Arabic and Turkish. 

The network’s transformation roadmap entails migrating its operations to a new, eight-story complex that will house multiple studios and TV channels supported by IP infrastructure and 4K UHD playout and master control facilities. 

Working with systems integrator Wave Media Solutions, Imagine is providing the complete IP playout automation and master control infrastructure, including multiviewers, UHD conversion processing, network orchestration and routing control, the companies said. 

“When we launched our channels 10 years ago, we were the first network in Kurdistan and Iraq to broadcast in HD,” says Hejar Berenji, CTO at Rudaw Media Network. “Today, our move to a greenfield site is the perfect opportunity to maintain that pioneering spirit by migrating to IP and 4K UHD. That is just part of our goal to create a channel and content that is engaging and relevant to our audiences by insisting on the highest professional standards.

“Imagine’s state-of-the-art broadcast technology will, I believe, make a substantial contribution toward our organization’s mission to impart information and facilitate communication, by empowering journalists and producers to seamlessly translate their visions onto the screen,” Berenji continued. “Through the inauguration of this world-class, new facility, we are underscoring our ongoing technological leadership and affirming our commitment to maintaining a leading position within the industry.”

The new infrastructure at Rudaw Media Network will use a Cisco fabric for SMPTE ST 2110 IP connectivity. To ensure seamless integration of SDI and IP equipment, Rudaw will use Imagine’s award-winning Selenio Network Processor (SNP) as a convenient and compact gateway ― providing 128 configurable SDI/IP ports in just 4RU. This function is only one of many critical applications the uniquely configurable SNP will support within the new facility.

SNP is a highly versatile media processing platform with functionality that can be changed virtually and instantaneously by simply loading the appropriate software. At Rudaw, multiple SNPs will be deployed throughout the new facility, providing all core functionality from audio/video processing and synchronization to up/down/cross-conversion ― even supporting as many as 40 UHD multiviewer layouts with 180 inputs. With SNP easily field-upgraded as new functionality is developed or business requirements change, Rudaw will look to incorporate the new Master Control Lite (MCL) personality into the next phase of the build, which adds branding, graphics, master control and even dual downstream keying ― all in ST 2110, all in software and all in perfect UHD.

Rudaw’s channel origination workflow will be built on Imagine’s industry-proven Versio integrated playout platform and widely deployed ADC™ automation, supporting three UHD output channels and a preview channel ― all fully redundant. Featuring ST 2110 UHD I/Os, advanced graphics and master control capabilities, the Versio playout devices will provide both channel delivery and ingest into a 252TB Imagine IOX high-availability NAS storage solution, forming a seamless, end-to-end content management ecosystem.

Imagine’s powerful, operator-centric Magellan Control System will simplify management and operation of the entire workflow, from production and ingest through master control and playout. Essentially the “brain” of the system, Magellan Control provides a single point of management, automation and monitoring across the entire infrastructure ― including the Cisco switches, Vizrt graphics, Tektronix test equipment and other third-party broadcast equipment ― making the whole operation seamless and intuitive. Redundancy across the network ensures that every aspect of the new installation is highly reliable.

“Imagine’s relationship with Rudaw Media Network dates back more than a decade and has continued to strengthen through multiple upgrades and advancements,” said Anas Hantash, head of Middle East, South Asia and North Africa at Imagine Communications. “We are proud that Rudaw trusts Imagine ― both as an innovative technology provider and a transformation partner ―and we look forward to taking the next step in their exciting journey.”

Zaid Wattar of Wave Media Solutions added, “We are delighted to partner with Rudaw on this end-to-end IP project and will work closely with the company’s engineering team and Imagine’s support team to ensure a smooth transition to IP connectivity and 4K UHD.”

EVS’ chief technology officer Alex Redfern has been discussing some of the trends the company expects to see within the broadcast industry in 2023.

Redfern was speaking as part of a media briefing where the company’s leadership looked back over what it had achieved during 2022 and its goals for this year.

Asked what he sees as some of the key trends for 2023, Redfern addressed a number of topics, including IP, Balanced Computing, UHD and cybersecurity.

Transition to IP
Redfern began by discussing IP, stating that while it’s not necessarily the newest topic in the broadcast industry, the current trend is about the pace of transition and how quickly it is accelerating. “We’ve certainly installed a lot more IP-based systems, be they in fixed installations or now increasingly in trucks and mobile solutions,” he said.

He added that the need for multi-vendor support is a key topic for EVS and will continue to be. “When you’re in multi-vendor environments, it’s all about observing standards, it’s about understanding how to be interoperable with each other, and also not just observing the standards but each vendor’s interpretation of the standards,” Redfern added.

Last year EVS joined the Joint Task Force on Networked Media (JT-NM), taking part in the organization’s interoperability which, Redfern says, enables the company to “know that we play well with everyone else”.

“It’s really important for us to know where we sit amongst our peers and how we can build solutions and integrate the solutions,” he added.

“It sort of plays into UHD to a certain extent in that UHD doesn’t necessarily make things more complex,” continued Redfern. “It can make things bigger, obviously there’s much more data but it doesn’t necessarily make things more complex. We see the drive to UHD. Big tech players now are starting to want UHD. For a while in the industry, we saw an interim of 1080P, perhaps 1080P HDR was good enough, it can be up-converted. Now the big tech players are coming in saying it must be native. So that’s a real drive on the UHD side.”

In terms of balanced computing, EVS is seeing a trend towards the cloud and being able to support cloud solutions. said Redfern, However, in certain instances, he sees that balance shifting depending on the area. “XtraMotion Edge is a great example where when we announced the SaaS offering, it was the business model that was interesting to people,” he added. “We deployed it as a SaaS offering in the cloud. And when people start to dig into the needs, what the customer actually needs, speed was the most important thing. In that instance, the cloud didn’t offer the speed that was needed. So it was better to go to the edge than to have it in the cloud.”

Flexible Control Rooms
Flexible control rooms are also an area where EVS is seeing growing interest. In 2022, the company announced a collaboration with Belgian broadcaster RTBF on a new flexible control room solution designed to increase operational flexibility, creativity and productivity across its TV, radio, and digital platforms. “It’s a trend that we see evolving through the broadcast industry, the need for a much more flexible production space,” said Redfern.

“It’s really about decoupling the user experience of pressing buttons and interacting with hardware. The idea is that it can start with a single user doing a single-person show and expand perhaps to add on the graphics operator or audio operator and keep expanding dynamically as the show expands.”

Redfern adds that this is something EVS is working on currently, with proof-of-concept testing ongoing. “It’s very much driven by Cerebrum [EVS’s broadcast control and monitoring system] and it’s totally in line with our blueprint, the idea of picking up on things that perhaps we don’t have yet but we want to build. It’s a really fascinating project to see how that’s going to evolve over the next couple of years.”

The final topic Redfern discussed was cybersecurity, which he believes is something that the broadcast industry is becoming increasingly aware of following attacks on a number of broadcasters in recent years. 

“A couple of years ago we took a stance and said, what can we do about this? The first thing we did was actually look for the people we could onboard and acquire some knowledge and start offering services around audit, detect, protect and learn,” he added. “It was a kind of learning process of how we can investigate what our customers and our clients do and offer them services. That turned into a product, EV Shield, which was a TVBEurope Best of Show winner at IBC. It’s something that I think in 2023 will be a real trend.

“With cybersecurity it feels like it’s not a matter of if but when and not just for broadcasters but for all of us, including EVS,” he concluded.

LONDON—ATG Danmon has completed a multi-camera studio and control room upgrade for European social media content production support firm That Lot at its new headquarters in Bishopsgate, the company said today. 

The project was a full UHD upgrade that included production switching, routing, recording, monitoring and archiving, the company said.

“Moving to new headquarters at 135 Bishopsgate gives us extra space and a working environment much more in tune with the dynamic style of production which we strive to achieve,” said Ben Forder, head of video at That Lot. “In addition to the UHD upgrade, ATG partnered with us in upgrading the audio system to support a new sound workflow, including a Unity server, rerouting and additional capabilities, such as de-embedding from SDI channels."

That Lot worked with ATG Danmon three years ago when it commissioned its broadcast-quality facilities at its Holborn promises. The new upgrade consists almost entirely of the equipment first installed in those facilities with the addition of more studio lighting.

"The studio retains the original Blackmagic Design 4K UHD cameras which are still giving excellent results both in the studio and when operated on location,” said Jonathan Hughes, ATG Danmon head of systems integration.

A ceiling-mounted Cirro rig that’s adjustable to create the lighting required for live or recorded production illuminates the studio. A full-color LED backlit cyclorama is incorporated to achieve sharp chroma-key superimposition over any background. The studio also offers support for 360-degree surround video and audio capture if needed.

"The control room suite is used for live production and editing. Enhanced facilities here now include a full UHD vision mixer and routing switcher capturing to Softron recorders and SNS EVO networked storage. We have also relocated a digital audio mixer, graphics computers, a Custom Consoles desk and Sonifex talkbacks,” said Hughes.

"The new installation is very similar to the original apart from some modifications to the router interfacing and recabling where necessary to allow for different studio and control room sizes."

More information is available on the company’s website.

MONTREAL—Telstra Broadcast Services (TBS) has chosen Grass Valley’s GV Agile Media Processing Platform (AMPP) to enable cloud-based production and playout for an Australian sports streaming service.

GV AMPP is powering Stan Sport, a UHD premium live and on-demand, add-on sports package, which includes UEFA Champions League. TBS’s adoption of GV AMPP is the cloud-native platform’s first live sports application in the Asia-Pacific region, although the platform is used by other media organizations in the region, Grass Valley said. 

“We wanted a truly cloud-first solution to deliver the flexibility that is absolutely essential to meet Stan’s requirements,” said TBS CTO Carl Petch.

“We recognized the potential of AMPP when it launched in 2020, and we’ve seen several other successful global deployments of the technology. We’re thrilled to be named a managed service provider for AMPP and to have our first live customer streaming in UHD. We are excited about our partnership with Grass Valley and what we can achieve together using the public cloud environment, our networks and their software.”

Stan can manage 32 simultaneous live channels at peak times to bring every Europa League game to Australian fans with GV AMPP. For the first time, key Champions League matches are being presented live in UHD. No physical infrastructure is required, it said.

TBS provisions each channel for the duration of the game, while Stan Sport operators manage each channel from a customized interface using a standard web browser from anywhere with a public internet connection, the company said.

“Getting premium live sports content to our subscribers in the most efficient and reliable way, without sacrificing quality, is a key focus for our business. It is vital that we have access to state-of-the-art technology that enables us to do that,” said Stan CTO John Hogan. “Our experience with AMPP and TBS is that they are delivering a streamlined, reliable and robust solution that meets all of our operational requirements. The Stan Sport team is very pleased with the quality and consistency of the platform. It has enabled us to deliver the premium, edge-of-your-seat content for which we are known.”

The deployment also enables TBS to create new revenue stream opportunities by allowing Stan and other media companies to innovate and deliver new customer experiences, it said.

More information is available on the Grass Valley website.

PARIS—ATEME has launched the CM5000e, its new-generation Kyrion encoder for UHD contribution in a sustainable manner.

Built with sustainability in mind, the ATEME Kyrion CM5000e encoder consumes less power, thereby reducing its carbon footprint and increasing its green credentials for adopters. Contributing to its environmental benefits are the encoder’s dense integration capabilities. The encoder offers UHD remuxing and satellite or IP outputs in a single device, eliminating the need for additional hardware, the company said.

The Kyrion CM5000e includes all of the necessary features for transmission of live events while being easily accessible and simple to use. Its short booting time and low latency encoding make the CM5000e well-suited for a sports, news and entertainment coverage, it said.

The encoder paves the way for IP migration in the future with Zixi, SRT and RIST solutions as well as SMPTE ST 2110. It enables content protection with the latest innovations, such as the BISS-CA standard and dynamic watermarking technologies, ATEME said.

“…[W]ith Kyrion CM5000e, we are … pioneering sustainable solutions in the contribution and distribution market, and we’re committed to making a positive environmental impact,” said Julien Mandel, contribution and distribution segment solution marketing senior director at ATEME.

More information is available on the company’s website.

SEATTLE, Wash.—The NHL is going all in on UHD video production with a recent infrastructure update that includes the addition of several AWS Elemental Link UHD cloud contribution encoders across 32 NHL arenas. 

The deployment is notable because the NHL’s new Link UHDs makes it possible to quickly get multiple live UHD camera angles shot from the ice into the cloud, which in turn streamlines the delivery of high-quality, live content to media partners and accelerates the creation of video-on-demand (VOD) programming. 

The upgrade also opens new doors to more data-driven fan experiences, as the NHL can now more easily combine live UHD footage with real-time data and stats from its Puck and Player Tracking system, which also runs on AWS, the company noted in a blog post. 

In making the upgrade, NHL senior vice president of technology Grant Nodine had to consider the fact that the League hosts 190 different video channels and each NHL season (regular season and Playoffs) includes upwards of 1,400 games. To establish a fixed UHD infrastructure that could provide consistent video quality across all these productions, he ultimately opted to install six Link UHD devices per arena, AWS said. 

“Getting high quality UHD video from hundreds of cameras across dozens of disparate arenas via traditional hardware is neither practical, nor cost-efficient,” Nodine said. “The plug and play nature of Link UHD, its affordable price point, and the way it allows us to use APIs to remotely control the devices without manual intervention or having to write new code offer a better alternative and have been game changing in that respect.”  

The Link UHDs arrived at every venue pre-configured to the NHL’s AWS account, and once installed, the team could instantly access live feeds from each camera from a centralized control panel in the cloud, AWS reported. 

Anchoring NHL’s video production infrastructure, the devices have since facilitated redundant cloud native video distribution for three new 4K in-venue cameras at each arena. 

With the upgrade, the NHL can stop and start encodes on a per-game basis using the devices alongside a proprietary workflow automation and management system. Encodes feed into AWS Elemental MediaConnect, a cloud-based live video transport service, and through video management software, simplifying the transmission of signals to a range of streaming platforms and devices, AWS said. 

Using AWS Elemental MediaLive, the NHL can also easily produce HD and UHD HLS outputs without custom hardware and adapt to delivery standards and codecs as needed, AWS added. 

Nodine explained that “with the Link UHDs, we now click a button and start multiple, redundant multi-regional encodes in every arena for every game, and it’s easy to determine the associated costs of increasing a stream bit rate or producing multiple stream renditions.”  

Four Link HD devices in each arena further support the pipeline, providing encoding and decoding for program feeds and helping to stream an output from an in-venue replay system. In the case of system failure during a goal review, this ensures that all camera angles are still accessible. AWS Elemental Live is also used to support additional encoding needs for NHL’s archive and to distribute feeds via HLS directly to Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3).

The footage captured with the updated pipeline is used for a wide range of applications including Video Cast–the NHL’s web-based video player platform with logging capabilities and statistics integration that it provides to rights holders, TV networks, and radio stations. 

The NHL also makes the content accessible through video management software for broadcast rights holders looking to distribute these live video angles or obtain a tertiary path for a program feed. 

“In years of collaborating with coaches and scouts we understand the value of having a tactical view of what’s happening on the ice for post-game analysis. This is just one of many reasons UHD is important to us, and Link UHD made it an affordable and possible option to deploy,” said Nodine. “Now we can distribute live UHD video in a less geographically restricted way, and build tools that benefit coaches, teams and referees. AWS and the cloud have given us a confidence and scalability that hardware just can’t provide, and we’re just getting started.” 

Alluding to an enterprise video platform that the NHL is building on AWS to aggregate video, data, and related applications into one central repository, Nodine added:  “As we continue to build out the pipeline, the goal is to spin out an archival-quality UHD file that’s a simple stream to store. We want to make search and retrieval of archived footage simpler, give broadcasters instant access to NHL content for syndication and licensing, and facilitate the delivery of new in-game analyses, predictions, and video highlights to enhance fan experiences.” 

Nodine also plans to incorporate more artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and computer vision technologies into its pipeline in the future. “Ultimately, we want to be able to feed our UHD video to computer vision applications to derive additional insights about the game, which will ensure more data-driven video content that benefits hockey fans, referees, players and coaches,” he concluded. 

PARIS, DENVER, SINGAPORE & SYDNEY—ATEME today announced it has achieved up to 2x higher performance encoding for over-the-top (OTT) video delivery applications.

The improvement comes out of a collaboration with microprocessor giant Intel and harnesses the power of its 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor working in combination with ATEME’s encoders. The enhanced performance means OTT companies will enjoy high visual quality at a lower cost, ATEME said.

The latest Xeon processor demonstrated up to a 2x performance increase with ultra-high definition (UHD) video when compared to the previous generation of the processor. The improvement will reduce the cost per OTT channel without negatively affecting the quality of delivery. It also makes possible increasing the number of OTT services per server, creating additional cost savings, it said.

The latest 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor provides advances in architecture and throughput that benefit the ATEME Titan encoders, it said.

SKUs are available in a range of core counts, frequencies and power levels. They deliver built-in AI acceleration and advanced security capabilities, the company said. 

“A key metric for video-delivery providers is the optimization of the cost per channel, and the latest 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor has allowed us to do exactly that,” Abdellatif Khindouf, who is responsible for Titan Live at ATEME. “Integrating Intel’s technology with ATEME encoders to achieve a performance increase of up to 2x for UHD encoding is undoubtedly a breakthrough technological achievement, which will result in more cost-efficient delivery of video. We’re excited to see what the future holds as we continue to leverage Intel technology moving forward.” 

More information is available on the ATEME website and on the Intel website.

SEATTLE—AWS announced the general availability of AWS Elemental Link UHD, a High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) encoding device that makes it simple and cost efficient to connect a live ultra-high definition (UHD) video source, like a camera or other video production equipment, to AWS Elemental MediaLive for video processing in the AWS Cloud, the company reported. 

With Link UHD, users can seamlessly create high dynamic range (HDR) outputs, including HDR 10 and HLG, in MediaLive channels to ensure a high-quality picture for a range of streaming applications, including enterprise events, live sports and music.

AWS Elemental Link UHD offers high performance HEVC encoding for UHD (up to 2160p at 60 fps with 10 bit color depth) video feeds, in addition to the features included in the AWS Elemental Link HD encoder. 

The Link UHD and Link HD devices ship fully configured to the user’s AWS account, simplifying the setup process.  

They can be controlled and monitored remotely using the MediaLive console. Users simply connect the device to a power source, an IP network, and an SDI or HDMI video source, and the video is automatically accessible in the MediaLive console in less than a minute.

All AWS Elemental Link devices work with AWS Elemental MediaLive, part of AWS Media Services, a suite of cloud-based services that streamline video creation, transport, packaging, storage, monetization and delivery.   

For more information on Link UHD, visit the AWS Elemental Link product page.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, West Yorkshire, U.K.—The City TV-Radio Agency in St. Petersburg, Russia, has installed a Calrec Summa console in its first UHD OB truck.

The 16-camera unit was designed and built by systems integrator Broadcast Solutions and is used to cover cultural, political and other events in St. Petersburg. 

“From the outset the customer felt that its new OB truck would use UHD technology," explained Wladislaw Grabowski, COO at Broadcast Solutions in a statement. "As for audio, they looked at many consoles and were open to suggestions, and we suggested the Calrec Summa as the best choice from a technological and economic point of view. The client is very happy with this choice.”

The truck has been used to produce content for both the linear FTA TV channel and streamed on City TV-Radio Agency’s OTT channel. It is also production-ready for football, ice hockey, athletics and other sports.

Neva uses Calrec’s Hydra2 network for connectivity, consisting of multiple I/O boxes, including a stage box, four MADI interfaces and one Dante connection. Additionally, the Summa is used with Broadcast Solutions’ hi human interface universal control system that controls audio cross-points and manages audio signal switching.

MIAMI—With the need for video production on the increase due to the pandemic, many performance venues around the world have scrambled to upgrade their production systems. At New World Symphony, the past few years brought major upgrades to the large performance hall’s video system to full UHD.

Unlike many other performance halls and public venues, New World Center, home of NWS, was prepared to produce videos under pandemic protocols, including a recent CBS TV special featuring national performers.

Based in Miami, the New World Symphony, America’s Orchestral Academy (NWS), prepares graduates of music programs for leadership roles in professional orchestras and ensembles. The 33-year-old institution is led by its co-founder and Artistic Director Michael Tilson Thomas and Lin and Ted Arison.

UPGRADE TO UHD

Areas in the NWC that were scheduled to be upgraded prior to the pandemic included the symphony’s “SunTrust Pavilion," a very large performance space used for orchestral rehearsals, and home to our extensive distance learning video system. In the world of TV production, the STP would be the equivalent of a medium-sized TV studio.

During the previous year's upgrade to UHD, we designed a setup to bring in some of the portable hall cameras as well as Panasonic UHD PTZ cameras. A small control room was created specifically for the STP, but we could control everything from the main control room if needed.

Since the pandemic greatly increased the need for distance learning, we decided to do a major update to those systems as well. This involved replacing the existing HD system with a new 64x64 12G For-A router, adding another smaller For-A HVS1200 UHD switcher controlled from our IT control room, adding a few additional practice rooms to the system, plus four much larger practice areas. To bring everything up to New World’s current 12G system standards, more Panasonic UHD cameras were added, bringing our total count of these cameras to 22.

We used Panasonic controllers to control the PTZs, with two in the central production control room, one in the STP mini control room, and two in the distance learning control room. Shifting the controller to a different group gives the various controllers the ability to control any camera. The main control area also has full shading control utilizing UHD scopes as well.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

Our design for the STP was part of the original performance hall build but updated by Enlighten Digital of Orlando, when they did the design and integration of the distance learning system. Having worked on our previous performance hall upgrades in 2019, Jaime Gurevich, the lead designer for Enlighten Digital and Rob Ross (Enlighten’s president) provided invaluable assistance.

The total cost of the STP and distance learning upgrades were approximately $1 million while the entire UHD upgrade was north of $6 million. We’re still not quite done as the performance hall utilizes 14 Christie Roadie HD30k projectors and our outside projection system use three Christie Roadie 4K35 projectors, but we plan to replace all 17 projectors with RGB laser projectors of equal or higher lumen in 4K this summer.

The system was designed to accommodate direct routing of 12G video from our For-A router to each projector, plus utilize DisplayPort over fiber to link our immersive projection system to its server system. In addition, we’re now creating two smaller “living rooms” out in our park using two portable (12- and 9-foot) LED walls.

Dan Slentz is the chief video engineer for NWS.

Click here for a recent PBS News Hour report on NWS. 

MADRID, Spain—Spain’s RTVE has carried out what it says is the world’s first broadcast of an UHD 8K signal in DVB-T2.

The test was conducted in conjunction with University of Madrid, Cellnex, Dolby, Sapec, Sony, SGO and Samsung.

The display of the signal was carried out by Samsung, which prepared an adapted Samsung QLED 8K model for the test.

The text faced a number of challenges, including:

• Compressing the UHD-8K signal that represents more than 33 Gbps of video, in less than 33 Mbps, and maintaining the video quality that such a signal requires. This data gives a compression ratio higher than 1000:1. This challenge meant Sapec had to to perfectly adjust all the parameters that improve HEVC coding and optimize them to achieve it.
• Handle the huge amount of bits that a UHD-8K signal (48 Gbps) generates, since UHD-8K generates 50 images of 32 Mpixels (32 times more than the HD signal).
• The computing capacity was estimated to be greater than about six-times that necessary to encode UHD-4K.

The signal itself included new technologies such as:

• HDR with Hybrid Log-Gamma transfer function approved in the STD-B67 standard by the ARIB (Association of Radio Industries and Businesses).
• 50 frames per second frame rate.
• Extended color gamut, meeting recommendation of the ITU-R BT.2020, 10-bit depth and 4:2:0 subsampling.
• 5.1.4 multichannel audio.

In terms of compression, the text used HEVC for video coding, Dolby’s AC4 audio coding format and the DVB-T2 standard for the transmission of content.

The binary rate resulting from the audiovisual content was around 32 Mbps. The parameters of the COFDM modulation used for transmission via DVB-T2 from the UPM were: 32k extended, guard interval 1/128 and pilot pattern PP7.

The test also included a single PLP, with modulation of 64QAM and FEC of 5/6. With this configuration, a maximum binary rate of around 36 Mbps was reached, proving it to be a valid means to transmit the content without any issues. On the part of the UHD channel broadcast by Cellnex Telecom, the modulation parameters used for DVB-T2 transmission were: 32K Ext. 256QAM 2/3 GI 1/8 PP2 SISO. It is also a valid configuration to support bit rate requirements.

FREMONT, Calif.—UHD services are continuing to rollout, showing strong growth even this year as the world has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This was shared by the Ultra HD Forum, which in celebrating its fifth anniversary has also announced new watermarking technologies and new guidelines for UHD.

YouTube began streaming 4K publicly in 2013. Since then, hundreds of UHD services—both business-to-consumer and business-to-business services—have been created. UHD Forum’s Service Tracker projects that at the end of 2020 there will be more than 350 available UHD services.

“Despite the COVID-related slowdown, growth this year is already at double digits again,” said Benjamin Schwarz, who maintains the Service Tracker for UHD Forum.

Updates have also been made to the Service Tracker, which now has the ability to categorize audio offerings as stereo, surround, immersive or personalized/NGA. It also lists the audio codec(s) used by a service when possible, including both legacy and NGA technologies.

The UHD Forum has also published an update to its free guidelines on UHD, which is meant to present info on available mature technologies and newer, leading-edge technologies. Version 2.4 of the guideline now provides info on objective measurement and analysis of the quality of HDR Tone Mapping; UHD live event distribution via OTT; and new and updated Annexes.

In addition, a new Watermarking API for Encoder Integration will be released before the end of 2020, the Forum announced. According to Laurent Piron from Nagra, who chairs the UHD Forum’s Security Group, the generic C-language API enables interfacing of a transcoder and a watermark pre-processor. The API will generate A/B variants for Adaptive Bitrate content for both baseband and compressed forensic watermarking technologies.

“We’re excited to provide a vendor-agnostic API that will facilitate the distribution of premium UHD content, which is one of our missions at the Forum,” Piron said.

For more information, visit www.ultrahdforum.org.  

FREMONT, Calif.—A new UHD Service Tracker from the Ultra HD Forum has found three-quarters of UHD services available globally are predominantly linear.

The new Tracker looks at 150 commercial consumer-facing Ultra HD television services worldwide, collating information from three billion subscriptions worldwide. It says 300 million of these have access to UHD.

The Forum’s latest data shows that three-quarters of the world’s UHD services are predominantly linear, serving over 125 million viewers. The other quarter of VoD-based UHD services serve 180 million viewers. According to the Forum, half of all the UHD services now offer HDR, while almost a quarter include some form of Next Generation Audio.

The new Tracker is available via the Ultra HD Forum’s website.

Meanwhile, the Forum has also Version 2.3 of its Guidelines for providing UltraHD service. The update includes new details on UHD, such as SMPTE ST2110 and ATSC 3.0 standards.

LONDON—As demands for 4K sports broadcasts increases, Tata Communications has announced that it has developed a 100G media backbone that is designed to assist with growing bandwidth demands.

This new infrastructure from Tata Communications was designed in collaboration with Net Insight to enable broadcasters, OTT companies and eSports businesses to deliver more immersive viewing and gaming experiences. Specifically, the backbone was built using Net Insight’s Nimbra 1060 WAN transport platform, which enables the delivery of IP-based media services across global media networks. Nimbra 1060 will underpin Tata Communication’s global end-to-end managed Video Connect Network.

For major sports events, this infrastructure can support up to 50 raw video feeds and the delivery of unilateral, localized feeds by different rightsholders for their regions, per Tata Communications. In addition, working with other Tata Communications workflows will help with full remote production of these events. The 100G capacity lowers the barriers for global sports organizations to move from satellite-based content distribution to fiber across entire continents, the company said.

For eSports, the 100G backbone helps overcome potential bandwidth issues needed for components like multiple cameras, cutaways, real-time reactions, commentary and editing.

“Viewers, sports fans and gamers increasingly expect immersive, high-quality content—delivered live from the other side of the world or on demand—on a range of different media platforms,” said Dhaval Ponda, associate vice president, media and entertainment, Tata Communications. “This 100G backbone and our managed video services will help our customers innovate with agility and become more competitive.”

LOS ANGELES—Fox Sports will continue its efforts to bring football fans 4K/UHD-quality broadcasts of this season’s NFL games, announcing this week that it will do so for Super Bowl LIV.

Fox Sports executives Michael Davies and Kevin Callahan confirmed the network’s plan during a Sports Video Group Summit on Dec. 17, saying that they will shoot the game in 1080p HDR at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium and will upscale the footage to be broadcast in UHD. This is the same type of process that Fox Sports has been doing to broadcast its Thursday Night Football games in UHD this season; it also did so for the ALCS.

Callahan estimated that about 50,000 people will have the necessary setup to view the game in UHD.

The full story is available on Sporttechie.com.

Videosys Broadcast, a leading supplier of quality camera control systems, RF links and camera backs to outside broadcast providers has announced that it has supplied two DTC 4K AEON-CC digital video transmitter systems to Cloudbass, a leading provider of broadcast solutions.

Specifically designed for high-quality wireless camera applications the AEON-CC uses DTC’s next-generation HEVC encoder technology facilitating UHD images. The system consists of one single 4K transmitter unit from DTC coupled with a built-in Videosys Camera Control system. The advantage of the AEON CC with Videosys’ camera control receiver built into the unit is a reduction in the equipment count and the complexities that come when managing 4K transmission and camera control simultaneously.  

Cloudbass have been successfully using the systems on UHD, 3G and HD setups across a variety of live Outside Broadcasts, including both SKY Boxing and BT Speedway in UHD, on the British Touring Cars for ITV Sport, and The Lord Mayor’s Show for BBC Events.

Michael Beaumont, Technical Director, Cloudbass Outside Broadcast says, “This forms part of our £5.5 million investment plan. When we saw the AEON-CC 4K we decided this would be the best system to meet Cloudbass’ customer needs. We’ve been using Videosys camera control systems for many years and have worked very closely with the company on bespoke projects including the provision of onboard systems for British Touring Cars. Selecting Videosys to provide us with a 4K system was an obvious choice.”

Colin Tomlin Managing Director of Videosys Broadcast adds, “By taking delivery of the new 4K AEON-CC, Cloudbass has taken the lead in the UK with a 4K system. We are seeing an increased demand from our customers requiring 4K solutions and we have shown that we can deliver a complete system despite tight deadlines. We look forward to working closely together with Cloudbass on this and future innovative projects.

Despite the short time frame Videosys was able to deliver the complete 4K system to Cloudbass on time, ready to deliver 4K services to significant sporting events.

Videosys is showing its 4K transmission system at FutureSPORT 2019, at Chelsea Football Club on Tuesday 26th November 2019.

SAN ANTONIO—NewTek introduced the latest generation TriCaster Mini, a compact video production system that brings UHD digital production to schools, businesses and professional AV users.

“Whether you’re a student, a corporate communications manager or a seasoned video professional, TriCaster Mini has everything to get you going and make broadcast-quality shows you can stream to all your favorite social media outlets,” said Andrew Cross, president of R&D for Vizrt Group.

TriCaster Mini is a plug-and-play system that allows new video producers to start quickly and work their way into more sophisticated productions with support for resolutions up to 4K and the ability to deliver to all screens, NewTek said.

“NDI is aspect ratio, resolution and frame rate independent,” NewTek product marketing manager Matt Allard told TVBEurope. “So basically with that capability I can set up a session and I can output it square, horizontal, landscape, portrait, something that can be very friendly to output into social media tablets, social media smartphone, anything like that.”

Leveraging the software-defined visual storytelling (SDVS) concept, TriCaster Mini is small enough to take anywhere and easy to set up and begin using in minutes. Hundreds of entry-level and advanced production tools, including built-in virtual sets, animated transition effects, replay support and one-touch social media publishing are included, the company said.

The new production system provides for eight external video inputs that support any combination of compatible sources in resolutions up to 4K UHD. Its four plug-and-play NDI connections with Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) cut the time and hassle needed to power and control video, audio and tally. TriCaster Mini also offers two input modules with PoE that make it possible for users to connect existing HDMI devices as NDI-compatible sources, the company said.

The production system supports the NDI|HX Camera Application for mobile devices, available as a download from the Apple Store. The application allows users to transmit up to 4K UHD video from an iOS device via Wi-Fi as an NDI source that can be connected to TriCaster Mini systems on the network, making seamless integration of shots from iPhone-equipped teams possible, NewTek said.

TriCaster Mini will be available in November. Packages start at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $8,995.

More information is available on the NewTek website.

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

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.”

Cypress, CA, October 21, 2019 – With its live WALLCAST® simulcasts and concert auditorium surrounded by an immersive projection system, the Miami-based New World Symphony (NWS) features unprecedented integration of technology into its educational, rehearsal, and performance spaces. The New World Symphony prepares graduates of top music schools for leadership roles in orchestras and ensembles around the world. It combines teaching and technical innovation in a way that brings classical music into the 21 century and makes the music accessible to everyone.

When the leaders of NWS were looking to upgrade the already top-of-the-line audio and video infrastructure within the New World Center, their Frank Gehry-designed campus three years ago, they were set on a single-link 12G infrastructure as the backbone for the overall upgrade. They met with representatives from the Miami office of FOR-A to discuss FOR-A’s range of 12G 4K/UHD products.

“We determined early on that our specific needs would be best served by designing our new 4K/UHD upgrade project around a single-cable 12G infrastructure,” explained Clyde Scott, Director of Video Production, New World Symphony. “Most options were quad-link and 4K IP, but FOR-A was the only manufacturer to make a single-link 12G switcher large enough for our purposes. We demoed the switcher and were impressed with its capabilities and ease of use.”

After that, FOR-A’s Director of Latin Region Sales, Mario Rodriguez and Product Specialist Bob Peterson worked closely with NWS to identify several other key pieces of equipment in the company’s suite of 12G products that would work well in the new installation, including: a large 12G router, production servers, and terminal gear.

After a highly competitive review, NWS went all in with FOR-A, purchasing: a 4K/UHD production switcher, two routing switchers, 19 signal processors, integrated control software, a multi-viewer, four 12G/SDI servers, two 12G graphics systems, and nine modular universal system frames.

Among the FOR-A products selected is the recently introduced 3 M/E HANABI HVS-6000 12G-SDI production switcherOffering 12G-SDI capability on all inputs and outputs, the 3 M/E HANABI HVS-6000 uses a single cable link. Video signals are processed throughout as a single image. The HVS-6000 is a 12 RU switcher, with a maximum of 80 inputs/32 outputs or 64 inputs/48 outputs. It also offers frame synchronization, frame buffer, 3D DVE, and 4 keyers per M/E with DVE function + 4 DSKs. The switcher has an optional board-mounting SFP connector that supports an IP interface.

In addition to the HANABI main switcher panel, NWS is integrating a smaller 12-button HVS-2120ROU switcher panel into a remote control room for use with the main electronics for simultaneous use of the HANABI resources in multiple locations.

“We’re thrilled to support the New World Symphony in its incredible mission to enrich the Miami community with its classical music offerings and the organization’s progressive approach to the use of technology for education and performance,” said Rodriguez of FOR-A. “Everything at the New World Center is first class. We’re proud to be included with such high-end company. We’re confident that our equipment will more than meet their expectations, and we look forward to providing New World Symphony with our latest technology for many years to come.”

NWS presents approximately 70 performances each year, many of which include immersive projections and 12 of which are presented as live simulcasts on the 7,000 square foot exterior projection façade of its New World Center building (WALLCAST® Concerts). Inside, the concert auditorium also features a large complement of theatrical lighting, ten robotic 4K cameras and a full broadcast-style control booth, top-of-the-line audio recording and sound reinforcement equipment. The NWS system employs 1.8 petabytes (raw)/1.2 petabytes (useable) of R&S SpycerNode high performance media storage.

Every practice space in the New World Center is wired with connections for video and audio, as well as connected by miles of fiber to support the school’s robust distance learning program.

The following comprises the full FOR-A equipment rundown for NWS:

HVS-6000 video switcher with HVS-3355OUA and HVS-2120ROU
GearLink integrated control software

Insight 212 (12G-SDI) video server x 4
ClassX Pro 12G character generator x 2

MFR-6000 (144 x 144) routing switcher
MFR-3000 routing switcher
MV-4310 multi-viewer
FA-9600 signal processor x 18
USF-212AS universal system frame x 6
Modules:
USF-106UDC-12G 12G-SDI 4K/HD up/down converter x 2
USF-106DC-12G 12G-SDI 4K to HD down converter x6
USF-1100VEA 10-output analog video distributor x 2
USF-105DDA-12G 12G-SDI 5-output digital video distributor x 5
USF-111DDA-12G 12G-SDI 11-output digital video distributor
USF-101MDX4-12G 12G-SDI 4K audio multiplexer/demultiplexer with 8 channels of AES I/O x 2
USF-101MDX8-12G 12G-SDI 4K audio multiplexer/demultiplexer with 16 channels of AES I/O x 2
USF-105DADA 5-output unbalanced digital audio distributor

About FOR-A

FOR-A, a worldwide, industry-leading manufacturer, offers a wide range of broadcast and production products with a focus on cutting-edge technologies, including: HD, 4K and IP products. FOR-A continues to offer future-ready, cost effective, advanced technology solutions. Products include: video switchers, routing switchers, multi-viewers, full 4K high-speed cameras, IP encoders/decoders, multi-channel signal processors, 8K/4K/HD test signal generators, color correctors, frame synchronizers, file-based products, character generators, video servers and much more.

For a full range of HD and 4K production and processing solutions, as well as IP-based products, visit our web site at www.for-a.com.

# # #

FOR-A CORPORATION OF AMERICA, 11155 Knott Ave., Suite G&H, Cypress, CA 90630 Phone: 714-894-3311, Fax 714-894-5399 Web site:www.for-a.com

Stand A41-7, NATEXPO, Russia, 5-7 November 2019: Cinegy, the global leader for broadcast playout software on premise, hybrid and in the cloud, will demonstrate its award-winning Cinegy Air PRO, Cinegy Capture PRO , Cinegy Multiviewer, as well as Cinegy Desktop and Cinegy Newsroom on the Bavarian Pavilion at NATEXPO in November.

Cinegy products can process mixed SD, HD, 4K/UHD and 8K formats - as well as handle HDR - for capture, playout, monitoring, news, editing, or MAM. All technology being shown at NATEXPO is available immediately.

In addition, Cinegy has now optimised its entire product line to be 8K-ready and deployed in the cloud. One of the early adopters of the open source SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) protocol, Cinegy has SRT baked into all technology, including the license, which removes any concerns about whether users have the legal right, proper subscription, or adequate bandwidth to deploy the software.

“We are proud of our reputation in this region and always value NATEXPO as a good opportunity to meet with existing, as well as new customers”, explained Tanya Zolotuskaya, Sales Manager, Cinegy GmbH. She added “This is an exciting time for our technology which matches the ambition of broadcasters in the region”.

###

About Cinegy
Cinegy develops software solutions for collaborative workflow encompassing IP, capture, editing and playout services tools, integrated into an active archive for full digital asset management. Either SaaS, virtualizable stacks, cloud or on-premises, Cinegy is COTS using standard IT hardware, and non-proprietary storage technology. Cinegy products are reliable, affordable, scalable, easily deployable and intuitive. Cinegy is truly Software Defined Television. Visit www.cinegy.com for more details.

Media Contact:
Jennie Marwick-Evans
Manor Marketing
jennie@manormarketing.tv
+44 (0) 7748 636171

ARLINGTON, Va.—The Consumer Technology Association and its member companies have announced the display definition and logo for 8K Ultra High Definition (UHD) TVs.

The logo and definition aim to help retailers and TV buyers identify products that meet the industry’s 8K UHD requirements, including attributes such as resolution, digital inputs, bit depth, frame rates and up-conversion capability.

“This 8K Ultra HD definition is the product of our Video Division Board’s dedication and hard work,” said CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. “As a result, retailers and consumers will know products that carry the accompanying logo deliver 8K UHD quality and performance.”

According to CTA’s latest biannual “Sales & Forecasts” report, 175,000 8K UHD TVs accounting for $734 million in revenue are expected to be sold by year’s end.

The 8K Ultra HD logo license and certification agreement will become available in the next few weeks. Companies may begin using the logo Jan. 1, 2020. The 8K Ultra HD logo program is an extension of the 4K Ultra HD logo announced in 2014 by CTA.

As it did in that instance, CTA convened major video sector companies to draft, discuss and approve the official 8K Ultra HD designation, it said.

Among the industry’s 8K Ultra HD defining characteristics are:

• A minimum of 33 million active pixels—with at least 7,680 horizontal by 4,320 vertical pixel resolution in a 16:9 viewable window;
• One or more HDMI inputs supporting resolution of 7,680x4,320 pixels; bit depth of 10 bits; frame rates of 24, 30 and 60 frames per second; HDR transfer functions and colorimetry specified by ITU-R BT.2100; and HDCP v2.2 or equivalent content protection;
• The ability to upscale SD, HD and 4K video and display it on an 8K UHD display; and
• The capability to receive 10-bit 8K images and render an image showing responsiveness to changes to any of the 10 bits.

The complete 8K UHD Display Characteristics definition is available on the CTA website.

Globecast, the global solutions provider for media, is expanding its partnership with Eutelsat Communications to create a new HOTBIRD platform in order to satisfy the growing move from SD to HD in the market.

Samuel Lemercier, Strategic Projects Director, said, “We’ve seen increasing demand for capacity across Europe from west to east as the migration to HD on HOTBIRD continues to grow. TRT Arabi and Belarus 24 partnering with us for HD distribution earlier this year are prime examples. In order to meet this increasing demand, we have launched this new platform with Eutelsat, significantly increasing our DVBS2 capacity – suitable for HD and UHD for free-to-air DTH or distribution to affiliates - across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.”  

In addition to expanded HOTBIRD capacity, the platform also includes ground segment services with connectivity to Globecast’s fibre network, Globecast Backbone Network, as well as to its media management capabilities.  

German international public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) is the first customer to take advantage, launching its flagship English language HD TV channel via this new Globecast service. This includes end-to-end channel contribution from DW’s facilities in Berlin to Globecast in Paris and uplinking from there. Globecast has worked with DW for many years, distributing their channels in both Asia and the Middle East.  

Hubert Czaja, Head of Ditribution Systems, Deutsche Welle, said, “We have worked with Globecast for quite some time and trust both their business and technical expertise and the quality of service they provide. We moved to HD across Asia several years ago and the time is now right to make the move in Europe to increase image quality for our viewers. We’re very pleased to extend our relationship with both Eutelsat and Globecast.” 

Aymeric Genty, Regional Vice-President for France and Overseas, Benelux, the United Kingdom, the Nordics and Israel for Eutelsat, said, “Our partnership with Globecast is very important as HOTBIRD continues to experience growth in the HD market, notably for free-to-air and internationally renowned channels benefiting from this neighbourhood‘s unrivalled reach in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. This new platform provides cost-effective HD – and UHD – distribution as channels look to increase viewer engagement and satisfy the ever-growing demand for HD.” 

Lemercier said, “Our relationship with Eutelsat is central to our channel distribution business and the operational model has long since been proven to provide the quality of service demanded by our customers. Using DVB-S2 allows us to be more efficient in the management of transponder capacity and therefore more cost-effective. This means we can efficiently support the ongoing migration to HD and to offer more bandwidth as and when required. We’re seeing a great deal of activity across the satellite market as channels continue to migrate to HD.”  

MONTVALE, N.J.—Sharp is releasing the second generation of its 8K displays with the newly launched 8M-B80AX1U 80-inch UHD LCD model. Sharp says that its 8K UHD technology can reproduce hard to see details on the new display.

The 8M-B80AX1U meets the 8K UHD standard (7,680x4,320 pixels), allowing for pixel resolutions 16x that of Full HD and 4x of 4K. The display offers 800 cd/m2—up to 4,000 cd/m2 at peak level—which is more than the brightness of Sharp’s first generation of 8K displays. It also has more than five times more local dimming backlight zones for greater contrast between bright and dark areas.

There is also 10-Bit Extended Color Range that increases the range of possible color values in each pixel up to 1.07 billion colors. Other features include reduced motion blur during panning or movement and has 4x HDMI inputs to display native 8K content.

The 8M-B80AX1U is now available.

To accelerate the U.S. deployment of 5G, the FCC is pursuing what it refers to as the “5G FAST Plan” (Facilitate America’s Superiority in 5G Technology). One of the plan’s strategies is to release more spectrum into the marketplace. High-band spectrum with about 5 GHz bandwidth will be released, across 24 GHz, 28 GHz, 37 GHz, 39 GHz and 47 GHz bands.

More penetrating mid-band spectrum is a work in progress, with targeted 844 MHz bandwidth, covering 2.5 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 3.7-4.2 GHz bands. Required for 5G, these spectrum bandwidths will be utilized to provide 20 Gbps download and 10 Gbps upload capacities, per base station, through technologies such as quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), carrier aggregation (CA) and multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) etc.

NEW EMERGING SERVICES

5G technology has the requisite characteristics for new emerging services: Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC) and ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC). These services will provide a platform for “anywhere, anytime” access to real-time broadcast media, for both content contribution and content distribution (5G and Ultra High Quality Content Creation and Distribution, Broadcasting & Cable). Quality of Service (QoS) and resilience in 5G networks will fundamentally improve the end user’s Quality of Experience (QoE), which is the most important factor in determining a viewer’s engagement and loyalty, especially for high quality content, such as UHD 8K.

Defined as “a measure of the delight or annoyance of a customer's experiences with a service,” QoE focuses on the entire service experience, not just QoS offered by 5G. With more than 33 million pixels and 68 billion possible colors, per frame, UHD 8K contains a vast amount of digital bits to be programmed into patterns of art, story and knowledge.

In fact, UHD 8K creates almost a “3D” effect, approaching human eyesight for pixel density, field of view and color gamut. It offers an experience akin to “looking out through an open window,” and evokes stronger sensory experiences for QoE (Table 1). Technology change is the driving force for viewers’ habits and UHD 8K offers a window of opportunity to bring viewers back to big screens.

A DRIVING FORCE

The demand for a high-speed, low-latency transmission network provided by 5G is perfect for UHD 8K. At 120 Hz frame rate, 12 bit color depth and 4:4:4 sampling, the UHD 8K data rate is 143 Gbps. With HEVC encoding, 200 Mbps bit rate can be achieved. Future video compression standard Versatile Video Coding (VVC) is 40% more efficient than HEVC, further reducing the bit rate of UHD 8K and approaching the minimal 5G network capacity of 100 Mbps, per device.

Clearly, UHD 8K is a use case and driving force for 5G commercial investment, and is likely to be deployed as an initial 5G application. Furthermore, the architecture of the 5G network ensures QoS and QoE for UHD 8K distribution. Viewers’ engagement and loyalty will in turn improve ROI of both 5G networks and UHD 8K content creation. The mutually beneficial relationship between 5G and UHD 8K makes them a true symbiosis in the making.

Broadcasting doesn’t exist in a vacuum—it coexists with its environment and 5G and UHD 8K technologies are that future and relevant environment. To be viable, broadcasters must co-evolve and transform with them (VSON Manages Network Complexity).

To manage the complexity of this transformation, a viable system approach should be taken. In the viable system (VSON) approach, the 5G network and broadcast network are two services in the operation of VSON. We may call this particular application of VSON a “converged media system” (CMS) (Fig. 1).

CMS provides an end-to-end solution for UHD 8K video consumers, from content creation to distribution. We immediately recognize the important roles of policy, control, orchestration, monitoring, and intelligence in the process of the transformation. In other words, this industrial transformation is not a small feat: it takes a system to transform a system.

Many thanks to Tom Butts for help in editing this article.

Ling Ling Sun is assistant general manager technology/CTO for Nebraska Educational Telecommunications.

Videosys Broadcast is a leading supplier of quality camera control systems, RF links and camera backs to outside broadcast providers. At the forefront of technological innovation, Videosys Broadcast has successfully partnered with leading technology companies including, DTC, Wave Central, Hitachi, Panasonic, Ikegami, and Grass Valley . The company manages projects and design from concept to the finished article from its UK head office.

Launching at IBC 2019:
NEW: Epsilon - 4K integrated Camera Control System - Launching at IBC 2019, Epsilon is a multi-function broadcast RF camera control system that includes a fully integrated 4K decoder and receiver. Comprised of base and head modules, Epsilon is an ideal solution for HD and 4K live sports and music events. Significantly reducing rig time and equipment count, Epsilon delivers wide area coverage in stadia, large studio environments, houses of worship and educational centres, simplifying set-up and reducing production costs. The system works seamlessly with the 4K Aeon-CC TX digital video transmitter to provide the complete 4K wireless RF system.

NEW: Stagebox – Also launching at IBC 2019 is Videosys Broadcast’s Stagebox solution. Stagebox enables the delivery of video, audio and data from A-to-B, over fibre. Using an ad-hoc commentary position as an example, Stagebox enables all the audio and video components (microphone, monitors, talkback panel) to be multiplexed onto a single SMPTE fibre cable and powered remotely. Traditionally, operators would have to run a cable for each feed. Stagebox provides crews with a swiss army knife style production tool enabling all the feeds to be connected to the base unit in the OB truck and multiplexed onto the single SMPTE fibre cable. This reduces significant rigging time and costs. Stagebox can also be used for the lighting director’s position or in a small remote studio.

The system can manage four video and four audio signals in each direction, which can be selected from a small screen, providing confidence to the operator that the correct signal has been selected. Additional features include a monitoring output so the operator can check individual video and audio signals without interrupting the main feed. Stagebox also includes talkback to the OB truck or studio again adding an extra layer of confidence for operators.

Also showing:
Camera Control (CC) System – The Videosys Broadcast Camera Control System is comprised of three units, Indoor Unit (IDU), Outdoor Unit (ODU) and Camera Receiver (RXSM-E). The CC system provides an end-to-end solution from RCP to camera for the outside broadcaster, allowing them to seamlessly control their camera settings no matter what their location. Videosys’ CC system works with cameras from all the major camera manufacturers and has over 500 deployments worldwide. 

IBC 2019, 13-17 September, Hall 7 Stand A01: Cinegy, the global leader for broadcast playout software on premise, hybrid and in the cloud, will demonstrate the multiple advantages of the inclusion of Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) as well as the 8K capabilities of its entire product range at IBC 2019.

Cinegy Head of Product Management Lewis Kirkaldie said, “SRT is an extra bit of magic that breaks the restrictive chains of having to establish connectivity by plugging in a cable somewhere. Through SRT, the ability to ensure a signal gets to and from where it needs to be is now both feasible and widely available.

“What that means is that with SRT you can locate content, tools, and services wherever your business needs them, be it in the cloud, on rented virtual machines, on-prem, or at remote data centres.”

Cinegy’s view is that the maturity of SRT opens the door to a sizable range of new applications while vastly simplifying existing ones.

“SRT is a massive liberator,” further explained Kirkaldie. “SRT makes system design so much easier. You can design exactly what you want to deliver, with precisely the results you need, irrespective of inputs, outputs, or location. There is no longer any reason to compromise your business goals due to connectivity or bandwidth limitations.”

SRT is baked in to Cinegy software, including the license, which removes any concerns about whether users have the legal right, proper subscription, or adequate bandwidth to deploy the software.

In the case of 8K, Cinegy has optimised its entire product line to be 8K-ready and deployed in the cloud. The new Cinegy Multiviewer, in addition to being 8K capable, has had its already impressive GPU optimisation further improved. This makes the Multiviewer even more powerful and flexible when paired with Cinegy Air PRO Playout and Cinegy Capture PRO Ingest.

The twin benefits of increased scalability and efficiency in Cinegy Air PRO are equally beneficial features for Cinegy Capture PRO. Using the same hardware, both systems are not only capable of capturing 8K in 10-bit at up to 60, but also four channels of UHD/4K.

Cinegy products can process mixed SD, HD, 4K/UHD, and 8K formats - as well as handle HDR - for capture, playout, monitoring, news, editing, or MAM. All of the products displayed at IBC 2019 are available for immediate deployment.

###

About Cinegy
Cinegy develops software solutions for collaborative workflow encompassing IP, capture, editing and playout services tools, integrated into an active archive for full digital asset management. Either SaaS, virtualizable stacks, cloud or on-premises, Cinegy is COTS using standard IT hardware, and non-proprietary storage technology. Cinegy products are reliable, affordable, scalable, easily deployable and intuitive. Cinegy is truly Software Defined Television. Visit www.cinegy.com for more details.

Cinegy PR Contact:
Jennie Marwick-Evans
Manor Marketing
jennie@manormarketing.tv
+44 (0) 7748 636171

Hulu now provides 4K UHD streaming of a selection of its Hulu Originals but only for Google’s Chromecast Ultra and Apple TV 4K, according to Apple Insider. The streamer had offered 4K support previously before dropping it in 2018.

The selections, including Handmaids Tale, Catch-22 and Castle Rock are streamed at 16 Mbps. It supports Standard Dynamic Range only.

Hulu competitors Netflix and Amazon Prime offer support for 4K UHD HDR for selected programming.

BANGALORE, INDIA—Amagi this week launched its Cloudport UHD playout platform on Amazon Web Services (AWS), which allows broadcasters to leverage the scalability, reliability and security advantages of the AWS cloud to meet their UHD playout needs.

First showcased at the 2019 NAB Show and enhanced based on feedback the company received, Cloudport UHD playout is now being launched as a commercial product, the company said. 

The UHD playout solution relies on AWS EC2 compute instances without drawing on GPU processors to provide dynamic broadcast graphics, Dolby Surround Sound and captioning along with its core playout function.

“Given the dynamism in UHD market in terms of evolving HDR standards and varying degrees of platform readiness across the globe, this solution provides future-proofing of UHD implementations for content owners and TV networks,” said Baskar Subramanian, co-founder of Amagi.

“Cloudport UHD eliminates the need for broadcasters to invest in capital infrastructure that can become redundant with the changes in the marketplace”.

Overall, Amagi manages more than 200 channels in over 40 countries. The Cloudport T playout platform offers dynamic graphics, remote management via Web UI, automated alerts and cloud MCR capabilities. The product is offered on a pay-as-you-go basis. The cloud-based solution enables TV networks the technical and commercial flexibility to spin up and down channels, create pop-up channels and regionalize feeds.

For more information visit the Amagi website.

BINGEN, Germany—As the demand for UHD productions increases across Europe, NEP is adding a new UHD capable production truck to its fleet. Specifically, NEP the Netherlands has partnered with Broadcast Solutions GmbH for the deployment of UHD 2, which is based off NEP Sweden’s UHD 1, a large, 24-camera UHD OB truck.

The UHD 2 operates with 24 UHD cameras and provides 27 workspaces. The trailer is a double-expando and offers more than 45 m2 of working space plus VIP accommodation with extra-large UHD screens. It also features a large variety of monitors in the production area and has 8x slomo desks with access to 6x EVS XT4 servers. Grass Valley LDX 86N cameras and Karrera video switchers are installed in both production areas. The Riedel MicroN platform, meanwhile, provides video switching, multiviewing and digital glue options. For audio, the truck features a Lawo mc2 56 Mark III audio console with 64 faders, as well as a Nova73 audio matrix.

The UHD 2 truck can be deployed all across Europe, whether operating solo or serving as the backup to the UHD 1 truck (and vice versa).

NEP the Netherlands tested out the UHD 2 in April to produce an Eros Ramazotti concert in Amsterdam. It also worked with the UHD 1 truck for the production of the Ice Hockey World Championships in Slovakia.

LiveU’s location – Stand 6D2-01

At BroadcastAsia2019, the Company will demonstrate the latest additions to its award-winning HEVC suite and IP live video management service offerings.

See also our LiveU Solo one-touch wireless video encoder live in action, in a portable live multi-cam production, demonstrated by our Thai partner, Smart Broadcast Solution. 

Highlights include: 

Hardware-based HEVC product suite 

LiveU’s flagship LU600 4K HEVC portable transmission solution offers flawless video quality for live news and sports coverage with extreme bandwidth efficiency. The company will present its new addition, the LU600 HEVC 4K-SDI, facilitating professional 4Kp50/60 streaming for top-quality production, supporting VR and 360 applications.

Also on show will be LiveU’s compact, robust LU300 HEVC field unit for on-the-go live streaming, and professional 1U HEVC rackmount, LU610 HEVC.  

LiveU Matrix & AI   

Matrix is LiveU’s next-generation IP video distribution platform, designed by broadcasters for broadcasters. Matrix provides a highly efficient content curation service, empowering newsroom managers to quickly and easily give hundreds of affiliates unparalleled access to live feeds from LiveU units in the field and other sources without any interruption, additional resources, or expensive fees. LiveU Matrix was recently selected by CBS Newspath to handle contribution and delivery of live content to its 200+ affiliates and seven global news bureaus. 

See a live demonstration of a new AI feature that enables broadcasters to search, identify, classify, and route objects and people. 

LiveU Central & AI 

LiveU will demonstrate LiveU AI, powered by Newsbridge, within its LiveU Central cloud management platform. This new feature offers broadcasters and publishers a comprehensive set of contribution and AI-based video indexing tools for enriching, searching and accessing their live or file-based content. Saving time and effort, the complete service enables editors to search and find their required footage faster than ever, easing their daily workload and making real-time production much more efficient.

GUANGZHOU, China—Huawei used the 2019 World Conference on Ultra HD Video to unveil an all-optical network architecture for UHD video services, which it has dubbed the Optical Networking 2.0 (ON2.0).

Presenting the architecture, Huawei’s Chief Marketing Officer of the Transmission & Access Product Line, Kevin Huang, that the strategy behind ON2.0 is “to build all-optical networks that fully support innovative ultra-HD video services, aiming to promote the prosperity of the whole industry.”

To do this, ON2.0 features three key aspects. The first is to realize gigabit access networks by leveraging Huawei’s end-to-end 10G PON and home Wi-Fi innovations. It has also constructed dynamic hard pipes for a 4K premium live broadcast solution with zero packet loss, network delay of less than 10ms and a delay jitter of less than 5ms.

Lastly, Huawei developed a full-lifecycle automatic management platform based on the company’s Network Cloud Engine that allows operators to visualize the quality of video services in real time and improve network O&M efficiency by 30%.

Huang concluded his presentation by saying: “The prosperity of the UHD video industry depends on cooperation across the entire industry chain. Huawei will stick to win-win cooperation with all partners to open up a blue ocean market worth a trillion dollars in the UHD video industry.”

LAS VEGAS—At the 2019 NAB Show, Vislink Technologies introduced the INCAM-HS integrated wireless camera transmitter, which is built into Sony’s new HDC-5500 4K multi-format live camera system. Vislink Technologies’ INCAM-HS provides full HEVC 4K UHD broadcast-quality encoding as well as 1080p, 1080i and 720p resolutions, plus built-in wireless camera control and HDR support.

Targeting event coverage, newsgathering and sports broadcasting, the Vislink INCAM-HS is an all-in-one solution designed to be incorporated into the camera. It features the same technology as Vislink’s HCAM on-camera device, which offers single-frame end-to-end UHD latency. As an integrated option, the Vislink INCAM-HS reduces the weight at the rear of the camera, resulting in a significantly improved weight distribution for operators.

The HCAM-HS is designed for all current image capture needs—including UHD and HDR, with high-quality 4:2:2 Chroma and 10-bit Luna—and features integrated camera control, delivering an easy-to-use, fully integrated grab-and-go camera solution.

“The introduction of Sony’s new HDC-5500 4K multi-format live camera system with Vislink INCAM-HS technology is sure to make a big splash in the industry,” says John Payne, president and COO of Vislink Technologies. “We are excited to once again be collaborating with Sony to offer an INCAM-integrated wireless camera transmitter for its new camera that is simple to use. The INCAM-HS’ high-quality HEVC performance means that HD operations can benefit from single-frame latencies in combination with a 6dB increase in signal robustness—doubling the transmission range compared to MPEG-4 systems.”

The Vislink INCAM-HS is available with several frequency band solutions, from 1.3-7.75GHz, and offers up to 16 preset channels for tuning. The omnidirectional 3dBi gain antenna provides an adjustable 10-250mW transmission power. The transmitter includes COFDM DVB-T and LMS-T modulation options, while the integrated UHF receiver operates in the 410-490MHz RF range.

Featuring bandwidth efficient HEVC compression as well as MPEG-4 video encoding and multi-channel AAC, MPEG-1 and AES/Dolby E audio Passthrough, Vislink’s INCAM-HS supports 480i, 576i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p and 2160p video formats. This fully featured and flexible capability ensures that the INCAM-HS can fulfill the needs of all video productions.

Vislink also announced that Grass Valley’s newest LDX 86N Series 4K-RF camera is now integrated with Vislink Technologies’ INCAM-HG wireless camera transmitter, which provides HEVC 4K UHD, HDR-ready wireless encoding and a remote-controllable camera interface via WiFi.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—TVU Networks and KT Corp., a major South Korean telecom, are partnering to offer UHD broadcast over KT’s 5G enterprise network, a 5G UHD broadcast network deployment considered to be among the first in the world, TVU Networks announced today.

The agreement sets the stage for TVU Networks and KT to work together to establish the enterprise 5G network and related broadcast facilities in South Korea.

“We’re thrilled to be part of such a pioneering effort that reflects our own continued commitment to the power and possibility of 5G,” said TVU Networks CEO Paul Shen.

“Video is now what most people watch on their smartphones, but to take the quality of services offered and accessibility of video to the next level requires the low latency, high speed and ultra-connectivity that 5G provides. The backbone of the 5G network pairs perfectly with our ability to acquire, manage and deliver the ultimate 4K video over IP,” he said.

KT is an early 5G backer. In February 2018, it conducted one of the world’s first 5G trials during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Then in early 2019, it delivered a live broadcast of K-pop group Wanna One via its Olleh TV IPTV service to set-top boxes and mobile devices using KT’s 5G network. Next month, the telecom is expected to launch its 5G network as a full-scale commercial offering.

TVU Networks will provide 4K UHD broadcast technology and services to meet KT’s 5G device standards, the company said. KT will provide device standards, a testing environment and other technical support.

Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), a TVU Networks customer, is working with KT to develop the broadcast capabilities of its new 5G network. Seoul-based TVU Networks reseller iCRAFT will assist SBS.

“We’re clear that 5G networks will be critical as we provide our customers with the optimal mobile video experience,” said KT 5G Business Unit SVP Park Hyun-Jin.

“The data capacity, speed and low latency in the network will enable innovations unlike anything we’ve seen before,” he said. “We know that TVU Networks is the ideal partner to take this next step in our company’s evolution. And we’re positive our customers will agree.”

More information is available on the TVU Networks website.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – March 20, 2019 – TVU Networks, the global technology and innovation leader in live IP solutions, today announced a partnership with KT Corp., the largest telecom company in South Korea, to bring UHD broadcast over KT’s 5G enterprise network. Under terms of the agreement, KT and TVU Networks will work collaboratively to establish an enterprise 5G network and related broadcast capabilities in Korea.

KT, formerly known as Korea Telecom, showcased the world’s first trial 5G services during the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in February 2018. KT also broadcast live the last concert of K-pop group Wanna One on its IPTV service, Olleh TV, earlier this year. The broadcast was delivered through set-top boxes and mobile devices using the 5G network. KT is expected to launch the network’s full-scale commercialization in April. 

This recent partnership marks a major step in TVU Networks’ continued commitment to 5G technology. The company has been at the forefront of 5G from the very beginning, with its transmitter product line supporting 5G. TVU Networks continuously collaborates with regional providers around the world in their 5G deployment efforts, looking to implement that technology within its video over IP solutions.  

“We’re thrilled to be part of such a pioneering effort that reflects our own continued commitment to the power and possibility of 5G,” said Paul Shen, CEO, TVU Networks. “Video is now what most people watch on their smart phones, but to take the quality of services offered and accessibility of video to the next level requires the low latency, high speed, and ultra-connectivity that 5G provides. The backbone of the 5G network pairs perfectly with our ability to acquire, manage and deliver the ultimate 4K video over IP.”  

TVU Networks will work closely with KT to provide 4K UHD broadcast technology and services that meet KT’s 5G device standards. KT will provide technical support such as device standards and a testing environment. 

Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), one of Korea’s three major broadcasting companies, is working with KT to develop the broadcast capabilities of this new 5G network. SBS is a customer of TVU Networks and introduced TVU Networks’ capabilities to KT. Assisting SBS in these efforts is TVU Network’s Seoul-based reseller iCRAFT.  

“We’re clear that 5G networks will be critical as we provide our customers with the optimal mobile video experience,” said Park Hyun-Jin, Senior Vice President of KT’s 5G Business Unit. “The data capacity, speed and low latency in the network will enable innovations unlike anything we’ve seen before. We know that TVU Networks is the ideal partner to take this next step in our company’s evolution. And we’re positive our customers will agree.” 

TVU Networks has over 2,500 customers in more than 85 countries. The TVU Networks family of IP transmission and live production solutions gives broadcasters and organizations a powerful and reliable workflow to distribute live video content to broadcast, online and mobile platforms. TVU has become a critical part of the operations of many major media companies. The TVU Networks suite of solutions has been used to acquire, transmit, produce, manage and distribute professional-quality live IP HD footage as an integral part of news, sports and major global events. For more information about TVU Networks solutions, please visit www.tvunetworks.com. 

Insight TV, the world’s leading 4K UHD HDR broadcaster and producer of native UHD content, has announced the commission of its supercharged new show starring Alex Hirschi, aka Supercar Blondie. A globe trotting influencer who specialises in driving, reviewing and getting viewers excited about the rarest and most unique cars on the planet, Supercar Blondie has over 500K subscribers on YouTube, 2.2 million followers on Instagram and over one billion views on Facebook, placing her in the upper brackets of influencer reach.

In this exciting new show, she travels across the USA to uncover the biggest, loudest, richest and most unique cars, drivers and motoring cultures in the country.  From monster trucks in Las Vegas to low riders in the Florida Keys, each episode gives a unique insight into a variety of turbo charged vehicles as well as the passion of the community and personalities of the people that drive them.

With stlylised video game-like transitions, this new show, which is scheduled to TX in August 2019, will blur the lines between TV and the big screen.

“This latest show has the allure of one of the biggest social stars in the super car community,  as well as fast and unique cars, stunning locations and incredible cinematography,” says Arun Maljaars, Director Content & Channels at Insight TV.  “In 2018, Alex was listed as one of the 50 Most Influential Women in the Arab World by Arabian Business, and Influencer of the Year by Esquire Magazine Middle East. We’re excited to welcome Alex to the Insight family and look forward to launching the show later in the year.”

Insight TV, the world’s leading 4K UHD HDR broadcaster and producer of native UHD content, is launching a series of new shows that will offer motorsports fans a thrilling look at the lives and stories behind some of the world’s most talented racers on two and four wheels.

Launching on 1st March on Insight.tv, the Speed Seekers series will give fans the inside track on Moto2 motorbike world champion, Franco Morbidelli in Morbidelli Rising; show F1 veterans, professional drivers and amateurs battling to endure the epic Spa 24 Hours race in Endurance: 24 Hours at Spa; provide neck-craning action from the globetrotting Bolddog freestyle motocross team in FMX Nomads; and show celebrity supercar owners racing each other in Fast and Famous.

Morbidelli RisingThe 2018 Moto GP motorbike season kicks off with lots of anticipation and excitement for new rider and rising star, Franco Morbidelli, who is joining for his rookie season. The series charts the 18 months before Franco’s Moto GP track debut, revealing the mentoring and relationship with motorcycling legend Valentino Rossi, his home life, the nerves and pressure leading up to his first race, as well as their intense training sessions at ‘The Ranch’.  The series highlights Insight TV’s continued successful production partnership with Monster Energy.

Endurance: 24 Hours at SpaGo behind the visor and step into the lives of the drivers competing to win one of motorsport’s toughest races: the ‘Total 24 Hours of Spa’ in Belgium. This new show, produced inhouse by Insight TV, goes behind the scenes, featuring personal stories of world class amateur and professional drivers – including F1 legend Rubens Barrichello – from six leading teams who fiercely battle to last 24 hours at this notorious circuit.

FMX NomadsViewers will join Dan Whitby, Samson Eaton and Arran Powley to experience the globetrotting, day-to-day life of the high-flying Bolddog freestyle motocross team. With the latest event in their nomadic schedule taking them to the outskirts of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the crew are faced with the challenge and added danger of combining their show with drift car drivers Luke Woodham and Steve ‘Baggsy’ Biagioni. The show was produced inhouse by Insight TV.

Fast and FamousIn Fast and Famous two celebrity supercar owners are pitted against each other to race their cars on a real race track. But there’s a catch… the host of the show also happens to be an accomplished race driver who will train the celebrities in their quest to reach the chequered flag first. The celebrity who clocks the fastest time wins the grand prize and the honour of being the fastest famous petrol-head.

Viewers can also find a host of additional motoring content on Insight.tv, including Road to Gymkhana Grid, Close Proximity, Graveyard Carz, MTB Heroes, Dangers of Darkfest and many more.

Frank le Mair, Executive Producer, Insight TV says, “This new collection of shows will give motorsport fans and viewers a racer’s view of the skill, danger, determination and speed involved to compete in some of the most exhilarating, exciting and demanding events in world motorsport. Exploring the lives and stories behind talented riders competing in Moto GP, endurance racing and freestyle motocross, along with showcasing the world’s fastest celebrity speed fans, viewers will be treated to spectacular, hair-raising motorsport action from across the globe.

“Motorsports communities have always been an important part of Insight TV’s show library, and these new programs demonstrate to all speed seekers out there that Insight TV is top of the podium for storytelling and adventurous content.”

Insight TV, the world’s leading 4K UHD HDR broadcaster and producer of native UHD content, has sold the format rights of its provocative new show, Travel with a Goat, to Nordisk Film TV in Denmark, a part of Banijay Group.

Travel With a Goat, co-created and produced by Tuvalu Media, launched in January to many accolades from the European press and lively debates across social media, with global influencers discussing their reactions. In each episode, food influencers from around the world are challenged to travel with animals destined for the slaughter house, before deciding their fate. The UK’s Guardian newspaper included a write up in its “Monday Best TV” column and The Telegraph called Travel With a Goat “a grime-caked travelogue confronting the ethics of eating meat”.

The premise of the show, which bears the slogan, ‘freedom or feast, what would you do?’ is not to influence people in any direction about their food choices; it’s simply to spark a conversation to get viewers thinking about where the meat that ends up on their plate came from and the journey the animal took to get to that point.

“We always knew that Travel with a Goat was going to cause a stir by its very nature, and we’re delighted with the high level of coverage and the positive reaction that the show is receiving,” says Arun Maljaars, Insight TV’s Director of Content & Channels. “We are really excited that Nordisk Film TV has acquired the format in Denmark, and we look forward to seeing how the show progresses.”

Insight TV, the world’s leading 4K UHD HDR broadcaster and producer of native UHD content, has commissioned Power &…Martial Arts, a 22 x 12-minute series that delves into the lives of everyday people with extraordinary stories. The show, which follows on from the popular first two series’ Power &…Extreme Athletes and Power &…Tech, centres around martial artists and will document the victories, defeats and struggles of these incredible individuals. The show was produced by KIEM.

Throughout the series viewers are introduced to a variety of fighting pros and the show will focus on how they live, how they think and how they maneuver through every day life, including visiting places that hold great importance to them such as the dojo where they teach, the boxing ring where they defend titles, the shrine where they worship and the streets where they learned to fight to survive.

The show explores the immense physical strain that these individuals experience every day as well as the psychological and spiritual aspects of their style. It impresses upon the viewer that martial arts isn’t just a sport for them, but rather a lifestyle that shapes every minute of their day including what they eat (with regard to special diets and ancient recipes).

“Power &…Martial Arts gets under the skin of how these incredibly talented people from all walks of life dedicate every ounce of their being to achieving their goals,” says  Arun Maljaars, Director Content & Channels at Insight TV.  “We’re really proud of the show and we’re excited to see the reaction from our community when it airs later in the year.”

Insight TV, the world’s leading 4K UHD HDR broadcaster and producer of native UHD content, has signed a distribution deal with major telecoms operator, T-Mobile B.V. Subscribers across the Netherlands will have access to Insight TV’s thrilling and authentic HD content via T-Mobile’s popular Thuis (Home) service.

T-Mobile Thuis customers, will be able to watch Insight TV’s ground-breaking shows including: Travel With a Goat, Road to Gymkhana GRiD, King of the Hammers, THRU, Breaking Limits, DarkFEST and many more.

Robert de Lint, TV Content Manager T-Mobile Netherlands said, “We are proud to be able to add Insight HD to our T-Mobile Thuis Entertainment package: this Dutch channel with an international look-and-feel delivers original and challenging content, which fits our profile perfectly. To celebrate this introduction we offer Insight HD to all of our T-Mobile Thuis with digital television customers for free this month.”

Natalie Boot, Director of Media Sales, Insight TV adds, “Insight TV strives to provide high quality content to viewers across the world via linear, SVOD and AVOD platforms. We are delighted to announce this latest partnership with T-Mobile Netherlands and look forward to sharing further distribution deals in the coming weeks.”

ROMAGNA, ITALY—Global Production is a provider of top-end outside broadcast facilities for a range of productions, in its native Italy and around Europe. Increasingly, its clients are demanding Ultra HD (UHD) capabilities for their productions, which tend to be the biggest shows and events.

While many outside broadcast companies compromise on Ultra HD, using up-conversion on some of the cameras to provide the capacity, Global Production took the opposite view. If it was going to build a UHD truck, as its customers demanded, then it would be uncompromised. It wanted to build a unit that would support as many as 30 4K cameras natively. The company turned to systems integrator Chromaline to develop a solution.

BEYOND CONVENTIONAL

It was a challenging because the limiting factor in building functionality into an outside broadcast truck is that we have to live within the size and weight limits that we can take on the roads. We can start with an epic wish-list, but it has to be practical. What Global Production needed would simply be impossible using conventional technologies.

The only solution was to make everything ourselves, relying on software solutions when possible to maximize space. That implied a hybrid architecture, using both SDI and IP connectivity.

To maximize processing in software, we needed to keep signals in the IP domain as much as possible, while providing traditional interfaces where necessary to work with other systems. To achieve this, we used Imagine Communications’ Selenio Network Processor (SNP).

The SNP is a standards-based processor built on FPGA hardware to host software which defines its functionality. It provides four processing blocks in a single 1RU cabinet, with each block acting independently, capable of being reconfigured on the fly for maximum agility. The SNP acts as a seamless interface between the SDI and IP environments, and as an IP-capable signal processing platform.

ALL IN FOUR RACKS

Our design for the new truck uses four SNPs for SDI/SMPTE ST 2110 conversion, signal processing, and HD/Ultra HD up and down conversion. Doing all of that in just 4RU was a huge boost to our weight-and space-saving requirements.

The infrastructure is managed by the Magellan SDN Orchestrator software control system from Imagine, which also supplied the Platinum IP3 router, integrating mixed-format video and audio routing, multiviewers, synchronization and audio multiplexing.

During the design and implementation phase, engineers from Imagine worked closely with our team to realize the vision and to deliver all the functionality our customer expected in a practical solution. The truck has been on the road since September 2018, covering a broad range of sports and other events.

One event in particular provided a spectacular challenge for the new unit. At the Ferrari Challenge World Final in Monza, the organizers set up a shootout to see if a variety of technology solutions could deliver a whole range of outputs from standard definition to Ultra HD and HDR. Most important, it wanted to see complete consistency, not least in color rendition, across every format.

To deliver all these outputs means multiple transformations in software, all running inside the SNPs. The clients were insistent that they should be able to see every single available standard at the same time, with completely consistent results. The big test came with the familiar Ferrari red trademark. I am delighted to say that the new Global Production truck ensured it looked exactly the same on every output.

This exciting project was far more than just a huge outside broadcast truck. It is an entirely new way of approaching production and systems integration, giving the crew a familiar look and feel in full 4K Ultra HD.

Nicola Dall’Asta is the CEO of Chromaline, a systems integrator based in Romagna, Italy. He can be reached atnicola@chromaline.it.

For more information, visitimaginecommunications.comor call 866-446-2446.

Insight TV, the world’s leading 4K UHD HDR broadcaster and producer of native UHD content, is further expanding its US reach with the launch of its popular 4K UHD channel 24/7 on RCN Corporation’s digital pay-TV service. The Insight TV launch, which began on January 7th 2019, is part of RCN’s distribution of multiple 4K UHD channels.

RCN began rolling out its 4K-ready set-top boxes to subscribers last year. The device, made by Arris, is powered by TiVo’s software and user interface. Insight TV UHD will launch along with seven 4K channels hosted by the SES Ultra HD Platform, and is available to all subscribers of the digital basic tier package that have the 4K-ready box.

“Insight was one of the first channels to join the SES’s Ultra HD platform in North America, which now hosts the world’s largest source of 4K linear content and live events coverage,” said Steve Corda, Vice President of Media Platforms for SES in North America.  “Insight TV is on the leading edge of Ultra HD programming, with content shot natively in 4K and transmitted in HLG-HDR.  We are pleased to take yet another next step in Ultra HD together, enabling RCN to offer an immersive television viewing experience like no other.”

“We’re partnering with the world’s leading distribution providers to ensure that our 4K UHD content is delivered globally,” adds Angela Borrillo, Vice President Business and Legal Affairs, Insight TV. “We’re delighted to kick off 2019 with this announcement, which further highlights our growing presence in the US. We seek to connect audiences worldwide with exciting stories based on topics that are trending around the world.”

Insight TV, the world’s leading UHD 4K broadcaster and producer of native UHD content, announces a unique six-part series called City Beats, which takes viewers on a musical journey to uncover the vibe and the spirit of the people in various European cities, both through their personal stories and the soundtracks that underscore their lives. The show is hosted by London-based DJ and electronic music producer Carly Foxx, who each week will create a different track from the sounds and musical influences she uncovers while exploring different cities in Europe.  The series will launch on Insight TV channels and Insight.TV in the summer. 

City Beats continues Insight TV’s reputation as a storytelling channel that taps into the heart of different communities via trending topics and current affairs – this time, through music.

In each episode, Foxx will immerse herself in the culture of a European city and create a track from scratch by sampling (recording sounds of) people, places and things that she uncovers, whilst paying homage to the feel and music history of each city. She will meet breakout artists, local legends and colourful residents, and her new track will encompass all the musical inspirations from her journey. At the end of each episode, Foxx will debut her new dance track in front of a crowd of club-going music lovers. The first few episodes will take place in London, Paris, Ibiza, Amsterdam and Berlin.

 “Our goal with this new series is to take viewers on an immersive musical experience through an iconic European city and tell the story of a city through music — exploring its culture and musical influences. We think Carly Foxx is the perfect host for such a journey given her experience in the world of professional music, and we’re delighted that she’s part of this exciting, creative new series from Insight TV,” says Frank le Mair, Executive Producer at Insight TV.