Day: Aug 6, 2019

Densitron Further Extends Lead in Display, Control, and Interface Solutions at IBC 2019

Posted on by contentntek in Event, Multimedia, News

Making its official debut at IBC 2019 will be Densitron’s new UReady 2U display. Designed for signal and picture monitoring; as a control system with multi-touch projected capacitive touch (PCT) functionality; or both, the new 16.3” UReady enables multiple video picture and audio level to be displayed side by side.

Densitron Global Product Director Martyn Gates said, “The traditional functionality of many control surface products is limited by what can be accommodated within one or two rack units that combine both display and user input. This limits their usefulness for anything other than very basic HMI. Our new UReady unit now provides touch-enabled, high contrast ratio, high-resolution glass-estate for a smartphone-like wide viewing-angle, which can be easily configured for multiple applications and user requirements.”

The UReady 2U display is the latest addition to Densitron’s extensive UReady range, which is specifically engineered to meet the needs of portable production units, studios, OB vehicles, control rooms and more. Display sizes range from 6.6” to 23″ and offer easy-mount housing, plug-and-play connectivity, Windows and Linux OS support, plus 1440×240 (1U Single) and 1920 x 285 (2U) resolution.

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Also featuring for Densitron at IBC will be Aurora SBX™, an ARM® Cortex-A9-based high performance, low-power, all-in-one embedded processor that accelerates the development and integration of display and HMI-based products. Aurora SBX’s platform provides a large range of ready-to-go, feature-rich GUI applications that integrates with Densitron displays; creating a powerful and comprehensive product development kit.

Recently acquired by Densitron, IDS (Intelligent Display Systems) combines proprietary hardware and software allowing broadcasters to connect, control and automate devices and activities within a studio environment. Information and content from the IDS platform can be displayed at any end point, integrating seamlessly with the wide range of Densitron or third-party displays. IDS will be integrated with, and control, several Densitron displays across both stands.

Live demos of all products will take place on the stands throughout each day of the show.

More info

IBC2019 Exhibitor Preview From Viaccess-Orca

Posted on by contentntek in Broadcast & Playout, Event, Multimedia, News, OTT & Streaming media

In parallel, as new forms of video piracy constantly emerge, security requirements remain as critical as ever. To succeed, openness is key. Operators need solutions that are open, flexible, and compatible with other technologies; that can quickly adapt to the evolving TV landscape; keep premium content safe; and address consumers’ privacy concerns.

At IBC2019, Viaccess-Orca (VO) will showcase its end-to-end anti-piracy services, as well as its targeted advertising and TV platform solutions, which enable operators to provide a smarter and safer digital TV and OTT experience.

Fight Piracy Smarter With VO’s New Anti-Piracy Center

The nature of piracy is changing, and operators need to react instantly to security threats, especially when delivering premium video content and live sports events. At IBC2019, VO will demonstrate its new Anti-Piracy Center, a comprehensive set of security services that enable operators to fight piracy from every point of attack ¬by assessing the security, monitoring the threats, identifying the source of piracy, and taking counteractions.

With its Anti-Piracy Center, VO’s security experts combat the next era of piracy on behalf of operators: premium content restreaming. From its operating center, VO monitors and prevents pirates from hacking the content distribution chain, starting with the service delivery platform to the end-user device. At IBC2019, attendees will see the complete range of services that the Anti-Piracy Center provides, including device assessment, dynamic watermarking developed in collaboration with b<>com, an intrusion detection system, and password-sharing identification, leveraging the latest advancements in AI and data analytics to fight piracy.

As a managed service, VO’s Anti-Piracy Center eliminates the need for operators to invest in complicated technologies or to constantly train security teams.

Deliver a More Compelling TV Experience

VO will showcase its hosted and fully managed TV platform at IBC2019, highlighting how operators can easily personalize content and advertising for VOD services. VO’s TVaaS platform allows operators to manage, publish, personalize, and monetize content on multiple devices with increased cost efficiency and business agility. With this one-stop solution, it’s possible to deliver multiscreen services across any network while responding quickly to technical, competitive, and business challenges. The solution includes:

  • A powerful, feature-rich service-delivery platform with content protection and DRM capabilities.
  • The VO secure video player, a multiplatform player integrated with major DRMs for premium VOD and live content to enable a compelling viewing experience on multiple OTT platforms.
  • Off-the-shelf, customizable white-label TV apps.
  • Out-of-the-box analytics dashboards for marketing purposes.
  • A unique search-analysis tool for optimized content rights acquisition.
  • TV-specific customer churn predictive modeling and multifactor analysis.

Bring Relevant Ads to Viewers With an Innovative Approach to Addressable TV
Addressable TV is a huge revenue opportunity for TV channels and operators and can dramatically improve the television experience for users by providing them with relevant ads. At IBC2019, VO will show its end-to-end, targeted TV and video advertising solution in collaboration with its programmatic advertising partner, SMART. During a demo, attendees will see how the solution enables household-level targeting on operator-controlled devices (including in a multicast environment) as well as TV viewership data monetization through integration with the programmatic ad ecosystem.

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VO Technologies in Action

At IBC2019, VO will offer several demonstrations showing the company’s technologies in action. These include:

  • VO’s deployment with Orange Spain will be showcased with a hybrid Android STB powering OTT and IPTV offerings. The Orange service is secured by the VO DRM solution and is available on STBs, smart TVs, and mobile devices.
  • Andorra Telecom is using VO’s TV Platform and DRM solutions to securely deliver live and VOD content including advanced services such as live VOD, catch-up TV, start-over TV, and NPVR to subscribers in multiple places.

More info

VITEC Improves Contribution and Distribution with IPTV and Ultra-Low Latency Solutions at IBC2019

Posted on by contentntek in Event, Multimedia, News

VITEC announced it will demonstrate its market-leading broadcast-grade IPTV and contribution solutions in Hall 7, Stand C34 at IBC2019 at the RAI Amsterdam, Sept. 13-17. VITEC will highlight its HEVC contribution solutions, including the MGW Ace Encoder and MGW Ace Decoder that deliver video streams with subframe/ultra-low latency and time synchronization. VITEC will also show the EZ TV IPTV & Digital Signage Platform, an award-winning IP content delivery platform for venues and corporate environments that maximizes the value of all displays on the network, from TVs to video walls to mobile devices.

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“VITEC offers professional video contribution solutions that are powerful and agile enough to deliver video streams over any transmission link, including public internet. Such applications require the best video quality and the lowest latency, and VITEC’s IP video solutions meet those expectations,” said Bruno Teissier, International Sales and Marketing Director, VITEC. “At IBC2019, attendees will be able to see demos of our HEVC solutions, featuring VITEC’s Playout Server and MGW Ace Encoders/Decoders that offer the lowest-latency, highest-quality video streams for multisite contribution or remote production. VITEC will also show the EZ TV IPTV & Digital Signage solution that offers a powerful platform to distribute video and signage to displays in venues of all sizes.”

At IBC2019, VITEC will demonstrate the MGW Ace Encoder and MGW Ace Decoder pair that delivers video with as little as 16 ms glass-to-glass latency. VITEC’s HEVC contribution solutions are powered by a groundbreaking GEN2+ codec that provides best-in-class HEVC video, setting a high bar for industry standards in video quality, bit rate, and latency. Included in the multisite contribution demo is MGW Diamond, a multichannel or 4K HDR encoder, which enables high-quality, low-bandwidth, and reliable 4K contribution over the internet offering a dramatic reduction of operating expenses. For remote production, the VITEC encode/decode solution features time-synchronized playback, ensuring perfect synchronization of multiple independent IP streams for broadcast, government, sports, or any live application in which synchronized IP streams are critical.

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VITEC will also have a live demo of the EZ TV IPTV & Digital Signage Platform, the chosen platform for corporate, government, and sports venues where video streams are a valuable part of the user experience. EZ TV replaces legacy systems cost-effectively, delivering a cutting-edge, enterprise-grade IPTV solution to TVs, desktops, mobile devices, and video walls. The EZ TV IPTV platform includes high-performance endpoints with HEVC decode and 4K HDR video capability. It also features the EZ TV Media Library, which offers powerful tools for archiving, recording, organizing, tagging, and annotating, as well as for performing image searches or running queries based on metadata.

More info

Sonnet IBC2019 Show Preview

Posted on by contentntek in Digitisation & Storage, Distribution & Delivery, Event, News, Products

At IBC2019, Sonnet’s upcoming Echo™ Pro 10G Thunderbolt™ 3 Dock will make its European debut. Designed for pro video and audio users who need to copy files to and from multiple drives, the Echo Pro 10G dock features three USB-C ports plus three USB-A ports. Unlike all other docks — which connect all their USB ports to a single USB controller that functions as a hub, splitting bandwidth between them — the Sonnet dock is equipped with three 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 controllers, each supporting only two ports. This design enables maximum-speed file transfers between multiple high-speed USB 3.1 Gen 2 drives and a computer through a single Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) cable.

The Echo Pro 10G includes a blazing-fast 10GBASE-T (copper) 10GbE network port, enabling connection to high-speed network infrastructure and storage systems via inexpensive CAT 6 or CAT 6A cabling. The Echo Pro 10G Thunderbolt 3 Dock also features dual Thunderbolt 3 ports to support daisy chaining of up five additional Thunderbolt peripheral devices, and it provides up to 87W to power and charge compatible notebook and laptop computers.

Thunderbolt™ 3 to PCIe® Card Expansion Systems

Sonnet-echo_express_iii-d_t3eAt IBC2019, Sonnet will show its Echo Express™ and xMac™ lines of Thunderbolt™-to-PCI Express® (PCIe®) card expansion systems, showcasing the new xMac mini Server Thunderbolt 3 Edition. The expansion systems house PCIe adapter cards that add connectivity options and processing power to computers without card slots and connect them to the computer through a single Thunderbolt cable. Available with one, two, or three card slots, and accommodating from low-profile to full-height, full-length cards — these systems support high-performance non-GPU cards, including pro audio I/O and DSP cards, pro video capture and transcoding cards, network and storage interface cards, and other high-performance PCIe cards. In addition to housing and connecting two PCIe cards, the xMac mini Server Thunderbolt 3 Edition securely mounts a Mac mini® computer with Thunderbolt 3 ports inside its custom 1U enclosure designed for use in 19-inch server, equipment, and portable racks.

Desktop and Portable eGPU Solutions

sonnet_egfx_breakaway_puckSonnet will demonstrate its Apple®-qualified eGFX Breakaway™ Box 650 and eGFX Breakaway™ Puck Radeon RX 570 Thunderbolt™ 3 external graphics solutions (eGPU). These systems significantly accelerate video production workflows, boosting the graphics performance of eGFX-compatible computers with the most popular pro video editing, rendering, color grading, animation, and special effects applications. eGFX Breakaway Boxes were designed to support large, high-performance video graphics processing unit (GPU) cards including the latest GPU cards from both AMD and NVIDIA®, enabling users to choose a card best matching their performance and budget needs. The all-in-one eGFX Breakaway Puck is compact and powerful, highly portable, and offers users tremendously improved graphics performance — on the computer’s primary screen or on an externally connected display — when used with thin and light laptops, mini desktops, and all-in-one computers.

10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) Networking Product Family

At IBC2019, Sonnet will feature the industry’s most comprehensive line of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) adapters and cards: Solo10G™ single-port and Twin10G™ dual-port 10GbE Thunderbolt™ adapters, plus Solo10G single-port and Presto™ 10GbE dual-port 10GbE PCI Express® (PCIe®) cards, including all-new, low-cost 10GbE optical adapters. Sonnet’s 10GbE solutions enable users to connect their computers easily via copper or optical cables to high-speed network infrastructure and storage systems using the 10GbE standard.

SF3™ Series Pro Card Readers

Sonnet_sf3_readers_stackedSonnet will show its line of SF3™ Series dual-slot Thunderbolt™ 3 pro media readers, showcasing the new SF3 Series — Sonnet RED MINI-MAG® Card Reader. Featuring dual Thunderbolt 3 ports, the reader can simultaneously ingest files from two RED MINI-MAG cards at their maximum supported data transfer speeds, and can support a bus-powered device (such as the SF3 Series — CFast™ 2.0 Pro Card Reader). Each SF3 Series reader, including the SF3 Series — SxS™ Pro Card Reader, features a compact rugged aluminum enclosure designed for stacking multiple readers and simultaneously ingesting files from two cards at their maximum supported data transfer speeds. Depending on media type, concurrent data transfer speeds up to 1,000+ MB/s from two cards are supported, while daisy-chained SF3 Series readers can leverage Thunderbolt 3’s 2,750 MB/s bandwidth, enabling users to ingest four, six, or more cards simultaneously.

More info

SMPTE Names Frank Kunkle Director of Marketing

Posted on by contentntek in News, People

Kunkle, who officially assumed his new role on July 22, is guiding development and implementation of a robust marketing strategy, including campaigns, events, digital marketing, and public relations, while supporting SMPTE’s ongoing implementation of its three-year strategic plan.

“Frank joins the SMPTE team with valuable experience working within similar organizations, and he has both the expertise and the drive to help us achieve our strategic targets in all areas of our business,” said SMPTE Executive Director Barbara Lange. “Informed and effective communications across all variety of marketing platforms will be critical to SMPTE’s ongoing success in driving the quality and evolution of motion pictures, television, and professional media, and I’m confident that Frank is prepared to take on this challenge. We are very pleased to welcome him on board.”

Kunkle joins SMPTE having most recently served as marketing manager at the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). At ANSI, he developed and executed marketing plans with a focus on growing the institute’s subscription-based product for access to standards, stimulating membership, developing lead acquisition tactics, managing the brand of the institute’s standards platform, driving market analysis, mining data to inform future marketing campaigns, coordinating trade show representation with colleagues, and overseeing advertising opportunities and media placement.

Earlier, as marketing strategy manager at the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), Kunkle designed and managed marketing, social, and digital media campaigns for 50 products; unified the marketing strategy across all of SIAM’s program areas; and leveraged data and metrics across these platforms to drive and evolve marketing tactics. He also managed product and web development for custom systems designed to facilitate SIAM’s M3 Challenge (delivered to 50,000+ students online to date), led improvements of data management systems, served on the staff committee responsible for an overhaul of siam.org, and curated content and media across m3challenge.siam.org with an emphasis on encouraging young people to pursue careers in mathematics and science.

Kunkle earned dual bachelor’s degrees in strategic communication (public relations concentration) and psychology from Temple University and subsequently began his career working in public relations, press relations, and event planning with several Philadelphia-based agencies. In his new position with SMPTE, Kunkle is based at the Society’s White Plains offices and reports directly to Lange.

More info

Gemini and Astra Soft LEDs Light Up the Dan Patrick Show

Posted on by contentntek in Multimedia, News, System Integration

Produced by the AT&T Entertainment Group, “Dan Patrick Show” has installed 30 Gemini 2×1 Soft and 30 Astra 1×1 Bi-Color LED panels to light its new showpiece 20,000-square-foot production facility.

Based in Milford, Connecticut, the daily “Dan Patrick Show” broadcast showcases many of the biggest stars in sports and entertainment. The show is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks and televised on DirecTV’s Audience channel, three AT&T SportsNet affiliates, and Bleacher Report (B/R) Live, and it can also be heard on SiriusXM Radio channel 211 (Dan Patrick Radio). The show’s vast new facility includes two 2,800-square-foot studios and a 4,500-square-foot Fieldhouse. This “man cave” is complete with a miniature AstroTurf football field and a basketball half-court for the on-air personalities and guests to practice their moves.

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Litepanels’ Gemini and Astra LEDs illuminate the new 20,000-square-foot production facility that is home to the popular “Dan Patrick Show.”

With so much territory to light, the “Dan Patrick Show” crew decided to migrate the production to all-LED lighting. After evaluating the market’s range of LED soft panels, the production team chose the Litepanels Gemini and Astra panels for their reliability, light weight, and ease-of-rigging. Other big selling points for the Gemini Soft LED panels were their extremely high-quality full-spectrum white light, RGBWW color versatility, and integrated power supply and ballast.

“Since we had only 11 weeks to go from initial construction to on-air, time was of the essence. The Geminis and Astras are incredibly quick and easy to install and mount, which made a big difference in our tight schedule,” said Eric Jones, associate director – creative operations, AT&T Mobility & Entertainment Group. “Gemini was an especially easy choice compared to the closest competing light on the market, which is much heavier and has an external ballast. The Gemini’s built-in power supply makes it a much more compact unit and means no extra cables, so rigging lights becomes quick and easy. Plus, we love its plug-and-play DMX control, precision plus/minus green adjustment, and the ability to do gradual RGBWW color changes.”

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Litepanels’ Gemini and Astra LEDs illuminate the new 20,000-square-foot production facility that is home to the popular “Dan Patrick Show.”

The majority of the 15-camera “Dan Patrick Show” is a sit-down studio production, with a combination of permanently mounted Gemini and Astra panels providing keys, fills, and backlights for the main talent positions. “We rely on Gemini’s flexible color temperature adjustment to create a particular aesthetic in the studio; for instance, we can warm up the color temp of the walls to match the overall lighting of the room,” Jones said. “The ability to change the color of all of the keys from a single lighting console is a huge plus.”

In addition, the show’s hosts often roam around the “man cave” space to conduct additional interviews and activities for the TV production. The plus/minus green control on the Geminis makes them particularly useful in such ENG-style situations, enabling the crew to match lighting from existing fluorescents and other permanent fixtures. On certain occasions, such as a performance by a guest band, the crew employs the Gemini panels’ dial-up color options and special effects modes to create color backlights and other unique effects without having to add gels.

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Litepanels’ Gemini and Astra LEDs illuminate the new 20,000-square-foot production facility that is home to the popular “Dan Patrick Show.”

“The versatility of the Geminis is their biggest asset,” Jones said. “The ability to hang the light up on a grid one day, and then take it down the next day, throw a battery on it and walk around with it for an ENG shoot, is something you simply don’t find with any other light in the industry.”

More info

World Roller Games Chooses TVU Networks for Coverage of Intense 11-Day Competition

Posted on by contentntek in Broadcast & Playout, News, Production & Post Production

TVU Networks has announced its involvement in the broadcast of the world’s largest event for roller sports, the 2019 World Roller Games in Barcelona, Spain.

This year, The World Roller Games boasted 11 different disciplines including inline freestyle, rink hockey, roller derby, skateboarding and more. Over 4000 athletes participated representing 81 countries from all over the globe, as well as over 140,000 visitors.

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The companies producing the World Roller Games were in search of an efficient and reliable way to broadcast from multiple remote locations throughout five cities. The organizers also wanted to find an innovative way to cover the diverse array of sports represented in the competition from the various types of venues in which the games would be held.

Ultimately, the producers of the event turned to TVU Networks. They deployed 14 TVU One transmitters, some of which were connected to OB vans at venues and the rest of which were mobile. Feeds were synchronized using TVU Timelock and sent to the Technical Operations Center, where producers could insert graphics, create highlights and then distribute streaming video worldwide with TVU Servers. Six synchronized signals were sent to La Xarxa for distribution using one TVU Remote Production System (RPS) unit. TVU also provided the World Roller Games with a full duplex VOIP channel which is integrated with all TVU One devices so that people at the venues could communicate with those in the Technical Operations Center.

“TVU offered incredibly flexible solutions as well as a wide range of equipment to use for everything from transmission to remote production” said Javier Grima, Executive Producer of the World Roller Games 2019. “We were able to capture, produce and distribute the live broadcast at a cheaper cost than traditional satellite and fibre solutions without sacrificing quality. The technology was so advanced that it made operations easier and more efficient than before.”

TVU_One_World_Roller_GamesThese TVU products and solutions performed flawlessly, despite less-than-ideal circumstances. The speed marathon final, which ran a course of 42,195 meters, was broadcast from the streets of Barcelona from a motorbike. TVU One was able to transmit high-quality, low-latency HD video while on the move over a significant distance for the complete duration of the race. Additionally, the beachside location of the speed road competition track made it difficult to get a strong connection. Regardless, transmission from the site was smooth, with minimal sub-second delay.

“We’re honored to have helped broadcast the 2019 World Roller Games,” said David Jorba, TVU Networks’ EVP, Managing Director of Europe. “The uninterrupted high-quality coverage across the 14 different venues was further testament to the unparalleled performance of our solutions in challenging environments and network conditions.”

All TVU Networks solutions utilize HEVC/H.265 compression standard to optimize data use and generate less overhead, leading to lower operational costs while delivering even greater transmission reliability. TVU One’s award-winning mobile IP video transmitter is a breakthrough in size and performance, allowing up to 4K60fps HDR live transmissions at bit-rates as low as 3Mbps. TVU Timelock and TVU RPS are a reference in the industry for remote, multi-camera production, offering unmatched synchronization and wireless capabilities over a standard internet connection.