12 NEWS & VIEWS
April 2017
2017 NAB Show offers solutions to succeed in digital world
LAS VEGAS – To be held this month at the Las
Vegas Convention Centre in Las Vegas , Nevada , USA , from April 22-27 , the NAB Show continues to be home to some of the world ’ s largest collection of vendors driving the future of media and entertainment . From content creation to consumption , more than 17,000 exhibiting companies are populating the NAB Show floor to provide attendees unfettered access to state-of-the-art tools and services for media and entertainment professionals .
Cobalt Digital demos FAST streaming system
Leading Cobalt Digital ’ s highlights this year is the FAST-Stream system , which combines FAST ( frameaccurate SCTE 104 trigger ) insertion with enhanced HLS ( HTTP live streaming ) SCTE 35 streaming on a single platform .
Designed for both openGear frames and Cobalt BBG-1100 series standalone units , the FAST-Stream system provides HLS streams with “ frame-accurate ” boundary points alongside the SCTE 35 metadata contained in the associated manifest file . Applications supported by FAST-Stream range from on-the-fly C3 video-on-demand ( VoD ) contribution to embedded digital rights management ( DRM ) for distributing protected content .
Cobalt is also showcasing the 9223-A8 H . 264 3G / HD / SD-SDI / CVBS video and eight-channel audio encoder . The enhanced audio encoding capacity supports four audio PIDs ( packet identifiers ) — up to four stereo or eight mono
Cobalt ’ s 9971-NV-4K-SH multi-viewer and 9904-UDX-4K-12G converter can be integrated with both openGear frame and Cobalt ’ s BBG- 1000 series standalone units .
channels in dualmono mode .
This capability , according to Cobalt , allows the 9223-A8 to be a cost-effective solution for broadcast contribution applications where SDI source signals often carry multiprogramme PCM ( pulse-code modulation ) or Dolby-encoded 5.1 surround pass-through audio that must be maintained throughout ASI and IP transport layers using the MPEG-TS protocol .
Also on display at booth N3308 are the 9971-MV-4K-SH UHD hybrid HDMI 2.0 and 12G-SDI input and output multi-viewer , and the 9904-UDX-4K-12H 4K / UHD 12G / 3G / HD / SD-SDI up / down / cross-converter .
To allow more pixel space available to source signals while maintaining the original picture , the 9971-MV-4K-SH UHD multi-viewer features 4K / UHD 3840 x 2160 output via 12G-SDI and HDMI 2.0 .
Designed for both openGear frame and Cobalt ’ s BBG-1000 series standalone units , the 9904-UDX- 4K-12G 4K / UHD 12G / 3G / HD / SD-SDI up / down / cross-converter provides either quad 3G-SDI-based square division or two-sample interleave formats , as well as the ST 2082 12G-SDI option . The unit can also perform reverse in downconverter mode , and is equipped with two HDMI 2.0 outputs for monitoring .
TSL Products supports hybrid SDI / IP workflows
TSL Products is showcasing its Monitor Audio Plus ( MPA ) range of audio monitoring tools , designed for hybrid workflows with established I / O , including MADI , SDI , AES-3 and analogue .
The MPA range is available in two models : Solo and Mix . Solo offers the ability to listen to any channel , while Mix enables the user to create a simple monitoring mix .
With the unit depth of 100mm , both models can be implemented in outside broadcasting ( OB ) environments , says TSL Products . The built-in Web server also allows all units to be configured , monitored
and controlled remotely via an intuitive Web interface .
TSL is also displaying the latest updates to its PAM-IP range of precision audio monitors that support stereo , multi-channel , multi-language and surroundsound environments via an intuitive control interface .
Designed to monitor audio directly from an IP stream , PAM- IP eases the transition to an all-IP workflow , notes TSL Products , while meeting the needs of any facility involved in the production and transmission of live productions , such as sports , news and
TSL Products ’ MPA range of audio monitoring tools is designed to be implemented under hybrid workflows with established I / O , including MADI , SDI , AES-3 and analogue .
live events .
Besides monitoring video , audio and its associated metadata from either a traditional 3G-SDI connection or a S2022-6 IP stream , the PAM-IP range can also be installed in a hybrid environment where an SDI , AES or analoguebased infrastructure can be monitored alongside an IP-based infrastructure .
Visitors to booth N5615 can also check out the TallyMan broadcast control system , which the company claims to have more than 1,000 installations globally . With added support for IP and 4K / Ultra HD ( UHD ) productions , the Tally- Man provides broadcast facilities with a platform to control multiple pieces of kit from different vendors , including routers , under-monitor displays , multi-viewers and vision mixers .
VSN focusing on enhanced workflow efficiency
Spain ’ s VSN is introducing WEDIT , a Web-based video editing tool integrated with VSNEXPLORER , the company ’ s media and entertainment suite .
Developed in HTML5 , the new tool allows journalists and editors to edit videos and prepare them for broadcast from a single interface , without having to switch to another system .
Within the VSNEXPLORER interface , and integrated with a fullfeatured media asset management ( MAM ) system , WEDIT users can work on footage and clips located in deep archived , near-line or online storage . In addition , users are able to employ WEDIT as a “ cloud content editor ” to access and edit files in the cloud , thereby encouraging collaboration between editors and other departments .
Some features of the editing function include editing sequences by cut , generating cut list , markin and mark-out segments with
Shotoku Broadcast Systems is unveiling the Graphica series of virtual / augmented reality ( VR / AR ) tracked camera cranes , which was developed under the company ’ s partnership with crane maker CamMate .
According to Shotoku , Graphica has been jointly developed from the ground up and provides “ much improved ” tracking accuracy over competing and existing retrofit products , at a price many studios should find “ very attractive ”.
Graphica is also designed to be free of jitters , external markers and area limitations that can be associated with other posi tional tracking systems . It is able to perform the calculation of positional data output from embedded physical rotary encoders that are designed specifically for VR appli cations . The encoder processes data via the SPI interface to provide data output for both in-studio or on-location applications .
Calling Graphica the “ true setand-forget system ”, Shotoku has also added Spi-Touch origin reset and two-point calibration functionality to provide operators with greater convenience as calibration is needed only once .
Alongside Graphica at booth C6015 is the SmartPed robotic XY pedestal , which features a new height column without the need for pneumatic balancing , multi-zone collision avoidance and detection systems , and an electromechanical steer / drive system . The SmartPed offers switch between lo-
The newly enhanced VSNEXPLORER BI module is capable of transforming media information and metadata into powerful business intelligence .
proxy frame accuracy , associating metadata to the editing cuts , editing from the interfaces timeline , and consolidating sequences and publishing .
VSN is also highlighting VSN- EXPLORER BI ( business intelligence ), a module within VSN- EXPLORER that is able to extract information on assets , quality , traffic , transcoding and other activities from VSN data sources or third-party systems .
VSNEXPLORER BI allows users to generate reports based on workflow status , perform pending user tasks or customise MAM metadata criteria defined by the user , thereby helping decision-makers to analyse their business performances .
VSN is at booth SL8006 .
Shotoku launching VR / AR tracked camera cranes
The SmartPed robotic XY pedestal from Shotoku Broadcast Systems can be operated under several applications as it allows users to switch between local and remote operations .
cal and remote operations , thereby allowing the pedestal to be deployed for a variety of applications , says Shotoku .
To enhance workflow efficiency , Shotoku ’ s Free-d 2 tracking system eliminates the requirement of attaching physical encoding devices to the camera support ’ s moving axes . Designed for VR / AR news , sports and current affairs live studio productions , the Free-d 2 system employs advanced video processing algorithms and ceiling markers to determine the exact position and orientation of the studio camera , thus improving the referenced position tracking .