January 2015 CREATION 15
Magna Systems plays key role in Nine Network ’ s technology refresh
Vizrt ’ s Mosart newsroom system allows a single script to easily move across multiple distribution systems and several control rooms without any modification , resulting in a must faster speed to air and correct timing .
templates , easy remote access , and management reports . Among its customers are ABN Media Group and Bloomberg Malaysia .
It has been a rapid progression for newsroom systems . A decade ago , many were skeptical that laptops would ever become powerful enough for efficient newsroom production . After that was proven , skepticism now remains for the power of tablets , though many are increasingly using them . The next likely step is mobile .
Last year , Octopus conducted a major revamp to expand its ability to use mobile devices for newsroom operations , “ because that is what the journalists and newsroom staff are using ”, Rusko explains . “ We need to keep innovating and provide the tools to facilitate their duties . Our role is to provide the tools to channel their output in any direction they want to move .”
The ability to easily distribute clips and graphics to various points within the newsroom , as well as ultimately on multiple media near-simultaneously — without errors — certainly is key , says Vizrt ’ s Namatinia . He claims that Viz Mosart “ provides a higher level of flexibility and redundancy than any competitors are even close to ”.
In addition , Mosart can be expanded via other Vizrt products such as Viz Pilot , Viz One and Viz Opus to “ significantly improve the work flow , speed to air , and quality of productions ”, adds Namatinia .
“ When the director wants to have a clip on air , why should he worry about which video server port needs to be used ? ” Namatinia asks . “ When the director wants to have a graphics executed in a
The newsroom systems market in Asia is “ expanding faster than any other region in the world ”.
video wall , why should he worry about which graphics port ?” With Viz Mosart , the logical channel is located and activated without oversight .
Mosart provides a wider and deeper control of control room devices , Namatinia says , allowing staff to focus more on the content itself and time to air . It also does “ editing ” of stories to automatically create new story scripts in iNews for immediate repurposing on other channels or media .
In many parts of Asia , it is important that new newsroom systems make it easier to operate in multiple languages . For example , Octopus is based on the international Unicode standard , and supports 608 different languages , Rusko says . It is able to adopt any Asian language demanded , and is already operating in languages such as Burmese , Arab and Hindi .
The Asian market for such new-generation newsroom systems is “ certainly fast growing ,” Rusko points out , as Asian broadcasters become “ more and more demanding ”.
Asian broadcasters are at the leading edge of the media industry , Rusko believes , going as far as to suggest that the media-hungry South Asian market may be the fastest-moving on the new technology , while the South-east Asian market remains “ somewhat more conservative ”.
Vizrt ’ s Namatinia agrees that the newsroom systems market in Asia is “ expanding faster than any other region in the world ”. As media companies such as Fox and CNN open stations across the Asia-Pacific region , new workflows are brought to the table , along with a more competitive landscape . This , says Namatinia , will mean even more opportunities for new newsroom and studio systems .
He continued : “ Mosart has a large role to play in most of the countries in the Asia-Pacific region ,” Namatinia continues . “ Singa pore , India , Thailand and China are different , but they all have a common goal — improving workflows and sustaining highquality broadcasting with zero mistakes . And Mosart is one way to achieve those goals .”
It is important to note that different TV producers in Asia- Pacific are at different points technologically , and have different distribution needs , Octopus ’ Rusko cautions , adding : “ Octopus solves that problem by offering a modular newsroom system , in which different video producers can buy and integrate different capabilities , and add to them later , if necessary .”
80fps recording added to URSA camera
When Nine Entertainment , which owns Australian commercial free-to-air broadcaster Nine Network , purchased the NWS Adelaide and STW Perth TV stations from the WIN Network in 2013 , the Nine Technology team was tasked with identifying equipment within each of the studio sites that was high priority for a technical refresh .
After a thorough evaluation , it was decided that the stations ’ talkback systems were high on the list , as Jason Pendleton , engineering manager for GTV9 , a Nine Network channel , explained : “ NWS was still using an in-house built system that was working to its full capacity and would not lend itself to external integration easily . Nine Network Australia has a long history with RTS intercom systems dating back to original installations in OB trucks , and later adopting it in studios across the east coast .”
“ Nine knows RTS intercom systems well and production staff at NWS were already using RVON key panels to communicate with the WIN Network , [ and ] we felt it was the logical choice , so we contacted Lucas Bohm at Magna Systems and began the process of upgrading .”
One of the first orders of business for the Nine Technology team at NWS was to transition the transmission across to the company ’ s National Playout Center ( NPC ) in Sydney , which uses an RTS intercom matrix and RVON IP solutions for external communications to various studios across the country .
Working with Magna Systems , the Nine Technology team built the new RTS solution around NWS ’ existing intercom system , with the primary objective to get external communications working to the Nine Network RTS via RVON trunks . Pendleton added : “ With key panels installed in key areas of the NWS site and some connectivity into the old communications system , we let the dust settle and allowed operators to get familiar with the system before we eventually did a full transition to the RTS Adam M system for news studio production and live DENG ( digital electronic newsgathering ) integration .”
With the installation now complete , Pendleton has been more than impressed with the functionality of the new RTS kit , citing the mid-sized 3RU Adam M Matrix , which allows the same interface cards and external I / O that Pendleton and his team had been using at other sites , to be deployed . He continued : “ Having upgraded with this new kit , we are now covered for future expansion and we have the ability to interchange parts with other sites and continued offerings from the new RTS product range . We also now get integration support for RTS intelligent trunking options .”
Pendleton also attributed the success of the installation to Nine ’ s “ strong relationship ” with Magna Systems . “ I personally have worked closely with Lucas to build a number of RTS intercoms for Nine Network , so we knew we were in good hands with this upgrade .”
Working with systems integrator Magna Systems , Nine Network has installed RTS intercom systems for its NWS Adelaide and STW Perth TV stations .
The Blackmagic Camera 1.9.9 , a major software update with multiple new features for the Blackmagic URSA digital film camera , is now available .
According to Blackmagic , one of the “ most powerful ” features in the new software is support for higher frame rate recording , combined with the new menu control of recording frame rates for URSA cameras . With the new software , the recording frame rate is increased up to 80fps , which allows enhanced slow-motion shooting with a more “ fluid feel ” to shots .
Blackmagic Camera 1.9.9 also adds multiple new user interface changes to the Blackmagic URSA camera , including the new Dashboard menu , which allows features such as formatting and other settings to be selected .