July 2018 CREATION 17
NewTek supports IP-based newsroom workflows
Until the recent ratification of the standards in the SMPTE ST 2110 suite , the transition to IP has been a slow one , suggested Brian Olson , vice-president of product management at NewTek .
This , however , did not deter the company from working with Vizrt to offer IP-based newsroom workflows from as early as 2016 . Olson described to APB : “ The relationship between NewTek and Vizrt is a strong one . In addition to Viz graphics with NVG1 , NewTek ’ s IP graphics server , Vizrt has also added Mosart support for NewTek IP Series and TriCaster TC1 .”
Today , he believes that these initiatives are beginning to pay off , as the flood gates have opened for discussions and new opportunities to move to all-IP workflows with either ST 2110 , NewTek ’ s Network Device Interface ( NDI ) standard , or both . “ Adding the layer of best-of-breed production automation support with Viz Mosart is also energising business for both companies ,” Olson added .
As to the key features broadcasters are looking for in procuring newsroom automation systems today , he suggested : “ Simplicity , ease-of-use , media object server ( MOS ) -connectivity and reliability are what broadcasters are demanding in automation for newsrooms today .
NewTek is continuing to work with partners such as Vizrt to offer IPbased newsroom workflows . For instance , the Viz Mosart studio control system can be used alongside the NewTek IP Series and TriCaster TC1 .
“ Gone are the days of dedicated operators for all the various functions in producing a newscast . Today ’ s journalists have to multi-task , and applications that provide power with simplicity are going to rule the day .” and focus on increased engagement with viewers .”
He goes on to highlight how Grass Valley ’ s rules-based social media management feature is just one of the tools that enables production teams to prioritise the telling of strong stories that keep viewers engaged , rather than focusing on processes . “ With the automation of Ignite , particularly in smaller workflows or stations , the impact of AI is all about the reinvestment of resources to other areas of the production .”
Another company that is a big advocate of AI for broadcast workflows is Spain ’ s VSN , who is seeing a lot of workflow automation requirements in news productions that could be “ substantially improved ” via the application of AI .
Patricia Corral , marketing director , VSN , describes : “ For instance , giving journalists the possibility of having access to a real-time transcription of an interview , press conference or plenary session could make a huge differ-
Postium , less than 20 years old , is already an established and trusted supplier of professional broadcast , movie and studio equipment . That is the proud record of the 1999- established South Korean company , which has developed , engineered and manufactured LCD rack monitors that are today widely used by broadcast stations and OB ( outside broadcast ) vans worldwide .
Sungil Cho , Postium ’ s president and CEO , told APB : “ We have the widest range of 4K / Ultra HD ( UHD ) high dynamic range ( HDR ) monitors , from 9 ” all the way to 55 ”, and they have several unique and innovative features .
“ We have recently developed and started the shipping of several of our range of new products , such as the versatile dual and quad monitoring solutions that have a range of 7 ” -55 ”.
“ We understand and appreciate the pressures facing today ’ s ence in their daily work , and allow them to pay attention exclusively to content creation , rather than to repetitive or secondary manual tasks that could be automated .
“ Moreover , other advanced functionalities like face recognition or automatic recognition of quotes could help both journalists and video editors to make very advanced searches of video files and media much faster .”
VSN has already begun to apply AI to improve the management and cataloguing of media . Over the past year , the company ’ s VSNExplorer MAM system has been integrated with the AI services from the likes of IBM Watson , Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure . “ Thanks to these , we are now able to automatically detect and extract metadata directly from the media ingested in our MAM system in a matter of seconds ,” says Corral . “ This way , users can have access to all metadata automatically detected , segmented per provider , and from a unique and single interface . This allows
Spanish company VSN is a strong advocate of AI for broadcast workflows . Over the past year , the company ’ s VSNExplorer MAM system has been integrated with the AI services from the likes of IBM Watson , Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure .
them to easily locate and select the results that best fit their needs with a few clicks , and afterwards catalogue or re-use the media accordingly .”
To fully address the key requirements of news production , VSN is also focusing its product developments towards the cloud , 100 % HTML5 platforms and towards “ unlimited systems integration ”, Corral reveals .
For instance , the VSNExplorer plug-in for newsroom computer system ( NCRS ) is a media object server ( MOS ) HTML5 Media Bus that allows users to access multiple features of VSNExplorer MAM directly from the NCRS system of their choice . It allows users to perform file searches directly from the NCRS interface in the MAM , and supports video editing and unification with graphics extracted from the user ’ s computer graphics ( CG ) system , in order to prepare video pieces for broadcast from a single interface .
Another product that Corral is keen to highlight for news production is the VSNWedit Web video editor . Included within the VSNExplorer MAM platform , it allows rough-cut video editing with basic effects directly in the MAM system , without having to switch to a non-linear editing ( NLE ) option .
Additionally , VSNWedit allows users to download an edit decision list ( EDL ) to complete the video editing in an NLE system , if required . Conversely , an EDL file can also be imported from an NLE system into VSNWedit , if users wish to obtain video rendering .
Working together with the VSNExplorer plug-in , users can quickly edit video pieces and drag & drop them to the NCRS of their choice — all from a single interface or in a 100 % cloud environment .
Corral summarises : “ The truth is that broadcasters today have to face a growing volume of work in record time and , of course , with tight budgets . The technological challenges that arise in the field of news production , therefore , are particularly relevant .
“ From this perspective , VSN is not skimping on functionalities and high-end tech tools to incorporate into our product portfolio because we want to keep offering our customers the most advanced technological systems possible to face the aforementioned challenges .”
Postium excels with widest range of 4K / UHD HDR monitors
Sungil Cho ( right ), president & CEO , and Poh Cheng Yong , VP Sales Asia , of Postium , were at BroadcastAsia2018 to highlight the company ’ s range of LCD rack monitors .
professionals , and the level of support they require . We try to take the load off our customers by using the latest technology to deliver solutions that match their technical , creative and budgetary objectives .”
Poh Cheng Yong , the company ’ s Singapore-based vicepresident of sales , Asia , added that , in the course of the last decade , Postium has become a global leader in the field of broadcast monitors .
At last month ’ s Broadcast- Asia 2018 , Postium gave pride of
place to its OBM-X310 31 ” Grade 1 true 4K / UHD HDR 4K monitor . Designed for professional production and post-production work , the OBM-X310 offers several advanced features .
Poh explained : “ It supports various HDR gamma curves , such as PQ , HLG and S-Log3 . The monitor also features a wide-viewing angle IPS panel , 4096x2160 17:9 aspect ratio , 1000cd per sqm high brightness , 1,000,000:1 high contrast , wide colour gamut ( WCG ), and various HDR formats , making it ideal for colour grading in a mastering suite .
“ Moreover , it provides the industry-leading wide colour gamuts , complies with the DCI-P3 colour space with gamut ratio 114 % and gamut coverage 99 %, and supports the BT . 2020 colour space . This ensures that colours are reproduced according to industry standards .”
For budget-conscious customers who do not need a product this sophisticated , and are happy with something a little less in the premium range , Postium offers the OBM U Series 4K / UHD professional LCD monitors in five size : 9 ”, 17 ”, 24 ”, 31 ” and 55 ”.
“ The OBM U Series offers professional performance , including excellent-quality black performance and accurate colour reproduction , which makes these monitors ideal for 4K / UHD live production , versatile monitoring and field production applications ,” said Poh .
“ These monitors incorporate 12G-SDI input and loopout ( x2 ), 3G / HD-SDI input and loopout ( x2 ), HDMI 2.0 input and SFP optical connector . In addition , they support the integrated 3D LUT , waveform , vector scope , colour space and gamma comparison , and a full feature set .”