PANELLISTS
20
April September 2012 2017
Calrec Summa supports FIM coverage
A Calrec Summa console is supporting audio coverage in UM21 , a new 4K / Ultra HD ( UHD ) OB vehicle by Spanish production company VAV Compañia de Producciones . Dorna Sports , the official rights holder for the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme ( FIM ) World Championship Grand Prix of motorcycle road racing , is using UM 21 for its HD coverage of the FIM CEV Moto2 European championship series , currently under way in Europe . According to Israel Perez , CTO of VAV , Summa features that are especially valuable for motorcycle race coverage include its auto-fader functionality , and its large number of faders and layers , with dual inputs for every channel .
Ikegami , SAM announce reseller partnership
Ikegami and Snell Advanced Media ( SAM ) have agreed on a reseller partnership that will see the availability of selected SAM solutions with the Ikegami UHK-430 4K / Ultra HD ( UHD ) camera system . The agreement covers the Americas , APAC , the CIS , EMEA and most Asian countries , say the companies , and will include SAM ’ s 12G-SDI , IP connectivity and routing products . SAM ’ s range of production switchers will also be available from Ikegami , including the Kahuna enterprise-level series and Kula 1-3M / E range .
Next Month @ Creation
Colour Correction Systems
PANELLISTS
Dr Ahmad Zaki Mohd Salleh
Group GM , Engineering Media Prima
Phan Tien Dung
CTO Vietnam Digital Television
Bernard Anthony
CEO Cambodian Broadcasting Services
Virtual broadcast sets bring new possibilities
In the increasingly challenging quest to win viewer ratings , creativity and costefficiency are arguably two key attributes that will provide broadcasters with a competitive advantage . Virtual broadcast sets , while a relatively new concept , may well allow broadcasters to unleash their creativity and find more cost-effective ways of creating content . Shawn Liew reports .
When German public broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk , or Northern German Broadcasting ( NDR ), decided that it needed to work with larger images that can better appeal to viewers and get them immediately involved in the topic , a key decision was made to convert its TV Studio 1 to a virtual production environment .
Because it is difficult to show large background images with different shots and perspectives , a large green box was an obvious solution , according to Matthias Rach , head of production of NDR radio and TV . “ We then considered what technology we would need , and very quickly arrived at a virtual approach ,” he adds .
The decision was also made to deploy camera robotics and a sensor system from Shotoku , alongside virtual technology from Avid . An essential difference between a virtual studio and a conventional green screen , the latter describes , is the camera tracking , which makes it possible to combine camera motions exactly with a graphics computer . This allows the virtually generated studio set to reproduce all of the camera motions and regardless of whether zooms , pans or tilting of the camera are involved , the graphics processor obtains position data that is as exact as possible , so that the graphics segment can be calculated precisely .
In NDR ’ s new virtual studio , there are four Sony HDC-2400 studio cameras , each with three 2 / 3-inch CCDs ( charged-coupled device ), and equipped with Fujinon ’ s DigiPower box lenses , 6.5 to 180mm , 1:1.5 . A special feature of the virtual studio is that the cameras are mounted on mobile Vinten pedestals which , however , are locked in place . The camera supports are not moved , and the position of the cameras is changed only with regard to height , panning , tilt and zoom .
In this instance , the cameras and the graphics system must work together precisely , and the camera position data must be transmitted accurately . Norbert Sieben ,
video engineer at NDR , explains : “ If the values no longer correspond , this can be seen in the images . The background then begins to float behind the background .”
During the system installation , a base calibration was carried out , where the cameras are aligned with fixed measured points , in approximately 10 different positions , to determine the exact location of the cameras . The robotics sensor from Shotoku captured the position data , which are then transmitted to the Avid system . Four Orad ( an Avid company ) HDVG + render engines combine the real and virtual image content , with each engine responsible for one of the four cameras .
A tracking system processes the position data for the respective camera , transmitted by the Shotoku system via a network . For this , a render engine calculates the image segment and combines the real foreground with the virtual background . For this to succeed , a key or mask is also required , which NDR created with by using an Infuse keyer integrated into the HDVG + system . “ The keyer must always be exactly right ,” says Sieben . “ For example , shading can be seen here on the image , if the key is not set perfectly .”
The diffused green lighting of the studio background also presents a challenge , as he explains : “ Due to the comparatively small distances from the green screen , a relatively large amount of green light from the background is reflected on the news desk and presenters .”
Painting the extensive walls of the studio set green is “ far from sufficient ” to achieve a clean chroma key , NDR notes , adding that uniform illumination of the entire area is necessary — this is because the mask is generated for a particular colour tone at a defined intensity . Maria Lindinger , lighting engineer , NDR , adds : “ We illuminate the studio background with approximately 20 area lamps , each with three compartments .”
For background or studio graphics , they are fed in via the Avid Maestro Media Engine . The complete broadcast workflow is transmitted from the Annova OpenMedia editing system , via specially configured software interface , to the Maestro graphics system .
Editors develop the entire broadcast workflow in the OpenMedia system where , by means of an Avid plug-in , they can insert the broadcast graphics . These are then transmitted to the Maestro system , together with their exact position data .
The Maestro software runs on a control computer , which controls two other Avid HDVG2 graphics platforms . Each of these has two playout channels , creating a total of four channels . Jannis Redmer , graphics operator , NDR , explains : “ I have two insert channels and two full-screen channels , which I can record independently . The background graphics and text inserts for the studio presentations are combined in the HDVG + systems .”
While acknowledging that virtual production requires a higher level of concentration and better communication , NDR also lauds the operational possibilities it affords , including the integration of large images , and the introduction of a duo-presenter format . This , NDR elaborates , allows different perspectives between presenters on a topic to be divided .
Rach , head of production at NDR , summarises : “ With the large-format images , we are also taking into account changed viewing habits that have developed due to tablets and smartphones . One objective was to improve the visibility of the broadcast on these mobile devices .”
And while the jury is still out on final viewer ratings , Rach optimistically concludes : “ The trend is that , in comparison to last year , we have an increase in audience share of approximately 3 %.”
As viewer expectations increase , and system costs and complexities decrease , media content providers , regardless of