14
NEWS & VIEWS
September 2016
IBC2016 charting
transformative changes
in digital era
AMSTERDAM – As a new digital era ushers in an age of ’24/7
connectivity‘, IBC2016 is returning to the RAI Exhibition and
Convention Centre from Sept 9-13 to showcase and highlight
the very latest trends and technologies impacting the broadcast
and media industries. These include: IP, cloud, high dynamic
range (HDR), 4K/Ultra HD (UHD), over-the-top (OTT) and virtual reality
(VR), which will be prominently highlighted across the show floors.
SGL rolling out new features for FlashNet
SGL is highlighting a new version
of the FlashNet content management solution, which is designed
to integrate with media asset
management (MAM) or automation control systems to provide
media professionals with improved
workflow efficiency.
The new version of FlashNet
includes a number of key features,
such as a new Infinity user interface
(UI), which SGL is demonstrating
for the first time in Europe. The
UI is equipped with a dashboard
that simplifies archive procedures
with tools for archive and restore
functionality, system health, monitoring, analysis and more.
SGL’s FlashNet is now compatible with SMPTE’s Archive eXchange
Format (AXF) to read and process
AXF objects, providing flexibility
for users and ensuring long-term
availability of content, regardless
of technology evolution, says SGL.
Additionally, broadcasters and
content owners can now transfer
materials directly to Ci, Sony’s
cloud-based service that allows
media professionals to collaborate
on the creations and sharing of
content, from their MAM system
using FlashNet. SGL also supports
Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)
The latest version of SGL’s FlashNet includes features such as the new Infinity user
interface, designed to simplify archive procedures for users.
via Aspera and ExpeDat Gateway.
These capabilities are launching
for the first time in Europe, alongside pre-defined drives for specific
archive roles. This feature allows
users to allocate a pre-defined
number of drives within their library
for a specific role, or restoring and
archiving materials at a certain time
of the day. This, SGL adds, gives
broadcasters multiple drives to improve their operational procedures.
SGL is also introducing FlashNet Lite, which provides the full
FlashNet solution, albeit being
restricted to a single server node.
Visitors to booth 7.J15 can
also check out how Glookast, an
SGL-developed feature of the Avid
Interplay Web Services solution,
powers partial file restore. Customers can use the archive capabilities
that they currently require, but can
employ Avid Interplay | Archive at
any time in the future without the
need to re-archive any content.
The partial file restore feature
enables operators to easily select
and restore elements of a clip
directly from the archive in high
resolution. Prior to this, partial file
restore functionality could only
be achieved using the full Avid
Interplay | Archive system.
Shotoku’s
VR tracking
system takes
centre stage
Leading Shotoku Broadcasting
Systems’ IBC 2016 line-up is its
TP-200VR/300VR system, a combined solution consisting of the
company’s two-stage pneumatic
TP-200VR pedestal and SX-300VR
pan and tilt head.
Designed for studio virtual
reality (VR) applications, the TP200VR/300VR system offers lighttouch control and robust stability,
and supports payloads up to 40kg.
Pan, tilt, zoom, focus, X, Y and
height data output keep the VR
graphics system synchronised to
the camera’s floor position, orient
ation and height. The system also
features an “unlimited” X-Y tracking area and RS422 serial data output, allowing any studio to become
a virtual studio.
Other highlights at booth
12.E42 include the TP500 studio
pedestal, a compact and lightweight pneumatic pedestal that
supports camera payloads up to
55kg. The TP500 is suitable for
multi-location use such as outside
broadcasting (OB), studio or event
production, and its modular design allows simple transportation
between locations, without compromising its ability to provide a
stable platform for camera users.
Furthermore, the TP500’s integrated inflation pump offers flexibility regardless of the broadcast
location, according to Shotoku,
who is also highlighting the SmartPed robotic pedestal, the SmartTrack robotic rail camera system,
and the Free-d2 tracking system.
Designed to address the creative and commercial demands of
on-air environments, the SmartPed
robotic pedestal is a fully robotic
XY, three-wheel pedestal that features a new height column, which
eliminates the need for pneumatic
balancing. It is also equipped with
Shotoku’s TP-200VR/300VR system
supports payloads up to 40kg and is
ideal for studio VR applications.
multi-zone collision avoidance
and detection systems, as well as
an electro-mechanical steer/drive
system.
The SmartTrack robotic rail
camera system combines the
flexibility of Shotoku’s pan-andtilt and control systems with the
track-based technology of Germany’s MAT, to meet demanding
applications in round-the-clock
news or TV studios. The SmartTrack
supports floor or ceiling operation and a range of height column
configurations, in both upright and
inverted modes.
As for the Free-d2, Shotoku says
this tracking system represents a
new generation of tracking systems that do not require physical
encoder devices attached to the
camera support’s moving axes.
Designed for VR and augmented reality (AR) news, sports
and current affairs live production
studios, the Free-d2 tracking system
deploys advanced video processing algorithms and simple ceiling
markers to precisely determine the
exact position and orientation of
the studio camera, thus providing
“highly accurate and constantly
referenced (absolute) position
tracking”.
Axon bringing enhanced 4K/UHD and IP production support
Axon Digital Design is showcasing its new
SynView modular multi-viewer, which is capable of handling both 4K/Ultra HD (UHD)
and IP video formats.
Designed for use as a standalone unit or
as part of an Axon Synapse signal processing
system, the new SynView solution is suitable
for a wide range of applications and covers
small to large monitoring walls.
Designed for use as a standalone unit
or as part of an Ax on Synapse signal
processing system, the new SynView supports a wide range of applications, and is
described by Axon as the only single-field
latency (20ms@50Hz and 16,[email protected])
multi-view system in the market. Its modular
nature, Axon adds, allows it to be combined
with more than 300 different processing
modules.
The new SynView multi-view system is
equipped with dual 10Gb Ethernet and an agnostic
IP video channel picker to support more 4K/UHD and IP
production.
The new SynView is available in two basic
models, each in turn is available in SDI I/O or
Ethernet I/O modes. These versions can be
deployed together to build a hybrid multiviewer with up to hundreds of inputs and
eight 1080p outputs on SDI, or two outputs
with 4K/UHD resolution.
Multiple connector panels are
also available to support different I/O
configurations.
Some key features include dual 10Gb
Ethernet, and an agnostic IP video channel
picker, which is compatible with several IP
video formats, including TSN, TR-03 and
TR-04, among others.
Compared to earlier systems, SynView’s
feature-set has been enhanced with double
the amount of inputs, eight times more
outputs, 4K/UHD/60Hz output resolution
on display outputs, and a six-fold increase
of processing power. These enhancements,
according to Axon, allow SynView to scale,
position, de-embed, overlay and process
eight video channels.
Find out more at booth 10.A21/B21,
where Axon is also offering its full broadcast
infrastructure product range. This includes
the Cerebrum control and monitoring platform, which is suitable for mobile production,
news and studio live production, as well as
master control and remote production.