In Broadcast - May/June 2011 - 26

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INSIGHT
NAB 2011: Emerging from behind the cloud Cont.
looks electronic. They can put any kind of nomenclature around it – a 4K, 5K, 8K – none of that matters until you put images up on a big screen.” Shilowitz said that Red’s baby version Scarlet (which is a 3K machine) is due this summer. 4K imaging will continue to advance, not least because filmmakers seem to want the highest resolution as well as light dynamic range, and colorimetry to play with, as possible. For it to move into more widespread production, the supporting infrastructure needs developing. The F65 for example, will record at 24 fps 50 minutes of footage in 4K 16-bit RAW to new solid state 1TB SR cards for transfer to a new record/playback device SR-R1. Panasonic and Canon also have 4K chip technologies in development as does JVC which was demonstrating the power and small size of its largescale integration chip by showing it working in a handheld camcorder.

Emerging from behind the cloud
The third great theme at NAB 2011 aside from 3D and 4K imaging was the emergence of practical cloudbased production and management. Among them was Avid’s Interplay Central, a web-based production portal for PCs, laptops and mobile phones. Targeted first at mobile newsgathering it could also serve applications in fast turnaround genres such as sports or reality TV shows. It is also the first in a much wider plan by the company to offer products based on an IP framework. “In the past there were rigid tools for news production, but this breaks the mould and enables media professionals to access a single user interface on a laptop or mobile device and tap into newsroom systems,” explained Christine Viera, Avid’s VP for Product and Segment Marketing. Its functionality includes frameaccurate editing, based on the Maximum Throughput technology Avid acquired a couple of years ago. Craft finishing and edits for longform programming are best performed on dedicated workstations in a dedicated facility for the time being at least, said the company. Fellow post production systems veteran Quantel was showing QTube, software it claims offers frame accurate cloud-based edit and review of video content. Designed for news broadcasters video was demonstrated being streamed from Newbury and another stream from New York to a laptop in Las Vegas for realtime edits. Its special sauce lies in the way Quantel encodes the video files for such rapid and high quality transfer.

Meanwhile the Fordela Corporation, a start-up founded by employees of LucasArts, was displaying a cloudbased solution for managing stereo 3D content. Based on the firm’s Ambassador asset management system – and aimed at content producers, distributors and publishers of 3D video – its 3D frame-packing and management uses Microsoft Azure and Amazon EC2 cloud platforms.

Outside broadcasts get fibre
Grass Valley has been trailing a new transmission pack capable of carrying 3G signals over triax with the UK wing of NEP Visions since January. At NAB it officially launched the innovation which was claimed to be unique in the marketplace. The system allows fibre or triax transmission cables to carry either 1080i, 720p or 1080p50/60 video, while being prepared for multiplexed pairs of 720p or 1080i HD signals for stereo applications. Cabling in this manner will save time and money during set-up for live events. Sony presented its HDFA-200 optical fibre transmission adapters which combine 1.5G signals into a single 3G-capable SMPTE feed. The device also incorporates a viewfinder output with multiple analytical and diagnostic modes - including several specifically for 3D use. JVC’s hybrid ENG and studio camera GY-HM790U now has a fibre optic transceiver which provides a means of uplinking video without the use of an external encoder on location. Built by Telecast Fiber Systems as part of its CopperHead range, HD video is compressed into MPEG-2

4K Red One

Slow-motion advances at pace
New versions of leading ultra slow motion cameras were unveiled including Live Motion Concept’s (LMC) Antelope MkII and the SprintCam Vvs HD from I-Movix. Both cameras are built around Vision Research Phantom optics and claim to capture action at frame rates up to 5,800fps in 720p60. “It is a total redesign inside and out,” claimed LMC’s CEO, Felix Marggraff. “We are using the Phantom V641 chip, which provides two permanent HD SDI outputs (live and replay), two extra stops, plus tally and return signals. This is the only real broadcast ultra slow-motion available now.”

I-Movix has also extended the operating range of the SprintCam making it possible to use in extremely high or low temperature conditions, a dual output that allows an operator to shoot and record at the same time and integration with EVS servers in ultra slow mode. Its main reference client appears to be Chicago’s Fletcher Camera & Lenses which has purchased two of the latest models for rental to US sports broadcasters. The third main developer in this area is Japanese firm NAC, whose Hi-Motion camera is rented and sold through Arri Media and built by Ikegami (in a switch from previous partner Panasonic). Shipping early 2012, Hi-Motion II was previewed at NAB also sporting integration with EVS, simultaneous record/playback and claiming its 3-chip CMOS sensor yields two additional stops of exposure. “One of the key differences the Hi-Motion has over the competition is that it is designed as a broadcast camera and fits easily into an OB,” noted Andy Hayford, Arri Media’s Digital High-Speed manager. “It has three sensors on an optical block and its colorimetry is similar to a Sony or Grass Valley camera. Other ultra slow-motion cameras are based on large single sensor Vision Research cameras which were originally made for missile testing.”

i-movix’s SprintCam Vvs HD system

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