In Broadcast - May 2016 - 56


56

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 6 - Issue 5 | May 2016

InReview

NAB Las Vegas Show
Highlights
Contributing Editor David Kirk reports on
the sights and sounds from the NABSHOW
2016 Convention & Exhibition in Las Vegas...

T

he most in-your-face (more
accurately
on-your-face)
exhibits at the 2016 NABSHOW were
immersive video displays. Designed
primarily for video gaming, these
have obvious applications for other
forms of wrap-around television
entertainment such as close-up stage
performances or spectator sports. Yes
it is socially isolating, but so is the
now widespread activity of watching
broadcast television on mobile phones
and tablets. At least immersive video
delivers a bigger picture.
Wearable video displays as a basis
for 'virtual reality' date back more
than 30 years. A heroically bad
example of VR was demonstrated at
the 2015 NAB Show using a 1920 x
1080 pixel resolution HD mobile phone
in a $5 Google Cardboard headset. But
with a matrix of around 1,000 x 1,000
pixels per eye, it's great only if you
enjoy studying individual pixels.
Many companies took the concept a
stage further this year, but remained
content with 1920 x 1080 pixel mobile
phone displays. Among the best of
these was a Nokia demonstration on
the Virtual Reality Pavilion in the North
Hall. Nokia played a VR recording
showing a group of musicians
including pianist, bass player and
percussionist from front-of-house
viewing distance. Sound was relayed
via stereo headphones, remixed to
match any change in left/right viewing
angle. With a little refinement, and a
higher resolution image display, this
combination has great potential.

Orah 4i four-fisheye 360 degree camera

In the South Upper hall, VideoStitch
demonstrated
a
complete
VR
production system including its new
Orah 4i four-fisheye 360 degree
camera, each camera delivering 2048
x 1536 pixels. Viewing device was
a Samsung 4K UHD mobile phone
delivering nominally 2,000 x 2,000
pixels to each eye. The result was
certainly better than via an HD display
but pixelation was still very visible
particularly in bright areas of the
image.
Suddenly,
the
8K
resolution
promoted by NHK for several years
begins not just to make sense but
to seem essential for the long-term
success of VR. Samsung is meanwhile
reported to be planning an 11K
resolution so there is no reason to
regard 8K, or even 11K, as an upper
limit. Delivering the data required to
drive very high resolution displays is of
course a challenge in itself.
The following products were among
many new and improved exhibits
seen at the show:

satellite, LAN/WAN or public internet),
and storage.
Barco
Silex
announced
the
availability
of
RTP
(Real-time
Transport Protocol) mapping in its
VC-2 video compression codec. This is
an essential building block for moving
away from SDI to IP based production
flow. Replacing an uncompressed
stream by its equivalent VC-2 encoded
stream reduces the required network
bandwidth by a factor up to 4 times.

Barnfind's
new
BarnMini-05
combines an RS422/485, 4 x GPI and
4 x GPO, controllable via an Ethernet/
SFP port. The unit can serve as an
intelligent bridge between
third-party devices,
for
example
AJA Video Systems
transferring
an
introduced KONA
RS422 signal or tally
IP,
its
first
between two locations,
desktop
video
or can control an external
and
audio
optical changeover switch
capture card for
(BarnMini-06) in a redundancy
AJA KONA IP,
professional IP- its first desktop video
setup. Triggers are easily
based workflows. and audio capture card
set. The module can be used
It works with AJA Control Room and in conjunction with any BarnOne
Control Panel software and SDK frames. BarnMini-05 is available as
tools and accepts SMPTE 2022-6 IP- a standalone unit with a separate
encapsulated uncompressed 3G-SDI, PSU, or mounted into the BarnMini
HD-SDI and SD-SDI video, audio and BTF-Mini-16 frame that houses any
combination of 16 BarnMini modules
VANC data.
with a common PSU. BarnStudio,
AVIWEST's DMNG Laptop integrates Barnfind's control software, can
an H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC be used to configure and monitor
encoder into an Apple MacBook BarnMini-05.
Pro for video editing. It can receive
Blackmagic Duplicator 4K records files
video content from a range of
onto SD cardsaudio capture card
sources including the built-in camera
and external SDI/HDMI cameras.
Operators can perform live streaming,
file transfer via wireless, cellular,

Blackmagic Design
announced
the Blackmagic Duplicator 4K, which
allows delivery of Ultra HD content
to consumers by recording files onto
SD cards that can be distributed to
customers the moment an event
is finished. It incorporates 25 SD
card recorders, multi rate 12G-SDI
connections and a real-time H.265
encoder. The built in H.265 encoder
allows a one hour Ultra HD programme
to easily fit onto a low-cost 8GB SD
card.
Boxx demonstrated the Atom
miniature microwave transmitter for
video assist requirements operating
within the 5 GHz licence-exempt
spectrum, it is designed to work with
minimal configuration. Performance
can be monitored and adjusted in
real time at the touch of a button
without manual pairing requirements
or the need to connect to a PC to set
attributes prior to operation.
Cobalt Digital has added new
features to its 9970-QS openGear
multiviewer card and corresponding
Blue Box Group BBG-1070-QS standalone multiviewer. Both products now
allow users to upload a user-definable
background image. The products
can now monitor camera-record
metadata in ancillary data packets in
the incoming SDI signals. Users can set
an on-screen tally indicator for record
confidence. Similarly, the ability to
upload a user-definable background
image is also now a standard feature
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://www.nabshow.com https://www.aja.com/en/products/kona-ip https://www.orah.co/ https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicduplicator4k
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