In Broadcast - October 2017 - 26

26

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 7 - Issue 10 | October 2017

InReview

IBC2017 In Retrospect
Contributing Editor David Kirk files his final report on IBC2017
and the technology on display...

T

rade shows such as IBC provide a
useful way of sensing long-term
trends within their specific industry
sectors. New hardware, new software
and new services can normally be
identified via the internet, but a decent
exhibition also provides the opportunity
to meet suppliers, their competitors,
even your own competitors,
on neutral ground. At IBC, few
places are more neutral than
'The Beach' where visitors
can mingle, exchange ideas or
simply imbibe Dutch beer.
The outlook for the broadcast
media industry as indicated
both by the NAB Show in April
and its IBC echo in September
can be summarised in just one
word: Cloudy. This does not
simply mean the continuing
rise of software-as-a-service. It also
means the increasing popularity of
the mobile phone as a production
tool. Apple iPhones have long been
used by television news journalists
as a quick and dirty way of shooting
video news clips and uploading them
to base. Mobile phones are now being
applied for documentary production,
notably the BBC's mid-2016 Secrets
of the Super Elements, though that
was to make a specific point. Software
plug-ins for an increasing variety
of platforms look set to be a major
development area in the next few
years, whether purchased or rented.
IP-based
remote
outside
broadcasting meanwhile continues
to be in the ascendant, allowing
substantial savings in coverage of
live stage or sports events. Instead of
sending a fully-crewed OB production
vehicle to the remote site, a smaller
vehicle with cameramen and setup technicians makes the journey.
Video is then fed back via IP to
the production hub. An even more
economical approach involves the
cameramen staying back at the
production hub to pan-and-scan

Capture and output: AJA Io 4K Plus

content in HD from on-site prepositioned 4K UHD cameras down to
HD or upconverted SD. The pan-andscan in mode of working looks likely
to create demand for 8K Hi-Vision
cameras provided lens distortion does
not become an issue.

Blackmagic Ultimatte controller

Adding to the new product coverage
in InBroadcast's two-part IBC 2017
previews, the following innovations
give some idea of the flavour of this
year's show.
AJA's Io 4K Plus capture and output
device offers 12G-SDI and HDMI 2.0 I/O
connectivity and can handle 4K at up
to 50p/60p frame rates. Intended for
use with tools such as Adobe Premiere
Pro, Apple FCP X, and Avid Media
Composer, it supports 4K/UltraHD
and HD large raster, high frame rate,
deep colour and HDR projects and can
connect via Thunderbolt 3 to USB-C
equipped workstations or laptops.
Blackmagic Design's
Ultimatte
12 real-time SD/HD/UHD hardware
compositing processor is designed to
create composites from fixed cameras
and static backgrounds or automated
virtual set systems. It can also be
used for on-set pre-visualisation
in television and film production,
allowing actors and directors to see
the virtual sets they are interacting
with while shooting against a green
screen.

Broadcast
Wireless
Systems'
Sapphire codec compresses a single
4K UHD input or up to four HD inputs.
Each input can support two stereo
pairs of embedded audio. Compressed
streams are available as IP or on DVB
ASI for interoperability. Specified
latency is 60ms end-to-end in HD and
90mS in UHD. The codec is available in
a half-width 1RU package for flyaway,
SNG or ENG applications, or as a
clip-on configuration to complement
existing wireless camera devices.
Camera Corps' Clarity camera
is much smaller than traditional
high speed broadcast cameras and
can capture high quality HD at up
to 480fps (8x real-time at 50p or
60p frame rate). Finished in black
and measuring 65 x 25 x120 mm,
the Clarity head incorporates a 7
megapixel micro four thirds sensor.
The camera can be genlocked and
has a temperature tolerance of -25
to +50˚C. Completing the system is a
full-function remote control panel with
paint, focus, iris and zoom control.
Optical fibre cabling allows fast setup
and long-distance signal transport.
Additional features include a positivelock lens mount plus a global shutter
with speeds of 1/60, 1/125, 1/500 and
1/1000 second. Sensitivity is 2000lux
at F11 aperture. Video can be output in
1080p, 1080i and 720 formats at 50 or
59.94Hz.
Datavideo's HS-1300 is a sixchannel portable video production
unit which can stream H.264 video
and record the programme output
to a USB drive. Features include a
17.3 inch multiviewer LCD monitor,
dual chromakey, DSK, still store, user
memories, and picture in picture.

Next to the HS-1300, Datavideo also
presented the HS-1600T. This fourchannel portable switcher accepts
three HDBaseT inputs. HDBaseT
transports power, camera signal,
control data and tally signals over
standard Ethernet cables. HS-1600T
also has the streaming and recording
features on board like the HS-1300.
DFT demonstrated new features
for its Scanity HDR film scanner.
Designed to make wet scanning as
easy to use as standard dry scanning,
Scanity combines the film transport of
a dry gate with the scratch removal
advantages of a wet gate. It also
enables fast and easy switching
between the dry and the wet gate
scanning modes. Dirt particles are
removed by the fluid in a gate prechamber so the film is also cleaned
before scanning starts. DFT has
extended the wet gate's range to
include 16mm. Also on show will be the
Scanity 4K HDR, using GB Labs'

Fast and small:
Camera Corps'
Clarity
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/ultimatte http://europe.nxtbook.com/nxteu/lesommet/inbroadcast_201709/index.php#/24 http://europe.nxtbook.com/nxteu/lesommet/inbroadcast_201708/index.php#/22 http://www.cameracorps.co.uk/ https://www.aja.com/products/io-4k-plus
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