InBroadcast
NAB
showed an industry in consolidation – around HDR for live and post, around IP
standard 2110 and with few M&As.
HDR
Several companies touted products that can convert HDR
signals from one flavour of HDR to another, and to and from Standard Dynamic
Range (SDR).
Evertz showcased new this
conversion functionality in its 7814UDX-4K product family of Cross Converters
which can be added via a software license. The update allows the device to
transfer to and from SD and convert across HLG, PQ (SMPTE-2084) and S.Log3.
The license also makes it possible for the 7814UDX-4K
to perform colour space conversion for BT.709, BT.2020, and S.Gamut3.
At the same time, SAM
announced FormatFusion4 HDR conversion in its Kahuna production switcher line
up (pictured) and support for 4K and HDR conversion in its mid-range KudosPro
and UHD1000 products. SAM Alchemist can also transfer across different HDR
flavours when using file-based assets.
Sony was also discussing HDR
conversion with its HDRC-4000. This uses original algorithms, including
built-in AIR Matching (AIR refers to Artistic Intent Rendering), to reproduce
the image quality and colour determined during S-Log3 production — regardless of
the transmission format used.
Sony’s new Content Management Station has improved the
HDR capabilities of its PWS-4500 live production server system. Designed for
4K/HD live production and available by July, the appliance allows users to
create metadata-enabled workflows that can help to speed up the transfer of
content from production to delivery.
Furthermore,
Sony is promoting the X-OCN (eXtended Tonal Range Original Camera Negative)
recording format for HDR image grading. It can be recorded using Sony’s AXS-R7
portable memory recorder together with PMW-F55 and F5 cameras. To promote wider
use of X-OCN, Sony is working with other companies to develop X-OCN supporting
products including Assimilate, Autodesk, Avid, Filmlight and Blackmagic Design.
AJA Video Systems
made several announcements aimed at high dynamic range support. In
collaboration with Colorfront, AJA previewed
a new HDR supported converter and frame synchronizer. AJA also
confirmed support for HDR with the release of Adobe Premiere Pro. That means
that editors will be able to play the Hybrid Log Gamma flavour
of HDR from Premiere Pro with the AJA Kona 4 desktop I/O
card or an AJA Io 4K Thunderbolt I/O device.
Live
production and Vision mixing
EVS and Avid
allied to support fast-turnaround live production workflows for users of their
systems. Specifically, EVS has developed a connector called IPLink for Avid
MediaCentral UX users that provides “rapid access” to media stored on EVS
servers. It means users don’t have to leave the Avid interface to search for
shots and import them into varied Interplay and Media Composer projects.
SAM claims to
have the world’s first UHD master control switcher, the Masterpiece 12G-SDI.
Handling SD/HD/1080p and UHD, the appliance provides a control interface to
SAM’s Morpheus playout automation solution. It incorporae’s SAM’s FormatFusion
3 to provide broadcasters with more capacity to feed multiple format material
into their channels.
Ross Video also added
UHD support to its Carbonite range of switchers. Carbonite UHD is the latest
version that transforms Carbonite Black or Black Plus models into a UHD
switcher. Carbonite Black becomes a complete 1 ME UHD switcher with 4 full
keyers including a UHD chroma keyer, and transition key for MediaWipes and DVE
moves.
“This
is an unrivalled step forward in switcher design, it simply isn’t possible to
find another product at this price point that offers this level of UHD
performance,” claims Ross.
Blackmagic’s new ATEM Television
Studio Pro HD features 8 inputs, multiview, auxiliary and program outputs,
analogue audio inputs, built in talkback, two flash based media players,
professional creative transitions, a DVE for effects and more. It’s available
in May for $2,295.
“When
it comes to creating an entire HD program right from the switcher in real time,
there simply is no faster, simpler or more affordable way to do it,” said CEO
Grant Petty.
Post
Avid made a
sweeping range of announcements at NAB but the most fundamental to its strategy
is a long term tie-up with Microsoft to develop cloud-based apps for the media
and entertainment industry.
Microsoft Azure is its
preferred cloud hosting platform for Avid Media Central (Pro Tools, Media
Composer) platform. Avid Chairman and CEO Louis Hernandez, Jr. said, "Avid
is making a major play in the cloud, which is a significant step for the
company. This represents the culmination of our Avid Everywhere vision and
strategy for the industry, which will open up significant growth prospects for
the company."
Avid
has also made it easier for rerecording mixers to create Dolby Atmos immersive sound by hooking up its Pro Tools audio
postproduction system with the Dolby system. The companies are working on a
soon-to-be-released next version of Pro Tools that will offer native Atmos
mixing capabilities for the multi-channel and object-based audio
format.
Dolby
Atmos is becoming a routine part of feature releases including the forthcoming Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Alien: Covenant but it is increasingly
being adopted for TV.
Avid
is also making a version of its flagship Media Composer available for free.
Media Composer | First is a cut down version featuring four video tracks and
eight audio tracks but with a number of functions present in the full fat
software including publishing to social media channels including YouTube, Vimeo
and Facebook. Other companies including Lightworks, Blackmagic Design and most
recently, Filmlight have released free software in a bid to attract new users.
The
main focus of Adobe’s NAB show was
updates to its collaborative workflow system Creative Cloud. There’s support
for Ambisonic audio in Premiere Pro – useful for those creating content
for VR enabled platforms like YouTube and Facebook. A new sound panel lets
users make audio mixes and sound improvements that in the past would have
required a dedicated session by an audio engineer.
Adobe’s
artificial intelligence and machine learning framework called Sensei now helps
users to automatically normalize audio loudness across an entire timeline with
a single click in Premiere Pro or Audition. In Character Animator, Sensei will
help ensure a puppet’s lip synch is matched.
Within
Creative Cloud workflows, customers have access to millions of Adobe Stock video
assets, including 4K and HD, and the ability to search and scrub through video
directly in the application. New to this release is the ability to contribute
to Adobe Stock straight from Premiere Pro, making the whole business of
uploading and selling stock footage for any filmmaker much quicker and easier
to do. Additionally, users of Creative Cloud will now be able to access the
video library of Pond 5 within Adobe Stock.
All these new features for Adobe CC are priced at $49.99 a month.
Blackmagic Design
unveiled a major new version of its widely used DaVinci Resolve system that
integrates the sound editing and mixing capability it acquired from Fairlight.
With the launch of
version 14 (the beta version is now available), new multi-user collaboration
tools would let editing, colour grading and sound departments work on the same
project at the same time. The company also reported that it has
reconfigured the way it handles data, which it claims could result in
significant speed improvements.
Lawo showed an IP-based sound mixer which
supports all the relevant video over IP standards (SMPTE 2110, AES67, RAVENNA
and DANTE) and comes with video thumbnails. The mc²96 Grand Production Console
can display real-time video thumbnails to aid channel identification. Touching a fader changes the LiveView
thumbnail to full-screen mode, providing a more detailed view of that channel’s
video source, such as a camera or a replay machine.
Capture and
recording
Atomos’ Sumo sports
a 19-inch LCD panel with 1200nit brightness and is able to map the HDR output
of most cameras including Sony FS5 and FS7, Canon C300MKII and C500 or
Panasonic Varicam LT to assist on-set or in post for editing and grading.
It
can record 4K 12bit Raw, 10bit ProRes/DNxHR, plus it can switch and mix a live
record and stream or record four HD ISO recordings using QuadLink SDI
connections. “Sumo is one of the most remarkable video products I’ve
worked on,” claimed Jeromy Young, Atomos co-founder. Costing £2100, it ships
around IBC2017.
A
new version of the ARRI Alexa is the
company’s first entirely wireless system. A low-latency HD video transmitter
and WiFi radio are integrated to the latest ALEXA SXT W model. Camera setup
will be quicker, says ARRI, and productions will be able to move faster, freed
of the necessity to route video cables. The transmitter itself is devised by
Amimon, most renowned for its Connex HD wireless box.
ARRI
is also giving its Amira and Alexa Mini cameras software boosts which among
other things improves their capacity to perform multi-camera shoots. The
Amira's v5 software improves the cameras’ SDI output data rate sufficiently to
allow external UHD recording at frame rates up to 60 fps.
"This
helps producers to use the Amira’s shallow depth of field and give a cinematic
look to live music concerts, TV soaps, and other fast-paced, multi-camera
productions," states the firm.
The
Alexa Mini’s v4.0 update features EXT Sync - the ability to slave up to 15
Minis to one master Mini camera, each with parameters like the frame rate or
shutter angle synchronized – useful to simplify complex set-ups for VR and
VFX applications.
Mobile
links specialist Dejero partnered
with ExpertFile, a search engine and content platform, to counter so-called
fake news. ExpertFile is described as a “unique international resource for
identifying subject matter experts”. Its directory of contacts, covering
over 25,000 topics is now accessible from Dejero’s LIVE+ Control management
system from a web browser within the newsroom or in the field.
“In
this era of fake news, there has never been a more critical need in broadcast
news for credible sources,” explained Peter Evans, founder / CEO, ExpertFile.
JVC has a new command and control workstation to work with its ProHD
Mobile Bridge and Portable Bridge bonded cellular technologies for ENG and
multi-camera live productions. This can access all the active ‘Bridge’ cameras
in an organisation and superimpose their locations over a street map with live
image previews. The workstation will also allow the operator to access each
Bridge camera on the network, take control, or manage settings.
Panasonic showed a prototype 360 degree 4K device that stitches the
uncompressed output from four 4K cameras in real time with apparently
very low latency. This means that it can be put to use without the need for
complex external processing on live broadcasts of sport, concerts and other
stadium events. It’s due for release in August.
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