BSkyB amends 3D content rules

Broadcast

BSkyB has changed its regulations to allow more 2D-to-3D converted content within programmes broadcast on its Sky 3D channel.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/bskyb-amends-3d-content-rules/5022844.article

It is a tacit acknowledgement of the high cost and technical difficulties associated with trying to film stereo 3D content entirely natively with 3D rigs.

Its new guidelines allow up to 25% of non-3D content to be used in any 3D programme, up from the strict 10% of converted material written in its original specifications, published last February.

The new rules came quietly into force last year, but Sky has yet to update the specification on the technical section of its 3D website, introducingsky3d.sky.com.

Sky said the change brought its 3D guidelines into line with its HD guidelines, which dictate that 75% of content should be in true HD.

It said the change was also about taking a “pragmatic approach to supporting the growth of 3D production in the UK”.

The 2D-originated footage must be HD and in segments that do not exceed five minutes during any 15-minute period.

This only applies to post-converted 2D-to-3D material, and Sky is still adamant that automated conversion of 2D HD programmes to 3D is not acceptable as “original 3D content”.

However, it makes an exception for the use of live conversion tools for certain scenes or camera shots during live events.

Mind the 3D content gap

 

CSI 

If 2010 was the year 3DTV became a reality, the next 12 months will go some way to proving if the industry's optimism is justified. Critical will be bringing attractive content, argues Adrian Pennington, who looks at what is being done to address the shortage.http://www.csimagazine.com/csi/Mind-the-3D-content-gap.php

‘Applification’ amplified at CES

Installation International

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which begins today in Las Vegas is a reliable barometer of the key trends likely to hit the residential market over the coming year,

http://www.installation-international.com/applification-amplified-at-ces/

Some are continuations of themes that dominated 2010: 3DTV and internet connected devices. In 2011 add to that gestural user interface and ‘apps’ with everything – plus a possible format war in the 3D arena.

Much of the chatter preceding the show has in fact been about the no-show of Google TV that was expected to excite the connected TV sector. Delayed by software glitches and the denial of content by major US networks Google forced TV makers Sony, Toshiba, LG Electronics and Sharp to shelf their presentation plans for Google TV products at the last minute.

That hasn’t however dented the phenomena which is that everything from TVs to smartphones, e-readers to tablets and even cars on show here are now connected to the Web.

Jason Oxman, senior vp of Industry Affairs at the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), dubs this  ‘applification.’
“Manufacturers are changing the user experience and handing over the user interface to third-party app developers," he says. "Manufacturers have been historically reluctant to do this, but now they’re permitting apps to permeate their devices."

By the end of this year the CEA predict that 20% of all TVs sold in the US will have internet capability built-in.
Equally ubiquitous at the CES convention are 3D displays with portable 3D screens coming on stream.

Making 3D the centrepiece of its 2011 strategy, LG has announced a swathe of 3D enhanced AV product. These include a premium Blu-ray 3D disc home theatre system; a network Blu-ray 3D disc player; and a 7.2 channel 1280 Watt a Real 3D home theatre system featuring a pair of HDMI v 1.4 inputs and support for external HDD playback of downloadable video formats such as DivX HD and MKV. WiFi direct, Ethernet and DLNA support are all added.

Toshiba meanwhile is demonstrating its glasses-free autostereoscopic displays for the first time outside Japan. The models are 20-inch and 12-inch and sport a special coating on the display which splits light from the TV into nine focused directions in order to provide an illusion of depth.

It is not alone in developing autostereoscopic screens and has attracted considerable interest since many in experts only believe 3D will take off in the home without glasses. Could the glasses versus glasses free screens heat up in to a format war?

Elsewhere uWand, a start-up born out of Philips R&D, is demonstrating how its ‘remote touch’ technology might change the way we watch and navigate TV. Equipped with direct pointing and 3D gesture control capabilities, uWand makes it possible to navigate 3D user interfaces by zooming out to bring menu items to the front of the screen.
Norway’s Elliptic Labs also has a touchless gesture user interface for the iPad. The company says it uses ultrasound to generate a field that projects one foot in front or to the side of a docked iPad. Users can then wave their hands about in front of the screen to control the device. With Microsoft Kinetc sales well past one million worldwide, the motion controller is likely to become a staple of home installs going forward.

Car manufacturers also want in on the act. Exhibitors Ford, Audi and GM have invested significant resources on revolutionising the way we interact with — and think about — our vehicles. Innovations include HD radio, in-car Wi-Fi and new functionality to in-car infotainment systems like Ford Sync.

Year in Studios 2010 - Hotcam: providing the HD factor

Broadcast 
Three major shows took the leap into high-definition and tapeless production this year: EastEnders, Deal Or No Deal and The X Factor. http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/production-feature/hotcam-providing-the-hd-factor/5021530.article

The current series of Talkback Thames blockbuster The X Factor is the first to make the move and transmit in HD. The project is built around a major new equipment package supplied by broadcast rental and crewing company HotCam, which facilitates the kit and crewing for all the UK auditions, boot camps and judges’ worldwide location shoots, all of which were previously shot on DigiBeta.

With ITV’s requirement that the show transition to HD, and given that these auditions take place in some of the largest venues in the country, HotCam devised a flyaway package centred on 10 Sony XDCam camcorders with additional EX3 kits, Evertz multiviewers and fibre cabling, which permits the transport of signals over longer distances than traditional copper.

“At certain venues in London you can’t park a truck or leave one overnight so you need to roll in and roll out the equipment,” says HotCam managing director Trevor Hotz. 

“We can have a 10 camera shoot rigged in three hours.”

Year in review 2010: Elstree Studios

Broadcast 

Elstree Studios managing director Roger Morris blames the dip in TV work on a “lack of decision-making and musical chairs” at the top of broadcasters including ITV and Channel 5.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/production-feature/elstree-studios/5021525.article

Meanwhile, the studio also saw Big Brother bow out after its 11th series, although its dormant set remains in place at the Hertfordshire lot, and it had to turn away the sixth series of ITV1’s Dancing On Ice because of a lack of a capacity caused by film shoots for The King’s Speech and Sherlock Holmes 2.

“We’ve looked to keep an even balance of film and TV work alongside corporate and advertising shoots,” says Morris.

“While TV comprises 50% of our business, it’s important to keep that spread so that we’re not overly reliant on one sector.”

Morris is planning to double the studio space at Elstree to avoid having to turn away large-scale shows in future. “We want to build more stages and we’re discussing the optimum size of construction with a view to putting the plan into action in the next 12 months,” he says.

Studios in 2010

A review of studios sector UK 2010 - Broadcast 

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/production-feature/studios-in-2010-timeline/5021529.article

Elstree Studios

Elstree Studios managing director Roger Morris blames the dip in TV work on a “lack of decision-making and musical chairs” at the top of broadcasters including ITV and Channel 5.

Meanwhile, the studio also saw Big Brother bow out after its 11th series, although its dormant set remains in place at the Hertfordshire lot, and it had to turn away the sixth series of ITV1’s Dancing On Ice because of a lack of a capacity caused by film shoots for The King’s Speech and Sherlock Holmes 2.

“We’ve looked to keep an even balance of film and TV work alongside corporate and advertising shoots,” says Morris.

“While TV comprises 50% of our business, it’s important to keep that spread so that we’re not overly reliant on one sector.”

Morris is planning to double the studio space at Elstree to avoid having to turn away large-scale shows in future. “We want to build more stages and we’re discussing the optimum size of construction with a view to putting the plan into action in the next 12 months,” he says.

BBC Studios

2010 has been the best year at BBC Studios and Post Production (S&PP) for a decade, claims chief executive Mark Thomas.

He says the business has a 60:40 BBC to indie work ratio and is on target to achieve a 50:50 balance next year.

“We’ve raised our game,” he explains. “We’ve proved we’re willing to innovate and introduce new workflows to support productions through this diffi cult business climate, where historically we’ve operated more like a factory.”

He cites BBC S&PP’s deal with Endemol to take over the management of its Bristol studio and postproduction services for Deal Or No Deal, which was inked in October, as the first of a series of new initiatives.

“There will be a number of other projects like that, which have yet to be finalised,” says Thomas.

Despite a strike that threatened to disrupt shooting, Thomas is also pleased that the BBC’s Elstree Studios managed to secure EastEnders for another five years, transforming production with HD and tapeless resources in the process.

Pinewood Shepperton Studios

Pinewood Shepperton Studios, the UK’s largest complex, blames a reduction in spend from broadcasters for a 6% fall in its TV revenues over the first half of the year

But group director for corporate affairs Andrew Smith points out that the Buckinghamshire studio is increasingly attracting business from a wider range of industries.

“We have enormous flexibility with regard to our film sound stages and TV facilities, which few other studios can match,” he says.

“They can be used interchangeably according to demand and are not just for film and TV producers but for other creative industries.”

Video games developer Ubisoft Entertainment, for example, used Pinewood’s audio post-production facilities. “There’s a growing demand for the quality of sound for games to be the equivalent of film,” says Smith.

That said, Pinewood hosted large TV productions Ant And Dec’s Push The Button and The Whole 19 Yards, while Shepperton is preparing for Dancing On Ice, which is being refreshed as it moves to its new home.

The ITV production will shoot in high definition (HD) for the first time and is building two new ice rinks - a training rink and studio rink - and a set that ITV promises will be “bigger and bolder”.

With arena-style shows such as Dancing On Ice credited with reviving TV ratings, the studio that has arguably benefi ted the most from their recommission has been Wembley’s Fountain Studios, home to Britain’s Got Talent, Over The Rainbow, The Cube and, of course, The X Factor.

“We’ve had one of our best years ever,” says managing director Mariana Spater. “The shows are getting bigger but we are flexible to client needs and believe we have a reputation for delivering shows with impact.”

Fountain has completed the final stages of a three-year comprehensive HD revamp, with its second gallery now converted to the format.

The london Studios

The year got off to a slow start at The London Studios (TLS) but bookings have built up over 2010.

According Kathy Schulz, director of studio services and client liaison: “There’s been a steady stream of bookings, with revenues up year on year mainly because of an increase in volume.”

TLS can count on the regular support of BBC factual shows QI and Have I Got News For You but the studio has also seen Lorraine and Loose Women stripped live on weekdays and has entertained Piers Morgan’s Life Stories and PopStar To OperaStar.

“We have a pretty full order book for Q1 2011,” says Schulz.

Key events for studios in the UK throughout 2010.

March

• Peel Media appoints BBC S&PP’s Andy Waters as head of studios for MediaCityUK
• ITV’s plan to sell its Bristol studios to Verve Properties for £5m collapses

April

• Pinewood Studios appeals to South Buckinghamshire District Council after it rejects the studio’s planning permission for its live/work development, Project Pinewood

June

• IMG Sports Media builds a £5m studio in Chiswick to produce and distribute Premier League football content for international broadcasters

July

• ITV announces £5m overhaul of its Kirkstall Road studios in Leeds. The year-long ‘Project Farm’ will see the main ITV Yorkshire building become a file-based HD production centre, with six studios, and the new home of Emmerdale

August

• TLS upgrades two studios to HD (three out of a total of six) and adds six HD Symphony Nitris onlines for post
• Bectu calls off a second strike over payments for EastEnders staff

September

• BBC S&PP makes studio six at TVC the UK’s first 1080p50-capable studio
• Fremantle Media’s Merton Studios, home to The Bill since 1983, is sold to Panther Securities for £4.75m

October

• BBC S&PP strikes deal with Endemol to take over studio and post-production services for Deal Or No Deal and rental lease of its Bristol studio

November

• SIS signs 10-year contract to manage the studios and post-production resources at MediaCityUK
• Waterloo Film Studios’ four-stage white/green screen complex opens in central London

Hotcam: providing the HD factor

Broadcast

Three major shows took the leap into high-definition and tapeless production this year: EastEnders, Deal Or No Deal and The X Factor.
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/production-feature/hotcam-providing-the-hd-factor/5021530.article

The current series of Talkback Thames blockbuster The X Factor is the first to make the move and transmit in HD. The project is built around a major new equipment package supplied by broadcast rental and crewing company HotCam, which facilitates the kit and crewing for all the UK auditions, boot camps and judges’ worldwide location shoots, all of which were previously shot on DigiBeta.

With ITV’s requirement that the show transition to HD, and given that these auditions take place in some of the largest venues in the country, HotCam devised a flyaway package centred on 10 Sony XDCam camcorders with additional EX3 kits, Evertz multiviewers and fibre cabling, which permits the transport of signals over longer distances than traditional copper.

“At certain venues in London you can’t park a truck or leave one overnight so you need to roll in and roll out the equipment,” says HotCam managing director Trevor Hotz.

“We can have a 10 camera shoot rigged in three hours.”