In Broadcast - August 2015 - 60


60

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 8 | August 2015

InFile

Audio & Video Codecs
David Kirk looks at new developments in audio and video streaming technology...

B

ack in 2014, InBroadcast looked
at the subject of Media Workflows,
concentrating on file-based content
distribution codecs. The focus of this
feature is mainly on audio and video
streaming devices, a subject area which
has seen many new developments both
in hardware and software. IP inevitably
looms large, as indeed it will at this
year's IBC. I will start and conclude
with two particularly innovative
developments outside my usual A to Z
routine.
Vortex Communications' CallMe
lets remote contributors, including
reporters, get on air in low-delay
high-quality audio without needing
dedicated hardware or software
codecs.
Radio
and
television
stations can thus put a contributor
on-air without having to send a
communication vehicle to a guest,
or ask the guest to visit a studio. The
studio sets up a CallMe Event which
produces a web link which is emailed
to the guest contributor. When
clicked, the link connects the guest
via any standard internet browser to
the station's dedicated and branded
CallMe portal on the CallMe.FM server.
To go live, the guest clicks on the
CallMe button and connects to the
chosen codec at the studio, already set
up as part of the licencing process.
Aeta Audio's ScoopFone HD is
designed to deliver high-quality
voice transmission by extending the
frequency range of traditional or
narrowband voice calls (300 Hz to 3.4
kHz) out to wideband audio ranges
(50 Hz to 7 kHz). Dual mobile network
antennas allow operation in areas of
marginal coverage. Microphone and
line sources can be mixed. Claimed
operating time is over five hours per
battery charge.
Audio Compass offers an audioover-IP program called Audio Compass
Direct Connect, developed for radio

Axel Technology's
Falcon 50 TV sound processor

broadcasting.
Compatible
with
internet, intranet, WAN, LAN, 3G
and 4G, it is bi-directional and peerto-peer. A pinhole in the firewall
at one end is required. Capabilities
include an adjustable audio buffer
(50 milliseconds upwards), bidirectional text chat, remote control
of audio switchers, and separate send/
receive audio codecs with a reduced
bandwidth foldback channel
Axel Technology's Falcon 50 TV is
a television sound processor intended
to ensure a consistent loudness and
sound footprint from multiple content
sources. It incorporates a six-band
core, two-band automatic gain control,
stereo enhancer, bass enhancer,
brilliance enhancer and three-band
parametric
equaliser.
Occupying
a 2U chassis, the processor can be
controlled remotely or from the front
panel.
Broadcom is introducing a new UHD
home gateway and set-top box chip.
The BCM7445S is claimed to provide a
25% improvement in video bandwidth
efficiency.
Comrex has announced version 4.0
firmware for its Access and Bric-Link
intercoms. V4.0 includes the operator

Deva Broadcast's DB4004 second generation digital FM radio signal analyser

to configure multiple networks
for increased reliability on
higher bandwidth links. Multiple
networks also allow tools such as
forward error correction.
Audinate's Dante audio-over-IP
interface now supports the
AES67
audio
networking
standard.
AES67
protocol
allows synchronised audio
connection between compliant
devices. It specifies methods for
clock synchronisation to bridge
between different IP audio
implementations.
Deva Broadcast's DB4004
is a second generation digital
FM radio signal analyser. It
can be used to monitor up to 50 FM
radio stations. Features include TCP/
IP and optional GSM connectivity.
All measurements are refreshed
simultaneously and synchronously.
Channel measurements and logs are
saved in internal memory which can be
accessed via FTP.
Digigram has introduced an HEVC
compression encoder intended for
use in point-to-point broadcast
contribution,
such
as
when
transporting video from live event to
studio. Encodes is either as one UHD
stream or multiple HD video streams.

The encoder fits into a 1 rack unit
short-depth chassis. It ingests video
from SDI inputs, encodes one raw UHD
video signal or up to four simultaneous
raw HD video signals using HEVC, then
streams the encoded video over IP to
the broadcaster's production base.

Dolby's Atmos GUI

Dolby's Atmos technology allows up
to 128 audio tracks plus associated pan
metadata to be distributed to cinemas.
Using a Dolby plug-in for Adobe Pro
Tools, it allows the re-recording mixer
or an Atmos equipped large format
audio mixing console to designate a
location in the auditorium as a threedimensional placement where each
dynamic sound source should seem to
be coming from. Sounds that are not
dynamically moving, such as ambient
sounds and centre dialogues, are still
separately pre-mixed in a traditional
multichannel format.
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://www.axeltechnology.com/product.php?id=52 http://www.dolby.com/us/en/brands/dolby-atmos.html?utm_campaign=dolby-atmos&utm_medium=multi&utm_source=multi&utm_content=redir-atmos-platform-page http://www.devabroadcast.com/db4004
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - August 2015
