In Broadcast - October 2016 - 59


59

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 6 - Issue 10 | October 2016

InReview

IBC2016 Expo
Contributing Editor Adrian Pennington reports that IP seems proven and there are
lots of things you can do with it - the bigger picture in InBroadcast's show round up...

B

roadcast
kit
fairs
have
traditionally focused around
picture quality and the latest video
format. The industry has been trending
away from this in recent years and
it's now clear that the use of Internet
Protocols is transformational across
all aspects of the business. It is not
just about replacing one set of kit
with another keeping substantively
the same workflows. This change
fundamentally impacts how media is
created and gets to market.
"We are in a multi-format world in
which SD, HD, UHD as well as elements
like high frame rates, high dynamic
range and 360-degree video can be
acquired and need managing," said
John Ive, Consultant Technologist for
the IABM. "Quite simply the traditional
video production system can't cope.
Something new is needed which is
format agnostic and this is a key driver
to IT and IP."
The IBC2016 show will be seen as
a watermark for IP/IT networks in
content production as TV executives
began to see its potential beyond
cost savings and toward new creative
possibilities.
IP Everywhere
With IP systems you could build an
entire, multi-studio live production
facility with fibre at its core, and
almost never have to pay for re-wiring
again: not project to project, nor year
to year. The massive advantage is
that every source, every destination,
and every processing unit, is available
anywhere, at any time.
"Before IBC the use of IP in a
programme
environment
was
theoretical but what we've learnt is
that IP is working," said David Wood,
Deputy Director, EBU Technology and
Development. "This makes all the
difference to programme makers since
they can see how flexible it is to create
new forms of content. IP is now at a
tipping point."
IP networks are destined to replace
SDI and there was evidence of this
consolidation at IBC. The Interop
Zone featured nearly 40 suppliers
collaborating to make IP/IT systems
work together and capable of

reproducing everything done in a
broadcast chain from acquisition
to distribution. Issues around the
synchronisation of AV signals over
IP seem to have been resolved, and
despite the coalescence of companies
around open systems advocate
AIMS there are questions over
standardisation outstanding.
Selecting from the IP crowd is tricky
given the volume of adaptations and
new products on the showfloor, but
mention should be given to NewTek
which continues to hold out against
the AIMS brigade by promoting its
own route to IP called Network Device
Interface (NDI). Based on this the
company debuted the IP Series for
live production which comprises four
distinct units all interconnected with
Ethernet.
At the core is the NewTek VMCQ
Video Mix Engine, which in itself is a
powerful unit with 44 live inputs and
able to handle 64 source channels -
and all the capabilities you'd expect
from a fully-configured studio switcher
including virtually unlimited matting,
DVE, transitions, virtual sets and
other effects. If you need even more
facilities, just plug another Mix Engine
into the same network and the two (or
more) will work together.
It may not be standards-based but
it is an open system in that its SDK is
published and anyone can work with it.
Another module, the NewTek VMC1
4S control surface can be hooked to
either single or multiple Mix Engines
to take command of the whole
production. A new input module
features four SDI (for backwards
compatibility) or IP inputs per unit and
is automatically recognised by the Mix
Engine. Each input module includes
a multiviewer with return video feed
and the ability to record ISO feeds to
network storage. A fourth module has
four output channels.
It's not just IP which is
transformational.
Related
are
advances in bandwidth capacity
which will enable more data to be
acquired, manipulated and ultimately
pushed through to consumer screens
opening up the potential for virtual
and augmented reality and extreme

NewTek's IP series
is based on NDI,
the bedrock of its
approach to IP live

resolutions like 8K, 16 times the
resolution of HD.
Editing And Workflow
Vendors of all description are
adapting their technologies to fit this
opportunity. Adobe, for instance,
put a big emphasis on tools built
for VR, 3D and animated content
creation. One major change for Adobe
Premiere is that it will automatically
detect VR source video on ingest and
correctly set it to either stereoscopic
over/under, left/right or monoscopic
output and apply the right settings.
Adobe also debuted new collaborative
features to let teams working on
Premiere Pro, After Effects and
Prelude access shared Team Projects,
which can operate without dedicated
server hardware. They include smart
version control, including automatic
intelligent conflict resolution so that
even when everyone's working on
the same files no one's rewriting one
another's work.
Avid had several key innovations for
its MediaCentral Platform, notably an
array of new storage options branded
NEXIS. The NEXIS E5, for example,
provides 40GbE connectivity and 80
to 480TB of storage capacity, with
the ability to scale up to 1.4 Petabytes
of capacity in support of more than
2,000 Avid DNxHR HD streams. This is
intended for large organisations.
Avid's concept of the next-generation
newsroom is based around multiple
Avid solutions and new feature
enhancements for modern newsroom
management and news production.
This new story-centric workflow, Avid

says, puts the story at the centre
of news operations spanning from
planning to delivery. The products that
comprise the story-centric workflow
include MediaCentral UX, iNews,
Interplay Production, Media Composer
Cloud, Maestro and Social Media Hub.
Vizrt previewed its new HTML-based
newsroom component, Viz Pilot Edge.
The component is a new interface for
journalist users of Viz Pilot in their
newsroom control systems that is
intended to allow them to be able to
tie graphics and video together easily
from their browser. Viz Pilot Edge is
compatible with Mac and PC and runs
natively in the Octopus Newsroom
System and ENPS as a MOS plugin.
Recorders
AJA addressed the IP hot spot by
introducing a pair of Mini-Converters
designed to segue signals in and out
of SDI and IP-based workflows. The
company announced a free piece of
software for KONA IP that adds

AJA is equipping its
IO boards with an IO for IP
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://youtu.be/2YCqgJhsLLU https://www.aja.com/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - October 2016
