In Broadcast - May 2015 - 24

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 5 | May 2015

InReview

NAB 2015
Innovation
David Kirk reports from the 2015 NAB
Convention in Las Vegas on the latest
trends in broadcast technology...

ith over 100,000 registered
visitors and exhibitor staff, the
2015 NAB Show stayed busy throughout
its first three days, easing off on the
concluding Thursday (April 16) when
dismantling of some 1,600 booths
commenced at 2pm. Demolition on an
even bigger scale is scheduled to follow
after the Riviera Hotel closes in May
to make way for a vast expansion of
the Las Vegas Convention Center site,
extending all the way west to The Strip.

and octocopters; even the occasional
tricopter.
Exhibiting near the main entrance
to the Central Hall, Shenzhen-based
DJI demonstrated its range of robotic
camera drones. This company claims
to be able to offer flying times of 20
minutes or more per charge rather
than the more common five to seven
minutes. DJI products are already
popular among the aerial camera
community, including the Phantom
2 Vision quadcopter. This comes
Flying Cameras
complete with a 1080p/30 140-degree
Drones were expected to be a key wide-angle f/2.8 camera. The camera
element of the NAB Show this year can be tilted remotely. Horizontal
and indeed they were, demonstrated pan is adjusted by varying the drone
within the confines of safety nets. direction. A mobile phone can be used
Remotely controlled flying cameras as a viewfinder for distances of up to
have advanced over the years from 300 metres. The same viewfinder can
relatively
heavy
petrol-engined be used to program a flight path with
miniature helicopters to quadcopters up to 16 waypoints.
DJI's new Inspire 1
drone comes with a 4K
camera and wireless
HD video transmitter.
Its carbon fibre support
legs lift out of sight to
allow
uninterrupted
horizontal
and
downward
viewing
angles.
Positioning
sensors determine the
Inspire 1's location
and altitude and lower
the legs automatically
DJI's Phantom 2 Vision quadcopter at NAB 2015
when landing.

Perspective Robotics' Fotokite quadcopter is demonstrated at NAB 2015

In the South Hall,
TVU
Networks
announced
the
world's first aerial
newsgathering pack
able to deliver full
HD live video. The
system demonstrated
combined
DJI's
Inspire 1 drone with
a TVU One IP video
transmitter.
Exhibiting
in
the Start-up Loft
section of the North
Hall,
Zurich-based
Perspective Robotics
demonstrated
another
way
to
obtain
high-level
overhead
shots.
Ikegami's 8K camera showcased at NAB 2015
Designed to carry a
miniature
camera
or camcorder, this
company's Fotokite
is
a
tethered
quadcopter
with
two big advantages:
power goes up the
tether from a groundbased mains adapter
or
battery.
The
tether is obviously
Leyard's stand at NAB 2015
restrictive but has
evident advantages over a free-flown an impressive video wall based on 54
battery-powered device.
inch modular LED screen panels which
can be assembled in a wide range of
Towards 8K-UHD
configurations for studio walls or as
4K-UHD
domestic
television control room monitorscapes. 8K-UHD
receiver
prices
are
currently displays come well within the Leyard
falling as rapidly as any power- remit.
challenged drone, introducing great
ChyronHego showed its new
opportunities for broadcasters to VistaCam in-studio video display,
move ahead of their competitors. developed in cooperation with a UK
Many NAB exhibitors displayed sports broadcaster for a Monday night
4K-UHD production equipment and English Premier League football series.
supporting infrastructure. Most of The broadcaster sought to provide a
the major camera manufacturers three-projector panoramic backdrop
now offer 4K-UHD cameras. In Japan, behind the presenters' desks featuring
4K-UHD is regarded as a transitional graphics and live video from football
format pending the introduction of venues. The VistaCam processor is able
8K-UHD broadcasting in time for the to stitch together the feeds to create a
2020 Tokyo Olympics. Ikegami has high-resolution near-180-degree video
collaborated with NHK to develop panorama. The software allows realan 8K-UHD camera designed for time colour correction and can feed a
live studio and field production. The wide range of screen sizes and aspect
Ikegami SHK-810 weighs less than 9 ratios.
kg, employs a single 33 million-pixel
Capella Systems demonstrated
Super 35 CMOS sensor. It matches the version 3.0 of its FTC video transcoding
style of existing Ikegami broadcast software which streamlines conversion
cameras including the handheld between a range of video formats used
4K-UHD HC-HD300 which was also in web, mobile, IPTV and broadcast
introduced at this year's NAB Show.
applications. Capella's Cambria FTC
Increased capture resolution will 3.0 now includes support for HEVC
demand more careful attention to output at up to 8K resolution. Cambria
every aspect of studio set design, Live Broadcast Manager is a new
including backdrops. Leyard exhibited addition to the Cambria Live Series,

http://www.ikegami.com/NAB2015_shk810_piece_.html http://www.leyard.com/En/News.aspx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl_sJV8PH3Y http://www.fotokite.com/

In Broadcast - May 2015

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