In Broadcast - November 2019 - 41

41

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 9 - Issue 10 | November 2019

InStudio

Robotics: It's not all about the money!
By James Eddershaw, Managing Director
of Shotoku UK
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Simple economic necessity drove the
development of the first remote control
systems for news productions and
broadcasters were soon investing in
robotic camera systems, enticed with
the promise of reduced expenses and
an early return on investment. The
calculation is not difficult considering
a live news or shopping channel studio
will often have five or more movable
cameras on-air around the clock. The
staffing costs of all those cameras at all
times rapidly becomes prohibitive. But
while RoI is clearly the main driver, is it
the only driver?
There are certainly other factors, and
the importance of these has increased
over the years to the point where they
are as significant as the cost benefits,
and in some applications are the main
driver.
Consistency of complex motion.
Even the most capable human camera
operators are limited by their number

of hands! To achieve a beautiful
sweeping move from one floor position
to another while holding a presenter in
perfect frame requires co-ordination of
at least seven axes of movement (Pan,
Tilt, Zoom, Focus X, Y and Height).
Even the most ambidextrous operator
will find this challenging, and it's
impossible to expect perfection every
time. But with robotic systems, like
Shotoku's SmartPed or SmartRail, it
becomes easily attainable.
Having set up the start and finish
points (and perhaps a number of key
frames along the way in Sequence
mode) the transition can be rehearsed
and tested until it's perfect, then stored
for later recall. Again, and again, and
again.
Third
Party
Synchronisation.
Impressive opening sequences or
mid-show transitions nearly always
require more than simply repositioning
the camera. They'll also involve live
graphics, animations, lighting and

Shotoku TG-18i
'uncompromising results'

sound effects and, increasingly,
physically moving LED screens.
These must be carefully timed and
choreographed to provide the overall
effect. Robotic camera systems
guarantee precisely timed camera
movements that will always begin and
end at exactly the right moment.
Unachievable
Camera
Angles.
Perhaps the most obvious nonfinancial reason for using robotics
is the ability to position cameras in
places unreachable by humans. This
might be high on a building or lighting

Shotoku SmartPed
'Consistency of motion'

grid, or hidden in a set for PoV style
shots. Prime examples of these types
of situations are Parliaments and
Legislatures - a major client base
for Shotoku. Robotic control allows
cameras to be mounted in unobtrusive
locations, hidden from view and
operated by humans from afar.
So, as always, money is key but
there are many more reasons why
broadcasters around the world
turn to Shotoku to provide the
uncompromising results they demand
for their flagship productions.

AVIWEST Bonded Cellular System
Supports FOX's First Responders Live
P

roduced for FOX Entertainment
by Wolf Entertainment and 44
Blue Productions, a Red Arrow Studios
company, the series First Responders
Live relies on VidOvation's AVIWEST
bonded cellular system to bring viewers
a live, in-depth look at brave American
heroes - firefighters, police officers,
EMS technicians, and first responders
- in action.
The AVIWEST system, which includes
PRO380 transmitters and StreamHub
transceivers,
allows
production
teams across five cities to transmit
reliable, synchronous, and low-latency
broadcast-quality video and audio from
multiple cameras to the Los Angeles
control room for live production.
The series documents how first
responders put their own lives on the
line as they race into danger to save
others. Each week, camera operators
embed within six agencies in five
different cities to document a night in
the life of these units. Emmy Awardwinning television journalist Josh

Elliott provides live analysis
and commentary, with help
from a team of experts, as
the show follows first-person
accounts of the action.
"We were aware of
AVIWEST's proven track
record in the live docuseries
space, and the PRO380's
capabilities lined up well
with our needs for First
Responders Live," said Mark
Hamaguchi, Vice President of
Production Management for 44 Blue
Productions. "The professionals on the
VidOvation team were wonderful to
work with, and the technology offered
us the agility to go where the action
took us, which was key to capturing
and highlighting the incredible work
of the first responders featured in the
show."
During production, the PRO380
mobile video transmitters deployed in
the field are mounted on HD cameras,
typically a combination of point-of-view

feeds to the control room,
where more than 10 AVIWEST
StreamHub
transceiver,
decoder, and distribution
platforms receive the live
video feeds and deliver them
to air for the live broadcast.
"AVIWEST gear has set the
standard for reliable video
transport in live docuseries,
and it's great to see 'First
Responders Live' taking
First Responders Live (FOX Entertainment) advantage of the new PRO380
(POV) and handheld units. Supporting transmitters to optimise both video
state-of-the-art H.265/HEVC encoding, delivery and video quality," said Jim
the AVIWEST units ensure premium Jachetta, Executive Vice President and
video quality with low data usage and Chief Technology Officer, VidOvation.
low end-to-end latency.
"This bonded cellular solution is ideal
Leveraging
bonded
cellular for relaying video from the fast-paced
technology, the PRO380 transmitters and quickly changing conditions
combine any available network typical of rescue situations. Despite
interfaces (including as many as numerous practical and environmental
eight cellular, Wi-Fi, two Ethernet, challenges, AVIWEST technology helps
and satellite) to create reliable video- production maintain the realism and
transmission links. In all, the AVIWEST immediacy that are critical to viewer
transmitters deliver 40 concurrent engagement."
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://www.shotoku.tv/uk/ https://vidovation.com
In Broadcast - November 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - November 2019
