digiBIZ + BITZ
Arqiva Assists With Multiple Market Rollout For GTV
Arqiva has successfully supported GTV in their plans to roll out in multiple markets in Africa. GTV is Africa’s new digital pay-TV platform and is designed to make premium international and local entertainment content more accessible to more Africans. GTV has exceeded expectations for its first six months and is well placed to hit target figures over its first 12 months. Its success lies in the provision of family targeted content at an affordable price, including FA Premiership, Italian Football League – Serie A, and many popular news and entertainment channels. Arqiva is providing GTV with a comprehensive product portfolio from system design to playout and content aggregation. Content from a variety of sources, including Sony, Time Warner and the African Movie Channel, undergoes basic editing, quality control, technical correction and normalisation at Arqiva’s Chalfont Grove studio facility in the United Kingdom. Transmission master tapes are created through the addition of metadata, including timecodes, tape IDs and program IDs, to support customer scheduling requirements. Master tapes are ingested and digitised before being played out and digitally archived from the Chalfont Media Centre. Playout features enabled on GTV’s own channels, G Prime, G Sports 1 and G Sports 2, include advanced graphical overlay incorporating digital video squeeze-back effects and injection of remote data. International content is aggregated from various satellites and fibre backhauls including content substitution features for events to which GTV do not currently have the distribution rights—Hampshire, United Kingdom (hl)
Moving On Up… At Linear Acoustic…
Linear Acoustic has announced the promotion of Erik Booth to the position of Director of Engineering. Previously a senior hardware engineer, Booth will now oversee all engineering and new product design, ensuring that system designs meet the company’s development goals and delivery timelines—Lancaster, Pennsylvania (hl)
VAR’ing Brings OmniBus Additional Exposure
OmniBus Systems has announced a value-added reseller (VAR) program for iTX, the company’s popular software-based production and transmission solution. The program has been developed to enhance OmniBus’ reach into different market sectors and allows resellers to target and provide a solution to a wide range of markets including traditional broadcast, IPTV, Internet and mobile TV applications.The VAR program means that, for the first time, OmniBus is able to make playout and automation technology available directly through selected reseller partners — something that has previously been impractical due to the complex nature of broadcast automation systems—Denver, Colorado (hl)
digiCREATION + DELIVERY
Echolab Brings Overture Into Play
Echolab, producers of video production switchers and tools, has two new products. Overture (1 ME) and Overture2 (2 ME) switchers are available in standard definition (SD) and multidefinition (MD) models and combine internal conversion and synchronization with key layering and special effects (sfx). They have four ME keys and two downstream keyers that enable title keying for graphics, logos, and bugs (station ID logos in the corner of the TV screen). Plus, they feature Stinger and SuperSource keys to achieve transitions with little effort. Overture switchers accept as many as 32 multi-format analog and digital signals and provide up to 16 multi-format outputs. Internal frame synchronization ensures the quality of effects. Integrated up/crossconversion within MD models eases switching of video in multiple formats. Both systems are available with either of Echolab’s Opera (SD) or OvationMD (MD) video production switchers. Both are video production systems and Conductor control integration systems. The Stinger transition offers a “take block” keyer with combined mix/wipe and graphic control, reducing complex animated transitions to a single button press. The Overture switchers’ new SuperSource builds a custom layout using DVEs and graphics and then assigns the composition to a crosspoint button. A DVE key in each “take block” enables instant transition effects, and the MD Overture systems offer as many as four channels of DVE with warp and lighting effects. DVE capabilities offer up to 34 internal graphics/still stores—Billerica, Massachusetts (hl)
RTW Surrounds Tektronix With Analysis
RTW revealed U.S. manufacturer Tektronix has integrated the company’s Surround Sound Analyzer into the Tektronix AMM768 audio multi-channel monitor under a licensing agreement. The Tektronix AMM768 is a dedicated audio analyzer for the broadcasting and video industry that includes an integrated SDI picture display. The instrument is capable of monitoring analog, digital AES/EBU, Dolby Digital and Dolby E audio signals at each point in the production and distribution system. The RTW Surround Sound Analyzer delivers a precise graphical representation and a clear overview of surround audio signals. For example, it displays the balance between the front and surround channels and between the L, C, and R front channels. The analyzer also shows the location of phantom sound sources, dynamically displays the dominant sound event within the surround sound field, and shows the phase relationships. The RTW Surround Sound Analyzer is also integrated into RTW’s own advanced analysis tools, including SurroundControl 31900/31960 and SurroundMonitor 11900, for multi-channel and surround productions—Cologne, Germany
Kahuna Goes Big Time At TV Nova
Snell & Wilcox has announced their Kahuna SD/HD multiformat production switcher was installed at the Czech Republic‘s TV Nova to support the launch of HD broadcast services. Supplied through TSL, the systems integrator for TV Nova’s new HD production and transmission facility in Prague, the 3-M/E Kahuna switcher simplifies HD production and enables the station to provide viewers in the Czech Republic with the region’s first HD broadcasts. The project, designed by TSL, includes an HD studio and an HD server-based playout facility for an initial two channels, which went live at the end of 2007. The full-time HD experimental service has been provided over the SES Astra satellite and over DVB-T networks, becoming the second Central European Media Enterprises (CME)-owned station to broadcast in HD. CME has purchased a total of five Kahuna production switchers, one of which has been installed at TV Nova in Prague; three of which are online at Pro TV in Romania and Nova TV in Croatia; and the last of which will be installed to support the Studio 1+1 channel in the Ukraine. The Kahuna enables operators at TV Nova to mix existing SD camera feeds, graphics, handheld shots, and archive footage directly into an HD production with no need to purchase expensive HD upgrades or extra HD upconversion equipment. A proprietary Snell & Wilcox technology called FormatFusion ensures seamless integration of SD sources into HD productions and vice versa, without the need for conversion—Hampshire, United Kingdom (hl)
Toshiba Sees Blu and Pulls Life Support
Nothing stays the same, especially in electronics. The big news this week in the media maneuvering department is that Toshiba took the first ‘giant’ step out and onto the gang plank and then dropped off the scene. We’re referring to Blu-ray Disc as the winner over the HD-DVD format. Originally introduced by Sony in 2006, Blu-ray has taken a while to get to the table. Decisions like this involve much thought and, more importantly, public acceptance. The plus side is that Blu-ray offers two-thirds more data capacity. Ahhhh, however, Blu-ray technology requires newer manufacturing techniques and factories, which raises the initial start-up costs for manufacturers. When HD DVD came about, manufacturers were able to use existing assembly lines to produce DVDs en mass. This led to the concept that HD DVD discs were cheaper to manufacture because of the similarities to previous video technology. Which is one of the primary reasons why multimedia player manufacturers have been procrastinating on Blu-ray integration. But someone must have been doing something right—after all, Blu-ray now has the support of many major Hollywood studios including Warner Bros, Twentieth Century Fox, and Walt Disney, and consumer electronic manufacturers such as Panasonic, Samsung, Pioneer, LG Electronics, Sharp, Dell, HP and Apple Computer.
Other critical elements that swayed the decision was when Warner Bros., Hollywood’s largest distributor of DVDs, and major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Netflix, Target and Blockbuster, decided to switch allegiance early this year.
According to ABI Research, the studios get the winning prize by driving a new product (Blu-ray) into a HD-DVD market that was on the decline. Unanswered questions, of course, involve player cost, disc manufacturing cost, high definition disc pricing, and player adoption. In addition, none of the existing Blu-ray players on the market are upgradeable to BD Live/Profile 2, a feature supported in all HD DVD players from their very first release. In addition, consumers shouldn’t expect to see Blu-ray player prices dropping to HD DVD price levels anytime soon, except for Sony. Rather, the others will probably wrap the box with Blu-ray discs as an incentive. Taiwanese vendors will help bring down prices, but it will be another 12 to 18 months before the Blu-ray format reaches the maturity and value of that offered by the now-defunct HD DVD. Bummer! (pl)
Blu-ray Takes The Blue Ribbon
Seeing is believing, but convincing folks to make the changeover is something else. We’re referring to the transition from the current HD-DVD format to Blu-ray as the preferred optical disc standard for the high definition age. According to Strategy Analytics, the major challenge ahead deals with persuading hundreds of millions of DVD owners that they should switch to a completely new format. DVD players costing less than $100 can already offer HD-like video quality through various techniques. Blu-ray Disc (BD) has defeated HD-DVD, thereby passing its first real test—by 2012, Blu-ray Disc players (excluding games consoles, PCs and other devices) will reach more than 100 million units worldwide. Guess HD-DVD will go the way of the incandescent light bulb and Betamax—Boston, Massachusetts (pl)
digiRESEARCH
STBs To Rule The World
Worldwide sales of digital TV set-top boxes (STBs) broke through the 100 million barrier for the first time in 2007, according to the latest research from the Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices service. The report, “Digital TV Set-Top Boxes: Global Market Forecast,” found sales had reached 102.4 million units last year, an annual increase of 12 percent. IPTV’s market share rose to 5.9 percent, as compared to 3.6 percent in 2006. Cable’s share also rose, to 36.2 percent, while satellite and terrestrial shares declined. For 2008, the report predicts a surge in demand for digital terrestrial STBs, driven by the impending switch-off of analog broadcasting in the US. By 2012 annual global sales of all digital TV set-top boxes will reach nearly 200 million units. The report is based on analysis of more than 200 digital television platforms and operators around the world and includes 5-year demand forecasts for 22 countries across the principal geographies, and segmentation by the major access platforms DTTV, IPTV, satellite and cable—London, United Kingdom (pl)
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