special report ibc 2012


standard of 3200K tungsten lighting, compared with visual LED equivalents.


Second-screen issues


Second-screen issues formed a substantial element of IBC2012 given the rapidly expanding use of smart- phones and iPads. EVS's new C-cast system (Figure 1) is an example of a bridge between conventional broadcast television and new platforms. It allows broadcasters to provide an enhanced viewing experience by streaming additional content, such as clips or alternative angles, to viewers with second-screen devices that can be used in parallel with watching an event on the television.


"We see ever stronger pressure on broadcasters in terms of competition between each other and with other communication platforms," said Peter Thomsen, deputy managing director of Danish broadcast system integrator Danmon Systems Group. "The long term real challenge is to attract children to watch the traditional linear television channels. The young generation is accustomed to having


Figure 2:


Smartphone-based asset logging (Cloudbass).


Like NAB, IBC has felt increasingly like a prosumer show in recent years which is part of the


industry's attractiveness.


Figure 3: NHP IP- based SHV delivery.


everything available on-demand. Their focus should be firmly on live television. Sport has been a driving factor this year. One answer to these challenges is to be more efficient. Examples of this is the use of remote controlled studios, allowing fast and up-to-date contribution into the main network without the need for guests to travel to the channel's headquarters and without the need for local operators. Another answer is to implement more flexible infrastructures. One of the most important recent developments currently taking place in broadcast systems integration is the introduction of hybrid routers designed to handle video and audio in a single platform. A third area is the use of file-based quality assurance, allowing clips to be checked automatically, freeing staff for less tedious work than the chore of checking content in real time." The 3D television sector was subdued, to put it mildly. "After the hype around stereoscopic 3D in 2009, a more realistic attitude prevails in 2012 and the world is no longer deceived by 3D glamour," said EBU project engineer Yvonne Thomas in a conference presentation on 3D quality measurement. "At the end of 2011, over 60 3D television services or trial channels were active in around 30 countries worldwide. Pay- TV operators provide a few regular 3D channels and some public broadcasters have conducted productions (such as ZDF in Germany, and the BBC with Wimbledon tennis). But at the beginning of 2012 some services were already switched off and interest in 3D fell. Canal+ in France deactivated its 3DTV channel as only 28,000 users had subscribed to the service. What does that mean for other 3DTV service-providers and broadcasters? For such a service to pay off it is not enough to deliver only 3D content. A 2D backwards compatibility in the video stream needs to be guaranteed to reach a wider audience. And consumers also do not want to see a continuous loop of the same content. This lack of content, not only in 3D television services but also reflected in the limited range of 3D Blu-ray discs, has been disappointing for the viewer. Supply and demand are naturally important factors for such services. In addition to the lack of content it has been found that the 3D image quality needs substantial


improvements. Picture quality in this context means artefacts, depth


14 l ibe l november/december 2012 l www.ibeweb.com


perception and comfort. The last point is, for 3D, an extremely important factor that can outweigh the two other factors even if they are fully addressed. If the viewer perceives discomfort such as eyestrain, headache or nausea, several reasons can be identified. One way to avoid problems is to improve transmission quality."


Smartphone-based file management


Steven Knee, managing director of UK-based Cloudbass Limited, outlined recent developments in smartphone- based file management within the broadcast production workflow (Figure 2). "ITV Sport’s (UK) coverage of the British Touring Car Championship provided a unique opportunity to try out a completely new VT workflow. With six hours on air with a presentation operation alongside a race coverage operation that was covering a whole days racing, the development of the new workflow in such a media intensive operation provided a true challenge. Added in to this were three edit suites which produce up to four programmes that leave site for broadcast later, as well as supporting the live programming from site. Having worked on the coverage for the facilities provider for a number of years in various capacities including EVS operators, VT guarantees and editors, we had a unique insight with which we could develop a completely new way of working. Key to this was the desire that all of the assets that were being generated in the EVS operation should be logged and kept for future use. The traditional method of ‘dumping’ assets to tape from EVS via a playlist of clips didn’t even retain the timecode information of the original clips, let alone any metadata as to what the clip was or when it was created. A new approach was needed. For any operator who didn’t possess the necessary hardware (smartphone or tablet), a couple of cheap iPod Touch devices could be made available that provided the necessary functionality. Also, if the system could be platform- independent and run on laptops, tablets and a range of phones, the points of access to logging would ensure that no one was left out of the logging process. Rather than using some complicated database of assets that may become obsolete as database technology moved on, the


Continued on Page 16.


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