January 2013 www.tvbeurope.com


TVBEurope 29 Graphics take centre stage


Integrated playout is about function


collapse, not function removal. Perspective by James Gilbert, joint managing director, Pixel Power


IT’S CLEAR that the sheer number of vendors entering the integrated playout space indicates the value of integrated playout technologies and the need for function collapse. What became very clear at IBC2012 is that the debate about the relative merits of these technologies has now crystallised around graphics capabilities, though for those operating in the sector this has been known for a long time. One could argue that being a


graphics company that has entered the integrated playout market, we would say that, wouldn’t we? True, but you also then have to ask why such well- known graphics experts have entered this space — what value can we add that other approaches don’t? There are three routes to


graphics for Channel in a Box (CiaB). There’s the approach that graphics are easy so companies attempt to do it themselves. But graphics are not easy at all — even the type of graphics that we see being used every day are a lot more complex to play out than video clips. It’s now very clear that this


approach isn’t going to cut it for many customers. It may be suitable for relatively simple graphics like logos but not the more desirable and complex — animated logos, DVE moves, tickers, text and upwards to clips and realtime 3D. Before we


The whole tone around the subject seems to be based around the notion of trying to get away with the lowest possible capabilities. But what about future-proofing? The technology might just be sufficient for what you need to do today, but will it be so in three years’ time? Will that supplier even be around in three years’ time? The CiaB market is a very


James Gilbert: Simply throwing more horsepower at a problem doesn’t provide an elegant or efficient solution


conceived ChannelMaster, we were selling quite a few LogoVision and Clarity units to sit downstream of CiaB technologies because they couldn’t


and brings up concerns, for example, of power consumption and heat dispersal — simply throwing more horsepower at a problem doesn’t provide an


fluid one with new solutions appearing all the time, a mix of offerings from large players to smaller, more specialised vendors – but what’s the reality behind those products and companies? Many players do have experience in parts of the chain but as is now being really recognised, not in the crucial graphics part.


The whole tone around the subject seems to be based around the notion of trying to get away with the lowest possible capabilities. But what about future-proofing?


produce the level of graphics the customer required. Speaking to engineers very, very often it’s the graphics that are the most complex parts of their workflow.


Graphics in the box The second option for the CiaB vendor is to partner with a graphics company to build that graphics engine into their box. But this creates very obvious issues — not least how long it takes to do. Also, this isn’t really an integrated solution; it’s two companies trying to shoehorn unrelated technologies into the same box. Whether they are physically in the same unit or not, you still have all the same issues that you would have if they were separate boxes. This is highly inefficient


elegant or efficient solution. It also begs the question of which company do you call when there’s a problem. Lastly, there’s a graphics


vendor who’s lived and breathed graphics for 25 years and built an integrated solution around its graphics engine, which is what we’ve done.


The Gallium integrated and scalable scheduling, asset management and automation system


Customers have to be clear


and realistic in what they are trying to achieve, not what they think they can get away with — and given our 25 years of experience in the market we can provide clear guidance. After all, integrated playout is about function collapse, not function removal.


ForumChannel in a Box NEWS INBRIEF


Channel 5 Russia modernisation


Russian broadcaster Channel 5 has completed a significant upgrade of its on-air broadcast graphics infrastructure, using Orad’s enterprise graphics solutions. The new Orad-driven graphics production workflow, which will be used for the broadcaster’s independent news channel, consists of the PowerWall video wall solution with interactive graphics and RealSet augmented reality with Xync infrared camera tracking and news graphics. Aleksey Sokolov, Television Technical Center’s director of Channel 5, said: “Upgrading our News Production infrastructure was a very important undertaking, and it was crucial to find a partner who we could rely on 100% for both quality on-air graphics and reliable systems.” www.orad.tv


Zest4.TV upgrades OB intercom


Portable production specialist Zest4.TV has unlocked its communications with the purchase of a Trilogy Orator intercom. “We work across the live event, AV and small OB markets so every day is different for us,” explained Simon Roe, managing director of Zest4.TV. “We needed to replace our ageing talkback equipment with something that would give us all the functionality we could ever need regardless of the application. Now installed, Trilogy’s Orator system gives us exactly what we want... stress free communication.” Orator is a compact digital matrix system, providing for up to 36 ports in a 2U cabinet, including as many as 18 cameras. Replacing an old four- wire system with the Orator digital matrix also saves significantly on weight and rigging time, as the panels and units are connected with standard Cat 5 cable. www.trilogycomms.com


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