30 TVBEurope IBC Wrap-Up
www.tvbeurope.com November2013
Blackmagic, Canon and GoPro have shaken rivals into redesigning their own product lines
The next big leap
Despite the rash of 4K products at IBC there are still only a handful of genuine options for acquiring high-end recorded or live action Ultra HD. Adrian Penningtonconsiders the latest developments from the show
VIEWERS CAN’T tell the difference between HD and 4K, they won’t pay a premium for it and there are much better uses of spectrum — the conclusion reached by delegates voting on the motion ‘Do we really need to go beyond HD?’ at an IBC conference session. “4K is too expensive,” asserted Brian Lenz, chief innovation officer at satellite broadcaster Astro Malaysia. “It’s very expensive to deliver and you need new STBs, new chips and new consumer displays. We have only just finished swapping out our SD edit suites to HD. You have to ask where the business model is, or rather is there a company out there which can make a business model work?”
Nonetheless Giles Wilson,
head of compression business, Ericsson predicted: “In every mature TV market one operator will go to Ultra HD first, then the question for other broadcasters becomes ‘can I afford not to move to Ultra HD?’ because consumers will go where the most compelling user experience is. Ultra HD is about a sense of presence, not resolution. We are moving from viewing a picture in a frame to having a window on the world, from viewing to experiencing.” While there are strong opinions on both sides — not least that Ultra HD should get out of the box with higher frame rates, higher than 8-bit colour, wider dynamic range and a readily understood consumer message — the practical issue of acquisition is slowly being solved. It seems Russia will be first
out of the blocks when NTV+ airs 4K coverage of the Sochi 2014 Winter games in March. The transmission would go to public viewing areas and cinemas. That distribution is also likely for matches of the 2014 World Cup. While just the final has been officially announced, it allowed Sony to assert that “4K is no longer a vision but a reality.” “Why should you invest now in 4K?” asked Sony’s European
Katsunori Yamanouchi: “Why should you invest now in 4K? Because this live production system can also be used to shoot HD”
Giles Wilson: “We are moving from viewing a picture in a frame to having a window on the world; from viewing to experiencing”
VP Katsunori Yamanouchi. “Because this live production system can also be used to shoot HD, by offering HD cut outs, downconversion or high frame rate sequences for slow motion.” Sony’s new PWS-440 4K
server makes it possible to record ISOs in 4K and to create slow motion and highlight editing in 4K. The unit supports four 4K inputs and contains up to five hours record time and is a direct competitor to EVS. The Belgian vendor incidentally has introduced a 4K version of its XT3 production server, enabling
Do we need to go beyond HD? Delegates to this IBC session said viewers can’t tell the difference between HDTV and 4K
live slow motion in Ultra HD as well as greater flexibility for high definition workflows. “We are talking to OB
operators around Europe about adding a 4K layer to their existing infrastructure,” explained Sony strategic marketing manager, live production, Claus Pfeiffer, insisting that 4K investment makes business sense. For example, a transmission camera adaptor attached to the F55 provides familiar CCU operation and talkback to the operator. “If they have
HDC2500 cameras they can reuse the CCU, reuse the viewfinder and the RCP control which means the additional investment necessary for 4K shooting is not so big,” he said. Sony’s switcher houses a new
upconversion processor to upres HDC-2500s to 4K. The same technology may make it possible to upscale HD from specialist aerial or railcameras for integration into a live 4K workflow. Shooting 60fps is also not considered an issue for what Sony considers the first phase of live 4K production.
Sensors and sensitivities Canon’s EOS-1D C is another option for those wanting premium HD today, with 4K capability tomorrow. It is newly minted as the first DSLR to meet the EBU Tech 3335 requirements for HD broadcast. BSkyB and US network 3net have amassed a library of original 3D content shot mostly on Red cameras, which also means that “in theory they are UHD ready,” noted Chris Johns, Sky’s chief engineer. While there must be a question mark hanging over the camera maker following the withdrawal of founder Jim Jannard from day to day activity and with marketing front man Ted Schilowitz also quietly leaving, Red is shipping the 6K Dragon sensor which is said to offer 17 stops of latitude. Blackmagic’s 4K production
camera was still not ready at IBC. “We have an issue with the manufacturer of the sensor,” explained Craig Heffernan, technical sales consultant. “We need to get it recalibrated. As with [Blackmagic’s 2K camera, which was also delayed] we are making sure we get it right out of the box.” The company is introducing
Ultra HD capability across its product line, at IBC debuting a 1 M/E production switcher and
“The EBU discussions are centering on 100fps but we can prove that 60fps is already capable of creating very good 4K images,” said Pfeiffer. “Since chipsets for STBs capable of 100fps might not arrive for a couple of years, 60fps makes 4K possible now.”
The F55 and F5 feature new
high frame rate capability of 2K 240fps or 4K 60p. For higher 4K rates, Sony’s F65 will reach 120fps or you can turn to the Vision Research Super35 sensor Phantom Flex4K which will generate 4K 1000fps or 2000fps HD. It outputs uncompressed Cine RAW with in-camera compression to be introduced early 2014. Sony’s FS-700 can also record 4K via external recorder and the company added a pair of NXCAM camcorders. The NEX-FS700R models feature a 4K Exmor Super35 CMOS sensor and enable 4K/2K recording on an external recorder. A firmware update includes the S-log2 gamma mode for wider dynamic range with Sony pitching the cameras at corporate, and low budget production.
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