106 Friday 13.09.13 theibcdaily Connected and beyond
Anytime, anywhere access to content is now a given and consumers’ use of small screen devices to watch content from a source of their choice (broadcasters, OTT providers, end-user generated content, etc) is here to stay. If anything, this trend is something we can expect to increase. As competition for
Keeping viewers on platform is ever more critical to broadcasters’ bottom line, says Joop Janssen, CEO EVS Joop Janssen:
‘A more enriched connected experience’
Robotic heads served up in Centre Court
Mark Roberts Motion Control By David Fox
consumers’ eyeballs gets increasingly fierce, many broadcasters have begun to address the demand for small screen access by delivering their existing content via multiple devices – both large and small screen. With a burgeoning number of OTT providers now offering consumers access to on-demand content via any screen, keeping viewers on platform is ever more critical to broadcasters’ bottom line and if they’re to remain competitive it’s essential to look at enabling truly enriched viewing. Most broadcasters with a
second-screen offering have also begun to provide viewers with access to additional content via online portals and apps; in the context of sports this would include player and match stats, exclusive interviews, forums, aggregated Twitter feeds, and so on. However, when all your competitors are doing the same thing, it becomes harder to stand out from the crowd. The small screen content
experience still remains a largely passive one; broadcasters are the ones that make decisions about what content is provided for access via what device and how the story is told. While consumers can make a choice about which device they watch a piece of content on, that’s where their involvement ends. More to the point, the story remains unchanged regardless
MRMC and Nikon have collaborated to create a new fast-action robotics system for DSLR users. It was used by sports photographer Bob Martin at this year’s Wimbledon Tennis Championship to capture shots that were impossible before. Martin also used three of MRMC’s new Polycam systems to capture action from three angles at once (including from the roof of Centre Court).
of the size of screen on which it is viewed. In order to create a truly
differentiated viewer experience, broadcasters will have to go beyond just replicating the same content across both small and large screens. Consumers are already dipping in and out of scheduled content consumption, and making choices about where and when they watch available content. By further empowering the viewer and giving them greater control of the content they watch, broadcasters can begin to create an appealing and differentiated multiscreen experience. If broadcasters can look
ahead to a more enriched connected experience for consumers – and step the current service model up a few gears to create a ConnectedPlus option, if you will – by enabling end-users to create their own version of a live event, they will be able to stand head and shoulders above the plethora of second screen content services out there. Moreover, broadcasters can deliver this type of
proposition using their existing workflows and infrastructure. Providing viewers with true
remote control to instantly choose the camera angles they view and the clips they watch will deliver an engaging and interactive experience inside and outside the stadium. For rights holders, sponsors and for the viewer sitting in their living room this opens a wealth of opportunities. By making use of their existing assets, broadcasters can do this without additional investment in content and minimal additional technology. Take any live sports
production, for example; these days it’s not unusual to have over a dozen cameras in place around the stadium. However, the large majority of all content captured and ingested never sees the light of day and is simply deleted at the end of the day. This unused and unloved content is perfect fodder for populating second screen services, providing a simple and cost-effective way of creating that all-important differentiation. 8.B90
The system used Nikon’s D4 DSLR cameras mounted on MRMC’s SFH-30 robotic heads, allowing Martin to take shots remotely from positions that would normally be physically impossible. Latency of less than 0.1 seconds meant it was suitable for capturing fast action. “Our robotics project has been in the making for some time; since the London Olympics we’ve been working with Bob Martin and leading photo agencies who needed more from existing robotics systems, listening to their feedback and requirements to refine and develop this system,”
said James Banfield, professional services and business solutions manager, Nikon UK (Stand: 11.B50). “Initially the robotics set up has been designed to support sports photographers, maximising the qualities of the D4 camera and allowing them to track fast-moving subjects, however there is great scope to use it for other areas of photography.” Martin’s Polycam set up used
three synchronised robotic heads. He controlled the master head, which moved the two other heads at the same time to track the same subject. Polycam allows any number of robotic heads to work together to automatically track the same point of interest from multiple perspectives.
“Using this set up, it’s proved that capturing the impossible is now possible, which is very exciting for the future of photography,” said Martin. Three Nikon D4’s were also set up in various locations to record time-lapse images, taking one picture each every minute and feeding them directly to the Wimbledon iPad App. 11.G35
“I was constantly hoping for sun so that I could capture the players on the grass with stunning shadows”
Optimising video production and delivery
Harmonic By Ian McMurray
An integrated set of solutions designed to optimise the production and delivery of high- value video services in the broadcast, cable, and multiscreen environments is being
demonstrated by Harmonic. Leveraging the latest video formats and industry standards, Harmonic says that its solutions enable broadcasters and operators to efficiently prepare and deliver high-quality video content to any viewing device. An encoding and stream
processing demonstration, powered by Harmonic’s HEVC-
ready ProMedia family of multiscreen solutions, shows the exceptional resolution offered by the new format and features Harmonic’s new Ultra HD reference footage, which will be made available to customers for testing interoperability with HEVC clients.
Also on show is an end-to- end true HD 1080p50 playout,
encoding and distribution workflow, showcasing 3G-SDI and 1080p support on the Spectrum MediaPort 7000 realtime video encoder/decoder, as well as 1080p50 H.264 encoding on the Electra 8000 universal encoder and 1080p50 H.264 decoding with 3G-SDI output on the ProView 7100 integrated receiver-decoder and
stream processor. New linear ad splicing capabilities on Harmonic’s ProStream 9100 realtime stream processor, which harnesses the new Quad GbE I/O card for local and regional ad insertion directly into live-to-air MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC SD/HD transport streams, are also on show. 1.B20
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