Broadcast TECH SPEEDING UP 3D PRODUCTION


With only 2% of our broadcaster respondents citing 3D as a technology that is important to them, 3D must seem like a lonely place to be for Sky, with the satellite broadcaster perhaps in the rare position of wishing it had more competition. Last year, 29% of broadcasters and in-house facilities said they would not get involved in 3D. This year, that fi gure stands at 39%. “For any tech- nology to develop and grow, it needs a number of people to be interested,” admits BSkyB 3D opera- tions development manager Robin Broomfi eld. However, he adds: “Take-up of 3D is good


worldwide and we continue to work with our international partners such as Sky Italia and [Chinese state broadcaster] CCTV.” Broomfi eld predicts that major events like the Olympics will also drive technology forward as


more viewers see what the medium is capable of. Event-wise, Sky


is having a busy 3D summer, with


Broomfi eld fresh from managing two


back-to-back events: the Isle of Wight Festival and the Goodwood Festival of Speed (pictured). Broomfi eld notes that from a production point 40 or less 51-55


41-45 56-60


‘We’ll take a look at the cloud when it’s robust enough and the security


measures are there’ Ian Whitfi eld, Encompass


it is less prone to human error. That’s the path we’re on – writing software to supple- ment the output we’ve got,” says Whitfi eld. Honeycutt says the other key ingredient is metadata – and MXF issues are still a concern for 10% of broadcast respondents despite the main standards bodies and the Digital Produc- tion Partnership (DPP) agreeing on a vendor- neutral subset of the MXF fi le format earlier this year. “The magic is not the technology but the quality of the metadata. As a business, you have to keep and maintain and provide instructions for that work,” says Honeycutt. Most of our respondents, however, will


have inextricably linked metadata with fi le- based workfl ow – which is high up on our broadcasters’ list of priorities, with almost a third of respondents (32%) naming it as a key issue this year. With the DPP’s common standard for fi le- based delivery now agreed, the pan-broad- caster initiative is in trials with ITV, C4 and BBC, as well as several external service pro- viders. One thing the DPP has yet to establish is who will provide the pipes/service for


www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils


online delivery: the post houses or the broad- caster? DPP lead and BBC North controller of production Mark Harrison says both will play an important role, although details of who will do what are still vague. “My sense is that it remains for broadcasters


0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5


to defi ne as closely as they can what the parameters of the [tapeless delivery] process should be. I think it will be an important func- tion for post houses. They are all thinking about it and are all very aware of it,” he says. Virtual storage and editing across cloud- based services are low on our respondents’ agendas, with only 4% in this category having serious conver- sations about the technology this year. Says Whitfi eld: “We couldn’t put our clients’ content into a public cloud right now, but maybe we’ll take a look at the tech- nology when it’s robust enough and the secu- rity measures are there.” At Discovery, Honeycutt is examining what the right assets and the right application are for the cloud at this point in time. “We’ve made a lot of steps with data for our websites and are looking to use it as a means of transferring assets and speeding up people’s access to content, but for heavy pro- duction, we are still holding those assets within our own infrastructure,” he says.


44%


Broadcasters that say it is important to patent the tech they develop


73%


of view, the Sky/Telegenic/Sony partnership is becoming far more effi cient in the setting up and alignment of 3D productions “What we’re aiming for is to rig and fi lm a standard spot event in a day rather than a day dedicated to set-up and a day dedicated to fi lm- ing,” he says.


46-50 60+


■ TV ■ Internet/mobile/connected devices ■ Blu-ray/DVD ■ VoD ■ Radio


WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING CONSIDERATIONS ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU AND/OR YOUR COMPANY WHEN PURCHASING OR HIRING EQUIPMENT?


CONSIDERATION


1 Technology that gives us the best return on investment


2 Technology that makes us most efficient


3 Technology that is the cheapest available


4 Technology that improves our workflow


5= Technology that gives us the edge over our competitors


5= Technology that can be incorporated into our current set-up


BROADCASTERS’ TOP FIVE TECHNOLOGY CONVERSATIONS*


SUBJECT 1 HD


2 File-based workflow 3= Technology workflow 3= Desktop editing


4= Online video 4= Multiplatform delivery


5 Multiplatform content/ social media


%


45 32


30 30


20 20


18


*Respondents were offered 42 subjects and were asked to list their five most significant


Harrison thinks it is the post facilities that


will become vital to broadcasters and produc- ers in this transition to virtual storage. “I think the cloud is going to happen, but at the moment, people still like to point at a building and say ‘they’re the ones who have got my cloud’ – and I think this does repre- sent a big opportunity for post houses to occupy that place of trust.”


July/August 2012 | Broadcast TECH | 13 % 30 22 15 11 7 7


Q OVER WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING PLATFORMS DO YOU AND/OR YOUR COMPANY DO MOST OF YOUR WORK?*


1% 16% 5% 5%


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