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January 2013 l 23
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Quality control to move to post houses?
European broadcasters are considering moving the main quality control (QC) process, including audio checking, to post-production facilities instead of the point of transmission, writes Kevin Hilton
THE ISSUE of European broadcasters moving their main quality control (QC) process to post-production facilities was discussed at an EBU conference in Geneva during November and will be considered by national broadcasters and standards organisations. The Quality Control
Workshop has been organised by the EBU Strategic Programme on QC, led by Andy Quested, head of technology at the BBC, Reinhard Knör of research institution IRT and Roman Meszmer from Austrian national broadcaster ORF. Among contributors to the workshop were Jane Fielder, creative director of Red Bee Media, and Bruce Devlin, chief technology officer of QC program developer Amberfin.
KUWAIT Big bang for BroaMan By Erica Basnicki
KUWAIT’S 50TH Constitution Day celebrations ended with a spectacular pyrotechnic show, lasting almost an hour and setting a new Guinness World Record with a total of 77,282 fireworks. Events took place along
nearly 5km of beach in Kuwait City. France-based rental company Gilles Bouvard Events and Entertainment (GB4D) was contracted by the Kuwaiti government to deliver audio and
lighting management, as well as video transport along the beach. The company used two Optocore ring systems, accompanied by a BroaMan fibre transport platform to provided video transport to the multiple screens. In total, 14 Route33 units each equipped with an HD-SDI input and HD-SDI output, four LAN ports, RS485/422 and two duplex COM fibre ports were connected by fibre in a ring topology (similar to the Optocore system).
The impressive show took place on 5km of beach in Kuwait City
A further two Route33 units
were installed in the control room, providing two video inputs to the network; all other units were distributed to the multiple remote locations on the beach. GB4d’s Gilles Bouvard commented: “I like technological challenges and the BroaMan/
Optocore combination offered an elegant solution for network management of audio, data, light, video and remote control of amplifiers. We were also cost efficient, packing the whole system in just four fibre strands between locations.”n
www.broaman.com
audio and this might be included in a future event. Among the conclusions of the
Workshop were that file-based QC is “the key”. The sessions also produced a Top 20 of critical points to check during the QC, which have been collected on a series of cards (pictured) describing areas such as format. Among potential audio faults highlighted, in addition to loudness, were audio coding and clipping. In the UK the Digital
A Top 20 of critical points have been collected on a series of cards
An EBU spokesman said that although nothing “specific” was discussed about audio QC, the checks defined by the Workshop do include sound
parameters, such as active channels, channel IDs and loudness level. The spokesman added that there have been some requests for a focus on
Production Partnership (DPP) is looking at the recommendations as a possible part of its standards for the production and distribution of programmes. In a statement the DPP said it “hopes to achieve industry-wide collaboration with broadcasters and QC tool vendors, industry-wide standards for QC reporting, tests and terminology and best practice sharing among broadcasters”, and aims to introduce relevant guidelines later this year. Neil Hatton, chief executive of London post house Azimuth and the UK Screen representative on the DPP Technical Standards Committee, sees the proposals as a “good move” but warns: “We will have to be a little bit careful to see where the ultimate responsibility and liability lies, either with the post facilities or the broadcasters.”n
tech.ebu.ch/groups/qc
SOUNDBITES
Rome-basedEtabeta, the outside broadcasting division of Italy’s Gruppo Comunicazione Italia, has selected a Clear-ComEclipse- Omega digital matrix intercom for its FlexiVan OB vehicle. The 240-port Eclipse-Omega system is the communications backbone of the FlexiVan operations, allowing tight collaboration among engineers and studio staff to efficiently manage all production activities. The installation was specified and facilitated by Video Progetti, Clear-Com’s broadcast distributor in Italy.
www.clearcom.com www.gcispa.eu
APTsupplied eight WorldNet Oslo multichannel audio codecs to Korean telecoms giant LG U+ in 2012 for coverage of key sporting events including the London Olympic games. For the Olympic games, additional Oslo units were purchased, this time with APT’s SureStream technology.
www.worldcastsystems.com
Netherlands-basedAxon Digital Designhas partnered with SoundFieldto create the Synapse DSF66; a dual digital audio up-mixer and down-mixer based on SoundField algorithms. The device is designed for HD broadcasters to generate 5.1 broadcast mixes from archive stereo soundtracks. Unlike most up-mixing tools that use processing such as adding reverb or phase-shifting to create material for the rear and surround channels, the DSF66 generates the material by closely analysing the source stereo signal. Using a SoundField algorithm developed for the purpose, the DSF66 can detect reverberant content in the stereo signal, differentiate it from the direct sounds in the mix, and separate it out. (See also feature, p28)
www.axon.tv
www.soundfield.com
Broadcast integrator Visual Unity has signed a new, two-year contract with Czech TV to supply the technical services needed to operate its online and mobile service, iVysilani. The new contract, which was awarded through a public tender process, will run until December 2014.
www.visualunity.com
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