August 2012

Our cover story examines the latest advances in chipset and technology development that are enabling compact, affordable MPEG monitoring solutions. By providing integrated support for DVB-ASI, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 transport streams, these new monitors are playing a critical role in helping broadcasters and other content providers improve the efficiency and agility of their monitoring operations — and, ultimately, the integrity of the final signal they deliver to viewers.

Also in this issue, Broadcast Engineering looks at video processing, JPEG 2000 and loudness control, as well as two approaches to shared file-based workflow storage.

Features

Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

Video processing

When I discuss video processing with engineers, their specific needs are definitely varied. But one common factor does exist, which is that video processing typically gets lumped into two categories: one-time setup and operational. One-time setup is usually carried out during the plant commissioning or studio setup: Although there may be some presets as programs change throughout the week, there are typically few modifications after the initial configuration. The second category of video processing allows for operational control....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

The evolution of the pluggable module

The video broadcast market is a niche market with multiple complexities and particularities. Two common examples are pathological data encoding schemes and 75V coaxial cable. The following article relates the evolution of pluggable modules in telecommunication and their migration into the broadcast market. The article will cover the various types of modules, the pros and cons of these components, and the introduction of new pluggable technologies in the broadcast space: the video SFP and the emSFP. Pluggables in the telecommunication market...More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Storage: Picking a bit bucket: SAN and NAS

Whether you are managing operations at a call-letter station with a half-dozen edit stations, or at a broadcast giant with hundreds of editors, architecting the storage supporting your facility’s file-based workflows is a business-critical task. Video editing places higher demands on storage than any other file-based application, requiring streaming performance for large files starting at 3.5MB/s for SD to 165MB/s per stream for uncompressed HD....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

MPEG TS monitoring

Perhaps no other trend is doing more to shape today’s media landscape than multiplatform content delivery, driven by the explosion in mobile devices and consumers’ growing and insatiable appetite for content they can access “anytime and anywhere.” Broadcasting operations that were designed for traditional, linear transmissions are becoming much more complex, with many more elements being added to the transmission chain and the requirement to deliver every possible transport stream — satellite, cable, free to air, Web streaming, and delivery to different plat...More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

IBC2012 product preview

WORLD EDITION EXCLUSIVE: It is nearly time for IBC again, and 2012 sees more innovatoin outside the straight exhibit areas. The thought leadership, started in 2011, continues this year with the IBC Leaders’ Summit. The focus this year is the impact of hybrid broadcast and broadband — connected TV — on viewers’ consumption, and the opportunities and threats it presents to traditional broadcasters. The invitation-only event will facilitate high-level networking for senior executives. ...More

Beyond the Headlines

Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

Better, faster & stronger

Fast, efficient and agile. Those three words were surely part of virtually every athlete’s mantra at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, July 27 – Aug. 12. They could also be used to describe the strategy of broadcasters and production companies around the world — including NBC Olympics in the U.S. — for capturing, sharing, transmitting and streaming live and prerecorded HD (and some 3-D) images and getting them in front of viewers wherever they may be....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

Mobile video delivery

WORLD EDITION EXCLUSIVE: There are signs of convergence toward common standards shared by fixed networks for mobile video. But, for now, operators have to blend an array of technologies to deploy rich media services on any scale. For mobile video, there are also different sections of the delivery chain to consider, with an obvious distinction between the radio access network, the backhaul serving the cell towers and the core fixed line network behind that....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

New rules

On Aug. 2, 2012, the FCC’s new online public file regulations for all television and Class A TV stations went into effect. NAB asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for a stay as well as permanent relief from the new rules, but its petition for a stay was denied on July 27, less than a week before the Aug. 2 effective date of the new rules....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Camera support

WORLD EDITION EXCLUSIVE: This summer is a dream come true for armchair fans as broadcasters beam every second of sporting action to millions of viewers around the globe. Whether it’s the rallies of the tennis tournaments, the 100m hurdles or the penalty kicks of the football finals, audiences have been spoiled for choice with the wall-to-wall TV coverage....More

Digital Handbook

Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

Monitors and displays

It was not too long ago when we were considering whether flat panels would overtake the venerable CRT in utility and function for professional applications. Believe it or not, that day has already passed. This month, we’ll summarize the state of the art for professional monitors and displays, and take a deeper look at some of their characteristics....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

Securing content

In the professional media industry, one fact is clear: Everything we do is about getting content to viewers, wherever they may be. The end goal, of course, is to make money off of this transaction. Clearly, if we do not have content or our content is compromised in some way, then this transaction breaks down, with serious financial consequences for the media companies involved....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Comparing loudness meters - part 1

Editor’s note: With this article, we begin a series of high-level presentations from industry experts on issues of importance to the science and practice of broadcast and production technology. We are pleased to launch the Broadcast Forum with an in-depth examination of loudness and measurement with a feature article by Robert Orban....More

Systems Integration

Jun. 1, 2012

article

JPEG 2000, from master to archive

Today's broadcasters are looking for the highest image quality, flexible delivery formats, interoperability and standardized profiles for interactive...More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

Video helps San Francisco Giants put best face forward

For the video production department at Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants — known as SFG Productions — the game is so much more than balls and strikes. It’s about supporting a brand across a multitude of distribution platforms (live and on-demand) and generating new revenue from outside sources. They also have to create a captivating experience for the fans in attendance at AT&T Park, the team’s home....More

New Products & Reviews

Aug. 1, 2012

article

Broadcast Engineering

QMOD-SDI modulators

Professional Communications Systems (PCS) had the unique task of building an in-house broadcast facility for two separate TV station groups sharing the same facility — WJBF (ABC) and WAGT (NBC) in Augusta, GA. The new building, which previously was a Barnes & Noble bookstore, houses both studios and control rooms, each with separate master controls. All share one broadcast core and a central newsroom....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

Matrox’s MC-100

Now more than ever, with the widespread use of HD and 3G along with SD, broadcasters are being challenged by SDI signal management issues. Mini converters are an integral part of SDI signal management and can be deployed in a variety of ways — for monitoring on affordable HDMI displays, for distributing and amplifying video feeds within an environment, for switching between two signals and, finally, for multiplexing two signals into a single cable to save wiring for transport....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

Shure’s ULX-D 1

Searching for open channels can be a real problem, but finding a cost-effective wireless microphone system is, fortunately, getting easier. The Shure ULX-D Digital Wireless package offers outstanding audio quality and a robust structure. This system comes with either a lavalier microphone or a wireless version of the classic SM58. We reviewed the lavalier package....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

TSL’s Touchmix Pilot

Given the sheer amount of possible audio streams supporting live-event coverage and other applications, efficient audio signal monitoring is of critical importance to a broadcaster. In the past, production creative teams employed small rack-mount mixers, intercom panels and de-embedders to manage the vast choice of audio streams while monitoring router feeds, talkback, presenter, pre-hear, externals, talent, comms and PC sound cards....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

AJA’s Io XT, Ki Pro Quad

WORLD EDITION EXCLUSIVE: Thunderbolt technology has been around for a year and a half now, and it is still difficult to overstate its importance for broadcast professionals. Since it came to market on Macs in February 2011, legions of video editors have relied on Thunderbolt to efficiently power greater speed and data transfer capabilities. With the recent announcement that Thunderbolt is now coming to Windows as well, its adoption is about to become even more widespread....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

Metadata

During the time Phil Livingston, ex-Panasonic, and I worked together at AZCAR, we often shared sometimes silly e-mail messages about technology topics. Sadly, Phil passed away in 2006. But the messages we shared included one I still find quite amusing:...More

Departments

Aug. 1, 2012

Commentary

Broadcast Engineering

Squeeze play 2

Way back in July 2010, I predicted a good future for Google TV. That anticipation of success for Google’s IP content delivery network appears to have been overly optimistic. Even so, this week’s list of press releases included one from Sony announcing a new version of Google TV, and one from Harman for a remote control that implements Google TV. In addition, you can hardly buy a DVD player that does not come equipped with a trial subscription to Netflix, VUDU, Hulu and a range of other IP-delivered content channels....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

Stereo 3-D and 4K: What’s the attraction?

WORLD EDITION EXCLUSIVE: I have always been skeptical about stereoscopic 3-D. It seemed like a ruse to sell new TVs to consumers who already own first-generation flat-screen displays and for theater operators to hike ticket prices. Although I enjoyed “Avatar,” it was a visual experience more than a great story, and as for the budget, well, dream on if you are in television....More
Aug. 1, 2012

Article

Broadcast Engineering

Finding ‘Easter eggs’

Remember those Easter egg hunts of childhood? As adults, some of us have found ourselves again exposed to them. In software, for example, an Easter egg tradition has developed. Program authors of everything from games to business software (having taken pride in their creations and wanting to demonstrate a good sense of humor) embedded hidden keystroke combinations or mouse click sequences that unveiled treasures from hidden games to videos. As software companies have become more sensitive to security issues, though, Easter eggs have disappeared....More

August 2012

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