Asia-Pacific News

Hyderabad’s Sakshi TV Takes Vizrt

philsandberg — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:51:37 +0000

Sakshi TV, a news channel based in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, has based its live weather graphics operation entirely upon a Vizrt workflow. Sakshi TV, which is owned by Jagati Publications, is a HDTV channel launched on March 1, 2009 to serve the needs of people in the Andhra Pradesh region of India.
In mid-October 2009, Sakshi TV began delivering half-hour weather reports every two hours from its broadcast weather infrastructure which includes several Vizrt products, including: Viz Weather for the integration of live weather data into graphic templates; Viz Ticker3D for the creation of live, 3D graphic tickers; Viz Virtual Studio, a virtual studio system with a drag-and-drop interface; Viz Curious Maps for the creation of branded maps and geographic animation; Viz Content Pilot to create, manage and deliver high volumes of data, images, graphics and video; Viz Artist, the animation and visual effects creation tool for 2D and 3D real-time graphics; and several Viz Engines for real-time 2D and 3D rendering.
Once the Vizrt software was installed at the network, Sakshi TV enlisted the help of Astucemedia, a leading broadcast design and systems integration firm in Montreal, Canada, to customize the Viz Weather presentation system; create graphics for Viz Weather; create virtual sets for Viz Virtual Studio; and provide systems integration and staff training on the Vizrt workflow.
“The strength of Vizrt is that the company offers all the parts you need to make an effective, end-to-end broadcast graphics workflow,” said Alexander LeClerc, president of Astucemedia. “Not only are you spared the awkward process of integrating third party products, Vizrt’s systems are highly customizable to a broadcaster’s unique operational requirements. The graphics look and image branding of the channel can also be maintained throughout its weather reports, virtual set systems, 3D tickers, maps, and other graphical elements.”
Working remotely from Montreal as well as on-site at Sakshi TV in India, Astucemedia’s creative team designed and built weather templates and designed graphics that would give Sakshi TV’s weather reports a very distinctive, futuristic look to captivate viewers and contribute to the growth of the new channel.
Astucemedia created a variety of weather graphics packages for Sakshi TV including: a 5-day weather forecast; international satellite images; international Iso Pressure, Iso Precipitation, Iso Therms; and an International Flythrough forecast—all tailored to the Andhra Pradesh region. Astucemedia also installed Vizrt’s Cyclone and Storm Path plug-ins to extend Viz Weather’s capabilities at Sakshi TV.
Astucemedia configured Sakshi TV’s Viz Weather to grab timely weather and forecast data from the Storm Weather Centre service in Norway via an Internet connection, and push that realtime data into Sakshi’s weather templates and graphics. The weather graphics play live with realtime data displays within the Viz Virtual Studio set environment.
Visit www.vizrt.com

China Film Archive Picks Quantel for Stereo3D DI

philsandberg — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:36:28 +0000

China Film Archive in Beijing has purchased a Quantel iQ 4K Dl and finishing system. The iQ includes QColor in-context grading and the Quantel Stereo3D toolset. In addition to its role safeguarding China’s film heritage of over ten thousand films, China Film Archive is also charged with adopting and exploiting new film technologies; hence the Stereo3D tools.
“iQ provides us with a rich DI toolset and high quality 4K workflow, and it offers an excellent RED One 4K workflow too,” said Tao Li, General Manager of China Film Archive. “Stereo3D is a rapidly developing new market in China, and Quantel is leading the way in its development. We already have a substantial investment in Quantel technology which has consistently proved to be the right choice, and Quantel is once again the natural selection as we move into the new world of Stereo3D.”
“Audiences in China have already demonstrated a huge enthusiasm for Stereo3D movies, and this has been further reinforced by the massive success of ‘Avatar’ over here,” said Johnsen Yue, Quantel General Manager, China. “It has also heightened Chinese film makers’ desire to move into 3D, and the market is well served by Quantel, with many Quantel iQ and Pablo owners in China already equipped to handle Stereo3D post production.”
Visit www.quantel.com

ABU Award for Commercial Radio’s Warner

philsandberg — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:34:13 +0000

On March 9, 2010, the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union will present special Lifetime Achievement Award to Joan Warner, Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Radio Australia, in recognition of her outstanding commitment and contribution to the development of digital radio broadcasting in the Asia-Pacific Region.
The presentation will take place at the ABU Digital Broadcasting Symposium 2010 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This event is organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) and will run from 9 to 11 March.
Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) represents 99 percent of all commercial radio broadcasters in the country. Ms Warner was responsible for the planning, rollout and implementation of digital radio for commercial radio broadcasters across Australia.
Joan Warner played a leading role in bringing together both the Australian commercial and public broadcasters to achieve an all of industry DAB+ switch on. Ms Warner’s lobbying of the Federal Government resulted in securing Band III spectrum for Australian broadcasters and radio industry management of the allocated spectrum. Australia now has more than 55 digital radio stations on air with the signal covering nearly 60 percent of the Australian population. Successful implementation in Australia has provided a new impetus to digital radio in the Asia-Pacific region.
As CEO, she also oversees the whole of industry marketing campaign, Radio Codes of Practice, audience survey contracts and industry copyright agreements. Ms Warner is responsible for the annual National Commercial Radio Conference, Siren Creative Awards and Australian Commercial Radio Awards.
Ms Warner has worked at senior executive levels in the private and government sectors and holds four degrees including a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Education.
The Digital Broadcasting Symposium 2010 is the seventh in a series of highly successful annual events staged by the ABU to help equip radio and television broadcasters in the region with the knowledge to chart and manage their digital transition.
This year’s theme is Leveraging the Digital Advantage. The symposium will take place at the Hotel Istana, 73 Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 Kuala Lumpur.
Visit www.abu.org.my

Sony Oz Selects Tektronix

philsandberg — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:20:13 +0000

Tektronix, Inc., the provider of test, measurement and monitoring instrumentation, has announced that Sony Australia Limited (“Sony Australia”) has adopted Tektronix WFM8300 advanced waveform monitors, the latest addition to the Tektronix waveform monitor lineup, to support after-sales service for Sony’s professional and broadcast video equipment. The Tektronix waveform monitors will also be used in the installation, diagnostic and acceptance testing of Sony equipment at customers’ premises.
With the advent of 3Gb/s digital video, Sony Australia is facing increasing demand from customers to provide technical support for 3G-capable Sony equipment.

Visit www.tekmark.net.au

Tieline, Innes Corp Partner on Distribution

philsandberg — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:16:28 +0000

Tieline Technology has announced that Innes Corporation has joined as a new distribution partner for its range of digital broadcast IP audio codecs.
“It is with great delight that Innes Corporation can announce the addition of Tieline into Innes Corporation’s portfolio,” said Deborah Ford, General Manager of Innes Corporation. “Not only are we proud to have a strong Australian company on board, but an Australian company that has a product that surpasses all others in its field.”
“Tieline IP codecs are the only ones in the world that are capable of sending digitally encoded audio over 3G/4G wireless networks, IP/Internet networks, standard POTS/PSTN telephone lines, ISDN, X.21, satellite (ISDN and IP) and GSM connections,” said Ford. “That alone is a tough goal to beat.”
The timing could not be better for Innes Corporation with Tieline recently releasing and shipping Bridge-IT, a new low-cost IP audio codec.
“When Innes Corporation approached us to be part of their range of solutions to the broadcast market, I was excited about the prospects of the partnership,” said Charlie Gawley, Tieline’s Australasian Business Development Executive. “I see this as an opportunity to deliver exceptional customer-oriented solutions to the Australian Broadcast market, given our knowledge of the local industry and the Australian roots of both organisations.”
Visit www.innescorp.com.au and www.tieline.com.au

Jiangsu TV Builds with Omneon

philsandberg — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:08:53 +0000

Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation (JSBC), a leading Chinese media company based in Nanjing, has built a new television broadcast platform on Omneon Spectrum and MediaDeck server systems. Installed within Jiangsu TV’s state-of-the-art broadcast center, the new transmission solution from Omneon supports reliable ingest and playout for 12 SD channels and one HD channel, which are broadcast across the Chinese mainland.
“The comparably simple structure and easy operation were features that set Omneon media servers apart from the competition,” said He Ning, director of broadcasting department at Jiangsu TV. “The Omneon Spectrum and MediaDeck systems not only meet the particular demands of our broadcast operations, but also offer excellent stability, ease of use, and straightforward maintenance that will help to maximize longevity. Furthermore, the systems’ flexibility in supporting the simultaneous transfer and playout of files brings added efficiency to our transmission workflow.”
Two Omneon Spectrum media server systems and eight MediaDeck units, supplied to Jiangsu TV by systems integrator Founder Electronics Ltd., are connected by Gigabit Ethernet links that enable rapid movement of MPEG-2 Long GOP media (MXF OP1a) across the broadcast workflow. The MediaDeck systems are dedicated to ingest, and each of the two mirrored Spectrum server systems provides redundant playout with room for the launch of additional broadcast channels.
“JSBC is rapidly emerging as a leading media operator in Jiangsu and in China, and the company’s implementation of Omneon server systems for Jiangsu TV provides a reliable and highly scalable foundation on which the broadcaster can continue its growth,” said Geoff Stedman, senior vice president, marketing and business development at Omneon. “Our modular Omneon Spectrum and MediaDeck server solutions support flexible handling of SD and HD content and enable cost-effective incremental extension of storage and playout channels, in turn giving Jiangsu TV a powerful yet easily adaptable system that accommodates both its current and future playout requirements.”
Visit www.omneon.com

Sky Channel Runs Cross-Platform Race with OmniBus

philsandberg — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:02:36 +0000

OmniBus Systems, the provider of comprehensive broadcast automation, content management and workflow solutions, has announced that Sky Racing in Australia has chosen OmniBus iTX for the multi-platform transmission of four television channels, one online and two mobile TV channels.
Sky Racing is a world leader in multi-venue race broadcasting, telecasting more than 60,000 races each year to millions of viewers in Australia and around the globe. Sky Racing transmits to more than 5,000 outlets across Australia and in 18 countries around the world via satellite, cable, mobile TV and the Internet. Sky Racing provides up to 17 hours of live thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing coverage each day. In addition, in-depth form previews and reviews are telecast, as well as racing and sports betting programming. Sky Racing reaches approximately 2.2 million Australian homes with a potential reach of more than 5 million viewers. Sky Racing is owned by Tabcorp – Australia’s premier gambling and entertainment group.
Sky’s iTX installation is configured with the iTX GFX real-time 3D graphics module, chosen for the television channels, to allow the generation of dynamic live 3D graphics being fed from multiple data sources in coverage for a variety of programming, including racing.
“iTX offers us a dynamic transmission and automation platform with some exceptional high-end graphics capabilities and the ability to scale very easily to accommodate new channel launches for TV, Web and mobile,” said Carl Petch, Sky Racing chief engineer. “These are mission-critical channels. The live racing coverage we provide is used by the wagering industry, so a very high standard of robustness is essential, as is a tight integration with our existing workflows and asset management system.”
“As the OmniBus distributor in Australia and New Zealand, it’s very exciting for Quinto Communications to be installing Australia’s first iTX system at Sky Racing,” said Tom Pavicic, Quinto Communications’ general manager. “We are creating an iTX support team in Australia for Sky Racing and future iTX deployments; this local support base is a critical step in successfully introducing the iTX platform to Australia. This is a very powerful transmission platform with features that open up a lot of possibilities for all kinds of broadcasters in Australia. iTX is perfect for Sky’s multi-platform service, making the launch of channels to traditional broadcast format, Web and mobile a highly streamlined operation. The iTX system makes it possible to create an entire high-quality, no-compromise multi-channel transmission infrastructure for less than the cost of a conventional automation system alone.”
“We are delighted to add Australia to our expanding iTX deployment base in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, which includes Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia,” said Fintan Mc Kiernan, OmniBus Systems’ APAC sales manager. “We have recently expanded our APAC facility in Kuala Lumpur to consolidate iTX support for the region and to provide the requisite backing for our partners, such as Quinto Communications, to in turn offer the highest level of support to Sky Racing and our other customers in the region.”
Visit www.quinto.com.au and www.omnibus.tv

ACMA Uses Opportunity Cost to Value Spectrum

philsandberg — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:25:17 +0000

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has decided to base annual fees for administratively allocated spectrum on the opportunity cost of the spectrum.
The opportunity cost is the value of the opportunity foregone by current spectrum use. It is the price that would be expected to emerge in a well functioning market.
The ACMA’s decision follows careful consideration of the issues raised in submissions to its discussion paper, Opportunity Cost Pricing of Spectrum: Public consultation on administrative pricing of spectrum based on opportunity cost (released in April 2009).
“Licence fees are one of the tools used by the ACMA to encourage licensees to use spectrum efficiently, and thereby maximise benefits to the Australian economy and community. Opportunity cost provides a transparent basis for setting fees for administratively allocated spectrum and is intended to increase incentives to use spectrum efficiently,” said Chris Chapman, Chairman of the ACMA.
As discussed in the ACMA’s response to submissions, issues raised by various stakeholders will assist the ACMA to transition towards fees based on opportunity cost.
Opportunity cost pricing may result in some licence fees increasing, and some decreasing. The ACMA will undertake a band-by-band assessment to determine the priorities for a licence fee review, and these priorities will be reflected in the annual Five-year Spectrum Outlook publication from next year. The ACMA will consult with stakeholders in considering specific proposals to amend licence fees for particular bands, including in relation to the 400 MHz band.
Visit www.acma.gov.au

Australia Closes Door on ‘Datacasting’

philsandberg — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:43:15 +0000

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has approved a final extension of the Sydney datacasting trial service, operated by Broadcast Australia, until 30 April 2010. Beyond this final extension, the ACMA has decided not to allocate a television channel for any future extensions of the trial.
‘The reasonable prospect of a price-based allocation of datacasting transmitter licences, that could have provided a longer-term term home for the Sydney trial service, underpinned past decisions of the ACMA to keep extending the trial of technology that would be used to provide these services,’ Chris Chapman, Chairman of the ACMA said. ‘As there is no likelihood of an auction of long-term licences for datacasting in the near future, the ACMA has decided the rationale for continuing a trial of such services no longer exists.’ Trials of new technology, authorised by way of a scientific apparatus licence, are ordinarily strictly limited in duration. The Sydney datacasting trial has been in operation, based on periodic extensions of its trial licence, since 2003.
The ACMA decision follows clarification of several aspects of the Government’s television digitisation policy in recent months. In mid-2008, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, announced that the Government was reconsidering policy relating to the two unassigned digital channels. On 4 November 2009, the Minister announced the ‘Digital Pathway for Community Television’ – which commits one of the unassigned channels, Channel A, in Sydney for community television until 2013. The Government’s Digital Dividend Green Paper, released on 5 January 2010 makes no mention of any future auction of a channel for datacasting.
Commencement of a digital re-transmission of the existing Sydney community television service, TVS, is expected in March this year.
The ACMA has given Broadcast Australia one final licence period to assist in closing out its datacasting operations. As a consequence, the trial will cease on or before 30 April 2010.
The Broadcast Australia trial datacasting service is generally known as DIGITAL FORTY FOUR and is available in Sydney to viewers of digital television on UHF Channel 35. The trial currently includes services such as National Indigenous television (NITV), the Australian Christian Channel (ACC), Teachers TV, the EXPO home shopping channel and an electronic program guide for free-to-air television.
In October 2003 Broadcast Australia was issued a licence to operate the trial service for a period of three years. Licences further extending the trial have subsequently been issued by the ACMA.
Datacasting services are governed by regulatory regimes administered by the ACMA. Datacasting services use the broadcasting services bands of the radiofrequency spectrum as a means of delivery.
Services provided under a datacasting licence are restricted under Schedule 6 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (the BSA) from providing certain types of content. These restrictions help distinguish datacasting services from other types of television services.
The trial is authorised through a scientific apparatus licence issued under section 100 of the Radiocommunications Act 1992. A scientific apparatus licence must be operated primarily for specified scientific purposes. The relevant purpose in this case is the trial of new radiocommunications technology. A licence condition permits incidental commercial trial activities, provided that the trial remains primarily a radiocommunications technology trial and provided the services do not imply that the trial is otherwise than of a temporary nature.
A licence condition imposed by the ACMA in November 2008 requires Broadcast Australia to ensure that services display an on-screen message advising of the temporary nature of the service.
Section 34 of the BSA allows the ACMA to determine that unused or unplanned broadcasting services band (BSB) spectrum be used for the transmission of datacasting services on a temporary basis. In making such determinations the ACMA is to have regard to the possible future demand for use of that part of the spectrum.
In October 2006 the then Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts announced that the two unassigned television channels (known as Channel A and Channel B) were to be made available for the provision of in-home and out-of-home services such as datacasting and mobile television following a price-based allocation process.
Following this announcement, the ACMA extended the Broadcast Australia trial until such time as those allocations took place. This was intended to give Broadcast Australia the opportunity to bid for a long-term licence without interruption to its trial datacasting service.
In May 2008, the Minister for Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy indicated that this policy was to be reviewed.
In November 2009, the Minister for Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy announced that the community television sector was to be given access to one of the unassigned channels for the purposes of providing simulcasts of their analog services until the final switch-off of analog television services takes place in 2013.
In January 2010, the Minister released the Digital Dividend Green Paper. The Digital Dividend Green Paper proposes that, following switch-off of analog television services, one of the two unassigned digital channels in licence areas including Sydney could form part of the Government’s digital dividend target of 126 MHz. The remaining unassigned digital channel could be made available for broadcasting services. While broadcasting services could include datacasting services, the price-based allocation of long-term datacasting transmitter licences is not one of the purposes outlined in the Green Paper for the future of this digital channel.
The combination of these two announcements means effectively that there is now no foreseeable prospect of the price-based allocation of long-term datacasting licences. In these circumstances, the ACMA considered it was no longer appropriate to depart from its general policy of limiting the duration of trial licences.

DOP Milne Selects Cartoni for RED

philsandberg — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:23:43 +0000

Leading Australian Cinematographer, Lachlan Milne, recently selected Cartoni’s Sigma Head camera support for his Red Camera System and Prime Lenses package.
John Walsh, Gencom Technology’s Sales Engineer said, “Lachlan is very particular about the quality of his equipment and presentation to his clients. He had to be confident that Cartoni could provide the versatility and performance in a high quality Support Head before committing to a purchase.”
Lachlan Milne is an internationally recognised Director of Photography. He is film trained with HD experience and is skilled in all genres of filmmaking – documentary, short film, music video and commercials. He has won both international and local awards including Best Cinematography at the 26th Palermo International Sports Film Festival in Italy for his work on the documentary ‘The Away Game’.

Visit www.gencom.com