Are Older, Less Perfect Lenses Better? November 21^st 2018 - 01:00 PM

As accomplished DoPs striving to do our best work, we can all achieve a lot more creatively if we insist less on perfect lenses. Veteran cinematographers have long understood that lenses have distinct personalities, with a very specific look and feel. In the same way an actor imparts his or…

Windscreens for TV Newsgathering November 16^th 2018 - 09:00 AM

Like most everything else these days, microphone wind protection has become a complex subject. There are many variations of wind protection equipment now on the market and some of it costs more than the microphones themselves. Guidance may be necessary for television news reporters who work on their own in…

Entertainment Enablement - Part II October 23^rd 2018 - 12:30 PM

The Entertainment Enablement session at SMPTE 2018 presented a wide spectrum of technologies that could enhance time spent in the driverless cars of the future.

Broadcast For IT - Part 12 - Lenses June 25^th 2018 - 12:05 PM

In this series of articles, we will explain broadcasting for IT engineers. Television is an illusion, there are no moving pictures and todays broadcast formats are heavily dependent on decisions engineers made in the 1930’s and 1940’s, and in this article, we look at camera lenses, why, and how we use…

Broadcast For IT - Part 11 - Sensors June 18^th 2018 - 12:05 PM

In this series of articles, we will explain broadcasting for IT engineers. Television is an illusion, there are no moving pictures and todays broadcast formats are heavily dependent on decisions engineers made in the 1930’s and 1940’s, and in this article, we look at the most fundamental element of video – senso…

How to Be Effective as a One-Man Band March 15^th 2018 - 01:50 PM

For years, I have written about the problems associated with trying to be a one-man band television reporter. Now, shooting alone has become the reality for many journalists. How does one balance so many disciplines at once and still do a good job? Here are our thoughts.

Smartphone Journalism November 21^st 2017 - 11:00 AM

In the five months since The Broadcast Bridge published Frank Beacham’s article discussing Using the iPhone for Professional Video there have been many world events that offered ideal opportunities to cover events with smartphones rather than traditional ENG camcorders. Opportunities where the camera or camera/newscaster would have been f…

The Iris-less Lens: Has Its Time Finally Come? May 30^th 2017 - 10:00 AM

An Iris-free lens? This revolutionary technology will be here soon. But what will it mean to shooters and videographers and the images they capture?

UHD 2/3″ Studio and Field Cameras August 30^th 2016 - 12:00 PM

Several broadcasters are starting to produce sports in UHD. Notably Rogers Media in Canada and BT Sports in the UK have sports channels delivered OTT via fibre that have UHD content. It is early days yet for mainstream broadcast as issues around transmission standards as well as HDR are resolved…

Good Pictures Require More Than Just Higher Pixel Count June 7^th 2016 - 08:00 AM

Consumers have been taught that better images come from higher pixel count. While that has sold millions of TV sets, new image improvements will be harder to market. HFR, HDR, what role do broadcasters play?