Scanning for archive on the rise while feature film market shrinks October 28^th 2014 - 01:57 PM

By some estimates Kodak has produced some 3 trillion feet of film since the company’s inception in 1889, much of which remains undigitised in archives around the world. Its output is shrinking rapidly from 12.4 billion linear feet to 449 million this year, according to the Wall Street Journal, as demand for motion…

Blurring the real and the virtual live October 27^th 2014 - 11:57 AM

The capture of depth information in scenes is an increasingly rich field of development but it has so far remained on the fringes of TV production because of the need to either use physical markers on objects or to render the output in post. Start-up company Zinemath aims to change…

The Vanishing Broadcast Infrastructure October 20^th 2014 - 10:30 AM

As broadcasters moved from analog to digital, new doors opened to automating processes—and important to the front office—the possibility of lowering staff costs. Above, Ross Overdrive can enable live production and playout to be managed with a minimal staff.

Channel Explosion Turns Broadcast Monitors On Their Head October 20^th 2014 - 09:30 AM

When most people think of broadcast video monitors, they think of a very expensive, precision television display used to view and judge the quality of broadcast images. Engineers — often nicknamed “Golden Eyes” — assess the TV signal based on years of skill, knowledge and human intuition. Such video monitors still exist, especia…

Audio Loudness - or Why Commercials Annoy October 15^th 2014 - 11:50 AM

You are sitting there quietly watching your favorite show on TV when all of a sudden the commercial comes on – BAM, WAM, BUY, BUY… screams at you. The purpose of the commercial is to grab your attention in the few seconds of the spot. The recording engineers in the commercials pro…

Visual Radio October 10^th 2014 - 05:16 PM

In many cities, radio stations have become the new TV stations. Radio stations gain visibility (literally), the station talent gains additional exposure and radio becomes more of a two-way experience for listeners/viewers. In addition, co-owned TV stations often do break-in interview segments with their partner radio stations as a…

Data drives on-air sports analysis October 7^th 2014 - 12:21 PM

Advances in processing power and high-performance graphics cards are affording broadcasters more possibilities than ever to devise stunning virtual sets and on-air graphics, but it is the power of data which is driving most innovation. Nowhere is this more evident than in live sports. Ratings sky rocket during major league…

Low-Cost Flat Panel Displays & News Channels Expansion Drive the Increased Use of Teleprompters October 6^th 2014 - 01:30 PM

Teleprompters go back to the earliest days of television. The idea came from an actor named Fred Barton Jr. who conceived the teleprompter as a means of helping television performers who had to memorize long dramatic scripts in a short amount of time.

Wireless Microphones Face an Uncertain Future October 6^th 2014 - 11:30 AM

With the FCC’s upcoming auctions of broadcast spectrum, wireless microphones not only face technology challenges, but political ones as well over the next few years.

The Fast Tracking of Slow Motion Video Technology October 6^th 2014 - 10:00 AM

Slow motion was originally a staple of motion picture production. It was a simple process — each film frame was captured at a speed much faster than it was played back. When replayed at the normal speed of 24 frames per second, time appeared to be moving more slowly.