UHD 2015: Confusion Continues October 21^st 2015 - 08:00 AM

Bringing the new UHD television format to market is a herculean project . Not just because multiple companies and products have to be developed, but an entire infrastructure must be designed and put into place. With UHD, that means supporting H.265 and VP9 streaming. Now, Google plans to release VP10, which…

Requiem for Encoding Hardware Premature September 29^th 2015 - 12:03 PM

Software was the big winner across the board at the recent IBC 2015 in Amsterdam. This was especially true for video encoding, highlighted by the two major acquisitions of Elemental Technologies by Amazon Web Services and Envivio by Ericsson within the space of a week.

TV’s Blurry Future August 31^st 2015 - 08:00 AM

The future of TV broadcasting is in the air, but maybe not on the air. FCC repack auctions and ATSC 3.0 introduce new variables further complicating predictions of TV’s future, even with a UHD crystal ball and a good lawyer. A lot of people without call letters want to tell b…

ATSC 3.0: Next-Generation Standard Ushers in New Capabilities for Broadcasters August 6^th 2015 - 07:00 AM

The current digital terrestrial broadcast system, now referred to as ATSC 1.0, has been around for more than 20 years. Although it has seen widespread use and success, technologies and viewer expectations have changed dramatically since the standard was created.

ATSC 3.0 Next-Gen TV Field Tests Show Positive Results July 12^th 2015 - 08:01 AM

Under a FCC experimental broadcast license, Tribune Broadcasting’s WJW-TV is providing a DTV transmitter, tower and 6-MHz channel for ATSC 3.0-related field testing in Cleveland. Field tests of key elements of ATSC 3.0 have been underway since mid-May by a collaboration of LG Electronics, Zenith R&D Lab and G…

Adventures in Broadcasting, Part 2: Say Hi to Wi-Fi July 6^th 2015 - 08:19 AM

IP video over Wi-Fi provided a solid new signal transport solution at a fraction of most wireless link costs. Wi-Fi was easy. The challenge was finding available devices to convert camera HDMI into IP for Wi-Fi transport, and decoders to convert IP back to HDMI for the production switcher.

Caution Still The Watchword Over 4k July 1^st 2015 - 02:01 PM

Ultra High Definition (UHD), or 4k as it’s also known, is now firmly established in the minds of broadcast professionals and viewers alike, even if far from being established in TV studios and the home.

How a 1953 Standards Decision Affects Today’s Global Television Industry June 11^th 2015 - 08:05 AM

It pays to have a handle on your industry’s history. Today, few who write modern video software know that over $70 billion a year is generated in global broadcasting based on a non standards-based engineering decision made in 1953 when black and white television transitioned to color.

Implementing MPEG-H Audio in Television Broadcast Operations June 10^th 2015 - 08:04 AM

The coding efficiency of audio compression is about to improve markedly because of a new MPEG audio standard—MPEG-H. This standard will permit many new and useful capabilities for those involved in television audio.

HEVC—Decoded May 18^th 2015 - 08:07 AM

High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) is the latest and certainly an efficient compression standard targeted at today’s high pixel count images.