Grass Valley

Networks, mobile truck companies and tech vendors agree the pandemic will impact HDR and UHD production through this year through a combination of equipment availability, complex new remote workflows and financial constraints.

New camera angles and innovative AR graphics will mark Tampa’s Super Bowl LV with a sparser crowd allowing for novel camera positions and experimentation.

Technology executives from WarnerMedia, Sinclair, Amagi and Grass Valley said at a TVNewsCheck webinar last week that while broadcasters are drawn to the cloud’s flexibility and scalability, moving away from on-prem hardware means workflow changes often better suited to a hybrid model.

This month’s virtual Devoncroft Executive Summit took the measure of a media technology market radically altered by COVID-19, from a 10% hit to its overall market size, a reassessment of how of it does business and a big potential shift in its sales and marketing efforts. Above, Devoncroft’s Josh Stinehour emphasized that technology investment by broadcasters is an opportunity to drive increased revenues, not simply a cost center.

Remotely working broadcasters are increasingly seeing the advantages of IP routing systems to easily control equipment and monitor feeds. Those who adopted IP routers prior to the pandemic were “well ahead of the game,” says one vendor. Above, the BBC’s SMPTE 2110 facility in Cardiff, Wales.

The online event this week underscored 2020’s biggest TV tech trend — moving on-premise broadcast workflows and vendor products to the cloud — while anticipating 5G’s potential use in remote production. Above, a 5G-enabled camera used in a BBC-led trial exploring multi-camera synchronization.

Offerings from Blackbird, Grass Valley and Avid have seen a surge in usage since the pandemic spurred a remote workflow shift with costs coming down and performance improving.

Coronavirus-necessitated remote workflows have spun up quickly and reliably to allow TV stations to keep broadcasting during the pandemic. There’s reason to believe they’ll stick around after the crisis subsides. Above: Avid Edit On Demand provides a full virtual production environment in the cloud, including Media Composer software and Avid NEXIS storage. (Source: Avid)

The pandemic created an opportunity to stress-test distributed and virtualized workflows right now that stations and networks were already considering for the future. The industry’s shift may now be ahead of schedule because of it. Above, NBC Universal’s Boston Media Center is one of the latest all-IP broadcast facilities.

TVNewsCheck‘s directory of Virtual NAB events is packed with webinars, briefings and demos from Audinate, AWS, Bitmovin, Canon, Harmonic, Planar, Telestream, Vela and others. There’s also some distance learning from the Media Financial Management Association. Visit the full directory here. For TVNewsCheck’s continuously updated news feed covering announcements that would have been made before, during or after NAB, visit here. To read TVNewsCheck’s coverage of how broadcasters are coping with and covering the corona virus pandemic, visit here. 

Costs are inhibiting a flood of 4K sports production, but 1080p HDR offers numerous practical advantages, among them that the improvement in picture quality is more readily apparent to consumers than the gain from 4K resolution. Above, Sony tested an 8K camera at the Sony Open in Hawaii last year, but doesn’t expect 8K to be used for regular sports production for several years.

The coronavirus pandemic has amped up the transition to cloud-based workflows as broadcasters have employed as many remote operations as possible. The next frontier: an acceleration of live production applications in the cloud. Above, an Amazon Web Services Outpost cloud server.

A conversation with Grass Valley CEO Tim Shoulders and Black Dragon Capital CEO Louis Hernandez Jr. following up on this week’s news of GV’s acquisition by the venture capital firm.

Francois Vaillant, executive director of engineering at CBC/Radio-Canada, says the group opted to build an IP-based broadcast center to move CBC/Radio-Canada into the future. The greenfield project was an opportunity to be more future-proof.

With the purchase from Belden, the private equity firm, led by Louis Hernandez Jr., says it aims to accelerate Grass Valley’s evolution to market leader in cloud-based media technology.

Fox will use more than 100 manned and robotic cameras to cover the game, including 24 “Super-Motion” cameras to support replays; 20 goal-line and end-line pylon cameras; wireless “Line to Gain” cameras that travel up and down the field in alignment with the first-down marker; and two different SkyCam systems which operate at different elevations. It will also use 72 field mics, as well as wireless player mics, to capture game audio. And that’s just scratching the surface.

Next year should see broadcasters making advances in the continuing move to IP, greater use of cloud platforms and significant progress for two new wireless technologies: ATSC 3.0 and the various 5G services being rolled out by wireless carriers. Above, a Sony camcorder and prototype 5G transmitter were used to test camera backhauls over Verizon’s 5G network during a recent NBC NFL broadcast.

News organizations are increasingly using breakthroughs in technology to allow journalists to remotely, yet quickly, deliver more content over multiple platforms. The advances range from improved cellular networks that speed transmission of content from the field to the newsroom and cameras capable of streaming and providing remote video, to a host of tools available for journalists to remotely edit and produce content while collaborating with their newsrooms. Above, Grass Valley’s new GV Alyve, released at this year’s IBC Show, gives reporters a “virtual control room in the cloud” for production and distribution of video and livestream content. (Source: Grass Valley)

Audio over IP (AoIP) networking technology is experiencing higher adoption among TV broadcasters, prompted in part by a new transport standard ensuring more interoperability. Many of those embracing IP no longer think of audio production as an island, but as connected networks prompting interoperability to become an important factor. Above, SSL’s System T AoIP production system runs on COTS hardware like Cisco switches.

Larger networks and sports broadcasters are in the vanguard of IP routing, but local stations are following more slowly. Business needs are driving the pace of transition, and HD-SDI routers are far from disappearing. NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations’ new facility for WCAU-WWSI, its Philadelphia duopoly, uses Grass Valley control software and IPG (IP gateway) cards working with Cisco switches to bridge the HD-SDI and IP worlds.

Belden said today it plans to divest its Grass Valley business. The company has retained JP Morgan to manage the sale process and is actively engaged with several parties. The news came as the company announced third quarter earnings; it is now reporting all Grass Valley-related revenues as “discontinued operations.”

Multiviewers are in the midst of a rapid evolutionary phase spurred by the proliferation of signals that need monitoring and the IP transition. As the need for control across multiviewer screens increases, the technology is also becoming more integrated with other pieces of equipment.

Exclamations about the IP transition, the cloud and AI were notably muted at this year’s IBC. Vendors say that’s because this year wasn’t about shiny new things, but rather getting to work on implementation.

Automation technology is fast evolving to keep up with demand for content on multiple platforms. Vendors say it helps eliminate redundant tasks and integrates as many platforms as possible without posing a threat to jobs or creative control.