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May 24, 2007
Indy 500 Gets HD Checkered Flag
Indianapolis 500 fans with high-definition TV sets will finally have a chance to see all the action from the Brickyard in HD as Indianapolis Motor Speedway Productions gave the go-ahead on a massive project that involved building a new production facility and laying fiber cable around the track. IMS Productions will create the world feed of the race (which ESPN supplements with its own pit reporters and other cameras) in a new production center built by All Mobile Video, a New York City-based production company that typically works on non-sporting events like the Oscars or Grammys.
“ABC and IMS Productions have been partners for more than 40 years and this has been bantered about and discussed for a couple of years,” says Rich Feinberg, ESPN senior coordinating producer. “There were some upgrades that had to be made in terms of transporting the HD camera signals the distances they’ll need to go.”
More than 200 technicians will use 44 Sony HDC-1500 cameras plus eight in-car cameras (standard definition) will be connected to a production trailer built by All-Mobile Video (a YES Production truck will be home for ABC). The longest cable run will measure 7,800 feet.
The All-Mobile Video production facility is housed in two 60x12-foot trailers to form a single 60x24-foot unit. At the center of the production room is a Sony 8000 production switcher coupled with a Sony router. A mixture of Ikegami and Sony monitors (with 40 Sony LCD panels mixed in with some 9-inch glass monitors), a tape room with EVS replay servers, and an audio room based around a Calrec 100 console and a Klotz audio router round out the offering.
About 10 trailers total are located in the compound, including the YES Production truck for ABC, several trucks for IMS Productions, an archive trailer and an Avid editing trailer. Feinberg says the only aspect of the production that won’t be HD will be the in-car camera. NASCAR made the move to HD in-car cameras earlier this year but the difference in the way the cars are built and the stress placed on the camera systems will require some more work.
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Gas Station TV Pumps Up HD
Gas Station TV (GSTV) has signed a deal with Avocent to bring HD to gas station pumps all across America.
David Leider, GSTV CEO, says the wireless HD technology from Avocent, coupled with GSTV’s content, will make it possible to help consumers focus on high-definition TV rather than the higher gas prices.
“On average consumers spend four-and-a-half minutes at the gas pump with nothing to do,” he adds.
Avocent's wireless HD distribution technology eliminates the need to install costly additional wiring to deliver news and advertising content to each gas pump display.
Avocent's Emerge MPX1000 media distribution system is able to deliver a synchronized stream of HD computer graphics or video and associated audio from one source to as many as eight display devices.
Manageability is provided through an onboard web interface and device control is accommodated through extension of serial, IR and HDMI control data. The Emerge MPX1000 extender solution supports VGA and HDMI/DVI digital video and audio signals. Currently on over 1,000 screens in multiple top-10 markets, Gas Station TV will be on over 6,000 screens at leading gas retailers in the Top 10 DMAs in 2007.
The Emerge MPX1000 extender delivers 720p HD video and audio over standard 10/100 wired Ethernet or wirelessly through walls up to 150 feet, or up to 1,000 feet line-of-sight with optional directional antenna.
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HD in the UK Continues to Grow
This month marks the one-year anniversary that Sky launched an HD service in the UK and high definition there continues to grow as the BBC Trust has just launched a public value test for the proposal of a permanent high definition BBC TV channel.
That will include two periods of public consultation, and aims to determine the public value of such a service, and its market impact.
The current proposal is for a single, mixed-genre channel that takes 50% of its content from BBC One, 30% from BBC Two, and the remaining 20% from the BBC's digital channels. Initially it would air for three or four hours per day, increasing to a full nine-hour schedule running from 3 p.m. to midnight.
Among the upcoming highlights will be live coverage from Wimbledon in HD.
Meanwhile, UK satellite service Sky celebrated its one-year HD anniversary (since its launch last May more than 250,000 customers have signed up for Sky HD) with the announcement that it will offer two-thirds of programming on Sky One in HD by Christmas, 2007. In addition, 90% of its own original content is now shot and produced in HD.
"[This] shows our commitment to making the best of Sky available in high definition, across the schedule," says Brian Sullivan, MD of the Customer Group at Sky. Separately, a new agreement will bring titles from the Warner Bros. Entertainment library.
But it’s the free HD that is expected to be the big driver of HD and the BBC seems committed to providing free over-the-air HD once the analog switchover is completed in 2012. For the initial stages of the test the BBC will combine bandwidth from multiple standard-definition Freeview channels, including BBC Four, BBC Parliament and three BBCi streams, from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.
Insomniacs will need to add HD receive gear in order to view the content.
Research from Strategy Analytics suggests that if Freeview spectrum is used for HD then 90% of UK households will be watching high definition content by the year 2020. However, if terrestrial TV does not get some free HD channels, that percentage is just 60%.
"The Ofcom and the UK government decisions on HD-DTT over the next few months will shape the UK's broadcasting environment for many years to come," says David Mercer, Principal Analyst at Strategy Analytics. "They must consider the long term impact on public service broadcasting before making any final decision on spectrum allocation."
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Chris Gottschalk
Founder, CTO
Kulabyte |
Encoding Gets Quicker
Those looking for new HD encoding gear have a new option: Kulabyte. Introduced this month the technology cuts the amount of time needed to encode HD video and can bring variable bit rate encoding to live content. Chris Gottschalk, the founder and CTO of Kulabyte discussed the new technology.
Q: Is this product designed to help consumers receive streamed or IP-delivered HD or is this a production tool for the encoding and transfer of HD files between broadcasters, production houses, etc.?
A: Yes to all. We have created a tool for professional use that enables content creators to quickly get their content web or broadcast ready at the highest possible qualities. Even though Kulabyte is transparent to the end user, our usage on the creation side enables the end user to experience higher quality material.
Q: Can you explain how TimeSlice technology works and how it’s different from other technologies? How does it use and interact with On2's TrueMotion compression scheme?
A: TimeSlice technology is a radical approach to handling video; it provides the freedom to use modern codecs to their full potential, no matter what the intended purpose of the final video stream. The easiest way to understand this is to take a look at our approach to live video.
Normally, when encoding live video you are forced to use 1-pass constant bit rate and a bare minimum of codec settings in order to maintain real-time. The consequence of live codec settings is that quality is noticeably worse than file based encodes.
Kulabyte's solution is to treat the live stream like you would a file; so each incoming TimeSlice is treated like a file allowing for any codec parameter and mode to be used, so essentially you can do a live two-pass variable bit rate on a live stream, an industry first with standard codecs.
On a file-based encode, TimeSlice's can be spread out amongst multiple processor cores to enable full processor utilization, even on single threaded codecs.
Q: How do you envision TimeSlice fitting into existing workflows? What equipment is it replacing?
A: Kulabyte encoders with TimeSlice technology fit into any workflow where the encoder normally sits. TimeSlice is transparent as far as the workflow is concerned. So if you have a satellite TV network with a $250,000.00 encoder sitting in a rack, Kulabyte goes there at a fraction of the cost and delivers higher quality and a higher ROI. If you have a encoding workstation sitting in your studio, Kulabyte goes there.
Q: Mark Cuban recently said that HD over the Internet simply won't happen due to file size, bandwidth constraints, etc....do you agree with that assessment? Why or why not?
A: Streaming HD across the Internet will work if the consumers want it bad enough, period. Broadband networks grew to their current capacities because of sites like broadcast.com and will continue to grow as needed.
Streaming HD is no problem in Japan, right? So if consumers are ready to throw money at Internet broadcasters and their broadband providers, why shouldn't some of that money be reinvested into our core network.
--Interviewed by Ken Kerschbaumer
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FCC Gives Stations More Time To Convert To Digital
(From an April 18 article at broadcastingcable.com)
The FCC has extended the deadline for the 145 TV stations who have yet to finish construction of their digital facilities to complete their transition.
Two of the stations--WABC and WNBC in New York—had transitions affected by 9/11. The original deadlines for construction were July 1, 2005 for the stations affiliated with the top-four networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) in markets one to 100, and the deadline was July 1, 2006 for everybody else.
The commission granted six-month extensions to 107 stations, including WNBC, and gave until Feb. 17, 2009 for 33 other stations.
The commission also warned that it might have to get tougher with stations. It said that they had several years to plan for and finance the DTV construction, noting that many stations had received numerous extensions.
For more…
ABC to Provide New HD, Mobile Streams
(From a May 15 article at broadcastingcable.com)
ABC says it will soon deliver high-definition programming over the Internet, as well as provide a range of on-demand and streaming content to Sprint mobile phones.
The network will launch a beta-test in early July of a broadband “HD channel” on ABC.com that will provide a limited number of primetime shows such as Lost and Grey’s Anatomy in the same 720-line progressive HD (1280 x 720 resolution) format used by the ABC broadcast network.
ABC says more shows will be available this fall in conjunction with the new television season. ABC did not provide details on what bit-rate it will use to compress the broadband HD content, a key factor in determining the relative picture quality of high-definition video.
For more…
Boston Gets First HD Newscast
(From a May 14 article at broadcastingcable.com)
ABC affiliate WCVB is scheduled to become the first station in the Boston market to offer high-definition news. The Hearst-Argyle station, which first began producing HD programming back in 1999 with its Chronicle newsmagazine, has created a new set for the HD launch and has invested in a high-definition Doppler radar. It is the second Hearst-Argyle station to produce news in HD, following NBC affiliate KCRA Sacramento, which launched in February.
For more…
NCTA: HBO's Zitter Says DRM Is Misnomer
(From a May 9 article in Broadcasting & Cable magazine)
Digital rights management (DRM) is the wrong term for technology that secures programmers' content as it moves to new digital platforms says HBO Chief Technology Officer Bob Zitter, since it emphasizes restrictions instead of opportunities.
Speaking at a panel session at the NCTA show Zitter suggested that “DCE,” or Digital Consumer Enablement, would more accurately describe technology that allows consumers “to use content in ways they haven't before,” such as enjoying TV shows and movies on portable video players like iPods. “I don't want to use the term DRM any longer,” said Zitter, who added that content-protection technology could enable various new applications for cable operators.
For more…
Big Ten Network Heads to Buckeye Country
(From a May 15 article at multichannelnews.com)
Buckeye CableSystem, which serves more than 150,000 customers in Ohio and southeast Michigan, reached an agreement to carry the Big Ten Network when it launches this August.
Buckeye will carry the network in its expanded-basic level of service, and the operator will also carry its HD feed.
For more…
More Networks Jump Into The High-Definition Fray
(From a May 14 article at multichannelnews.com)
The proliferation of the high-definition format continues apace with a spate of services from The History Channel and Cinemax to Starz Entertainment and the rookie Big Ten Channel gearing up for service launches and additions.
The History Channel HD will take its first public step into the enhanced format in September, when the 24-hour service bows with direct-broadcast satellite provider DirecTV. The new service will simulcast the network's entire lineup of original, nonfiction programming and specials.
Fledgling sports channel the Big Ten Network, which is scheduled to kick off in August, is getting into the HD game in a big way: It will come off the scrimmage line with 350 events and more than 1,000 hours of HD content during its first year.
For more…
HD Drives DirecTV in 1Q
(From a May 9 article at multichannelnews.com)
DirecTV group reported strong first-quarter financial results across the board with a doubling of HD subscribers helping drive revenues upward.
The direct-broadcast satellite provider posted revenue of $3.91 billion, up 15% compared with the year-earlier quarter, and operating profit before depreciation and amortization of $930 million, up 54%.
Operating profit was up 44% to $563 million and net income rose 43% to $336 million. The company’s earnings per share were $0.27 versus $0.17 in the first quarter of 2006. http://email.BroadcastingCable.com/cgi-bin2/DM/y/hA0MgjWe0A0DFXt0EH
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HD-DVD Earns SABRE Award
(From a May 17 article at TWICE.com)
Toshiba and its public relations agency Brodeur received a Silver SABRE Award in technology for “the successful launch of HD DVD in the United States.”
The SABRE award was presented by The Holmes Group, which publishes trade reports on the public relations industry, for “superior achievement in branding and reputation. Silver SABREs recognize the best programs in specific industries,” according to a Brodeur spokesman.
For more…
Panasonic Ships Upgraded Blu-ray Deck
(From a May 15 article at TWICE.com)
Panasonic is now shipping an upgraded version of its Blu-ray Disc player — model DMP-BD10A – at a reduced $599 suggested retail, down $700 from the $1,299 original launch price.
Panasonic said the new version of the player, which originally launched last year as the DMP-DB10, will include an “audio upgrade package” featuring 7.1-channel surround, Dolby True HD and DTS-HD high resolution audio decoding technology, in addition to Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital and DTS surround decoding.
For more…
Mitsubishi Ramps Up 1080p Lines
(From a May 14 article at TWICE.com)
Mitsubishi is diving into the big-screen 1080p HDTV market in 2007 offering nine DLP rear-projection models and eight big-screen LCD TVs capable of the resolution level. All include HDMI v1.3a inputs supporting x.v.YCC expanded color gamut technology and Mitsubishi's Deep Color technology.
The LCD line is highlighted by a new design using a more compact footprint, a very thin bezel and a cabinet that is less than half the width of typical LCD sets.
For more…
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New DVD Protection Scheme Cracked Before Release
DailyTech.com reports that a new copy protection scheme for high-definition DVDs being released this week has already been hacked. Late last year hackers cracked the copy protection and now it’s on to a third version.
The Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administration (AACS LA) is now embracing Media Key Block (MKB) v3, a new encryption key version that would render the previously discovered Processing Key obsolete.
But SlySoft, developers of a software used to defeat the copy protections of DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, have revealed that its latest version of AnyDVD HD is able to sidestep the new MKB from the AACS.
The article reports that, judging from how the protection system works, the newly discovered exploit will also work with all upcoming software until the AACS LA implements yet another patch.
For more…
HD News From The Field Slow Going
Television Broadcast reports that for all the talk (and action) local TV stations are undergoing to embrace HD newscasts day-to-day news gathering in HD has yet to catch on. The cost of HD camera systems and related gear remains the biggest obstacle but another is that current workflows, that involve editing in the field on laptops, would require further adjustments.
WFTV Orlando’s experience is typical. “In the field, we’ve been doing 16:9 SD with some limited stories being shot in HD for sweeps, specials and some promotions,” said Dave Sirak, WFTV’s manager of news operations. “The 16:9 SD stands up well on air.”
For more…
HD Downloads Could Clog Pipes
Arstechnica.com reports that ABC’s announcement last week that it would begin streaming HD versions of some programs will present a new set of bandwidth issues for Internet Service Providers.
Recent data has shown that the use of media-heavy services, such as the iTunes Store and Xbox Live, has caused network traffic to surge as the services become more and more popular. And some broadband providers have cracked down on customers for using too much bandwidth even if the providers have not stated a specific limit. Will broadband providers be able to keep up with the trends of its users?
For more…
Why Multicasting Should Catch On
Broadcast Engineering reports on one of the least exploited revenue generating opportunities enabled by DTV technology: the capability to deliver multiple programs in a single MPEG-2 transport stream. It also could open up new revenue streams related to targeted advertising as if viewer profiles and demographics were stored in the DTV receiver existing technology could query the user profile, determine selection type(s) and execute a channel change to relevant targeted content based on these particular criteria.
A larger issue is encouraging set manufacturers to incorporate the receive technology in new HDTV and DTV sets. One incentive may be the development of a national emergency alert channel as direct channel changing could be FCC mandated for inclusion in DTV receivers.
For more…
Lower Price Makes HD-DVD A Safe Bet
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports on the HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray battle and, more importantly, which one is the better value for consumers. The verdict? HD-DVD as the high cost of the players (starting around $800) can’t compete with the HD-DVD models that can be found for as low as $399 (or $199 if it hooks up to the Microsoft Xbox360).
And for those still concerned with picking a player that will be obsolete once the war for high-def DVD supremacy is over there is another option: the Oppo DV-970HD which only plays regular DVDs but upconverts the picture to HD resolution.
For more…
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