IBC2014: 4K, IP And The Shape Of Things To Come (Pt. 1)

Following a rather acquisition-centric NAB this year, it was hoped that 2014 would be the IBC that would finally deliver on both IP and 4K, pointing the industry firmly in the direction of growth, success and, ultimately, something to write about! For while one of the joys of this year's IBC was a late summer that shone down on the RAI for the duration (not least upon the Heineken drinkers at the beach bar), an absolute highlight was the prevalence of new gadgets, solutions and updates on which to report.

Samsung greeted attendees with a vision of things to come via its collaboration with SES and SmarDTV to demo the first end-to-end encrypted Ultra HD content, which this journalist discovered via a tip from industry guru David Kirk. The picture was transmitted to a Samsung Ultra HD TV on the stand by using a SmarDTV CI Plus CAM module.
The demo marked the first time a full 3840x2160 pixel, CAS protected UHD signal in HEVC encoding standard at a frame rate of 50 fps and 10bit depth was decrypted by a standard SmarDTV CI Plus Module and rendered on Samsung Ultra HD TV models, according to Samsung.
ARRI continued the look to the future with news of the first major update for the AMIRA via SUP 1.1, due for release this month.
The update will see AMIRA Advanced and Premium temporary licenses made available at the online ARRI License Shop.
New features include Bluetooth audio monitoring, allowing the camera operator to monitor audio through wireless Bluetooth headphones. Dynamic auto tracking white balance, WiFi remote camera control via wireless devices and a pre-record function are also included.
ARRI also announced a more-than 25% reduction in the camera's boot-up time, a waveform display on the camera's viewfinder image and LCD panel and a colour bar allowing monitors to be calibrated to match the viewfinder.
Sony continued the camera news with the release of the PXW-X200, the latest addition to its XDCAM range. The release features an improved 1/2 inch-type Exmor 3CMOS sensor, a new 17 times zoom lens and XAVC Intra/Long GOP.
The company also showcased a full 4K 50p broadcast delivered live over IP. It was captured in Ultra High Definition using the PMW-F55 at BCE's live production studio in Luxembourg and screened as part of Sony's keynote speech at the show, some 250km away.
While there was still no news on an exact date for the 4K CION, AJA announced that it will soon be supported in Adobe Premiere Pro CC. "We're thrilled that out of the gates, CION customers shooting AJA Raw will have an NLE workflow supported in Adobe Premiere Pro CC," said Nick Rashby, AJA President. "While CION enables a multitude of ProRes codec choices, and other direct-to-edit workflow options, customers who will want the ultimate in colour range and flexibility may choose to work with AJA Raw files in Adobe Premiere Pro CC."
The CION is a new production camera capable of shooting at 4K/UltraHD and 2K/HD resolutions and was announced at NAB 2014. CION offers in-camera recording directly to the Apple ProRes family of codecs, including ProRes 4444 and ProRes 422 up to 4K 60 fps, and offers the ability to output 4K AJA Raw data at up to 120 fps via 4x 3G-SDI outputs.
Canon demoed its line-up of broadcast solutions and technologies, including the new CN7x17 KA S – the company's first-ever cinema lens to feature a servo drive unit.
Attendees were treated to the entire line-up of Canon's X-series camcorders, including the recently announced XF205 and XF200, as well as the company's range of Cinema EOS products.
Building further on its 'Everywhere' vision, Avid announced the VENUE | S3L-X compact live sound system, enabling live sound professionals to meet increasing sizes of live sound requirements. Engineers can mix and record live shows and create new material or mix down live recordings.
The group also announced new innovations for the Avid MediaCentral Platform. Avid revealed plans for resolution independence across the platform and the next phase of the Avid Connectivity Toolkit. "These latest innovations are focused on helping media organisations and professionals connect with audiences more powerfully, efficiently, and profitably," a statement said.
Avid Resolution Independence will enable users to work with 4K media and other high-res formats anywhere in the world, to ingest, store, orchestrate, edit, secure, analyse and distribute SD, HD and 4K media within the existing infrastructure.
DaVinci Resolve 11.1 was a major announcement for Blackmagic, the upgrade including improved asymmetric trimming, a new Swap Edit command, the ability to trim gaps in the timeline, editable in/out points in the source viewer, graphical fade sliders for video opacity, action and title safe overlays, independent track heights, a full screen timeline option and the ability to add transitions to multiple clips at the same time.
It also features improved integration with Final Cut Pro X, support for object tracking and stabilisation of compound clips, second layer input support for OpenFX plugins and new support for Dolby Vision image processing.
Blackmagic Design also unveiled DeckLink 4K Extreme 12G, a new Dual Link 12G-SDI capture and playback card that includes an eight-lane PCI Express Generation 2 connection, allowing high performance such as dual stream video capture and playback at resolutions up to 2160p60. The new DeckLink 4K Extreme 12G includes a new mezzanine card design that adds HDMI in and out on a second daughter card, along with sockets for adding two optical fiber modules for Dual Link optical fiber SDI in and out.
The Riedel stand was lively as ever following the release of the Tango TNG-200, its first fully networked platform based on AES67 and AVB standards. The solution is equipped with a high-resolution, full-colour thin-film-transistor display that avoids glare. It features two integrated Riedel Digital Partylines, two AES67 and AVB-compatible ports, two Ethernet ports, one option slot and redundant power supplies. It is fully compatible with all of Riedel's current and legacy intercom panels, including the company's new RSP-2318 Smartpanel.
The TNG-200 application turns the Tango platform into an intercom system that can be tailored to individual needs, including choice of matrix size starting with 40 x 80.
Riedel also released its new RSP-2318 Smartpanel user interface, with a feature set including three high-resolution, multitouch colour displays, stereo audio, a multilingual character set and 18 keys in 1 RU.
TSL Products presented its new TM1 MK2 system controller, adding to the company's TallyMan control system. The TM1 MK2 supplies dual gigabit Ethernet connectivity to ensure communication is transported, while its processing power "guarantees real time data and control across any facility."
TSL also announced a partnership with IPE Products to advance developments in control and display technology.
"We're delighted to be collaborating with IPE. Its innovations stem from its Systems Integrator roots, which have given them the insight to develop pertinent communication display solutions for practical operational challenges," said Chris Exelby, MD, TSL Products.

The article is available in BFV online.

(IT/JP)