10 February 2006
Victor Entertainment Co, the Tokyo based music video and audio production and marketing company, has purchased a Quantel eQ Editing/ effects/ grading/ mastering system in its Pay as you Go HD configuration. The eQ sits at the heart of Victors in-house post production facility handling all its current SD post requirements, and has been purchased with an eye to the high resolution future as more and more of Victors clients look to produce in HD.
“We are seeing an increase in demand for HD production at Victor, said Visual Director, Teruaki Onishi. The Pay as you Go HD concept allows us to make the eQ fully HD capable at any time we need, and if we reach a point where it is desirable to have the HD always on, then we can do this for a reasonable cost. It also gives us the means to handle HD and SD alongside each other, which will be very helpful to us in future as we are planning to build a network storage system for audio and video, effectively giving us a high-speed media archive system interfaced with the eQ.
Another important benefit for Victor in selecting the eQ is its ability to handle Panasonic Varicam HD video. eQ is very efficient at handling Varicam material, which is used a lot for music video production, adds Mr Onishi. Beyond that, we also appreciate the high quality and long in-service life of Quantel systems, and we are looking forward to further exciting developments for the system in the future.
8 February 2006
A series of High Definition Technology Seminars are being run by the Leitch Business Unit of Harris Broadcast Communications Division across Europe over the coming months. The European HD seminars are aimed at industry professionals who work in all traditional broadcast, production, post production and mobile environments.
The seminars focus on an array of HDTV technology from signal management, test & measurement and design consideration for HD systems to hands on product demonstrations. Designed to eliminate some myths behind HD, Leitch will also present an HDTV survival guide which covers video formats, HD conversion, colour decoding technologies, audio processing, SD & HD noise reduction and synchronisation.
The first round of the High Definition Technology Seminars have already started and will roll out in mainland Europe as follows:
Italy, Rome 8th and 9th February
Norway, Bergen & Oslo, 23rd & 24th February
France, Paris, 14th 16th March
Finland, Helsinki 27th March
Denmark, Copenhagen, 29th March
Sweden, Stockholm, 31st March
Belgium, Brussels, 4th & 5th April
Czech Republic, Prague, 23rd May
Slovakia, Bratislava, 25th May
Additional country venues and dates will be announced shortly.
For further details contact: Meriam Khan +44 (0)20 8537 2698, meriam@mkm-marcomms.com
Harris Corporation is showcasing products and solutions for emerging mobile TV market at NAB2006. Recent launch announcements of 2 mobile TV networks have signaled the dawn of true, live broadcast television delivery to handheld devices in the United States. Harris’ participation in early stage trials across Europe and Australia has positioned the company as a leading transmission vendor for mobile TV requirements. The company’s mobile TV transmission solutions have been used to develop and prove the effectiveness of the DVB-H, FLO(TM) and T-DMB standards for mobile broadcast television. At NAB2006, Harris will highlight its total content delivery solutions for mobile TV that expand far beyond transmission to include infrastructure, broadband software and distribution equipment.
Harris Corporation also announced that it is integrating its proven solutions for digital asset management, air-time sales, scheduling and reporting within its new H-Class(TM) Content Delivery Platform. These new H-Class(TM) applications will immediately realize new platform-based advantages, including content management and sharing, intra-application messaging, increased security and scheduling functionality. The H-Class Application Suite serves the existing needs of media and entertainment customers today and provides a growth path to full enterprise-wide deployment in the future.
8 February 2006
Global media research company InterMedia today released its first-ever annual review, Understanding How the World Understands, chronicling media use, audience preferences and new communications technology growth throughout the developing world.
The data highlight how increasing choice in media and news around the world affects the gathering and disseminationas well as attempts to controlinformation.
These findings are based on recent surveys in 60 countries among 138,000 respondents, often in places and among populations for which detailed audience use and preferences data are scarce or unavailable.
8 February 2006
Al Arabiya News Channel has joined the AIB as a Platinum Member.
Part of MBC based in Dubai Media City in the United Arab Emirates, Al Arabiya has been on the air to the Middle East with its Arabic-language news service since 2003.
“The AIB is delighted that Al Arabiya has chosen to join the Association, demonstrating its commitment to the international broadcasting industry through Platinum membership,” says Simon Spanswick, AIB Chief Executive. “We will be working closely with Al Arabiya to provide the complete range of member services, and look forward to encouraging considerable interaction with our other members in the region and throughout the world.”
A full profile of Al Arabiya appears in the new edition of The Channel
8 February 2006
Al Jazeera International, the 24-hour English-language news and current affairs channel, headquartered in Doha, have appointed renowned journalist Barnaby Phillips as their Europe correspondent based in Athens.
Barnaby joins Al Jazeera International from the BBC where his last position was as Southern Africa Correspondent for television and radio based in Johannesburg. He has extensive global experience having also worked in the Middle East, West Africa and Asia. Barnaby has covered major stories such as the AIDS epidemic, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, the war in Liberia, the 2002 Southern African food crises, the war in Iraq and the South Asian Tsunami.
Barnaby will be based in Athens as European correspondent for Al Jazeera International working directly with the channels London broadcast centre the channels principle European bureau after London. The London broadcast centre will be responsible for Europe and Russia bringing news to English speaking viewers around the world for several hours each day as one of four broadcast centres strategically placed around the world in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC.
Speaking on the appointment from the channels headquarters in Doha, Director of News Steve Clark said, Barnaby Phillips is a great addition to our news team and I am pleased to have him on board as European correspondent.
Barnaby first joined the BBC in 1991 and has remained with them until leaving to take up his post with Al Jazeera International this year. In London he worked mainly at the BBC World Service. He was a BBC stringer in Mozambique and Angola in the mid-1990’s, where he began his career as a reporter, covering civil wars and peace processes, and learning Portuguese. In 1998 he became the BBC correspondent in Nigeria until 2001 when he moved to Johannesburg with the BBC, as Southern Africa Correspondent.
8 February 2006
Quantel will arrive at NAB 2006 on a commercial and technological high with a great range of products that is enjoying wide commercial success across many applications. NAB will be a great showcase for us and our customers, said Ray Cross, Quantel CEO. Accordingly, Quantel has significantly increased its booth size this year to enable the full generationQ product line to go on show. The range now spans the DI, Color Correction, Post, Graphics and Broadcast businesses. Many major new developments are also on show for the first time at NAB.
DI
Pablo, Quantels next generation color correction that was previewed in late 2005 makes its full debut at NAB in a dedicated viewing theatre within the Quantel booth. Featuring genuine realtime 4K operation and Quantels revolutionary new TimeMagic technology, Pablo brings together the best of hardware and software-based color correction technologies in a single system. As a result, Pablo has already achieved outstanding success in the market; it is a must-see at the show for anyone involved in color correction. Also on show in the DI area is the new all-powerful iQ4, which brings realtime 4K to the mainstream DI process.
Post
New at NAB is TimeMagic technology for the eQ multi-resolution editing/ grading/ effects/ deliverables system including the new Pay as you Go HD model – which gives every facet of the systems operation an enormous productivity boost. Also on show for the first time is Pablo on eQ, which brings the creativity and efficiency of the DI workflow to commercials post. Delivering better quality and fantastic looking hi res and SD commercials, the DI workflow is win-win for clients and post houses alike.
Broadcast
Even with the enlarged booth this year, it is still not possible to display the full gamut of possibilities offered by Quantels sQ server-based broadcast technology. As well as showing the ever-expanding Newsbox family of cost-effective, plug-and-play news systems, there will also be a second broadcast arena. Today, no broadcast system is an island; the second arena will be showing how sQ technology integrates perfectly with the real-world, end-to-end workflows demanded by broadcasters. That means handling many file formats and integrating a plethora of media streams – whether HD, SD, MPEG, video iPod
just some of the real-world challenges that broadcasters can find answers to on the Quantel booth. A number of technology partners will be participating.
Still in the broadcast arena, Quantel will be demonstrating integration with the new wave of HD acquisition technologies, including XDCAM-HD and P2-HD. Additionally, Quantel will be showing how its innovative ZoneMagic software for sQ systems enables broadcasters to benefit from a true collaborative workflow, whether departments are on the same floor, next door, or across towns, countries or continents.
Graphics
Quantels Paintbox and Picturebox sQ graphics creation and playout systems will be playing a major part in the presentations on the booth at NAB, both as part of larger systems and in a standalone graphics role. Once again, integration with real world workflows will be high on the graphics agenda.
