Every year at NAB and IBC, Broadcast Engineering convenes to choose our Pick Hit recipients. Our judges are readers of the magazine and working professionals in the broadcast, post-production and content delivery industries. To protect the integrity of awards, our judges remain anonymous throughout the judging process.
The Broadcast Engineering Pick Hit awards are in recognition of the innovative technology developed and shown at IBC2011. They are the industry's longest-running new product technology awards, now celebrating our 27th anniversary.
Products are selected as affordable, offering a substantial improvement over existing technology and as having a positive impact on the intended user's everyday work.
Congratulations to the following manufacturers on their innovative technology.
AV-HS410 switcher
Panasonic AV Systems Europe
All-in-one single ME multiformat SD/HD production switcher provides versatile effects, including transitions with digital video effects and Primatte chroma keying; option provides stereo 3-D switching; open SDK supports expansion of plug-in software-based functions; includes substantially improved user interface, 7in color LCD paneland a new memory preview function; improved multiview display enables four, five, six, nine, 10 or 16 split screens; also enables clock display, audio level meter display and 4:3 marker display; comes standard with nine inputs, expandable to 13 with optional boards.
+49 611 235 0
www.panasonic-broadcast.eu
Broadcast Camera Control System
VideoSys/Cobham
Developed by VideoSys Broadcast in collaboration with Cobham; offers third-generation features such as multiple RCPs per RF channel; uses the camera manufacturers' standard control panels; uses a two-box system: indoor unit interfaces with OB struck systems, and outdoor unit transmits RF signal; units are connected by a single RS-422 data circuit, carried on a conventional twisted-pair audio cable; distances up to 3km are possible with system; offers a wide frequency range of 403MHz to 473MHz (other bands available on request); user-selectable transmit power of 100mW/200mW/500mW/1W; green or red tally lights; camera unit weighs 400g and consumes 1.5W; outdoor unit weighs 600g and consumes 7W @ 1W TX power.
+44 1489 566750;
www.cobham.com/broadcast
ChannelMaster
Pixel Power
Fully integrated, scalable channel playout system provides cost-effective, reliable approach to deploying new channels; integrates storage, graphics, DVE, audio, subtitling, master control, live feed and long-form video playout within a single dedicated hardware platform; capable of integrating with any automation or MAM system by way of an open XML protocol; delivers a single complex channel or two simpler channels within 3RU; media may be ingested from live HD-SDI or SD-SDI using the system itself; supports file-based delivery under the control of a third-party MAM system.
+44 1223 721 000;
www.pixelpower.com
C-Cast
EVS
Facilitates distribution of exclusive content to second-screen viewers with tablets or smart phones; integrates fully with EVS' live production systems; provides second-screen viewers with instant access to multiple camera angles, unseen footage, stat tracking and player/team/personality tracking, as well as social networking capabilities; offers a full, open architecture based on an API, allowing broadcasters and media distributors to build their own Web app interface fed by the C-Cast engine; offers possibilities for broadcasters and rights holders to maximize their broadcast package value by integrating unseen content into existing new media applications.
+32 4 361 70 99;
www.evs.tv
Futhura Plus
Thomson Plus
Transmitter designed to offer broadcasters energy savings with its drain-modulation technology; offers up to a 50-percent improvement in efficiency over current standard transmitters; for use in initial deployments or for extending existing digital networks; UHF wideband transmitter offers high-power capability suitable for HDTV and 3-D services with up to 35-percent transmitter efficiency and power density of up to 12.6kW OFDM; equipped for all OFDM standards in the UHF frequency band; features Thomson's latest software enhancements for the exciters and a range of passive components, including RF filters and new RF channel combiners; operating transistor junction temperature lowered by 50° C.
+33 1 34 90 31 00
www.thomson-broadcast.com
Intelligent Display System
IPE Products
Delivers dynamic, critical information to display devices located anywhere on an Ethernet network, from studio to newsroom, to station automation and control interfaces; combines clocks, count-downs, tally lights and many other display elements, including video streams, URLs, multiple clocks, indicator lamps, alarms, status alerts, RSS feeds and control interfaces; uses off-the-shelf display products; synchronizes over entire network using NTP; uses a custom-built Linux core for streamlined operation; features an intuitive drag-and-drop interface for screen layout design.
+44 1763 269066;www.ipe-products.co.uk
Kaleido-Solo
Miranda Technologies
Compact, standalone 3Gb/s HD/SD-SDI video-to-HDMI converter allows low-cost LCD displays to be used for monitoring; brings together multiple QC tools in a tiny form factor, including loudness metering, level meters, aspect ratio markers, AFD metadata, time code and video monitoring; provides two audio connectors to output S/PDIF and analog stereo of a 5.1 downmix, or any audio pair; provides automatic video input format detection; supports a wide variety of video resolutions, including 525i, 625i, 720p, 1080i and 1080p; provides CC 608/708 and Teletext/OP47 support; configurable using on-screen menus; allows operators to monitor loudness and dialnorm levels accurately over time, using a history graph overlay.
+44 118 952 3400
www.miranda.com
Karrera
Grass Valley
Features six keyers in every full M/E, with 4.5 M/Es and 96 inputs in the largest configuration; fully digital 10-bit 4:2:2 video switcher with up to 48 outputs; includes innovative features from both the Kayenne and Kayak switcher lines; HD/SD-SDI with optional up/down/crossconverters on multiple inputs and outputs; 999 macros with new ways to recall macros from the panel; integrated macro editor allows users to edit macros online or offline on a PC running the menu application; interfaces with Grass Valley routers using Jupiter, Encore and Prelude control systems, as well as third-party routers; integrated external ClipStore provides multiple channels of video/key pairs for up to 10+ hours of nonvolatile video/key/audio clip content.
+44 1189 230 400;www.grassvalley.com
PhotonSpot Nova 270
Photon Beard
Low-heat, energy-efficient lighting fixture brings light-emitting plasma (LEP) to film and television; source has a 5600K color temperature and equivalent light output to a 2kW Fresnel with consumption of only 273W; LEP has a CRI of 94 and a useful lifetime of around 20,000 hours; measures 265mm × 285mm × 355mm; weighs 7.3kg; typical output of 14,000 lumens; beam angle of 12 degrees to 55 degrees; lampheads manufactured using cast aluminum; body made from aluminum; required power is 28VDC, which can be supplied by battery or mains power adapter; input current 9.3A.
+44 1525 850911;www.photonbeard.com
SANLink
PROMISE Technology
Dual 4Gb/s Fibre Channel adapter with Thunderbolt I/O technology; enables any Thunderbolt I/O technology port to easily connect to the SAN, allowing the latest generation of laptop editors to access large storage arrays; supports multiple simultaneous uncompressed HD streams; fully qualified for Mac OS X, Xsan and Final Cut Pro systems; requires zero software install and simply works out of the box with full hot-plug capability; features full-duplex-capable FC ports that automatically detect connection speed and can each independently operate at 1Gb/s, 2Gb/s or 4Gb/s; fully qualified for use with PROMISE VTrak x10 and x30 series Fibre Channel RAID subsystems; can deliver over 800MB/s worth of data.
+44 870 112 59 77;www.promise.com
Strawberry
FlavourSys
Crossplatform project sharing and collaboration application includes media asset management features; compatible with Avid, Final Cut Pro and Premiere on NAS and SAN base; compatible with Windows, Linux and OS X; focuses on the needs of an editor, including searching, finding, sharing and collaborating; able to search simultaneously for project names, meta descriptions and file names — even inside Avid bins; user rights management is controlled by the user, allowing users to freely share projects; provides an overview of how projects are related to each other and can supply instant updates on the current status of every project; the only files presented to the editor are the ones that the editor actually needs.
+49 30 200 663 18
www.flavoursys.com
BVM-E250
Sony Professional
Master monitor employs OLED technology to deliver deep black with high dynamic range, quick response with virtually no motion blur, and a wide color gamut and accurate picture reproduction; dedicated 12-bit digital signal processing engine features a nonlinear cubic conversion color-management system designed to provide uniformity, smooth gamma performance and picture quality consistency; inputs include two 3G-SDI, one HDMI and DisplayPort, plus four option slots; 24.5in monitor offers full HD 1920 × 1080 resoluton, 100cd/m2 brightness and 89/89-degree viewing angle.
+44 1256 683871;www.pro.sony.eu
UDC
AJA Video Systems
Broadcast-quality up/down/crossconversion mini-converter converts between SD, HD and 3G video formats; UDC provides high-quality conversions in a small and cost-effective package; I/Os include SD/HD, 3G-SDI input and output, HDMI 1.4a output and two-channel RCA style audio output; supports 1080p50/60; supports eight-channel embedded audio; features a reference input; can be controlled by local dipswitches with additional control available via USB and AJA's Mini-Config application; requires AJA DWP or DWP-U power supply; small size (about the size of a deck of cards) makes it an excellent fit for tight spaces, including OB vehicles and production areas where space is at a premium.
+1 530 274 2048
www.aja.com
Vega
Snell
Routing platform allows users to configure any of its 96 signal ports independently for fiber or coax connectivity or as an input or output, providing a flexible asymmetric routing system; use of small fiber plug-in modules and/or miniature coaxial connector types also means that this design yields 50 percent more signal ports than a conventional router of the same rack height; each pair of ports consists of a receptacle cage that accepts a very small plug-in module supporting either fiber (LC-type small form-factor pluggable, or SFP) or copper coaxial (HD BNC and/or DIN 1.0/2.3) connectivity; bidirectional, 12-port, coax-only rear module type is also available, offering users an entry-level system when fiber connectivity is not yet required.
+44 1189 866123;www.snellgroup.com
Cinedeck RX
Cinedeck
Rack-mountable multiformat, multichannel HD-SDI recorder, monitor and playback system specifically designed for production facilities and OB productions; captures natively in all leading production formats to cost-effective SSD media; records all Avid DNxHD formats (MXF), all Apple ProRes formats including 4444, CineForm and uncompressed 444 (10-bit) or 422 (8-bit or 10-bit); provides simultaneous redundant file capture, each to a pair of disks; 7in, 1024 × 600 touchscreen display with 800 nits brightness; real-time composite and per-channel waveform, vectorscope and histogram.
+1 646 642 6985;www.cinedeck.com
