LONDON--Now the second biggest event of its kind in Europe, BVE boasts a show profile that extends across production services, acquisition, post, storage, broadcast and connected multiplatform delivery.
CONNECTED & 4K THEATRES
According to the event director, James Rowley Ashwood, almost a fifth of the 15,000 visitors to this year’s show, which takes place at London’s ExCeL center Feb. 25-27, expressed a desire to understand the connected world and BVE’s Connected Theatre and dedicated exhibition space will be bolstered as a result.
Headlining BVE’s Connected Theatre will be the British Film Institute’s director of digital Edward Humphrey, who will speak about the BFI Player, the VoD platform which accesses the BFI’s archive. A 4K Theatre, meanwhile, will be doing double duty as a 4K cinema, offering free 4K content each day.
The show’s free seminar program has also expanded to include key European names this year, including Alessandro Reitano, director of sports production at Sky Deutschland. Organizers note that the event, which hosts over 300-plus exhibitors, appears to be growing globally, with international visitor numbers rising by 12 percent in 2013, with 85 countries represented. “We fully expect this trend to continue as the U.K. continues to be at the forefront of the broadcast industry,” Rowley Ashwood said.
On the exhibition side, many come to BVE to launch products ahead of the NAB Show in Las Vegas so delegates can expect to see some exciting new technologies. New exhibitors include a host of European vendors, including ANNOVA Systems GmbH, DeCS Media GmbH and F&V Europe BV.
New exhibitor Orban, a manufacturer of television loudness controllers amongst its large audio portfolio, will be exhibiting its full line. While not strictly European, the US firm, founded by Bob Orban, moved its manufacturing, worldwide sales and technical support to Orban Europe GmbH in Germany a few years ago.
At BVE, Orban will unveil the Optimod-TV 8685, the manufacturer’s second-generation surround/2.0 processor, offering 3G HD-SDI I/O, CBS Loudness Controllers and metres, a BS.1770 safety limiter, and BS.1770-3 loudness meters.
Orban will unveil the Optimod-TV 8685, its 2nd gen surround/2.0 processor.DPP COMPLIANCE ON SHOW
File-based delivery remains a big issue in the United Kingdom, as the nation’s terrestrial broadcasters will soon require all file-based deliverables to be compliant with the new Digital Production Partnership standard. In anticipation of this, some companies--audio vendors in particular--are using this year’s event to demonstrate their versions of compliant kit.
Aspen Media will be displaying tools to ensure TV content meets all the DPP’s requirements--including demonstrations by Jünger Audio and RTW. Jünger Audio’s Anthony Wilkins is scheduled to introduce the T*AP Edition, an advanced audio processor which claims to intelligently solve the problem of loudness changes without adding any undesirable audio artifacts. Fellow audio firm RTW, which specializes in EBU R128 compliant audio meters and will be displaying the modular TouchMonitor series and the compact TM3 and TM3-3G on Aspen’s stand.
Wohler also has a DPP compliant tool to show for BVE, the WohlerDPP. Powered by RadiantGrid, the company claims it is the first to offer a file-based, automated processing solution that addresses the full DPP delivery workflow.
Miranda, meanwhile, will be holding detailed discussions regarding its key production, playout and monitoring solutions system. This includes the firm's scalable playout platform, iTX. New enhancements include v. 1.1 of iTX Render Service for Adobe After Effects, while CS6 software automates and manages fully rendered After Effects graphics. Also on display will be the Miranda's multiviewer, Kaleido-MX, and its modular version, Kaleido-Modular-X. Fibre connectivity solutions from Miranda's Telecast product line and a range of cables from parent company Belden are also set to figure prominently at BVE.
OKNO-TV, a U.K. systems integrator, acquired Megahertz last October, and will use BVE as a platform to announce its adaptation of the Megahertz brand, with the combined companies now trading under the name of Megahertz Ltd.
Megahertz, which was responsible for the new BT Sport studio build last year in London’s Olympic Park. has also strengthened its technical and commercial expertise, which the firm claims has enabled it to reach a more diverse and international market.
“Megahertz has a remarkable reputation worldwide for the quality of work in both mobile and fixed installations,” said Jon Flay, of Megahertz Ltd. “OKNO-TV provides us with the financial and commercial stability, drawing on its remarkable reputation. Together, the rejuvenated Megahertz has new horizons and new strengths, alongside our existing set of skills."
JVC’s GY-HM650 camcorder features live streaming capability.
Elsewhere, JVC is using BVE as the launch platform for its new professional product range – which was not announced at press time. Alongside this, JVC will be showcasing its range of professional camcorders, including the powerful GY-HM650 camcorder, with its live streaming capabilities, and the GY-HM70, a cost-effective camcorder for event videographers. The company will also feature its range of production monitors. “BVE is the second largest event in our industry in Europe and forms an important part of our marketing plan this year, especially as we are launching new products,” said Liz Cox, JVC's marketing manager. Cox adds that BVE also provides the company with a unique platform to hold valuable discussions with both “experienced end-users and those just entering into our dynamic industry.”
Other companies, such as Videosys Broadcast, are happy repeat customers, having trialed BVE at its first run at the show’s new East London venue last year. “We did not expect to actually make sales from BVE, it was more of a branding exercise last year to get people see who we were, but we made a few sales directly attributed to us being there, so this year we are back with a bigger stand and more products to show,” says Videosys sales manager Alistair Horne.
Videosys will have the new Cobham Nano transmitter on display.
At BVE 2014, Videosys will launch a new version of its award-winning camera control system and the firm will also with have the new Cobham Nano transmitter on display, which it claims is the smallest HD COFDM transmitter on the market.
Perrenial BVE supporter Hamlet is also out in force, catering for those requiring current production HD formats of 3G, HD and SD SDI, and backwards compatibility for component and composite video signals – plus embedded, AES/EBU and analogue audio with Dolby and Loudness features.
“The latest addition to our range, the DigiTek DT900 and the DigiScope DS900G, join the award winning DigiScope DS900, MicroFlex handheld and VidScope software solutions,” said Steve Nunney of Hamlet.
For more information on the show, visit www.bvexpo.com.
BROADCAST CONTROL & MONITORING
L-S-B Broadcast Technologies will present its broadcast control and monitoring system VSM, simulating a MCR environment with two studios. In addition the company plans to show a representation of a virtual studio that can be used as a rehearsal studio. Within the MCR environment the VSM manages on-air and rehearsal requests and monitors signals and devices. The third studio is conceived of as a virtual resource and in this case it serves as a planning studio in which the workflows are created and tested. The VSM’s boxing function enables these workflows to be transferred to any other studios on the trade fair stand with one button push. Hall N18, Booth N36 www.l-s-b.de
PREP & TRANSMISSION, FILE-BASED ENCODING, & SPOKEN SUBTITLING
Screen will present its subtitling power-ensemble at BVE, from preparation software to transmission systems. The Polistream BLACK subtitle transmission range supports closed, DVB, passthrough, open/burnt-in and VBI & VANC subtitle transmission. Screen’s WinCAPS subtitle preparation software suite offers fine-tuned automation tools to improve workflow and productivity for both offline and live/news subtitling.
For file based subtitle encoding, Screen’s MediaMate software system for the re-purposing and manipulation of media files can be used to decode, repurpose and encode subtitle/caption data in a wide range of media formats. Accessibility for partially sighted audiences is also covered with Screen’s spoken subtitling technology, offering a simple and cost effective solution to audio description provision. Stand M15 www.screensystems.tv
IT-BASED PRODUCTION PLATFORM
Dyvi Live will showcase a fully IT-based production platform, DYVI, which uses industry-standard hardware and optimised software. The company says the product signals the end of hardware-based production switchers, and opens up broadcast production to a more flexible, IT-based world. The prototype of the DYVI technology, developed by SVS Scalable Video Systems GmbH, was launched at IBC. Dyvi says its fully IT-based infrastructure allows for more processing power without needing hardware changes, and adds that the system enables remote operations in real-time with very low latency. Stand N24 www.dyvilive.com
KVM MATRIX, EXTENDERS
KVM specialist Adder will demonstrate its AdderLink Infinity solution, a high performance KVM matrix for broadcast environments, in partnership with Digi-Box, the company’s broadcast specialist distributor. The live demonstrations will give customers the chance to experience AdderLink Infinity’s performance and flexibility when used with high-end production tools such as AutoDesk Flame and Avid ProTools. Adder can deliver 60fps, HD content across a network, and the company says that by utilising standard IP infrastructure, AdderLink Infinity has given post production companies unmatched flexibility in workflow and resource allocation.
The products, enhanced by a newly released v3.1 AdderLink Infinity firmware upgrade, will be demonstrated as an integrated solution on the stand. This will highlight the benefits of its use, as well as the features of the individual products within the broadcasting and production environment.
Adder will also be displaying the Adder CCS4-USB command and control switch, as well as its extensive range of extenders, including the HDMI / DVI AdderLink XD522 dual-head, point-to-point, DisplayPort extender. This extender is capable of supporting dual screens or dual link screens at distances of up to 100 metres. Stand F12 www.adder.com
FILE-BASED BRANDING
Pixel Power is showing its recently-launched solution for file-based workflow branding of media and interstitial 2D and 3D graphics: Pixel Factory. Using its Clarity Graphics engine, a single unit is capable of providing graphics for multiple channels----breaking the one-unit-per-channel paradigm. Running on readily available standard IT server hardware, Pixel Factory is quick and easy to scale and in addition can be deployed at discrete locations, making sharing between facilities or departments easy. Factory also can repurpose existing Pixel Power templates and the automation capabilities will ensure consistency and accuracy of output. Stand L57 www.pixelpower.com
RACK MOUNT; NEW HANDHELD
The Rx rack mount range from Phabrix now offers additional toolsets including high resolution waveforms, new video gamut display and multichannel closed caption display – 608/708 and OP47. Audio capabilities abound, providing a single box solution for audio/video monitoring with new lissajous, loudness and Dolby E, D and D Plus support. The big talking point of the show will be the debut of the TAG, a new SD/HD-SDI handheld analyser/monitor with an entry point of £1995. This provides SDI, analogue and optical T&M in one unit. Stand N43 www.phabrix.com
4K I/O
At BVE AJA will showcase Io 4K, a professional video I/O device that supports the latest 4K and UltraHD devices and integrates seamlessly with broadcast, post-production and delivery tools. Updated and customized for Thunderbolt 2 technology, Io 4K connects to any Thunderbolt 2 enabled device including the new Mac Pro, and offers an additional Thunderbolt 2 port for daisy-chaining other peripherals in supported workflows. Stand F12 www.aja.com
