REGULATION

Appointments for Oz Super-Regulator

The Australian Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan has announced appointments to the Board of the new merged regulator – the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) which came into existence on 1 July 2005 as a result of the merger of the Australian Communications Authority and the Australian Broadcasting Authority.
“The merger of the two regulators recognises the changing nature of the telecommunications, broadcasting and media industries,” said Senator Coonan. “Convergence of technology and new technology developments are challenging the old regulatory structures and ACMA will be well placed to deal with these new challenges in the future.”
The ACMA Board will have seven members - three full-time Board members, including the Chair and Deputy Chair, and four part-time Board members.
Ms Lyn Maddock, Acting Chair of the ABA, has been appointed as the Deputy Chair of ACMA and Mr Chris Cheah, head of the Telecommunications Division of the Department of Communications, has been appointed as a full-time Board member. Former ACCC Commissioner Mr Rod Shogren, Professor Gerard Anderson of the University of Central Queensland’s Melbourne Campus, Executive Director of AFTRS Mr Malcolm Long and former CEO of the Australian Communications Industry Forum Ms Johanna Plante have been appointed as part-time Board members.
“An announcement about the Chair of ACMA will be made shortly, when arrangements concerning the appointment have been finalised,” said Senator Coonan.

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INSTALLATIONS

Imparja Opts for Omneon

Australia’s only Aboriginal-owned and Independent Network, Imparja Television, has installed an Omneon Spectrum media server for assembly and playout of all commercial, promo, and short-form content on the network’s main commercial service. The Omneon server was supplied through Quinto Communications.
“Our foremost concern in replacing our playout systems was to integrate a highly reliable and flexible solution that could grow along with our operations,” said Tim Mason, chief engineer at Imparja Television “Of all the options we evaluated, the Omneon system with NVerzion automation was the standout solution capable of meeting both our financial and operational requirements.”
Imparja’s broadcast area covers six Australian states and territories, comprising five time zones with an overall area of some 4.5 million square kilometers, an area greater than Western Europe. The company’s satellite signal, which includes programming from the Nine and TEN networks and a number of indigenous programs, is rebroadcast via local TV repeaters in more than 250 towns and communities in its broadcast areas.
Installed at Imparja’s studio and transmission center in Alice Springs, the new Omneon server will provide one input channel, one main playout channel, and one preview channel for quality assurance. Used in conjunction with the Omneon Spectrum server system, the Ncontrol automation application from NVerzion interfaces to Imparja’s existing hardware for a facility-wide control solution. Omneon servers are likely to be considered for Imparja’s planned new digital playout centre.

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DIGITAL CINEMA

D-Cinema Crosses Continents with MXF

BroadcastAsia Singapore saw GDC Technology, a provider of digital cinema solutions herald cross-continent transmission of digital cinema content packaged using the MXF standard.
GDC Technology‘s DSR SA1000 Digital Film Servers are the first to be upgraded to MXF which is adopted by the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI). GDC Technology has remotely upgraded most of its servers deployed in the field to MXF while maintaining backward compatibility with GDC Technology’s proprietary DSR format.
The “Cross-Continent Digital Content Transmission” or CCTx project was spearheaded by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) Digital Media Chapter (DMC). The CCTx project aims to develop a viable worldwide digital distribution model that can be commercialised in addition to establishing a secure and seamless digital delivery of content to digital cinema theatres in Asia.
Digital content such as DCI StEM (Standard Evaluation Material) and Hollywood feature films were prepared in the MXF format and securely delivered from the US to digital cinema theatres with GDC Technology’s DSR SA1000 Digital Film Servers in Singapore and Thailand, via satellite.
This complete working model allows studios to securely deliver digital content to Singapore, localise it and re-transmit the localised content for regional distribution. Visit www.gdc-tech.com

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CORPORATE MOVES

Accom Cuts Operations

Accom has decided to substantially reduce its operations to only providing technical support for its products effective June 16, 2005.
Junaid Sheikh, Chairman and CEO of Accom, Inc. said, “We intend to continue to provide technical support to our customers for as long as the support revenues justify it.”
As recently as April, the company had introduced two new products, one a server and the other a delay device used in live broadcasts. www.accom.com

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VISUAL FX

Remote Rendering Service Launched

Singapore’s Managed Computing Competency Centre (MC3) used this year’s BroadcastAsia to kick off its virtual Remote Rendering service for commercial pilot by inviting local and international 3D animation companies to test drive its remote rendering services for a minimal cost for a limited period.
MC3 - with the support from SUN Microsystems, Alias, Mental Images and Equinix, has initiated an exclusive promotional "test drive" package designed to enable 3D animation companies to render their commercial projects using MC3's Remote Rendering Service. This is the first ever Remote Rendering Service based in Singapore and is targeted at companies producing 3D animated feature films, TV series, visual effects, games and corporate applications. Local and international players can now tap on this Remote Rendering Service to submit 3D animation jobs for secured remote rendering. Visit www.mc-3.org

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DIGITAL CINEMA

Southeast Asia’s First D-Cinema Encoder

Mega Media, one of Singapore’s leading content producers, used this year's BroadcastAsia to announce the acquisition of a DSR Digital Film Agile Encoder from Singapore-based GDC Technology. The initiative was made with the support of the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, and makes it the first facility in Southeast Asia and sixth in the world to offer digital cinema encoding for 2K digital films in the GDC format.
The Encoder is housed at Mega Media's campus at the Digital Media Hub, Singapore's first one-stop film production centre. Other complementing facilities at the DMH include a Dolby-approved Motion picture Sound Mixing Stage. The Mega Media Group is also acquiring High Definition Camera and editing facilities in the third quarter of 2005.
During June, first-time feature director, Han Yew Kwang's premiered his film ‘Unarmed Combat’ at the Shanghai International Film Festival in the 2K GDC format. This digital feature is a project of the Film Incubator Programme, and is presented by the Digital Media Academy and Singapore Film Commission, in association with Mega Media. Visit www.megamedia.com.sg

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INSTALLATIONS

CNBC Upgrades with Avid Unity for News

Business news broadcaster CNBC Asia Pacific is undergoing a complete upgrade of its newsrooms and bureaus in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo to a server-based non-linear production environment. Headquartered in Singapore, CNBC Asia Pacific is a business news and information service of NBC Universal and Dow Jones & Company.
CNBC Asia Pacific’s channels, which include CNBC Asia, CNBC-TV18 (India), Nikkei-CNBC (Japan), CNBC Australia, CNBC Singapore and CNBC Hong Kong, are available in over 34 countries across the Asia Pacific region.
Following an extensive review, CNBC has commissioned the Avid Unity for News shared storage media network system by Avid Technology, Inc. as the foundation for its complete end-to-end broadcast environment.
With these technological solutions, CNBC will gain access to a range of new capabilities, including direct media ingest and play-to-air with the Avid AirSpeed system, simultaneous real-time editing with Avid NewsCutter Adrenaline, and the Avid Unity for News system for shared storage. The new workflow will also offer fast access to media material with features such as high-resolution clip browsing in the newsroom as well as segment editing using the soon to be released Avid iNEWS Instinct system designed for journalists as a high resolution story composition tool. The all-digital Avid environment will significantly increase news workflow and production capacity and enable the producers and editors at CNBC to handle breaking business, political and world news stories with greater accuracy and ease.
According to Alexander P Brown, President and CEO of CNBC Asia Pacific, “CNBC's strong reputation has been built on providing the critical tools and information that empower the efforts of successful business leaders. We are confident that the architecture provided by the Avid Unity for News system is solid and reliable and will play a crucial role as CNBC continues to achieve even higher levels of programming excellence.”
Peter Juno, Senior Vice President and Director of Operations, CNBC Asia Pacific, said, “This major systems overhaul is a significant investment for us and will dramatically change the way our high quality business programming is produced. We have been working with Avid for years and are already familiar with the various components and the support we get from them. We look forward to creating a truly digital newsroom environment with the soon-to-be-implemented system.”

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DISTRIBUTION

Leitch Announces New Australian Distributor

Leitch Technology Corporation has appointed Focal Point Computing Pty Ltd. as its distributor for video processing and distribution and server products in Australia.
"Focal Point has been in the graphics and video business for 12 years and is already the valued Australian distributor for Inscriber, Leitch's recent acquisition," said Stephen Wong, vice president of Asia-Pacific operations. "We look forward to expanding our relationship with Focal Point and working closely with them to increase business across all Leitch product lines throughout Australia."
An Australian technology distribution and video/broadcast systems integration company, Focal Point specializes in distributing IT products used to digitally create, edit and distribute multimedia content. Expertise gained in this market has seen Focal Point grow its business into other related areas: medical imaging, multi screen financial and trading room display solutions, digital video editing, multimedia content creation and in particular providing solutions to the cable/network TV broadcasters.
As a distributor, Focal Point has well-established relationships in Australia with vertical market dealers that specialize in the video and content creation markets. These are companies that typically target their business at areas like post production facilities, corporate and government communication departments, schools and universities, event videographers and video hobbyists.

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INSTALLATIONS

Prime NZ Picks XDCAM for Holmes

When Paul Holmes, one of New Zealand's best known ‘celebrities’, moved his current affairs show to the Prime Network, the station took the opportunity to improve its programme production workflow.
“The Holmes programme, News and Getaway needed an acquisition format that added speed and flexibility to the process,” said Denis Harvey, Prime’s Station Manager. “The PDW-510P XDCAM camera became our obvious choice. We use the units for quick turn around. Field crews shoot on XDCAM and the journalists then return with discs to the edit suite where they view, ingest and edit stories using the PDW-1500 recorder/player.
Prime Television NZ was also comforted by the fact that Prime Television Australia had recently purchased XDCAM and their opinion of the product was very positive.
“Prime Television did not want to introduce another tape based format,” explained Harvey “We considered the solid state storage format but it was not at a mature enough stage. XDCAM was the best and arguably most logical option when partnered with our non-linear editing systems. It was fully featured and well received by our Australian colleagues - nobody ever gets fired for buying Sony!”

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CONTENT PROTECTION

Public Digital Content Platform

A Unified Digital Asset Management platform has been launched for the Hong Kong Creative Industries in Cyberport. The iResource Centre (iRC) at Cyberport, Hong Kong's IT flagship campus, has launched a public digital content protection platform - DigitalCopyright.hk - for the creative industries in HK to protect and distribute digital content.
Two main services will be provided on the unified platform: Digital Rights Management (DRM) and Digital Safe. The DRM service will be based on International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) approved system for interoperability. With this platform, content creators can use the latest international-standard DRM solutions with minimum effort and investment to distribute content. In the near future, this platform will also provide a ‘Digital Safe’ service for content creators to archive their works safely, permanently and easily.
To promote public awareness of intellectual property protection, Radio-Televison Hong Kong (RTHK) has announced it will provide the highlights of a radio drama, 'Solar Project Surround 5.1’ for legitimate free public download on the DigitalCopyright.hk platform. Content can be freely shared and distributed on peer-to-peer networks. Users must provide a valid email address to acquire a license from the platform to enjoy the Surround 5.1 Radio Drama.
Digitalcopyright.hk will further provide content protection service for various kinds of digital content, in particular the audiovisual content. Digital content purchase and content upload service for SMEs will be provided from July 2005. Visit www.digitalcopyright.hk

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TRIPLE-PLAY

Alcatel Accelerates IPTV in HK

SuperSUN, the pay TV Service of Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting Limited, one of Asia’s leading pay TV service providers, headquartered in Hong Kong SAR, will use Alcatel to deliver an Internet Protocol-based television (IPTV) service to residential broadband users in Hong Kong.
Alcatel will provide a fully integrated end-to-end video solution to enable SuperSUN to cost-effectively manage and deliver its satellite TV content over the broadband network of Hutchison Global Communications. With an open and non-proprietary architecture, the Alcatel solution uses industry-standard interfaces that allow for seamless integration with existing infrastructure and systems from different equipment vendors. As the project integrator, Alcatel will also take responsibility for the end-to-end integration with SuperSUN’s set-top box and subscriber authentication suppliers.
At present, SuperSUN’s satellite TV services cover 600,000 homes in Hong Kong. The service provider expects to launch its IPTV services in June 2005 and immediately expand its reach to 2 million households by leveraging the coverage of its broadband network partner. As a result, Hong Kong consumers will have a wider choice of entertainment programs delivered to their home television sets.
Alcatel recently launched an IPTV Solution Centre for the Asia Pacific region in Shanghai, China.

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INSTALLATIONS

Sydney International Film School Trains with Avid

Avid Australia has announced that the Sydney International Film School will equip its state-of-the-art post-production training facility with a variety of media production systems from Avid. The new School – at which the first courses commence in August 2005 – has purchased ten Avid Xpress Pro systems, an Avid Unity LANshare shared storage solution and an Avid Media Composer Adrenaline HD system. The School has also purchased a Digidesign ProTools digital audio workstation.
According to Charlie Doane, Director of SIFS and its Head of Teaching, “One of our objectives is to give students comprehensive hands-on training with the same technology that's being used by professional filmmakers. In the world of media production, Avid is the clear industry standard. By giving our aspiring filmmakers a solid grounding with Avid systems such as Xpress Pro and Media Composer Adrenaline they'll be ideally prepared for a successful career in film or television.”
SIFS is also offering short courses that will introduce non-professionals to the craft of digital editing. These will be conducted by Jeff McDonald, Managing Director of Sydney-based post-production company Magnet Post, and will be held at the School’s dedicated Editing Lab, which is in the process of becoming an authorised Avid training centre.

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INSTALLATIONS

HK’s Cyberport Expands with Arrilaser

The Digital Media Centre (DMC) at Cyberport, Hong Kong’s IT flagship development has installed its first Arrilaser for shared use by the film and digital entertainment industries in Hong Kong.
The Arrilaser is the first cine film recorder to use three solid state lasers as light source, outputs in a speed of 1:1.85 at 1.7 sec per frame in 2K resolution. It offers outstanding laser-based 35mm film recording capability to facilitate images and content in various format and types of media to be converted to 35mm celluloid film output.
According to Ms. Subrina Chow, HK Assistant Government Chief Information Officer, “The mission of the Digital Media Centre is to support the development of the local digital entertainment industry, providing state-of-the-art facilities and equipment at affordable costs to local companies, especially our SMEs. With the addition of ARRILASER, the Digital Media Centre will enable local digital effect and post-production companies to provide a complete Digital Intermediate service right here in Hong Kong. We believe the launch of this service will significantly enhance our competitiveness as a film and digital entertainment production centre in Asia.”
The first content creator to make use of the ARRILASER at DMC is going to output a-90-min animation feature film.

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CORPORATE MOVES

Peter Gabriel Buys SSL

The assets of high-end console manufacturer Solid State Logic have been acquired by a joint venture company established by musician and technologist, Peter Gabriel, and broadcast industry entrepreneur, David Engelke. The company, which will trade as Solid State Logic, will continue to design and manufacture mixing consoles and related audio technology at its Begbroke, Oxford headquarters.
In addition to his musical background, Peter Gabriel co-founded Syco Systems which developed the ‘Tablet’, one of the world’s first purpose-built digital audio workstations. More recently, he has had success with OD2 (On Demand Distribution), now the leading European platform provider for the distribution of on-line music.
American David Engelke has been involved with production and broadcast companies including Pinnacle Systems, Montage Group, and Digital Editing Services and invented several widely adopted technologies. He has received three Technical Emmy Awards and a technical Oscar. Engelke currently heads up Broadcast Devices LLC.
Peter Gabriel and David Engelke have recruited an experienced management team for their joint venture. Antony David, SSL’s Sales Director in the 80s and early 90s, then head of Pro Audio at Sony Broadcast & Professional Europe, is Managing Director; Piers Plaskitt, previously President of SSL Inc and President Sales & Marketing at Euphonix, is Group Commercial Director; and Chris Smith is Group Finance Director.

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CORPORATE MOVES

Tom Misner Buys AMS Neve

Leading console manufacturer AMS Neve is to be acquired by the multi-national SAE Group of audio and multimedia colleges headed by Tom Misner.
AMS Neve Ltd Managing Director Mark Crabtree said “We are very happy to now be part of such a strong global organisation. With the full support of the SAE Group it will enable us to increase our market share and above all accelerate the introduction of our new product range.”
SAE Institute will now be providing through its network in over 45 colleges in 20 countries AMS Neve broadcast/music/film and post seminars for past and new clients. This will be a first of a kind service only AMS Neve is now able to offer.
Romy Hawatt, SAE’s Strategic Business Development advisor said, “the coming together of AMS Neve & SAE is a unique strategic alliance of two of the world’s leading audio industry organisations - one in audio technology and manufacturing, and the other in audio education and training. Both the AMS Neve and SAE brands have a very strong global synergy.”
According to Tom Misner, “The feedback we have attained over the years from our large international student network has provided us with valuable information and insight that is now being applied by AMS Neve in the development of the soon to be released range of new products.”

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INSTALLATIONS

WIN TV Picks Masstech MassLogger

WIN Television, a leading Australian regional broadcaster has taken delivery of a 36-channel MassLogger version 2.2 from the Masstech Group Inc. for its digital compliance logging requirements. For Masstech, this brings to over 70 the number of channels in Australia using the company’s compliance broadcast logging solution.
Used in conjunction with Masstech’s asset management system, MassStore and MassMedia box, (the Digital Media Gateway protocols) Masstech’s logger provides a practical logging solution that will significantly cut costs for broadcasters while streamlining processes for greater workflow efficiency. In addition to its ability to capture incoming audio/video content to local or network storage, the MassLogger system provides a live, low bit rate stream of the incoming content. As content is captured in the system it is immediately available for viewing with a Web browser.
“The MassLogger Web interface allows us to simply click on the as-run list to view any specific logged event. As well as providing our legal compliance recordings the MassLogger allows our sales teams to quickly access a particular channel/date or time reference point and extract the content to a DVD if required. The live streaming view is a bonus that provides confidence monitoring for all our channels” said John Smithers, Director of Engineering WIN-Television.
Visit www.masstechgroup.com.

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INSTALLATIONS

Ascent Streamlines Singapore with Omneon

Ascent Media Network Services Asia (AMNSA) is now using eight Omneon Spectrum media server systems in its Singapore facility, enabling a digital workflow for the origination of 30 channels and delivery of continuous multi-language programming - sometimes in as many as 16 different languages - for broadcast to Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Asia.
The Omneon systems, which consists of two ingest servers and six transmission servers, allow operators to work with video and audio files independently and with greater flexibility, resulting in more efficient quality control monitoring, along with more streamlined and accurate playout in this complex playout environment.
"We selected the Omneon server for several reasons, including the ease with which the system can be expanded, the readiness of the Omneon Spectrum solution to meet our needs, and the strength of the system's underlying technology," said Tan Yee Tiang, vice president of operations and engineering, AMNSA. "Omneon's active participation in broadcast technology development and its open APIs allow for smooth integration with many other automation and software vendors."
Within Ascent Media's state-of-the-art cable and satellite broadcasting center in Singapore, all inbound tapes are ingested into the Omneon ingest server in MPEG-2 I-frame format, subsequently passed through quality control monitoring and then stored in deep archive for future production needs. The same copy is also transcoded to a MPEG-2 long GOP digital file and archived for transmission. Media is retrieved from deep archive and stored in the Omneon on-air server for playout as called for in the broadcast schedule.
Because the Omneon server handles video and audio files independently, operators managing multi-language broadcasts can match video files to corresponding audio in any number of languages. As a result, fewer copies of media are needed, and media storage requirements are reduced. Quality control is also simplified, as audio files are only checked once, after they are staged and language tracks have been tagged, where previously they were checked once after layback to tape and a second time after ingest.
By handling ingest of various formats, the Omneon system facilitates recording and event cutting for rapid program turnaround. The server system's support for the QuickTime wrapper makes it easy to interface the server systems with other equipment for file transfer in a tapeless environment. OmniBus automation controls the Omneon servers through an IP network connection. This configuration simplified installation and enables ease of remote monitoring and diagnosis. In the event that a disaster should occur, AMNSA can easily commence remote control of play-out from a separate location.
The AMNSA installation follows that of the Philippines' GMA Network which recently installed an Omneon Spectrum media server system within its technical facility to support post-production requirements for the network's Final Cut Pro editing platforms. The Omneon server ingests live studio content, acts as the main storage hub for post-production, and provides a seamless link for exporting files to Final Cut Pro for editing or repurposing prior to play-out.

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CORPORATE MOVES

NTL Asia-Pacific is now ‘on’

BroadcastAsia 2005 – Following last year’s management buy-out, NTL Asia Pacific has been renamed ‘on ’. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will be on’s operations centre given the already advanced state of the transmission outsource business in Malaysia. The company also has offices Singapore and Thailand. on has now doubled the manpower directly supporting the Network Operations Centre and upgraded its facilities in KL to provide increased monitoring capabilities for both TV and Radio transmission. This move has enabled the localisation of some functions that had previously been supported by Broadcast Australia.
The new name is designed to reflect on’s core competencies and supports its message that the business is about keeping broadcasters on-air.
According to Patrick Duffy, Managing Director, on, “The name 'on' clearly describes the company we are today, and evokes a vivid image of our commitment to world-class broadcast outsourced managed services. on carries a close universal meaning and message which encompasses the core activity of keeping our customers on air…guaranteed,” said Duffy.
“The name change coincides with the increase in focus on services we deliver best, namely consultancy, propagation planning, digital migration management and outsourced network operations and maintenance for regional broadcasters and governments here in the region. We are of course not involved in content provision itself but delivering our customers’ content is our business,” he added.
The company has recently been selected to provide Digital Terrestrial Television (DTTV) consultancy services for a DVB-T project for Singapore pay operator StarHub. The project is designed to deliver StarHub’s DTTV platform to over 1500 commercial locations throughout, including clubs and pubs, where cable is not an option. As an extension to StarHub’s roll out of Digital Cable, it is the world’s first such 'hybrid platform'. The system will be available to StarHub subscribers with decoders, conditional access smart cards and approved antenna installations.
Reach ‘on’ in Singapore on +65-6332 6938, in Thailand on +66-2-343 1627 and in Malaysia on +60-3-2273 3378. Visit www.on-ap.com

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INSTALLATIONS

Prime NZ Picks Harris for Sales, Programme Mgt, Automation & MAM

Prime New Zealand has announced it had purchased a complete airtime sales, programme management, automation and digital asset management system from Harris Software Systems Asia Pacific. The end-to-end solution is made up of the Harris Landmark airtime sales system, Vision Programme Management system, H-Class Automation system and Invenio Digital Asset Management system.
Prime Television New Zealand Ltd is a national, free-to-air network, which began broadcasting in New Zealand on 30 August 1998 transmitting a UHF signal, and are also available on Sky Satellite.
Prime's head offices are based in a purpose-built broadcasting facility in Albany, North Auckland and they also have sales offices in Hamilton, Tauranga, Hawkes Bay, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
In February 2002, Prime entered into a joint venture with Australia's leading broadcaster, the Nine Network. The joint venture enabled Prime to access Nine's own programming, and to gain leverage from Nine's positioning in the international television market. Prime began to offer first-run movies and series from the USA with programmes from Australia. In a determined demographic broadening strategy Prime provided ample new opportunities to viewers and advertisers alike which lead to large expansion for the broadcaster and the outgrowing of their existing Equinox sales and management system eventually starting the search for a new complete solution mid-2003.
“We needed a system that would allow us to manage our sales and On Air operation more dynamically and make us even more competitive in the New Zealand market” said Gerry Smith, General Manager Engineering and IT for the Prime Group. “It became very clear that we needed a complete system that was powerful in its functionality for sales and flexible for programme management. That’s when we approached Harris with a view to the Landmark Vision solution. Once we were happy with these two components we began negotiations with Harris’ distributor Magna Systems for an automation and digital asset management solution. After careful review we committed to a migration path initially using the Harris ADC 100 automation system and then moving to a full H-Class Automation system with Invenio digital asset management to complete our requirements.”
Landmark is the advanced and established total solution for the management and execution of complex media, airtime and sponsorships campaigns and also allows the management of annual airtime client contracts. With a proven history of solving the needs of multi-channel operators, networks and regional sales houses, Landmark provides total control over the available inventory to ensure effective break utilisation to fulfill advertising agency targets whilst maximising revenue.
The Vision programme management system combines planning, rights management and scheduling within one workflow-orientated solution. The comprehensive scheduling engine provides the tools to create single or multi-channel presentation schedules combining programme content, interstitials, commercials and promotions into a single frame accurate playlist. The interactive graphical user interface uses drag and drop techniques to rapidly create and replicate schedules and has in-built wizards for the generation of complex templates and presentation structures.
The ADC automation system fully automates the dubbing, management and playout of program material from video disks and VTRs, and supports a full range of GPI controlled devices with a sophisticated suite of features that automatically manages difficult, complex tasks permitting new revenue and additional operations savings. ADC provides a rich feature set including resource allocation and serial communication modules to maximize resources.
H-Class Automation is a powerful workflow management solution designed by broadcasters for broadcasters to streamline ingest–to–air operations throughout the broadcaster’s enterprise. H-Class brings together everything needed to automate labor–intensive processes, eliminate duplication, originate live productions outside of Master Control, and share media seamlessly. H-Class automation also offers powerful new capabilities as digital media ingest and gives the interconnections needed to link local or remote news, production and traffic departments with ingest–to–air operations.
Invenio media asset management MAM is comprised of media management and content management product suites. The media management products form an intuitive bridge between the H-Class™ automation and MAM, specializing on ingest that can be customized to suit dynamic workflows. The content management products focus on the traditional approach to MAM, which enables the search and browse, cataloging and archiving of rich media.
Smith continues “Landmark, Vision, H-Class and Invenio present a strong integration and migration path to Prime and Harris offered us an established headquarters in Sydney, localized support, more resources and a big commitment to customer service.”
Joe Khodeir, President of Harris Software Systems Asia Pacific said, “We have been working alongside Prime since the business was launched in 1998. Their decision to select us to continue to work with them as they develop and grow their business is very gratifying and a great example of Prime's faith in our commitment to their business. It is also a great example of the Harris commitment, since its acquisition of Encoda, to integrate all of its products more tightly.”
Prime currently employs approximately 80 people in New Zealand.

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INSTALLATIONS

Prime NZ Delivers News with Dalet

Dalet Digital Media Systems, and Australian/NZ distibutor AmTech, have announced that Prime TV New Zealand (Prime TV) is using DaletPlus News Suite to produce and broadcast their new and widely popular current affairs program; “Paul Holmes”. The DaletPlus installation offers Prime TV an end-to-end news production and playout workflow that integrates industry leading technology including Sony's XDCAM, Omneon video servers, Avid editors, Chyron character generators and BDL Autoscript.
“Prime Television extended their partnership with Dalet by deploying a DaletPlus News Suite system in New Zealand. The Dalet solution was rolled out across Australia in 2004 at four of our news centers, with another one under completion and one more to go this year. The order for the New Zealand project was placed early December 2004 and we were pleased to see Dalet’s ability to deploy the system in a very short timeframe, which enabled us to commission the system and go on air as planned,” says Gerry Smith, Director of Engineering for Prime Television.
“DaletPlus is truly a unique end-to-end newsroom solution. It is one of the only products on the market today that offers broadcasters the ability to manage their entire newsroom production and playout process without the pitfalls associated with implementing a proprietary solution,” comments Pierre-Henri Humblot, general manager, Dalet Australia. “DaletPlus News Suite enables Prime TV to integrate the newsroom components they want, customize a workflow that fits their environment; cutting down on maintenance, training and overall costs of their newsroom operation.”
DaletPlus streamlines the entire newsroom workflow by managing content and metadata from ingest to archive. User-friendly tools allow Prime TV journalists to easily access content, make shot selections, assemble stories and send to Avid editors for finishing - all from their desktop. The show producer can review and approve news packages and stories in progress at any point during the production process. Upon approval, DaletPlus transfers show material to the Omneon Spectrum video server for playout. DaletPlus converts broadcasted material into low-resolution proxies and migrates to on-line storage for efficient archiving and easy re-use.
Prime TV Australia has also implemented the DaletPlus News Suite for end-to-end news production and playout. The DaletPlus News Suite solution is currently used by the Prime TV Australia teams in Orange, Albury, Wagga Wagga, Canberra as well as the Tamworth and Northern NSW coastal offices which were recently installed. There, Prime TV journalists and editors, including those of the coastal news gathering offices, prepare complete packages – script, video and voice-overs – using simple editing tools, and submit them to the Tamworth-based producer for review. Materials submitted for review are automatically converted to low resolution proxies by DaletPlus for quick and easy access of media files. Once approved, DaletPlus automatically compresses and transfers the digital video packages across Prime’s wide area network to the Tamworth center, where the DaletPlus system automates the news playout.
Future plans include expansion of the Dalet system to support Bunbury and all regional Western Australia offices.

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BROADCASTASIA 2005

DVB-H Signal to Cover Singapore During BroadcastAsia

For the very first time at Broadcast Asia (14 – 17 June 2005, Singapore Expo, Booth No. 2E2-07), the DVB Pavilion will host live DVB-H demonstrations conducted by DVB member Nokia. The live demo will showcase content supplied by MediaCorp Singapore (Channel News Asia, and TV Mobile). Nokia 7710 handheld communication devices will receive the content, which will also be shown in simulcast on conventional TV screens. Nokia representatives will be on hand to provide in-depth information. During the week of 13 – 17 June, the live DVB-H signal will also be transmitted to provide nationwide coverage in Singapore.
Also participating in the DVB Pavilion is Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB) a provider of a diverse range of high quality products and services to the digital broadcast and broadband markets world-wide. ADB will showcase their range of digital set-top boxes and IDTVs incorporating the latest DVB and MHP technologies.
On hand will be DVB representatives and technology experts to answer queries and provide information on the world’s leading family of technical standards for digital broadcasting that are already in use for the deployment of over 110 million receivers globally.
On Wednesday 15 June, DVB will present ‘Broadcasting to Handhelds – An International Review’ as part of the official Broadcast Asia conference programme. Peter MacAvock, Executive Director of the DVB Project will chair the session and provide the opening remarks. The session will include presentations by Nokia’s Richard Sharp, Teamcast’s Gerard Faria, Nagisa Oyoshi of TBS in Japan, and Kyuheon Kim from Korea’s Electronics & Telecommunications Research Institute. Andrew Wajs of Irdeto Access will join the other speakers for a round table discussion to wrap-up the event.
Visit http://www.broadcast-asia.com/

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DTV REGULATION

Review of HDTV Quotas

Organisations and individuals with an interest in the future of high definition television (HDTV) are being asked to make a submission to an issues paper released on quota requirements by the Australian Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan. The Australian Government is conducting a series of reviews to shape a suitable regulatory framework for digital broadcasting, including HDTV.
The paper, A review into high definition television quota arrangements, sets out the context for assessing the provision of digital HDTV broadcast services in metropolitan, regional and remote areas of Australia.
“Free-to-air broadcasters in metropolitan and regional licence areas are currently required to provide at least 1040 hours of HDTV programs each year, which is monitored by the Australian Broadcasting Authority,” Senator Coonan said. “The Australian Government has set up this review to consider issues such as whether HDTV quotas are still necessary and, if so, whether any changes should be made to the quota levels, obligations and reporting requirements.
“More broadly, it will provide an opportunity to assess the need for changes in the regulation of HDTV transmissions.”
So that a wide range of views and interests will be taken into account, stakeholders and interested members of the community are invited to participate in the digital TV reviews by responding to the issues paper.
The issues paper is available online by following the link under ‘key issues’ at www.dcita.gov.au
The website provides advice on how to make submissions in response to the issues paper, which should be forwarded to the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts by 24 June 2005.

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DISTRIBUTION

Amber Dedicated to EVS

EVS Broadcast Equipment has renewed his distribution agreement with Amber Technology for the Australian market.
As part of the new agreement, Steve Wakeford has been appointed in Amber as EVS Operation Manager. Steve, former EVS support, operational and training specialist has been working as a freelance in Australia for the last two years, he will now be fully dedicated to the promotion, training and support of the EVS technology in Australia. This will definitely enhance the presence and the service provided by EVS & Amber to Australian broadcast industry.
Contact Steve Wakeford,
EVS Operation Manager,
Tel: +61 2 9452 8600
Mobile: +61 404 281 966
Email: australia@evs.tv

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INTERACTIVE TV

Two Way TV Partners on Gambling, Gaming

Zone4Play, Inc., a US-based developer of interactive game technology, has entered into a long term agreement with Two Way TV Australia Limited, a leading provider of live, competitive, enhanced TV entertainment and interactive TV applications and technology to the Australian market, under which it is acquiring exclusive rights to distribute Zone4Play's advanced SMS-TV solution, iTV solutions and mobile gaming and gambling products in Australia, New Zealand and 26 Asian territories.
Under the terms of the five-year agreement, Two Way TV Australia (TWTVA) will pay US$1.75M to become the exclusive distributor of both Zone4Play play for real and play for fun gambling solutions in the mammoth Asian and Pacific markets. The fee is recoupable from significant revenue shares payable to Zone4Play from any deal that is signed in these territories.
The live gambling products including Texas Hold'em poker, blackjack, roulette, lotteries, sports betting and racing packages will be offered to license gaming operators wherever regulations permit. Zone4Play's gaming products have been selected by the largest licensed gaming operators in the UK and Europe.
Zone4Play will be in charge for all integration with gaming and wagering operators and aligned broadcasters and mobile operators throughout the Asia Pacific region. Leveraging on its leading position in these territories, Two Way TV Australia will be in charge of promoting, distributing, and operating all Zone4Play's services in these regions.
Idan Miller, Zone4Play Senior VP Marketing and Sales said, "We are proud to have been selected by TWTVA, a highly respected local partner, as the leading provider of play for real and play for fun solutions to these markets. This opens the door to an entirely new arena for doing business that we haven't had the opportunity to compete in yet. Since establishing our solid positioning in the UK interactive gaming market, we plan to get into any market that will be open and regulated for offering these services."
Two Way's Managing Director, Mr. Jim McKay commented, "Two Way TV now has an entire range of the most popular gambling and gaming products, both for real and for fun, which we can make available to gaming organizations and mobile carriers throughout the Asia Pacific region. Zone4Play products had been successfully deployed by pay television operators, mobile phone providers, and licensed gaming operators around the world."
The deal is subject to final technical due diligence by Two Way TV Australia.

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PIRACY

Unauthorised Pay TV Use Under Review

Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has announced that the Government is reviewing the laws relating to the use of unauthorised equipment to access pay TV signals without paying subscription fees.
Mr Ruddock has released a discussion paper as part of a Government policy review concerning subscription broadcasts.
“Subscription broadcasts are currently protected by provisions in the Copyright Act 1968 and many unauthorised activities involving subscription broadcasts are already criminal offences,” Mr Ruddock said.
However, it is not an offence under Commonwealth law if a person receives a subscription broadcast without the broadcaster’s authorisation and watches it in their own home.
“The Government does not condone this activity and is examining whether the law should be stricter in this area to make some activities offences under Commonwealth law,” Mr Ruddock said.
The review is being conducted by the Attorney-General’s Department.
The discussion paper, and information on how to make a submission, is available at www.ag.gov.au/broadcastreview or by calling (02) 6250 6608.
Submissions are due by 17 June 2005.

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BROADBAND

Optimal Supplies WA Fibre Network

OPTIMAL Cable Services has been announced as a key supplier in Broadcast Engineering Services’ (BES) 2000 fibre to the home (FTTH) project in Western Australia with its Alloptic range.
Optimal, a major supplier of fibre optic cable and accessories, is the Australian and New Zealand distributor of Alloptic fibre to the home product solutions and BES announced Optimal and Alloptic to be the preferred supplier and product range for its FTTH network.
Optimal Director and Marketing Manager, Mr Paul Cross, said the company’s involvement in the BES fibre network was a substantial project and Optimal was looking forward to playing a major part in new estate development around Perth as a result. “We are delighted to be announced as BES preferred supplier for the project,” Mr Cross said. “The BES fibre network will serve new estate developments in and around Perth and is expected to attract more than 2000 customers on-line by the end of 2006.”
BES Chief Technology Officer, Geoff Aldridge said Alloptic was the clear choice for the performance and reliability required for the FTTH project.
“After reviewing our options, we choose Alloptic for its superior performance and proven ability to deliver,” Mr Aldridge said. “Alloptic’s standards based PON architecture and Ethernet based transport protocol, make it the ideal technology for Greenfield deployments.”
Alloptic is an access network equipment provider, offering an IEEE Ethernet Passive Optical Network (ePON) solution and Mr Cross said Alloptic provided the industry’s most efficient optical access network solution.
“Alloptic provides voice, video and data services to the customer with a gigabit of bandwidth, a proven ability to support 32 splits per PON, and a reach capability of 20km. The product enables service providers to bring true broadband services to all of its customers efficiently and affordably.
“We are pleased to be working with BES as they build their state-of-the-art fibre network,” Mr Cross said. “Service providers around the globe realise today’s digital lifestyle requires greater bandwidth, and with a gigabit of bandwidth, Alloptic’s customers are able to provide the most advanced level of services through a state-of-the-art network.
“Not only do the subscribers benefit from a network that can seamlessly provide enhanced services, but communities also reap the benefits of a system with the capacity to totally support telecommuting and work-at-home options.”

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POLICY

Coonan Sets Up ICT Advisory Board

The Australian Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan has announced the members of an ICT Advisory Board that will provide strategic advice on key issues affecting the development of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector in Australia.
“The ICT sector is a vital part of the Australian economy and the Australian Government is committed to positioning Australia to meet the challenges of the highly competitive global ICT market, and the opportunities from new developments in ICT.”
The Advisory Board members include eminent individuals from small-to-medium sized ICT firms, multinational companies, the research, training and education sectors and ICT users.
The members of the Advisory Board are Mr Grame Barty (CEO of HarvestRoad Limited), Mr Ric Clark (Chief Operating Officer of National ICT Australia), Ms Dominique Fisher (MD of EC Strategies Pty Ltd), Mr John Grant (MD of Data#3 Limited), Ms Sheryle Moon (Director, Manpower Services Australia), Mr Dan Phillips (Executive Director, Macquarie Bank; Head of technology investment banking business), Dr Phil Robertson (Director, Canon Information Systems Research Australia), Prof John Rosenberg (Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Deakin University) and Dr Alex Zelinsky (Director of the CSIRO ICT Centre).
“The members of the ICT Advisory Board have a strong interest in ICT and are well positioned to advise the Government. I am confident that their outstanding talent and expertise will be invaluable in informing the policy development process,” Senator Coonan said.
The Board will focus on strategic policy issues for the Australian ICT industry. Its first task will be to assist in the ICT Priority Setting process to identify key priority areas for researchers and industry to better focus our development activities across Government and industry.
The Board is an additional source of advice to Government – that will complement the valuable contributions of other key sources – including advice from industry associations, individual firms and other stakeholder groups.
“The exercise to identify ICT priorities will be an inclusive process and I will be consulting closely with all relevant stakeholders including industry associations and representative bodies such as the AIIA, the ACS and AEEMA,” said Senator Coonan.
“Setting priorities for ICT is the start of a process of broader engagement with the ICT sector – to ensure that our efforts in supporting the industry are focussed on areas of competitive advantage or in dealing with broader national and economic challenges,” Senator Coonan said.
“There are opportunities for Australian ICT companies to develop solutions in areas of national and global importance.”
“The identification of priorities can assist industry, research and Government efforts to build critical mass in ICT research and development, to increase the opportunities for Australia to grow firms where it has strengths and to enhance investment attraction.”

For further information about Australian Government ICT initiatives visit www.dcita.gov.au/ict

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CORPORATE MOVES

Sky NZ Merging with Newspaper Firm

New Zealand's SKY Network Television Limited (“SKY”) and Independent Newspapers Limited (“INL”) recently announced in a joint statement they have been granted initial orders from the High Court to put a scheme of arrangement (the “Scheme”) to shareholders for their approval to merge the two companies.
Under the Scheme, a new company “MergeCo” will buy all of the shares in INL and SKY and then all three companies will amalgamate with MergeCo remaining as the surviving company. MergeCo will be renamed SKY Network Television Limited.
It is expected the Scheme will result in SKY shareholders receiving approximately $1.28 cents per share and one MergeCo share for each SKY share. Each INL shareholder is expected to receive approximately $1.75 cents per share and 0.836 MergeCo shares for each INL share.
Ken Cowley, INL Executive Chairman and Peter Macourt, SKY Chairman said the Scheme met the objectives they had previously announced of creating a single listed company for the Sky business, providing fair value to all shareholders and ensuring that there is no dilution of any shareholder’s interest in the Sky business. There will be no ability in this Scheme for shareholders to elect to receive cash or shares, unlike the Scheme proposed by INL and SKY in August 2004.
“The Scheme also provides an opportunity to put in place a simpler governance structure and an efficient capital structure for the Sky business going forward,” Mr Cowley and Mr Macourt said.
Other benefits to shareholders of the Scheme will be fully detailed in Scheme materials, which are scheduled to be sent to shareholders in May. These benefits include:

• Greater control by the MergeCo board of the strategic direction of the SKY business compared to the current two-tiered two board structure.
• A substantial increase in the free float of shares in the SKY business making the stock more attractive to institutions and professional investors.
• The expectation of a greater NZSX50 index weighting for the SKY business improving its current ranking of 19 to a position inside the top ten.
• Elimination of the INL corporate overhead and the removal of the INL share price discount.
• Enhanced value through a more efficient capital structure and an enhanced balance sheet. Under the Scheme it is proposed that MergeCo will take on $500 million in new debt.
• Retention of SKY management and staff in a “business as usual” merger.
• The Scheme requires the approval of SKY and INL shareholders at separate special meetings in mid-June. Independent appraisal reports are being prepared.
• If shareholder approval is gained, the Scheme will require final orders from the High Court to proceed. If final Court approval is obtained it is expected that the Scheme will be completed in July 2005 with payment to shareholders shortly after that date.

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DISTRIBUTION

Digistor Opens Fox Studio Office

Digistor have opened an office at Fox Studios in Sydney as a response to the increased demand for skilled technical support personnel on the lot.
"Our recent engagement to provide high-level 24x7 support on the latest 'Superman' film franchise, coupled with strong demand from local post-production houses has been the catalyst to establishing a presence at Fox," said Andrew Mooney, Digistor Managing Director.
Production and post-production at film resolution and high definition has changed the nature of IT infrastructures and content storage. Increased processing power, parallel workflows and greater collaboration require improved data management and planning.
“We can provide the specialist knowledge required by today’s complex data storage, backup and retrieval requirements,” said Mooney. “This support is critical for film and television productions that cannot afford downtime - our customers are thrilled as it frees them and their IT departments to concentrate on their day-to-day demands.”
Digistor Fox Studios is located in the Spectrum Films Building and is directly linked to the company’s intranet enabling tight integration with existing business systems.
To contact the Digistor Fox team dial 02 9906 4556 ext 901

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CORPORATE MOVES

JDS Uniphase to Acquire Acterna

Optics technology company JDS Uniphase Corporation has announced a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Acterna Inc., a leader in broadband and optical test & management (T&M) solutions for service providers and network equipment vendors worldwide, and parent company of post-productionn technology company da Vinci Systems.
Under the terms of the agreement, JDS Uniphase will acquire Acterna for $760 million, comprising $450 million in cash and $310 million in JDS Uniphase’s common stock, subject to adjustments. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the quarter ending September 30, 2005.
With this acquisition JDS Uniphase becomes a leading provider of optical communications sub-systems and broadband T&M systems. With combined annual revenues of over $1 billion, its portfolio of products and services will enhance the deployment of Internet Protocol (IP)-based data, voice and video services over optical long haul, metro, fiber-to-the-home, DSL and cable networks. With sales and distribution in more than 160 countries, JDS Uniphase will serve an expanded customer base that includes the largest 100 telecommunications and cable services providers, and system manufacturers worldwide.
“Broadband and optical solutions are foundational to the growth of IP-based residential and business services,” said Kevin Kennedy, president and CEO of JDS Uniphase. “We believe that vendors with a broad portfolio of vertically integrated broadband and optical solutions are best equipped to succeed in this market. With the addition of Acterna, we believe our combined portfolio and global sales channel will improve our ability to serve our customers as they deploy next generation IP services.”
This deal is expected to also accelerate JDS Uniphase’s path to profitability. Acterna will be immediately financially accretive to JDS Uniphase. Based on preliminary results for fiscal year ended March 2005, Acterna’s revenue exceeded $440 million, its non-GAAP gross margins exceeded 50 percent, and its non-GAAP earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) exceeded 11 percent of revenues.
Acterna, which employs approximately 1,770 people worldwide, will become JDS Uniphase’s Communications T&M product group, led by John Peeler, a 25-year veteran of Acterna, the company’s president and CEO.
"Joining JDS Uniphase creates exciting new opportunities for Acterna, its employees, customers and other partners,” said John Peeler, president and CEO of Acterna. "A strengthened position with system manufacturers and access to JDS Uniphase’s leading-edge optical technologies are among the benefits that I believe will build on our leading position.”

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REGULATION

New Codes of Practice for Internet and Mobile Content

New community safeguards for the Internet and mobile telephone content in the form of three new codes of practice have been registered by the Australian Broadcasting Authority.
The three codes – one for Internet content hosts and two for Internet service providers – were developed by the Internet Industry Association. They replace the previous codes, registered by the ABA on 9 May 2002.
The IIA has developed the codes in response to recommendations contained in the Government’s May 2004 report on the operation of the co-regulatory scheme for Internet content, established under Schedule 5 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.
Content Code 1 and Content Code 2 aim to improve Internet users’ access to Internet safety tools and information. They require Internet service providers to prominently display relevant links on their home pages, and to provide regular updates on these matters during the year.
‘It is important that families have easy access to accurate and reliable information about managing the risks associated with the Internet, and ISPs have important roles to play in educating their customers,’ said ABA Acting Chair, Lyn Maddock.
Content Code 2 also contains rules for content delivered to mobile telephones with audio-visual capabilities. This code prohibits mobile content that is or would be classified RC or X, and requires access to content classified R or MA to be restricted to users who ‘opt in’ to such services and verify that they are 18 years of age or older. The content codes use the National Classification Code categories that apply to films, DVDs and computer games. This will help ensure consistent treatment of content across fixed and mobile entertainment platforms.
The codes will complement the provisions to be set out in a service provider determination on the supply of premium rate services on mobile telephones, currently being developed by the Australian Communications Authority. The service provider determination and Internet industry codes will together provide interim safeguards for all mobile content, and mobile network operators have given the ABA written undertakings that they will comply with all requirements of the codes and determination.
The ABA understands the Government is preparing legislative reforms to establish a permanent regulatory framework for content delivered to mobile and other convergent devices.
Content Code 3 contains a process for dealing with overseas-hosted Internet content that has been the subject of a complaint to the ABA and found to be prohibited. Such content is notified to the makers of selected Internet filter products, which ISPs must make available to their customers at the time an account is opened, either directly or via a filter software portal maintained by the IIA.
The codes will operate for 12 months, at which time they will be reviewed to take account of developments in filtering technologies and any community concerns which arise during this period.
The codes are accessible on the ABA’s web site at www.aba.gov.au and on the IIA’s web site at www.iia.net.au.

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DIGITAL TV

Southern Cross Signs The Bridge for Transmission

The Bridge Networks has signed a contract with Southern Cross Broadcasting (SCB) for the supply of Digital Television transmitters and transposers. The contract will run for five years and will incorporate SCB’s low power digital television rollout across Australia.
Southern Cross Broadcasting owns and operates commercial radio and television stations throughout Australia reaching 94 percent of Australia’s population.
Ron Roosmalen, Network Transmission Manager for SCB, comments, “The combination of products and services provided by The Bridge Networks and the Harris Broadcast transmitters made The Bridge a logical choice for SCB.
”Darren Kirsop-Frearson, Managing Director, The Bridge Networks, said, “We are extremely pleased to have secured this five-year contract with Southern Cross and we look forward to working closely with them as they roll out their digital television network across Australia.”
The Bridge Networks is an Australian representative for Harris Broadcast Communications, the world leader in broadcast transmission equipment manufacture, and suppliers of more than 40,000 broadcast and telecommunication products from 370 broadcast and telecommunications manufacturers. The Bridge is also a leading new technology systems integration company in the broadcast and telecommunications industry, specialising in the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of transmission systems, including analogue and digital television, analogue and digital radio, point-to-point microwave and fibre.
The Bridge Networks is a wholly owned subsidiary of Broadcast Australia Pty Limited which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group (ASX: MCG).

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INSTALLATIONS

FSM Launches $1.8 million DI Suite

Post-production house, FSM, has unveiled its new Digital Intermediate Suite, setting a new benchmark for DI services in Australia. Seamlessly integrated with their award-winning traditional post services, FSM now joins the world’s most advanced post-production houses in leading the way to the future of film technologies.
FSM has been building its DI suite for the last six months and is now the only post house in Australia able to package such a wide range of film solutions, from rushes and scanning, final grade, Design and VFX, shoot supervision, and HD delivery items for international markets. Committed to broadening post technologies available to local and International filmmakers in Australia, FSM acknowledges that the DI process is fast becoming the technology of choice for directors and DOP’s to complete their projects – whether shot on 16mm, 35mm, or high definition.
FSM’s DI Suite is based around a range of products from UK firm, FilmLight. The NorthLight scanner is the engine, scanning film at super high resolutions to extract the maximum amount of information from the negative and delivers the data at optimum levels for the remainder of the post-production process. Baselight is the grading tool that releases the normal laboratory limitations and allows you limitless creative opportunities, while all elements are calibrated to match the final release print using TrueLight, the world’s only complete film colour management system for pre-visualising film images on electronic display devices.
A Barco DP 100 projector completes the $1.8 million dollar investment by bringing full 2K resolution images to the grading screen at FSM.
Recent projects to use FSM’s DI Suite are Rowan Wood’s Little Fish, Brother, a short film by Galvin Scott Davis, Brainbow Pictures’ Fink, and the full 2k restoration of seminal Australian movie, Newsfront, by Phillip Noyce.

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NAB 2005

NBN Upgrades News with Grass Valley

Thomson used this year's NAB Convention in LAs Vegas to announce the completion of a multiphase project to transition the NBN Television network studio facilities in Newcastle, New South Wales, to a streamlined, virtually tapeless workflow with a full complement of its Grass Valley brand digital news production (DNP) equipment. Broadcasting to one of Australia's largest geographical markets comprising of northern New South Wales and the Gold Coast, the network went live on the air with the Grass Valley DNP system in February.
The Grass Valley DNP system now in full operation at NBN TV includes numerous NewsEdit XT nonlinear edit systems, FeedClip interactive feed capture system; NewsQ Pro automated news playback system, and the M-Series Intelligent Video Digital Recorder (iVDR). Thomson, serving as engineering consultants and system integrator for the project, has also incorporated software interface products from technology partner Proximity Corporation. Together, all system components have been tightly integrated with the NBN Network's existing Associated Press ENPS newsroom computer system.
From the very early stages of the consultative process between Thomson and NBN almost two years ago, Steve Legge, the network's director of engineering, recognized the power, flexibility and ease to which the NewsEdit application would fulfill all of his goals for an all-digital newsroom environment. NewsEdit provides the ability to display edits as they are being made, saving time while getting finished stories to air quicker. With no pre-digitization requirement, NBN's editors can record directly from tape to the NewsEdit timeline, eliminating the need to go back and review their work. Thomson's Systems Group performed an extensive on site evaluation at the NBN studios to show the network's personnel how the Grass Valley DNP system architecture could save them time and help make their stories more comprehensive.
"When I first saw the NewsEdit system [at IBC 2003], I saw a solution that had the potential to fit our workflow needs," Legge said. "The NLE solution has since grown in our timeframe with increased potential that met all of our current expectations and still has plenty of room to grow."
"We have a very complex news requirement that covers many regional markets," Legge added. "For us to consider the substantial investment in the digitalization of the newsroom, the workflow improvements had to be proven beyond doubt in order to justify the system purchase. When our news team saw the NewsEdit system in-house, and with the subsequent further consultation with Thomson's DNP experts, we felt strongly that this would indeed give us that justification."
The NewsEdit XT system, in particular, was extremely easy for NBN's editors to learn. In fact, according to Jim Sullivan, director of News for NBN, "The editors were cutting stories on the system within hours even though formal training had yet to commence. We found the NewsEdit system very easy to learn and use."
NBN project leader Graeme Clancy said that the new processes in place have allowed NBN's news and engineering people to leverage what can be done with a tapeless system and devise new ways of handling program material. He added that a complete team effort by all parties involved helped to achieve the final implementation.
"With the success of the initial installation, we are very confident we can progressively roll out the system over the remainder of our network," Clancy said.

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NAB 2005

Southern Cross Grows with Quartz

Southern Cross Broadcasting Limited, one of Australia’s leading media companies, has once again expanded their multi-channel QMC master control system. The initial centralcasting installation was one of the most ambitious in the world and combined transmission operations from multiple cities into a single network control center in Canberra. The project has been extremely successful, so much so that it has already been expanded once, making it one of the largest in operation. With the conclusion of the latest project the system has been expanded again to a total of 33 on-air channels, plus a redundant spare that can be assigned to cover any channel in an emergency situation.
Unlike large DBS playout centers, where a channel typically consists of a router bus and keyer, the Southern Cross system provides full master control functionality on every channel. It also is capable of dynamic reconfiguration, allowing channels to be grouped into “markets” in varying combinations at different times of the broadcast day, under automation or manual control.
The QMC channels are fed from a Quartz Q256 large format SDI router with all channels and the routers driven from dual Quartz SC1000 System Controllers. The system was supplied and is supported by Gencom Technology (the Quartz distributor in the region).
While this project marks the conclusion of the SD expansion of the system it also marks the beginning of the next phase, adding HD channels. According to Raoul Prideaux, Director of Engineering & Technology for Southern Cross Broadcasting, “We have been very happy with the performance of our Canberra transmission center so, as we add HD channels, it is only logical to continue with the same structure. We have just placed the first orders for a Xenon HD routing level and the new QMC-2 HD master control switchers from Quartz.”
Since the new QMC-2 shares the same control system as the existing QMCs, the HD channels can be integrated and operated from any of Southern Cross’s 8 presentation control stations.

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NAB 2005

ScheduALL donates to Aussie/Afghan Broadcaster

ScheduALL announce at NAB that their recent donation of an EDGE system to Aria Productions in Afghanistan is now being rolled-out. Aria Productions generates all local content for Tolo TV which is one of Afghanistan’s first commercial TV stations.
Aria Productions and Tolo TV are run by Afghan Australians who have returned to Afghanistan to set up one of the first commercial entities in Afghanistan. Much of the existing media is run by Non Governmental Organizations. Their aim is to change the landscape so that there is some sustainability to the 'democratization' of Afghanistan.
The EDGE Software is an integrated solution for managing the resources involved with audio and video production. This includes scheduling of equipment, facilities and manpower. In addition to managing schedules for resources EDGE also provides invoicing, and detailed financial and efficiency reporting capabilities.
ScheduALL worked closely with the personnel from Aria productions to determine their requirements. In a country where the GDP per capita is under $200, it was not possible to purchase a ScheduALL system. ScheduALL, recognizing the efforts of the Aria personnel, decided that their aims merited a donation of an EDGE system.” The generosity of ScheduALL has enabled us to become more efficient and one of the great things about the software is the fact that it is configured for the business. For people like us, this is fantastic. It forces us to think through our processes in a structured way and in some cases we have changed the way we do things.” stated Jahid Mohseni, chief operations manager at Tolo TV, “I guess the most positive thing I can say about the system is that it just makes so much sense!”
Jahid continues, “ScheduALL helps Aria and Tolo TV produce a range of programs that are taking Kabul by storm. These range from never seen before investigative reporting, national and international news and the country’s most popular program – an MTV style music program called HOP”
“We felt that Aria’s work in Afghanistan deserved support from ScheduALL” stated Ronan Carey, sales manager, “They have worked hard to start this station and we are happy to assist them during their growth. We wish them every success for the future”

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NAB 2005

Thales Supports Vietnam Trial of DVB-T

Thales announced at NAB that Vietnam Television Technology Investment and Development Company (VTC) has taken delivery of two Thales’ DCX Millennium DVB-T IOT equipped digital transmitter systems. The transmitters will be used for a digital terrestrial transmitting system trial in Hanoi, Vietnam, each operating at 10kW RMS. Historically, all previous DVB-T rollouts have used solid state transmitter designs. In this case, VTC needed a higher power solution and wanted to take advantage of an IOT equipped amplifier. Thales was able to deliver a cost effective solution based on the field proven DCX Millennium. The transmitters will operate on channels 26 and 34 in the UHF band and will be co-located.
Thales also supplied the full RF system, a shared redundant cooling system, and full transmitter system commissioning. Thales was easily able to meet the RMS power requirement for this project even with the higher peak-to-average demands of DVB-T’s COFDM modulation (typically 4dB higher than 8VSB) and wider RF channel bandwidth (8 MHz).
“This represents another first for Thales in the broadcast industry” said Richard Fiore Jr., Senior VP Sales and Marketing of Thales Broadcast & Multimedia. “Due in part to Thales’ world-wide experience in the broadcast industry, we were able to bring the benefits of IOT technology to the DVB-T digital transmission domain with enormous success. We are excited and pleased at the opportunity to be a part of yet another exciting transition to digital television.”

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NAB 2005

Animal Logic Chooses Truelight Colour Management

FilmLight, a provider of digital filmmaking technology, announced at NAB 2005 the purchase of its Truelight colour management system by world-leading Sydney based vfx facility, Animal Logic. In keeping with the system’s modular and flexible approach, Animal Logic will deploy Truelight across multiple applications running on multiple workstations throughout its feature animation and film VFX divisions.
“We are rolling it out to all of our CG lighting, compositing and review station seats, as well as our DI suites,” comments Guy Griffiths, Director of R&D, Animal Logic. “We will also be using it to calibrate our 2K digital projector.”
Griffiths says he was initially drawn to Truelight by the quality of its Monitor Probe. “It gave me a glimpse of the depth of the experience in colour technol