INSTALLATIONS

Discreet flint/smoke Fires Up Fuel

Discreet has announced that Sydney-based facility Fuel has installed Discreet’s Linux-based flint and smoke editing/visual effects system to handle the demands of the company’s growing TVC and feature film clientele. Running on the IBM IntelliStation Z Pro platform, the new system joins an existing Discreet flame on Octane at the Newtown, Sydney-based facility.
“We needed another system to support all the work we are pumping through,” said Dave Morley, VFX Supervisor. “Having smoke and flint on the one PC workstation is an ideal, cost-effective solution for us. We didn’t want to add another SGI system as yet and the current 8-bit limitation is not a problem for commercial work.
“At the moment we are using it to support flame on bigger projects and to handle full commercial work stand-alone. The smoke/flint package increases the opportunity for clients to work at Fuel whereas previously the flame suite was often booked out. The new suite expands our capabilities and the services we can offer clients,” said Morley.
The new suite has already been pressed into service to create two new TVC’s as part of the ongoing edgy insect campaign for the V soft drink. Previous spots have included termites in sculpture competitions.
V Bench Press and V Freefall saw Fuel create a pair of Bugs Life styled 3D animated cockroach characters that entertain themselves in innovative weightlifting and skydiving scenarios.
V Bench Press sees a cockroach egging the other on to complete a hefty and repetitive weightlifting effort. It is only when the ‘camera’ pulls back wide is the weight revealed as a shoe with the wearer trying, and failing, to squash the cockroach.
The V Freefall spot has the pair practising an unusual dance routine before they turn and jump off what is revealed to be an air hand dryer in a women’s toilet. The vent is turned up so the cockroaches can spread their wings and float on the jet stream. The 30-second spots were created for Plaza Films director Paul Middleditch and the Colenso BBDO Auckland agency.
According to Fuel’s Executive Producer Jason Bath, "It only takes a couple of minutes for us to switch between flint and smoke so we can easily use what tool best fits the job in hand. flint is getting the most use right now and we are running Sapphire plug-ins which extend its effects capacity.
“I am looking forward to further releases of this package which should enable the workstation to handle High Definition (HD) work. At the moment we use Discreet’s wire networking to run material back and forth from the IBM to flame but I look forward to full HD I/O and higher bit rates in the future.”

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INSTALLATIONS

Home and Away Makes Lightworks of Editing

NLE devloper Lightworks has announced that Australian dealer, Room With A View, has recently supplied a second Touch edit system on hire to ATN7, the Sydney-based broadcaster, for use on long running soap Home and Away.
Lightworks has been used on Home and Away since 1992, when it was decided to move to non-linear editing and a Heavyworks system was acquired.
Terry Coombes, Senior Drama Editor, comments: "The dedicated controller seemed very easy to use and ideal for our needs. Within just a few hours of first using a Lightworks system, our editors were competently able to cut a piece together. We were also fortunate in having a Lightworks guru - John Leonard - come up to Sydney from Melbourne to give us guidance and his enthusiasm quickly rubbed off on us."
Coombes added: "We get great support from Igor Auzins at Room With A View, and he always ensures we have the latest enhancements and holds Lightworks spares locally, even though we really don't get any problems with the system. It's a fantastic box to use and a fantastic tool for cutting drama on."
"I've got so used to the controller", enthuses Coombes, "I play it like a piano and I'm extremely quick with it; I just can't imagine doing my job without it. A Lightworks system is very intuitive and you can sit down at it and feel your way around quite comfortably, while the interface is very clean and uncluttered."
Home and Away has grown in complexity over the last couple of years, which places an increasingly heavy burden on Coombes. He reckons he is now offlining 50 hours a week in addition to the onlining work - 7am till 5pm, 5 days a week - and admits to feeling pretty shell-shocked by the end of the week. When the station decided to take on an assembly editor to reduce the strain on Terry, Room With A View quickly supplied another Lightworks Touch system and networked it to the existing box.

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INSTALLATIONS

First Northlight for FSM

FSM has taken delivery of the first Northlight Scanner and Baselight grading system in Australia. The new acquisition demonstrates FSM’s commitment to the process of Digital Intermediate in the creation of cinema release productions.
With the Northlight, film (35 or 16mm) is scanned in resolutions between 2K – 8K and loaded on 12 terabytes of storage. These files can then be colour graded and cleaned. In addition, visual effects, compositing and titles design have access to the same files. On completion of the grading process, the data files are then ready to record back to film.
A purpose designed theatrette at FSM has been completed as part of the installation. Making use of a Barco DP-100 2K projector, calibration is made using the Truelight process.
Company owner Stephen Dunn said, “The Northlight/Baselight combination is installed extensively in LA and London and has been used on films such as Cold Mountain, Harry Potter and Tomb Raider 2, to name a few. While the Australian film industry is widely recognised to be struggling at this time, we have great confidence in the future of our industry. Installing this level of sophisticated equipment sends a message to all film makers that Australian production is at the forefront of technology and FSM is there to support the very latest trends.”
Co-owner Rick Schweikert adds, “The government has demonstrated their understanding of the problems faced by our feature film and television industry which gives us some confidence that we will turn the corner soon. FSM is committed to the DI process as we firmly believe it is the way of the future, not just for US blockbuster films, but for all styles and budgets of features. Film will remain the format of choice for acquisition for some time, but the sort of technology we have installed will be the future of post production.”

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CORPORATE MOVES

Singapore's Channel i to Close

The English language channel of Singapore's SPH MediaWorks, Channel i, is to close in January 2005. The closure follows the merger of the TV and free newspaper operations of Singapore’s MediaCorp and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). The merger is due to be completed by the end of 2004 with the holding company 80 percent owned by MediaCorp and 20 percent by SPH.
The new holding company MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, comprising MediaCorp TV Pte Ltd (MCTV) and MediaCorp Studios Pte Ltd, will operate four channels - namely Channels 5, 8, U and TV Mobile.
MediaCorp's other channels, Channel NewsAsia, Suria and Central, will continue to be 100 percent owned by MediaCorp and their operations will be unaffected by the merger.
The merger has also meant a rationalisation of staff from the two organisations. Of 429 staff from SPH, the majority of whom are from SPH Mediaworks, 200 have gone to MediaCorp, 97 were absorbed by SPH and 132 have been retrenched. MediaCorp will also be releasing 72 staff from across its group.

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INSTALLATIONS

NZ's CPO smokes on Linux

Discreethas announced that Central Post Operations (CPO) is enhancing its operations with the addition of the first New Zealand Discreet smoke system running on Linux.
CPO is a six-year-old Auckland-based boutique facility that specialises in the creation of retail commercials and also includes documentaries and corporate video projects in its credits. Key TVC clients include Warner Music, FCB/Mitre 10 and Lighting Direct. Corporate video work covers 20/20’S international project for NZ Trade & Enterprise and the recent NZ fashion week coverage on C4 was also completed at CPO.
smoke is Discreet’s non-linear editing and finishing system designed for broadcasters and mid-sized post-production facilities. Until recently smoke has only been available on the SGI Unix platform but is now runs under the Linux operating system on Intel-based IBM workstations.
“TVCs are our bread and butter and we wanted to be able to offer our clients a higher level of creativity,” said Sally McKinnon, General Manager CPO. “Last year we turned around more than 790 TVCs but the market is becoming increasingly sophisticated so we needed to enhance our existing services by adding affordable high end editing and visual effects.
“We didn’t want to go down the telecine path so we began looking at editing and effects systems to compliment our existing Sony, Avid and Digital Fusion suites,” said McKinnon. “A key requirement was that we are keen to move up to High Definition in the future so we needed the flexibility to expand our new system to handle HD later on.
“Our decision also had to be commercially viable as well in that whatever we chose had to be a recognised name in the market rather than a software programming tool, which might do the job but was not well known.”
“smoke on Linux came in at the right time with the right price point for us,” explained John Bungey, Technical Director and a Company Director at CPO. “smoke offers sophisticated features such as tracking and by adding sparks plug-ins we can access a wide range of effects. It suits us well for the type of projects we can handle now and in the future and it is the best system we can offer the market right now.”
CPO is building smoke into a new suite and training its editors and freelancers on the new system.

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AWARDS

NAB Call for International Entries

The US National Association of Broadcasters is calling for entries for the 2005 NAB International Broadcasting Excellence Award.
Created in 1995, the NAB International Broadcasting Excellence Award is recognised worldwide as one of the pre-eminent awards in the broadcasting industry.
The awards recognise NAB International Broadcaster (terrestrial, satellite and cable) Members who have demonstrated "exceptional leadership and uniqueness in successfully serving their listening or viewing audience" through broadcast innovation or service to community.
NAB welcomes award nominations through Friday, 18 February 2005. The awards will be presented during the NAB2005 conference and exhibition in Las Vegas, 16-21 April 2005. Award recipients will be chosen by an executive committee.
If you would like to nominate your station, but your station is not an NAB International Broadcaster Member, you may join now. Nominees must be a current NAB International Broadcaster Member.

Visit http://www.nab.org/IAG/International/award.asp

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INSTALLATIONS

Digital Pictures Projects with Barco

Australia's Digital Pictures Network has announced the acquisition of the state-of-the-art Barco DP100 large screen 2K resolution Digital Cinema
Projector for its Digital Film Centre. The Barco projector is part of an ongoing commitment by Digital Pictures to digital filmmaking and Digital Cinema.
Digital Pictures Melbourne General Manager, John Fleming, said that the Barco Digital Cinema system would be utilised for projecting High Definition dailies - an area of increasing activity and experience for Digital Pictures; grading of Digital Intermediates (Digital Pictures produced Australia’s first three DIs) and screening stereoscopic (3D) productions. He also said that the DP100 system would enable Digital Pictures to continue research into the preparation of images for exhibition in Digital Cinemas.
"The Barco system is by far the most advanced digital projection system of its kind and apart from its high quality resolution, light output and image quality, we purchased the Barco system primarily for its extensive colour management tools which will enable us to closely emulate the look of film release prints."
The Barco D-Cine Premiere DP100 combines the highest resolution 2k DLP Cinema technology from Texas Instruments with a host of unique installation and operating benefits. The installation of the Barco DP100 Project in Digital Pictures’ Digital Grading Theatre will be completed by early 2005.

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INSTALLATIONS

Queensland Deploys Dalet for Courts

Dalet has announced that the Queensland Government Department of Justice and Attorney General (JAG) in Australia has selected DaletPlus ActiveLog for its digital courtrooms project. The resulting system will ensure the digital recording of court proceedings and facilitate the transcription process of the State Reporting Bureau. A total of 263 courtrooms spread over 111 courthouses will benefit from this new digital system – making it one of the world’s largest digital audio and video recording systems in a government organisation.
“State-of-the-art technologies such as digital recording and online transcription help us deliver better justice services,” explains Ian McEwan, Director of the State Reporting Bureau at JAG. “By taking advantage of DaletPlus ActiveLog we will drastically optimise the distribution of recordings for transcription and improve reporting service levels which, for a state the size of Queensland, is a major achievement.”
“A number of government organisations such as the Queensland Government are now facing the challenge of deploying large scale digital media management systems for handling recording and transcription processes,” explains PH Humblot, General Manager of Dalet Australia. “Through DaletPlus ActiveLog, we offer built-in recording and transcription tools easy enough for non-technical personnel to operate integrated with scalable, asset management technology capable of effectively supporting complex organisations.”
DaletPlus ActiveLog takes advantage of the DaletPlus media asset management framework to provide a scalable recording and transcription platform for public organisations. It simplifies the implementation of an end-to-end digital workflow including:

• Failsafe recording: multiple audio tracks with associated video, operator control and scheduled buffered continuous recording;
• Digital storage and media management: Conditional access to recordings; Flexible asset management, workflow and notification engine;
• Local and remote monitoring: IP based streaming for live preview, marker insertion and annotation, instant replay;
• Accelerated transcription tools: automatic turn allocation and rota management, easy-to-use audio and video player, advanced foot pedal control;
• Secured distribution: automated format conversion, intranet and extranet publishing, CD-ROM and DVD production;
• Long term on-line, near-line and off-line archiving.

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WORLD

Plans to Transform BBC

The BBC's Director-General Mark Thompson has outlined a new vision for programmes and content focused on 'excellence', plus radical plans for funding the ideas and transforming the BBC into a simpler, more agile and creative digital broadcaster.
An initial 2,900 jobs could go and extra resource to invest in programmes will also be released through new ways of working, productivity gains, new technology and efficiencies, as well as overhead cuts.
The target is an annual £320 million savings within three years, all of which will be redirected into programme making.
Mr Thompson told more than 27,000 staff, listening around the UK and the world, that change was precipitated by digital technology, which is shifting audience expectations and their relationship with the BBC through on demand, interactivity and personalisation.
Outlining a new programme strategy focused on 'excellence' and more investment in journalism, drama, comedy, music, learning, children's, sporting and national events and areas where the BBC has 'commanding reputations', Mr Thompson said audiences still expected the BBC to "raise its game" with ever better content.
This was how the BBC would succeed in the digital world, he said.
"My vision for the future of the BBC has three parts: a bold new programme and content strategy based above all around the idea of excellence; a transformation of the BBC into a state-of-the art digital broadcaster; and an irreversible shift in the culture of the BBC towards simplicity, opportunity and creativity.
"This is not a time for introspection and endless debate. It's a moment for action.
"Any discussion about the future level of the licence fee is bound to begin by asking how much of the future we can afford to pay for ourselves by becoming more efficient."
He added that the final investment will depend on how much responsibility the BBC is given to help build digital Britain: "Whichever way you look at it, the investment needed will run in the many hundreds of millions of pounds."
Investment will be made in: original British drama and comedy across radio and television; origination budgets for the successful CBBC and CBeebies channels; BBC FOUR; Music, including a new pan BBC music strategy and the Alternative Proms as a contemporary contrast to the classical festival; Specialist Factual and interactivity; original journalism, enhanced news gathering and current affairs on BBC ONE, with more money and slots for Panorama and enhanced presence in the Middle East and across the Islamic world; sporting and national events; extending the impetus behind documentaries and the Arts, especially on BBC ONE and TWO; more ambitious content on Radio and in New Media.

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INSTALLATIONS

Network, Miranda in Court with Magna

Magna Systems & Engineering has recently completed the installation of Network and Miranda equipment in the High Court of Australia in Canberra.
Miranda Alto multiviewers were used for each of the three court rooms with the ability for any one Alto to provide redundancy in case of failure.
The backbone of the vision network was a Network Flashlink fiber System which will provide a future proof transport system and the Network Vikinx 64 x 64 compact router systems for distribution and routing of signal around the High Court.
A Network Multimedia router and Network Conquer Analog to SDI
converters were installed to complement the system.

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PRODUCTION

Bowring on Kodak DVD

Australia's John Bowring is among prominent filmmakers and industry creatives from around the world sharing their thoughts on the creative and financial aspects of film production on a new DVD from Kodak, entitled The Difference.
The DVD features such directors and cinematographers as John Sayles, Spike Lee, Lance Acord, ASC, Laszlo Kovacs, ASC, Louis Schwartzberg, Matthew Libatique, ASC, John Inwood, Levie Isaacks, ASC, Bill Bennett, ASC, Ferne Pearlstein, John Walker and John Bowring, ACS talking about the art and craft of filmmaking, and their preferences for telling stories.
In addition to discussing the aesthetic difference between film and video capture, the true cost of film production is explored with influential industry decision makers offering anecdotes based on real world experiences.
Preserving their stories for the future, and the importance of archivability is also a topic addressed on The Difference.

Order The Difference free at www.kodak.com/go/filmthedifference

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BROADBAND

Live In-Flight Internet/TV for Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Connexion by Boeing, a business unit of The Boeing Company, have announced the signing of a definitive service agreement for the installation of high-speed, in-flight Internet service on the carrier's long-haul fleet.
This agreement positions SIA as one of the first carriers to offer a real-time broadband service for its passengers. SIA will achieve another world's first in 2005 when it brings live international TV on board, beamed through Connexion by Boeing to the passengers' laptops.
Passengers using the Connexion by Boeing service aboard equipped SIA aircraft will be able to connect real-time to their corporate virtual private networks, send and receive emails and surf the Internet while in the air. Passengers will also be introduced to a whole new era of in-flight entertainment when live international TV is made available in mid-2005. The channel lineup will initially include four international news channels, with sports content to be added at a later date.
SIA plans to initially offer the Connexion by Boeing service on its Singapore-London route in the first quarter of next year and eventually expand the capability to selected flights worldwide.
"This strategic move by Singapore Airlines helps ensure that its passengers will be at the forefront of the in-flight connectivity revolution," said Connexion by Boeing President Scott Carson. "We commend Singapore Airlines for its leadership in the development of its CyberCabin concept and providing passengers with additional choices for how to spend their time in flight. We look forward to working together with them to add an exciting new element to their in-cabin passenger services."
"The possibilities for our customers are truly endless. Passengers can choose to work, play or surf the Internet on-board and watch live TV from the comfort of their seats. And this is over and above the over 400 entertainment options that we already feature on our flights," said Singapore Airlines' Senior Vice-President, Product and Services, Yap Kim Wah, "Our partnership with Connexion by Boeing is an excellent example of how we embrace technology to bring more lifestyle choices to our valued customers."
Two initial pricing plans will be offered depending on flight length:

• Flat-Rate Pricing Option: (Unlimited access to the Internet) US$29.95
  for long-haul flights (more than six hours); US$19.95 for medium-haul
  flights (between three and six hours); and US$14.95 for flights less
  than three hours.
• Metered Pricing Option: For flights less than 3 hours: 30-minutes
  starter package for US$7.95 with rates of US$0.25 per minute
  thereafter. For flights more than 3 hours: 30-minutes starter package
  for US$9.95 with rates of US$0.25 per minute thereafter.

In addition, Connexion by Boeing is establishing associate service provider agreements with leading mobile service providers worldwide, including SingTel and StarHub in Singapore.
The partnership with the telecoms will enable airline passengers to use their existing wireless services user identifications and passwords to access the mobile Internet service in-flight. Passengers choosing to do so will receive their in-flight Internet access billing as an add-on to their existing wireless bill.

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RADIO

Digital Radio in Sydney CBD

The commercial radio industry is continuing its push for the introduction of digital radio, announcing it has signed an agreement with Bing Lee, one of the largest electrical retailers in New South Wales, to host a digital radio display at its city store.
Bing Lee, which has more than 26 stores throughout the Sydney metropolitan region, has opened the digital radio centre at its Sydney Skygarden store in Castlereagh Street.
“The support of a major retailer such as Bing Lee will provide a central location for consumers to find out more about digital radio and will boost awareness of the new technology in the busy pre-Christmas trading period,” said Joan Warner, chief executive officer of industry body Commercial Radio Australia.
The display will feature a range of the latest digital radios, including the sleek new Perstel DR601 kitchen radio, which boasts a huge memory of 100 presets, five hotkeys and a six line LCD screen display. There are now more than 100 different digital radio products available around the world, with more than 30 new products launched in the past three months alone.
In Australia, the technology is still in trial phase, but Bing Lee will sell a range of products on consignment by Sangean, Pure Digital and Bush to people who are aware of the current broadcasting limitations and are still keen to be early adopters. The receivers are priced from $199, depending on features.
Another new product to be added to the display soon is the Revo, an in-car receiver designed to work with a car’s existing audio system rather than replacing it. The Revo, which promises to bring digital radio to the “motoring masses” is due for release in late December and has an optional dock for home use, and a rechargeable battery pack and headphones (due for release in February 2005) which converts it into a portable radio.
Visitors to the new digital radio centre at Bing Lee Skygarden can enter the draw to win a stylish Pure Digital Bug, the first radio in the world which lets you pause, rewind and record live radio. Designed by Wayne Hemmingway, the Bug looks like a cross between an alien and a space age computer. It has a bright blue backlit LCD display, digital clock, timer function, dual alarm and USB port, and is valued at $695. Entries close 5pm on 22nd December and the prize will be drawn at 11am on 23rd December.

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AWARDS

3CR Wins Human Rights Gong

Melbourne community radio station 3CR 855am recently took out this year’s Australian National Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) Radio Award in recognition of its unique live broadcasts from two Victorian prisons.
The six-hour broadcast from Port Philip Prison and the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (Deer Park Women’s Prison) during NAIDOC week also received the award for Best Spoken Word Programming in the recent CBAA awards.
Judges of the HREOC awards said the program was “simply a great program and a standout winner” and an excellent example of a community telling it’s own story.
Indigenous broadcaster Kutcha Edwards accepted the HREOC Radio Award in Sydney today at a ceremony held at the Sheraton on the Park Hotel. In his speech Kutcha Edwards said “this program is about their (the inmates) voice. I want to thank people from 3CR and the people from Port Philip Prison and all the Koori programmers who actually participated in these broadcasts.”
A CD of the highlights of the broadcast, Beyond the Bars: Out and Black, was recently launched and is available from the station.

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AWARDS

AFTRS' Birthday Boy in Oscars Semi-Finals

Birthday Boy, the animated short film by students of the Australian Film, Television & Radio School, has made it to the semi-final round of competition for the 2005 Academy Awards.
Written and directed by Sejong Park and produced by Andrew Gregory, Birthday Boy made it to the final 10 in the Animated Short Film category.
The film will now be screened to the Branch Nominating Committee which consists of all members of the Academy Short Films and Feature Animation Branch. This committee will then choose the final five short animated shorts to be nominated for the 2005 Oscar. The nominations will be announced on 25 January 2005.
With 26 film festival awards and 42 screenings worldwide, Birthday Boy is fast becoming one of the most successful student films made at AFTRS.

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INSTALLATIONS

Magna Serves Sony Singapore

Magna Systems & Engineering has commenced Phase Two in a playout upgrade for Sony Pictures Singapore. This involves installation of the new 40-channel SeaChange Broadcast Media Library (BML), along with new
SeaChange Media Client. There will also be separate ingest BML.
The installation involves a full scale expansion of the existing Harris Automation Systems, Diva’s Archive Manager Software, Miranda’s K2 Multi-Viewer and digital distribution equipment, StorageTek’s Tape Library, Network Electronics 128 x 128 Station Router and Artec digital logging technology.
In line with Phase One of Sony’s expansion, a new Control Room has also been constructed to house the additional playout channels.

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INSTALLATIONS

zspace Adds flint and smoke

Discreet, a division of Autodesk has announced the first Australian sale of flint and smoke on Linux to Sydney-based company zspace, which specialises in innovative broadcast design, TVC and titles work.
flint is an interactive visual effects design and motion graphics finishing system that offers artists a resolution independent, online environment with real-time D1 4:4:4 capture and playback capabilities. smoke is an all-in-one integrated creative editing and finishing system. flint SD was launched at NAB this year and joined smoke on the Intel-based IBM IntelliStation Z Pro workstation running Linux and the advanced NVIDIA Quadro FX 3000G graphics hardware.
At zspace the flint system is bundled with a smoke licence enabling artists to run each application as required. The new system updates an Octane-based flint and joins an existing smoke on Tezro, combustion and combustion to form a powerful Discreet-based workflow solution.
“The major advantage of flint on Linux is that we can move it from being a backroom box to a frontroom system because the IBM workstation is so much faster,” said zspace Post-Production Supervisor Adam Duncombe. “In the past we could never have considered working on flint with a client sitting in but now we have the affordable speed we need plus most of the features of the flame toolset.”
Duncombe says he is particularly keen to use Discreet’s powerful Master Keyer, which has been added to the latest versions of smoke and flint. The feature enables artists to interact more directly with images while providing the intelligence to guide the keying process with greater sophistication and precision.
“The Master Keyer comes from inferno and flame and it will be very helpful dealing with HD work – it works brilliantly in smoke and I am looking forward to having it in flint as well.”
Duncombe described the smoke and flint combination as an ideal and logical progression for zspace where the existing smoke attracts High Definition work through the front door and the new flint/smoke system will be used to prepare material for those projects.
“We can network smoke, flint, combustion and 3ds max together to process the work. We are using Discreet’s wire networking between smoke and flint for fast transfers and we’re testing gigabit Ethernet throughout the rest of the facility."
Recent clients at zspace include Foxtel, UK TV, Network TEN (AFL) and Fox Sports (NRL), and the Nine Network (Getaway). zspace has also completed a revamp of the on air look for Studio Disney in Singapore.

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TRANSMISSION

Australia/US in First HD Videoconference

November's SC04 high performance computing, networking and storage conference held in Pittsburgh, USA, was used by science broadcaster ResearchChannel to demonstrate two-Way uncompressed HD streaming at 3 Gbps between two locations in the US and Canberra, Australia.
The first time video conferencing of HD video over dedicated networks between PCs on the two continents used AJA's XENA HD card to enable two-way, uncompressed 1080i video conferencing between three locations: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (in Intel's booth at SC04), the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, and the offices of AARNet (Australia's Research
and Education Network) in Canberra.
A XENA HD card was in each location, installed in personal computers running on Microsoft Windows XP for both HD input and output.
“This is one of many in a long line of experiments and projects that meet
the goals of ResearchChannel for interactive collaboration, “ said Amy
Philipson, executive director at ResearchChannel and Vice-provost at University of Washington. “It brings researchers and scientists together and enables new opportunities for the future.”
The demos used eight Intel computers (four at SC04 and two at both Seattle and Canberra), each with a XENA board installed and the latest Intel PCI Express bus and were supplied by Silicon Mechanics in Seattle.
Between Pittsburgh and Seattle, the Internet was a dedicated portion of
ResearchChannel member National LambdaRail's (NLR) network. NLR is an initiative of US research universities and private sector technology
companies to provide a national scale infrastructure for research and experimentation in networking technologies and applications, over a nationwide optical fibre infrastructure.
The Australian connection took advantage of through AARnet's newly completed Pacific Ocean fibre network, supplied by the Southern Cross Cable Network and was the inaugural transmission. AARNet provides high-capacity, cost-effective Internet services to the education and research communities and their research partners in Australia and is a member of ResearchChannel. The network went from Canberra through Sydney through Hawaii to Seattle.
The demo at SC04 utilised about 6 Gigabits/sec between Pittsburgh and Seattle on the NLR network, while the leg between Seattle and Canberra on the AARNet network was about 3 Gigabits/second because some of the video originated in Seattle. Traffic from Canberra and UW to Pittsburgh went through Pacific Northwest Gigapop, which is the point of presence for major networks in the Pacific Northwest and is run by UW and ResearchChannel.

Visit www.researchchannel.org

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INSTALLATIONS

HK's Cyberport Routes with Pro-Bel

Pro-Bel, the manufacturer and supplier of routing, signal processing, master control and automation technology equipment, has announced that Hong Kong Cyber Port has installed two Pro-Bel Freeway routers. The installation was carried out by Pro-Bel's partner in Hong Kong, PCD Broadcast Engineering Ltd. with local service commitment from Pro-Bel Asia.
Hong Kong Cyber Port, a Government-owned telecommunications facility designed to foster the development of Hong Kong's Information Services sector, chose the Freeway 32 x 32 SDI routers to support dual references such as PAL and NTSC in order that both requirements can be sustained simultaneously. The routers also have the facility to switch video signals from MPEG-2 playback devices in various pre-defined patterns or sequences.

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POST-PRODUCTION

Thomson Acquires Moving Picture Co

Thomson has announced the acquisition of The Moving Picture Company (MPC) from British broadcaster ITV, for £52.7 million (€76 million). The Moving Picture Company, which is located in the Soho district of London and employs around 400 people, is an industry-leading provider of visual effects (VFX) and post-production services to both the feature motion picture and commercial advertising industries.
MPC provides VFX for major Hollywood studios including Warner Bros, Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Pictures. Recent titles include “Alexander,” all three “Harry Potter” films, “Troy” “Alien vs. Predator” and “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.” Over the last 12 months, MPC has generated over £44 million (€63 million) in total sales. MPC is also widely recognised in the commercial advertising industry for producing high-end commercial content for many world-leading advertisers including Nike, Levis, Motorola, Adidas, and Coca Cola – as well as other Fortune 500 companies and major European advertisers. MPC will provide a strong complement to Technicolor’s Emmy Award-winning Hollywood-based broadcast visual effects and Toronto-based VFX facilities.

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BROADBAND

Sheraton Goes Wireless with BigAir

BigAir Australia has announced that the Four Points by Sheraton Darling Harbour, Sydney, is one of the growing list of companies that has signed up to its high speed wireless broadband Internet service in the last six months.
In April this year, Four Points by Sheraton was hosting a large conference for a major technology company. Two days before the event, the hotel realised that its existing landline-based Internet service did not provide the sufficient bandwidth or reliability necessary to meet the customer's requirements at the conference.
"We needed an extremely fast and reliable broadband service and we had an incredibly tight timeframe to get it implemented," said Four Points by Sheraton Chief Engineer, Nigel Wright. "We looked at the various options available and BigAir's wireless broadband service emerged as the clear choice," he said. "Not only is it one of the most affordable broadband services available in the market, it also offers far superior performance and dependability.
"The wireless broadband was a great option when compared to fibre because it cost considerably less and could be implemented in hours rather than weeks. In fact, we were connected to the BigAir service within 24 hours of placing our order," said Mr Wright.
With over 13 function rooms and 500 guest rooms of the 630 rooms now connected, guests at Four Points by Sheraton Darling Harbour, Sydney can now access the Internet from anywhere within the building and benefit from extremely fast connection speeds of 10Mbps and carrier grade reliability.

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CASBAA NEWS

al Jazeera to Launch English Channel

The Qatar-based Arabic news service al Jazeera has announced plans to launch an English language channel and establish an Asia-Pacific news bureau.
Announced at this year's CASBAA conference in Hong Kong, the new channel will begin services early in 2005 and, while sharing some editorial resources, will operate as a separately in its own right as a more internationally focused service than its Arab language parent.
The new English-language channel is looking to establish a bureau in the Asia-Pacific and representatives from the company have been examining potential sites in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.
According to the channel's head of news Steve Clark, al Jazeera in English will feature tape acquisition, server-based production and will be based adjacent to current facilities in Qatar. He says they have been overwhelmed with applicants wanting to work with the new channel.

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CASBAA - AWARDS

CASBAA Holds Inaugural Pay-TV Ad Awards

The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) has announced the results of the inaugural CASBAA Pay-TV Advertising Awards in recognition of creative excellence in multi-channel television. The awards were presented at a ceremony on the first day of the CASBAA Convention 2004 in Hong Kong.
The CASBAA Pay-TV Advertising Awards, organised in association with Media Magazine, is CASBAA’s latest initiative to boost the pay-TV advertising market.
"Pay-TV advertising spend only contributes to 17.5% of the US$14.79 billion on TV advertising in Asia Pacific (excluding Japan). There is clearly enormous opportunity for growth. We intend to turn this into an annual event to foster the development of this market,” said Marcel Fenez, Chairman of CASBAA.
There were over 180 entries competing in nine categories. Nokia’s advertisement on ESPN STAR Sports, winner of the Best Integrated Marketing Campaign using Pay-TV, clinched the Best Campaign Award, which is the best of the best award.
The winners were selected by a seven-member judging panel. Judges included Rob Sherlock, Regional Creative Director of FCB Asia Pacific; Blaise D’Sylva, Chief Executive, Northeast Asia of Starcom MediaVest Group; Carol Lam, Executive Creative Director, Greater China of McCann Erickson Hong Kong; Christine Pong, Executive Creative Officer of BatesAsia Hong Kong; Rachel Chau, Co-Executive Creative Director of BBDO Hong Kong; Rob Middleton, Founder of Monster Media Ltd., and Thierry Halbroth, Director of Integrated Services of M&C Saatchi.

The winners included:

• Best Integrated Marketing Campaign using Pay TV - Nokia - ESPN STAR Sports
• Best Use of Sponsorship - Tiger Beer - ESPN STAR Sports
• Best Use of Product Placement - Who Dares Wins (India) - SPE Networks – Asia
• Best Youth Campaign - Ninja, The Enduring Master - MTV China, Viacom Asia
• Best Kid's Campaign - IKEA & Nickelodeon Takes Over Your Room
  Initiative
• Best Business/Corporate Campaign - Royal Salute 50-year-old launch -
  Optimum Media Direction
• Best Travel & Tourism Campaign - Hong Kong “Live it Love it”, presented by Hong Kong Tourism Board - National Geographic Channel Asia
• Best Sports & Leisure Campaign - Astro “Movies” - Astro
• Campaign of the Year - Nokia - ESPN STAR Sports

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CASBAA - AWARDS

now Broadband TV Wins CASBAA Chairman's Award

The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) has announced the winner of the prestigious CASBAA Chairman's Award 2004 for the outstanding contribution to the Asia Pacific multi-channel cable, satellite and broadband pay-TV industries in the previous 12 months. The inaugural award went to now Broadband TV of Hong Kong "For the innovative and pro-active marketing of a secure and advanced pay-TV platform and for growing its interactive capability resulting in a stellar subscriber take up."
The CASBAA Chairman's Award 2004 was made at the conclusion of the CASBAA Pay-TV Advertising Awards held on the first day of the CASBAA Convention 2004 in Hong Kong.
The Chairman's Award was decided by a ballot of the CASBAA Council of Governors who made their selection to recognize an individual or corporation that had contributed most effectively to the Asia Pacific pay-TV sector.
Marcel Fenez, the Chairman of CASBAA, said "This award represents a new benchmark for our industry. It recognizes companies or individuals who have really made a difference. This year the winner is a relatively new entrant to the market and has made us all sit up and take notice with its innovative service and marketing resulting in large subscriber take up. It's a wonderful start to what will become a long-standing tradition for both our industry and the Association."
Mr Alex Arena, Group Chief Financial Officer of PCCW accepted the Award on behalf of his company.
"We are delighted to receive the award. now Broadband TV is a world first Internet Protocol TV platform -- the first television over IP to be offered commercially anywhere in the world. That means DVD quality picture to the home over our existing broadband network -- which reaches 98 percent of Hong Kong," said Mr Arena. "We put a lot of resources into this to ensure a reliable and secure platform, and we're now reaping the rewards in terms of our superb content line up.
"But we have only just started. In fact November is going to be a busy month for us as we are about to launch a major set of Cantonese programming."

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CASBAA - NEWS

BBC Launches Entertainment Channel for Asia

BBC Worldwide, the commercial consumer arm of the BBC has announced it will be launching an entertainment channel specially developed for Asia. Called BBC Prime, the new channel will go live on December 1, 2004.
BBC Prime has been developed by the team that established channels of the same name for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Headed up by Wayne Dunsford, BBC Worldwide Director of Channels, Europe, Middle East, India & Africa, the team will manage and oversee the channel with the support of BBC Worldwide Asia Pacific's Hong Kong-based team. According to Wayne Dunsford, "BBC Prime is heading for Asia at the right time. The multi-channel household is a powerful growth market in Asia and platforms are looking for high-quality additions to their current line-ups. By offering the best of BBC entertainment, much of it subtitled for major markets, we can meet that demand. BBC Prime has been a channel waiting to happen in Asia."
David Vine, BBC Worldwide Managing Director Asia Pacific, added: "Asian audiences are aware of the BBC as a name that equates to quality. BBC Prime exemplifies this reputation. In addition, the channel will provide a window on British culture, as well as an opportunity for viewers to learn or improve English language understanding in an entertaining way."
BBC Prime was launched in 1995 and in Europe offers subtitles in English, Hebrew, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian and Italian. The channel recently reached a milestone of 20 million subscriber homes. In South Africa, where the channel carries advertising, it is now established as the most watched international channel and over the last financial year posted a 65 per cent increase in advertising revenue.

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CASBAA - NEWS

CNN Launches Headline News in Asia

Turner Broadcast Systems Asia Pacific has announced the introduction of CNN Headline News to the Asia Pacific starting November. CNN Headline News is a targeted service for audiences who have specific interests in American news and information. Based in Atlanta, the service runs every 30 minutes, 24-hours per day.
"The introduction of CNN Headline News to the Asia-Pacific is an important step in the continued growthof CNN, the world's leading news brand," said Steve Marcopoto, president and managing director, Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific. "CNN Headline News offers US-focused news in a fast-paced format and is the perfect complement to the leading global coverage of our flagship channel CNN Intetnational."
Viewers in Thailand will be the first to see CNN Headline News with the network to be carried by P-Southern.

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CORPORATE MOVES

Intelsat Acquires Comsat

Intelsat has announced it has completed its acquisition of the customer contracts and other assets of end-to-end communications services integrator COMSAT General Corporation for approximately US$90 million in cash. The deal, which includes the rights to FCC and other licenses, enhances Intelsat’s competitive position in serving US and NATO users with satellite capacity and managed satellite-based services.
COMSAT General has been providing satellite-centric telecommunications services and equipment for more than 30 years, concentrating on clients with quick-response and high-availability needs. This business generated approximately $156 mn in revenue in 2003.
”Intelsat is a recognized leader in the provision of secure satellite capacity to both commercial and government clients, with a managed services business that has grown dramatically to address their end-to-end needs,” said Conny Kullman, Chief Executive Officer of Intelsat, Ltd. “This acquisition brings us closer to key customers and creates new opportunities to increase the sale of core satellite capacity.”

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PAY TV

Azcar to Consult on SKY NZ Upgrade

Stephen Pumple, President & CEO, AZCAR Technologies Incorporated, has announced that AZCAR has been selected as the consultants to SKY Network Television Ltd in Auckland, NZ for their Broadcast Centre Technology and Network Upgrade project.
“Sky’s project committee closely evaluated the leading Consulting and System Integration companies. AZCAR’s depth and breadth of experience, responsiveness to Sky’s requirements, their commitment to the success of our project and strong client references were key factors in Sky’s decision to select AZCAR as our consulting and integration company,” said Greg Drummond, Sky’s Director of Broadcast Operations.
“This project will encompass the entire SKY Network Television technical operations including sports news, sports and program production, Pay services, Satellite and Terrestrial delivery. Our engineering and integration teams look forward to working closely with Sky’s staff to deliver the project goals and objectives,” added Karl Paulsen, V/P Engineering.
“The AZCAR team is delighted to have been selected to partner with SKY in this important and business sensitive project. SKY is a new and very important customer for AZCAR and we are looking forward to a long-term partner relationship with them. This project further strengthens the expansion of AZCAR’s services in the region and demonstrates our commitment to the Asia Pacific market.” said Stephen Pumple.
Marvin Nolan, Director of Business Development added, "This leading edge project leverages AZCAR’s core engineering and project management capabilities for delivering innovative technical solutions that support business and operational objectives.”

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OUTSIDE BROADCAST

Eagles Have Landed for one80 DIGITALPOST

Hot on the heels of completing Australia’s first High Definition Outside Broadcast for Sun Micro Systems US, one80 DIGITALPOST, Australia’s newest player in the postproduction and outside broadcast industry has won the highly sought after contract to record legendary Rock band “ The Eagles” on the Melbourne leg of their world tour on the 14th, 15th and 17th of November 2004.
This is a huge coup for the fledgling Newcastle company which is part of the SP Telemedia Group, that incorporates NBN Television and junior telco SP Telecommunications.
“There were a number of companies from the UK, Europe and the United States actively bidding for this job”, said managers Graeme Armstrong and Laurence Schuberth. “Our expertise in both High Definition and Outside Broadcasts swayed the US production company to give us the nod”.
The credits of the US producer include the last 21 Grammy Award telecasts as well as being the creator and producer of VH-1 Honors, the acclaimed Diva's series, and tours like Madonna and Christina Aguilera.
The project requirements include 10 High Definition cameras, equipped with HD Fujinon lens, and 12 High Definition videotape machines. Extra HD equipment has been sourced from a variety of suppliers both locally and internationally including TVNZ in New Zealand.
one80 is supplying a crew of 25 technical and operational staff to supplement existing crew travelling on the world tour.
“High Definition is fast becoming the preferred format for content providers, producers and for event coverage,” said Armstrong. “The benefit of covering an event in HD is the future proofing of the content. We are able to provide a High Definition outside broadcast at the cost of a normal digital coverage, making High Definition an attractive format.”

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INSTALLATIONS

Studios 301 Picks SSL for Surround

The Studios 301 Group, which encompasses four prestigious studio complexes in Australia, Germany and Sweden, has installed a Solid State Logic 9000K SuperAnalogue console at its facility in Sydney.
Studios 301 is the largest music recording studio complex in the southern hemisphere with facilities for large scale film scoring and all genres of music. In recent months Studios 301 has been undergoing a major technical upgrade that ties in with the launch of its new digital media division, “301 Interactive”. As part of this programme, 301’s SSL G Plus console was replaced with a new SSL K Series desk, which provides all the capabilities needed for handling the increasing number of surround mix sessions being booked in by 301’s growing list of film and DVD clients.
Commenting on the new SSL console, 301 Special Projects Consultant, Martin Benge, said: “We installed our original SSL G+ console in 1999, when the studio came under the ownership of Dr Tom Misner and was relocated to a new complex in the Sydney suburb of Alexandria. The decision to upgrade to a K Series was taken to give us more channels, thus enabling us to work more effectively with film and DVD surround formats. We needed a console offering integrated 5.1 mixing features and felt that the SSL K series was ideally suited to our needs.”
The installation into the facility’s popular Studio 2 control room was completed on September 16th, 2004, and to date the console has been used on a number of projects including sessions with Jimmy Barnes, Exit Next Left, Jackie Bristow, and Regurgitator.
“SSL has really delivered this time with the K series,” added Benge. “It sounds superb, it has highly intuitive automation, and importantly, the familiar SSL control surface has been retained. The desk can now handle surround audio formats with ease, which is going to help us develop the 301 Interactive business and attract more film and DVD projects to 301.”
His view is backed by Studios 301’s technical director, Stephen Crane, who said: “The 9000K is our third SSL console and has been warmly received by the local recording and film mixing industry. It is the best-designed, best sounding, easiest to use SSL console yet. Sydney based producer Daniel Denholm booked a 12 hour day for mixing in Studio 2 and found the desk so quick and efficient that he had completed his mix ‘effortlessly’ in under five hours.”

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CORPORATE MOVES

SmartAV Allies with Klotz

Klotz Digital has announced a joint sales and marketing agreement with SmartAV, an Australian based manufacturer of audio production consoles. The agreement will permit Klotz Digital to seamlessly integrate SmartAV’s family of production consoles with its VADIS (Variable Audio Distribution Interface System) audio/media platform, offering customers the option to tie SmartAV consoles into any new or existing VADIS system.
To provide this solution Klotz Digital Australia developed a TCP/IP based interface, establishing an open connection protocol between different manufacturers’ hardware.
Klotz Digital’s VADIS platform acts as an engine for SmartAV’s control surfaces. VADIS brings large audio matrix and multiple audio format capability to the SmartAV products. It provides an efficient approach to audio routing, fibre-optic distribution and format conversion, and includes a wide range of DSP functions and machine control. Multiple control locations can share sources, wide area logic control, signal routing, splitting and more. In addition VADIS also permits flexible system designs with remote input and output capabilities that can be connected easily via fibre-optic cabling.
"This is another step along the VADIS strategy of an open audio platform concept. Klotz Digital is providing its customers with access to a select group of high quality third party equipment,” says David Spargo, General Manager of Klotz Digital Australia.
He continues, "again our customers undoubtedly benefit from the unparalleled flexibility our systems provide.”
"We are very excited about the partnership with Klotz Digital,” says Joseph Narai, Managing Director of SmartAV. “It offers us a significant opportunity to work together with a leading and renowned manufacturer of enhanced digital audio/media routing solutions – a necessity for improved workflow in today's evolving production environment.”

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SOCIETY NEWS

SMPTE Announces Awards, Fellows

Pasadena, California - SMPTE has announced the award winners for outstanding achievement in the motion imaging industry.
The Annual Honors and Awards ceremony and reception was held Thursday, October 21 in the Fountain Ballroom at the Westin Hotel, Pasadena.
Sixteen new Fellows were also honored at the SMPTE Honors and Awards Ceremony. A Fellow of the Society is one who has, by proficiency and contributions, attained an outstanding rank among engineers or executives in the motion picture, television or related industries.

For full story and pics, click here.

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INSTALLATIONS

Sky Channel Chooses Talia

Sydney based Sky Channel, the leading broadcaster of Australian thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing events, has purchased Talia Sound and Vision NK Series Routing Switchers as part of its digital infrastructure upgrade. The system was purchased through Australian systems integrator, Quinto Communications.
Sky's International racing service reaches approximately 350 wagering outlets and millions of home viewers in North America and the Caribbean, 500,000 homes and TAB outlets in New Zealand and sites in Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Bali, The Philippines, and the Middle East.
According to Sky Channel’s Chief Engineer, Mr. Casey Kop, "The compact and cost effective Talia NK series routers allow us to switch an incredibly wide range of signals. These include analogue and digital video and audio, plus compressed MPEG program transport streams. We are also able to route both uncompressed serial digital video and DVB-ASI transport streams using a single NK series unit whilst Talia’s NK-IPS Internet Protocol Server allows us to access the routers remotely over an ethernet TCP/IP connection."
Talia NK series routing switchers, are available from Quinto Communications in models with between 16 and 64 inputs and outputs. each switcher has its own IP address enabling full system control either via a local control panel or over the Internet.

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INSTALLATIONS

Sundance Automates Maori TV

Working in conjunction with New Zealand-based Gencom Technology - the integrator tasked with designing and building the station - Maori Television installed Sundance Digital's FastBreak Automation for on-air playlist management. Founded under the Maori Television Service Act 2003, the station claims “breakthrough” status as the first national indigenous free-to-air Maori language channel.
Built and furnished with equipment and technology selected to provide and support a high-quality, cost-effective infrastructure, Maori Television chose a practical, reliable FastBreak Automation solution from Sundance Digital.
“We evaluated all competitive automation systems and FastBreak proved to be the best combination of functionality and value for the money,” said Ray Sanders, Gencom’s CEO. “The customer is happy with the product as well as the support received from Sundance Digital.”
FastBreak Automation is a robust, scaleable and frame-accurate controller of video servers and other station peripherals, such as Maori Television’s Sony IMX VTRs and minidisk. Maori Television’s FastBreak configuration, complete with two Prep/Ingest stations, drives a Grass Valley Profile server, a Quartz SDI 128 X 128 router and Quartz QMC Master control switcher. A Pinnacle Deko CG and a Screen Subtitling Polyscript captioning system also fall under FastBreak's device control.
Currently programs are subtitled either in English or Maori according to the material’s original language, but plans for total English subtitling are underway. The station supports its own original news service entirely in the Maori language. Access to material from mainstream services, including international, is available; however, most content is produced locally and includes news, sports, current affairs, music, lifestyle, entertainment and classics. Maori Television is received by approximately 82% of New Zealanders via UHF frequency and 100% of the country via digital satellite.

Visit www.MaoriTelevision.com

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POST-PRODUCTION

New Scrape with Farscape for Digital Pictures

Digital Pictures Sydney has reprised its involvement with the US sci-fi TV series, Farscape, with the recent delivery of more than 40 vfx shots for much anticipated miniseries Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. The miniseries picks up where the TV series left off when it was cancelled at the end of its fourth season in 2003.
The massive effort made by the Digital Pictures team saw an amazing 40+ shots delieverd in an astonshing 7 weeks - quite an acheivement considering the complexity of the shots, and that the number of layers in most exceeded 100.
Amongst the shots delieverd by Digital Pictures is the coveted "hero" shot - the spectacular final shot of the miniseries.
"It would appear that Farscape has come full circle", says Executive Producer Rob Nicol, "when you consider that the first shot of series 1 was also completed at Digital Pictures (then known as GMD)."
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars aired in the US on October 17.

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DISTRIBUTION

Adimex Takes on AJA Video

AJA Video Inc., a provider of video I/O solutions for post-production, broadcast and content-delivery markets, has announced the appointment of Adimex as the exclusive distributor for AJA's desktop products in Australia and New Zealand.
The AJA Video range includes KONA 2, KONA LS, Io, XENA Windows Media 9 encoders, and miniature converters, including the newly announced HDP SD/HD SDI to DVI converter.
"Adimex will provide sales growth, regional marketing, user seminars, and technical support for AJA Video in Australia and New Zealand, utilizing its network of established video resellers throughout the region," said Nick Rashby, director of sales for AJA Video. "Adimex already demonstrated its value as a partner through its sales success with AJA's IO product. Now we are looking to build an even stronger partnership through this appointment. We welcome Adimex as our new exclusive distributor for desktop products."
Mark Richards, Managing Director of Adimex, concurs. "Adimex has been selling AJA's Io for a year now and the product has been very well received by dealers and customers alike. With the expansion of their product range, we were eager to secure distribution for our region. We see AJA as a very important player and strategic partner in the Mac and PC video market."

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INSTALLATIONS

SkyMaster Antennas for ABC Helicopters

Quinto Communications has announced the purchase of Nucomm SkyMaster antennas by the ABC for use in their helicopters as part of their conversion to DENG (Digital Electronic News Gathering). The SkyMaster is a lightweight multi-element phased array antenna which is steered electronically. This enabled it to provide high gain omni or directional transmission of 2.5MHz signals from a helicopter pod to a fixed ground receive station.
According to Quinto's, Alan McIlwaine, "It combines the latest microcomputer control technology with a rugged but light construction, with an integrated electronic compass, GPS receiver and down-look receive antenna. When in use the system calculates the aircraft speed, the compass the direction of flight and the GPS the aircraft’s position. It then optimises the high gain radiated antenna pattern of the transmitted signal to one or more ground receive points whose location coordinates have been programmed into the GPS receiver by the operator."

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DISTRIBUTION

Future Reality Launches HaiVision

Future Reality has announced it is to represent HaiVision Systems in Australia. HaiVision Systems Inc is a supplier of high quality, mission critical, broadband video communication equipment to telecom carriers, service providers, and video systems integrators worldwide.
Located in Montreal, Canada, HaiVision has a significant history within the broadband video communication industry, and has a large installed base within the core market areas of tele-medicine, security and surveillance, distance education, boardroom video conferencing, operational video communication, and tele-production.
HaiVision delivers high quality, low latency broadband video technologies for the most critical application, making the most efficient use of network resources and exceeding the demands of the most rigorous installations.

For details, visit www.future.com.au

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CORPORATE MOVES

Harris to Acquire Encoda Systems

Harris Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Encoda Systems Holdings, Inc., a leading global supplier of software and service solutions for the broadcast media industry, including television, radio, cable, satellite, and advertising agency customers around the world.
Encoda’s end-to-end workflow solutions include traffic and billing and program-scheduling systems that are broadcast industry standards, and their automation and media asset management solutions are very complementary to Harris’ existing automation business.
Encoda Systems is a privately held company, owned by Thomas H. Lee Partners, Blackstone Capital Partners, Evercore Capital Partners, and others, that resulted from a combination of Enterprise Software, Columbine JDS Systems, and Drake Automation. Today, the company has approximately 700 employees with operations in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Australia. It serves more than 600 customers in 34 countries. Encoda revenue for the 12 months ended June 30, 2004, was $124 million. Harris will acquire Encoda Systems for approximately $340 million in cash, subject to post-closing adjustments, customary closing conditions, and regulatory approvals.
The transaction is expected to close in early November, and the acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Harris earnings in fiscal year 2005 at approximately $0.12 per diluted share. This excludes the write-off of in-process R&D and one-time integration costs, which cannot be determined at this time without unreasonable efforts.
"Encoda Systems is an outstanding strategic fit with Harris’ industry-leading Broadcast Communications business,” said Howard L. Lance, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Harris Corporation. “Encoda’s enterprise software solutions will significantly expand Harris’ existing product offering to the global broadcast media market. Encoda will also give Harris market reach beyond our existing customer base into new cable and satellite markets.
“The Harris-Encoda combination is a solid partnership between two leaders in the broadcast media industry,” said Don Doctor, chairman of Encoda Systems. “It is good news for our customers and good news for our employees. Harris has made a long-term commitment to the broadcast media industry and has the size and resources to insure continuing investments in technology.”

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CORPORATE MOVES

Omnilab Acquires Ambience, Island Films

Australian production, post production and television services group, Omnilab, has announced it has acquired leading Australian production and post production company Ambience Entertainment, and boutique local drama and feature post production facility, Island Films.
Ambience Entertainment established in Sydney in 1989, is one of Australia's leading production houses with a strong national and international reputation.
Commenting on the sale, Ambience Entertainment Managing Director Matthew Street said, "I am delighted that our company is becoming part of the Omnilab Group of companies which are each, like Ambience Entertainment, totally committed to excellence in all aspects of production and post production. As a result of the sale, Ambience Entertainment will have access to a much greater depth of resources and facilities than it did previously."
Omnilab Managing Director, Christopher Mapp said, "I have long been an admirer of the creativity, innovation and production excellence of Ambience Entertainment, it is a complementary and wonderful addition to the Omnilab Group. Their International success in Japan, Southeast Asia and the US has been a credit to their management's vision and we look forward to bringing our strengths to assisting growth in these regions for all our companies"
"Significant headway has already been made in the US by Ambience, with the completion of 3 spots for Toyota. Omnilab's acquisition of Ambience simply strengthens the push for work out of a very competitive market and provides our American clients access to a formidable Australian creative, production and post production team" said Jeff Devlin, Executive Producer Ambience New York.
Omnilab also purchased Ambience Concept formed in September 2003 and headed up by E.P Michael Boughen. Michael Boughen who still remains a shareholder of Ambience Concept said of the sale "Omnilab's commitment to production and their strong positioning within the broadcast arena will significantly strengthen the opportunities of our production ventures."
"While Ambience Entertainment will have complete access to all of the resources of the Omnilab Group, they will continue to operate as a separate business at their existing premises under the very capable leadership of Matthew Street and David Webster. The combined creative resources of Omnilab and Ambience will enable our award winning creative and production teams to set the bar even higher across all companies," Mr Mapp said.
In operation since 1994 and catering almost exclusively to the Australian local drama and feature post industry, Island Films credits include Rabbit Proof Fence and Looking for Ali Brandi, as well as the TEN TV drama series White Collar Blue and mini series Jessica.
Simon Dibbs, Island Films manager has worked in the Sydney post facilities sector for over 25 years and brings to the Omnilab Group a wealth of experience and long list of "A" grade clientele.
"The move with the Omnilab Group is designed to further develop TV drama and feature post production for both companies and will cater well to those producers who are interested in the increasing trend of looking for a package deal ... a one stop shop if you like" said Simon Dibbs.
Omnilab Group Managing Director, Christopher Mapp commenting on the acquisition of Island Films said " Island Films has built a reputation over the years as supplying 'A' grade post production teemed with a unique, relaxed atmosphere in a beautiful Sydney setting. This successful mix has been appealing to many of Australia's best producers, directors and editors."
"Island Films adds another dimension to the Omnilab Group which is a part of our ongoing strategy. We will continue to look for opportunities in the market place that add strength and capability to the services we already supply to our clients across all screen sizes" concluded Christopher Mapp.

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CORPORATE MOVES

Another Record Year for TVNZ

Television New Zealand’s first full year of operation under the Television New Zealand Act 2003 and TVNZ Charter has been marked by programming and financial success. Releasing the fiscal year 2004 Annual Report, TVNZ Chairman Craig Boyce said the year has been one of intense activity.
“The company has turned in another outstanding performance. We have worked hard to refine our focus as New Zealand’s public broadcaster and are exceeding the expectations of our most demanding audience – the viewing public who are also our shareholders.”
TVNZ’s Net Operating Surplus before non-recurring expenses, interest and tax, was $53.3 million, an increase of $3.3 million on the previous year.
“The increased surplus is particularly pleasing given it only includes six months contribution from the Transmission Business. This has now been successfully separated into a new SOE, Transmission Holdings Ltd,” said Craig Boyce.
“The Television side of our business has performed outstandingly well, recording a 5.6 percent increase in revenue to $420.2 million and a 39 percent increase in operating surplus to $40.9 million. This was driven by another record year for advertising revenue, which increased by 10 percent, or $30.2 million, to a total of $335 million.”
The Company Net Surplus for the year was $28.2 million and a final dividend of $37.6 million has been declared.
Mr Boyce said there is evidence of TVNZ’s progress across the entire organisation.
“The most important feature of the year has been the maturing of our commitment to position TVNZ as the ‘Home Place’ for all New Zealanders. We have instituted significant change in many areas of the company to reshape TVNZ as a true public broadcaster.”
“For example we have increased resources in News and Current Affairs and are breaking more stories and are seeing improving ratings in key areas as a result.”
“Both TV One and TV 2 have screened many local programmes that have been critical and popular successes. Programmes such as the Rugby World Cup, the Insiders Guide to Happiness, NZ Idol, arts and music documentaries, Shortland Street, Marae, Flipside, Tangata Pasifika, Eating Media Lunch and PET Detectives allow New Zealanders to see themselves on screen.”
“We’re going to work even harder to bring New Zealand to the screen. Already more than 50 percent of programmes of TV One are New Zealand made, and we aspire to achieve 50 percent across the business, and we are working in a more focused way with the production industry in order to meet this target.”
Other changes during the year included the separation of BCL and TVNZ Australia from the business and the winding down of TVNZ Satellite Services. One off expenses from the closure of TVNZ Satellite Services cost $8.6 million.

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PRODUCTION

GPN Signs Filmsmiths Australia

Global Production Network (GPN), the US-based agency representing a worldwide roster of production service companies, has inked an exclusive US representation deal this week with Aussie filmmaker Jane Smith’s international production service company Filmsmiths Australia, bringing the Sydney-based house a Pacific pond-step closer to the US film and television production market.
Smith is a well-respected and long time industry “player” in the Australian arena. After years of exec producing for Macgowan Films, Smith bought out its commercial division and launched her own shop, Filmsmiths Australia, in 2003. Her company works with the top casting agents, crews, location scouts and postproduction facilities in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Filmsmiths Australia has facilitated productions for clients with products ranging from Coca Cola, Monsanto and Kraft, to PBS and AT&T. Ogilvy and Mather NY, Fallon, Blue Worldwide NY and BBDO NY are just a few of the agencies utilising the company’s services. Production companies such as Villains, Independent Media, Tate and Partners, Food Chain Films and Tombo Films LA have also worked with Filmsmiths Australia.
“Filmsmiths is an invaluable production resource when filming ‘Down Under’ says GPN founder/prexy Harry Tracosas, who first worked with Smith at Macgowan and now with Filmsmiths. “Its production is flawless and every one of our clients has nothing but praise for the company’s capabilities.”

Visit www.globalproductionnetwork.com

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INTERACTIVE TV

OpenTV and Austar Extend License Agreement

OpenTV Corp. and subscription television provider Austar have signed a network license agreement allowing OpenTV to continue to supply its broad range of interactive television applications and products, and in addition, will develop and license a suite of broadcast associated applications.
The agreement was announced by James A. (Jim) Chiddix, OpenTV's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and John Porter, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Austar.
The deal extends OpenTV's core license agreement with Austar for five years, and includes the delivery of up to six enhanced broadcast applications for Sports Active, the company's latest offering in its lineup of interactive services. OpenTV and Austar have also agreed to deploy an updated interactive weather application in association with The Weather Channel that will offer significantly increased information and functionality. The new iTV services will provide Austar's subscribers with greater control over how they view the programming, allowing them to watch what they want, when they want, and eschewing traditional linear television.

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INSTALLATIONS

Sky Channel Monitors with JVC

Australian horse racing broadcaster Sky Channel has purchased and installed over 50 JVC Pro TM-A101G ten inch (25cm) Status and TM-H1950CGE nineteen inch (48cm) Grade 2 monitors in the Master Control Room, presentation suite and control rooms at its Frenchs Forest studios in Sydney, now choosing to make JVC monitors the standard for future purchases.
The monitors were bought and installed over a six-month period and after a comprehensive evaluation of all competitive monitors, their functionality and price. The result of the evaluation was a change in policy by Sky Channel and a move away from their current monitor supplier to JVC.
Sky Channel Assistant Chief Engineer Mark Downes commented, “We have a very strict standardisation policy here at Sky Channel. Once we have decided on a particular product and manufacturer you need a very strong reason to change it. In assessing the monitors for all the control rooms we looked at all the big brands and found JVC to be better quality and far better value for money.
"In the ten inch monitors the JVC is a terrific unit having extra features than its competitors such as being 16:9 switchable which means, in the future, we can have a 16:9 cont