In the five months since The Broadcast Bridge published Frank Beacham’s article discussing Using the iPhone for Professional Video there have been many world events that offered ideal opportunities to cover events with smartphones rather than traditional ENG camcorders. Opportunities where the camera or camera/newscaster would have been far safer shooting with a cellphone.
Apple’s iPhone has been with us for ten years now and the onboard cameras for each generation have gotten incrementally better. Some broadcasters began using iPhones to shoot video for television news several years ago. However, with the latest generation, the image quality has gotten so good that the all-iPhone television news operation now makes a lot of economic sense.
In the world of video production, change in data storage comes so fast it is often out of sight, out of mind. For some applications, we have switched in the past few years from hard drives to flash memory. Each new model of gear we buy — whether cameras or editing — accommodates faster formats and generates ever larger files. Where is storage heading?
Live TV is a like a magic act. It works best when the audience can’t see what’s really happening.
With each new technology transition—from SD to HD to 4K— remote production truck companies in the U.S. have been at the forefront, providing clients with the latest production tools to expand their production capabilities and make live sports and entertainment telecasts the best they can be.
For the remote powering of cameras, lights and other production peripherals the key challenge has always been the need for ever-faster battery charging times.
The waitress in the New York City coffee shop placed her brand new $6,000-plus camcorder on the table where I had been expecting my breakfast.
Spinning disk (HDD) and flash storage (SSD) drives are nearly the same cost these days, so it’s no surprise that broadcasters are turning increasingly to SSDs for long-term storage of our most critical media files. But did you know that SSDs and camera memory cards should be powered up from time to time, to maintain a high writing speed and reliable data storage?