There have been increasing experiments with bringing sports action to the home in Virtual Reality 3D. Not only does this add an extra dimension to the excitement, but it highlights the battle between the internet and traditional OTA delivery of entertainment.
The camera viewfinder is an essential tool to compose a shot and, in many cases, to focus. Early film cameras used a separate viewfinder, but the invention of the reflex mirror shutter by ARRI in 1937 allowed the operator a parallax-free view through the taking lens. Television cameras developed along a different route, with an electronic viewfinder (EVF) displaying the video output of the camera. Those early EVFs were monochrome CRTs.
Since the beginning of pro audio, connoisseurs of classic microphones have invested in rare, aging instruments that are said to bring a certain magical quality to the sound. Since many of these vintage mics are quite old, they incur an increasingly high level of costly maintenance. Most of the rest of us are priced out of this collector’s domain.
Noise is found in all imaging systems, but it becomes particularly challenging in low light. High ISO can be used to increase brightness, but it also amplifies noise. Post-processing can be applied, but it does not resolve the low signal-to-noise ratio due to low photon counts. Is artificial intelligence the answer to clean low-light images?
Despite all the fuss about 4K UHD television, producers of live sports and entertainment productions in the U.S. are finding that a 1080p at 59.94 fps HD signal delivered with high dynamic range (HDR) is more pleasing to the consumer’s eye. When compared to a 4K SDR picture, HD HDR images consume less bandwidth, are less expensive to produce and generally include darker blacks, brighter highlights, and richer, more vivid color. What’s not to like?
Automated sports production could be the next big thing in sports broadcasting. Combined with OTT distribution, it could open the flood gates for around 200 million sporting events that are not broadcasted due to limited resources. To hit mainstream adoption, automated production technology needs to meet the quality thresholds spectators expect.
_460_259_70.jpg "Insight TV is one of the few but growing number of UHD channels.")
UHD rollout has been average rather than stellar to date. Matthew Goldman, Senior Vice President, Technology, Media Solutions, Ericsson provides an insightful explanation about why this might be and what issues might tip the scale.
Today, as video crews get smaller and are often only one-person, audio inevitably suffers. Many times no one even monitors sound on a location shoot. For proof of this, watch any local newscast and listen to the sound. Of course, bad sound is usually preventable if the videographer takes minimum steps to prevent it.
