With the FCC’s upcoming auctions of broadcast spectrum, wireless microphones not only face technology challenges, but political ones as well over the next few years.
Slow motion was originally a staple of motion picture production. It was a simple process — each film frame was captured at a speed much faster than it was played back. When replayed at the normal speed of 24 frames per second, time appeared to be moving more slowly.
Most audio professionals over 50 years old have lived through an era of extraordinary change. They began their careers using precision hardware-based sonic tools designed to capture and process sound in large studios with real musical instruments. Now, they can work almost anywhere on a portable computer with low-cost workstations and software plug-ins that can emulate the greatest audio technology ever invented.
In Part 2 of this series on Compression Technology we learned how Motion Vectors are generated when motion estimation is employed as the first step of creating P-frames and B-frames. In Part 3 we’ll learn how these motion vectors are used to generate Predicted Frames.
TV 2 Norway airs the program Sommertid (Summer time)as a key part of the summer schedule. This live 1-hour program runs 4 days a week for 9 weeks during the summer months. Traditionally the TV 2 Sommertid program was shot on the roof of the TV 2 facility house. For 2014, TV 2 decided it would be more dramatic and exciting if the backdrop were the bustling Oslo harbour, marine docks and restaurant area of Oslo. To facilitate this, the production set is situated on a floating pier on which local and international talent are interviewed and interweaved with live musical segments.Normally this would necessitate using an OB truck. However, OB trucks are relatively expensive and the floating- pier location meant that the OB truck would have to be at least 300 meters from the cameras, adding a great deal of cabling leading to higher complexity and set-up and running costs. Norwia were able to provide a fiber solution to connect the remote at Oslo harbor with the studio 5km away at TV2 TV centre.
These days, audio and video recordings can be made by almost anyone. From smartphones to sophisticated studios and sound stages, large amounts of media content are created daily. And as our world becomes increasingly and audibly congested, the rate of ruined recordings is rising in tandem. Human error, unexpected electrical or mechanical interference and unwelcome intrusions from aircrafts, cell phones, pets, people and Mother Nature regularly impact even the most seasoned professional. Many times, it just isn’t possible to record the take over again, particularly when editing coverage of a live event, or working to meet budgets and deadlines.
Real-time closed captioning gives viewers who need it instantaneous access to live news, sports and entertainment broadcasts. For viewers to see captions within two to three seconds of the words being spoken on air, the process has historically relied on operators trained to write at speeds of over 225 words per minute. Since it was originally developed in 1982 however, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) never directly addressed quality issues in captioning.
Part 1 of this article covered multiple aspects of compression technology: macroblocks, DCT, quantization, and lossless compression. Part 2 will focus on motion estimation for P- and B-frames—after a review of lossless data compacting. Part 3 (next month) will detail the critical role of Predicted frames and Difference frames in maintaining image quality.
