FEED Autumn 2021 Web

Exploring the future of media technology

JUST ONE DAMNED VIRUS AFTER ANOTHER

EDITORIAL EDITOR Neal Romanek +44 (0) 1223 492246 nealromanek@bright-publishing.com

n 2 March 1988, Mac users were hit by a computer virus that had been quietly replicating itself across the expanding global Mac community. Every infected machine simultaneously showed

issue of FEED , we ask industry experts how media businesses should protect themselves from the cyberthreats which are – literally – all around us. And we learn that the biggest security risk is human nature. The danger is huge, but some of the solutions are simple. On a more cheerful note, we also examine a new method of using solar energy and cloud computing to create sustainable, community-based networks. We visit virtual set tech and look at the increasing affordability of top-end graphics systems. And we grade how video eLearning has performed during lockdown. Of course, we also have Xtreme – our magazine-in-a-magazine, covering the latest in broadcasting sports and pro gaming. It includes an in-depth examination of how Tokyo 2020 finally crossed the finish line, and why ingenious mobile apps are helping sports fans play along at home.

DIGITAL AND FEATURES WRITER Verity Butler

CHIEF SUB EDITOR Alex Bell

SUB EDITORS Elisha Young, Matthew Winney, Harriet Williams CONTRIBUTORS Michael Burns, Ann-Marie Corvin, David Davies, Nicole Kobie and Adrian Pennington ADVERTISING ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Matt Snow +44 (0) 7918 133 323 mattsnow@bright-publishing.com DESIGN DESIGNER AND AD PRODUCTION Man-Wai Wong

the message: “RICHARD BRANDOW, publisher of MacMag , and its entire staff would like to take this opportunity to convey their UNIVERSAL MESSAGE OF PEACE to all Macintosh users around the world”, then deleted itself. The MacMag virus wasn’t the first computer example by a long shot (legendary mathematician and super-genius John von Neumann introduced the basic principles of self-replicating machines in the 1940s), but viruses today are just one of a whole arsenal of tools that can be used to steal data, shut down businesses and even kill people (healthcare is a major target). In this

DESIGNER Emma Di’Iuorio and Emily Lancaster

DESIGN MANAGER Alan Gray

DESIGN DIRECTOR Andy Jennings PUBLISHING MANAGING DIRECTORS Andy Brogden & Matt Pluck

NEAL ROMANEK, EDITOR

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This month’s cover illustration was created by Man-Wai Wong at Bright Publishing

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FEED:SHOW Our rundown of the latest in media tech news and product releases Meet the team Say hi to FEED designer Man-Wai Wong! What grade should we give to video eLearning in a time of Covid? Future Shock A new theatre production uses AR and lockdown to create a global sensation Virtual set tech is becoming more powerful – and more accessible Genius Interview Howard Homonoff talks about the history of broadcast – and where it’s going

24 Solutions

46 The Live Life

18 Tessian 30 CyberEDU 114 VOD Factory

128 Medialyzer 138 Dramatify 148 Musical Blockchain

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT FROM OUR PARTNERS

129 AJA 96 Blackmagic Design 115 Dalet 98 Dejero

88 EVS 42 Grass Valley 111 Imagine Communications 63 Lawo

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118

Sports reporter Tech highlights from the world of sports broadcast

106

80 Tokyo 2020 at last!

The Olympics made it to the finish line. This year’s Games was built for a new audience The last time the Summer Olympics was in Japan, it was a Games of media milestones Playing along with the players There is a boom in second-screen content – and fans are loving it

100 Just the Numbers

GSMA’s report on mobile ownership shows that digital needs more democracy

86 Remembering Tokyo 1964

106 VOD Voices

New online platforms are bringing bars to the bedroom

118 Cybersecurity Masterclass

Our experts explain how to protect your business from cyberattack in an increasingly risky world The Gaia-X project is creating a new data system designed by Europeans, available to everybody

136 Cloud World – Gaia-X

142 Cloud World – Photovoltaic

Researchers in Spain are using household solar power to fuel local cloud networks

150 Industry Inventory

Our friends share their cybersecurity horror stories and best practices

158 Over the Top

Editor Neal Romanek explains why we should take cybersecurity seriously

52 On-Hertz 76 Panasonic 75 Red Bee 146 Ross Video

20 Sony 127 Synamedia 104 Telstra

116 TSL Products 112 Verimatrix 32 Vizrt

130 VSN 66 Zero Density 140 Zixi

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FEED:SHOW is our tech exhibition in a magazine. Check out the newest gear, software and updates serving the world of video workflow and distribution

Words by Verity Butler

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There have been so many announcements over the past few months, it’s tough to keep up. Stay in the know, with the latest from top industry vendors – and more! TECHNOLOGY& DEPLOYMENTS

A NEW ENTERPRISE

Media and entertainment solutions provider, Amino, is launching the Amino Enterprise product line. The new portfolio will feature the Amino H200 media player, Enterprise Software Development Kit (SDK) and Amino Engage SaaS platform. The solutions have been deployed in multiple environments, including corporate, education, finance, government, hospitality, military, retail and venues. “We have been the supplier of leading media players for the enterprise sector for over two

decades, and the launch of our powerful new solutions keeps us there,” says Amino CEO Donald McGarva. “Our devices have always enjoyed a reputation for amazing reliability – but we now have

capabilities for low latency and 4K content.” The Amino H200 media player has been available for Amino’s channel partners in EMEA, the Americas and APAC since July 2021.

ON THE RIGHT WAVELENGTH

Amazon Web Services has announced the availability of AWS Wavelength on the Vodafone 4G/5G networks. Customers can now use low- latency capabilties at the edge of 5G networks with the same AWS, APIs, tools and functionality currently in operation – all whilst connecting to the rest of their apps and cloud services. “AWS is excited to collaborate with Vodafone to give developers full, direct access to AWS cloud services in any region on the

Vodafone 4G/5G network,” explains AWS general manager George Elissaios. AWS Wavelength allows developers to deploy their apps to AWS Wavelength Zones, so that app traffic only needs to travel from the device to the cell tower – within the zone. “The commercial availability of Multi-access Edge Compute services provides access to new cloud services,” concludes cloud and security director of Vodafone Vatsa Kalyanasundaram.

BRAINSTORMING IDEAS

Brainstorm has made moves to simplify real-time AR-VR events, with the launch of Edison Pro. It transforms live presentations or conferences into fully immersive experiences. The template-based tool allows users to enhance speech and storytelling, with no need for previous experience in graphics, image or 3D object creation. “By coupling advanced technology with smooth operation, Edison Pro helps users bring their presentations to a whole new level,” states Brainstorm CEO Ricardo Montesa. All that is needed to start is a Powerpoint file or PDF. By using drag-and-drop operation, Edison can truly be used by anyone and is also fully compatible with Unreal Engine – allowing for photorealistic scenes to be used as 3D backgrounds.

BETTER DELIVERY FOR SWEDISH TV

Video delivery provider, Appear, announced that Swedish telecoms operator, Sappa, has deployed its technology to broadcast live TV to subscribers across Sweden. Being one of Sweden’s largest telecoms operators, Sappa provides services for over 400,000 households. “We selected Appear because it is a partner that can support our needs

today, and in the future,” says Hasse Svensson, AB Sappa CEO. Sappa utilised Appear ’s X and XC platforms to support live video TV and OTT service, Sappa Play. It uses the X platform for encoding, transcoding and scrambling to ensure reliability. In turn, it uses the XC platform for analogue and QAM modulators – to guarantee efficient use of Sappa’s bandwidth.

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Telestream has released ScreenFlow 10, the latest version of the company’s video editing and recording software for the Mac. Using ScreenFlow 10, users are now able to record using multiple cameras, microphones, screens – including iPhone and iPad screens simultaneously. Starting at $149, the tenth version of the software features a new integrated title library, enhanced colour effect presets, an automatic background remover, support for Apple Silicon hardware and an archive storage feature. “We’ve really raised the bar in screen capture and editing again with ScreenFlow 10,” comments SVP of marketing at Telestream, Scott Murray. UPDATING SCREENFLOW

BUILDING IN GENLOCK

Artel Video Systems has introduced a built-in genlock synchronisation functionality for the SMART Media Delivery Platform, using its DigiLink and InfinityLink system. “We’re always working to increase operational and functional simplicity for our customers, and this addition is a great example of this,” says VP of product management Rafael Fonseca. By enabling a SMART JPEG-2000 decoder (in order to accept a reference SDI input and aligning video signals), the new feature supports frame synchronisation of incoming video sources to a local timing source – without need for an external frame-sync device.

“For many users, it’s the only tool they need. ScreenFlow 10 goes far beyond what competing applications can do – and does so with ease.” ScreenFlow 10 is optimised to streamline content creation – and features up to 250% smaller camera recordings, with up to 75% less CPU usage during camera recording.

SLOW-MO DEVELOPMENTS

KEEP UP WITH CONTENT TRENDS

XtraMotion has been unveiled by EVS – an on-demand cloud- based service that uses AI to transform video content into slow-motion replays. Developed to help enhance viewing experience when it comes to broadcasters’ slow- motion capabilities, the service enables slow-motion on almost every camera angle, as the high frame rate is created on-demand, rather than natively. “The main driver behind XtraMotion is very simple: to generate great-looking super slow-motion pictures with very short time to air,” comments EVS solutions manager Christophe Messa. Native slow-motion sources cannot usually be deployed in every environment. Most point- of-view cameras can’t produce slow-motion video – and the full approach of adding slow-motion capture can come with large costs.

Iron Mountain Entertainment Services (IMES) has launched Smart Vault, a media asset management solution for IMES’ storage services, that provides broadcasters, production companies, brands and sports rights holders with a solution for content management, storage and archiving. SMART STORAGE SOLUTIONS A new solution has been unveiled by Grass Valley, entitled the Playout Xpress. It allows playout customers to quickly adapt to changing audience trends, rapidly originating content and accessing more pop-up feeds and social media. “In today’s dynamically shifting media market, customers need to engage with global audiences that can no longer be reached through one or two platforms,” describes senior commercial director Karl Mehring.

“Playout is crucial in enabling customers to spin services up and down quickly in the most cost-efficient way.” An onsite, pre-commissioned system, Playout Xpress allows users to define their specific broadcasting requirements. “Our portfolio of playout solutions is designed to support everything from high density, enterprise-level applications to cloud-native systems, meeting the needs of temporary pop-up channels. We’re excited to launch Playout Xpress,” says Mehring.

Smart Vault enables easy access to content, providing quick visibility to large volumes of media. The solution possesses AI/ML capabilities, and additional functionality allows users to share media and create workflows for media production, in turn increasing efficiency within the chain.

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A SOLUTION FOR GREENER VIDEO

Over the past year, there has been a spike in popularity surrounding the elevation of audio systems to production- level quality. This has been emphasised by the news that content cloud service, Box, is partnering with Dolby, to create Dolby.io. The aim of the integration is to achieve this demand for a higher level of audio, purely from uploading a file to Box. This comes as Box revealed that it had seen a 50% growth in audio files during the last 18 months, stemming from growth in audio based social media, such as podcasts and TikTok. Dolby.io endeavours to enable businesses to enhance interactions, to deliver premium communications and audio- visual experiences through their apps and services. INTEGRATING AUDIO

Ateme has launched its new end-to- end solution that is compatible with broadcast, cable TV, DTH, IPTV and OTT – called Green Delivery. The aim is to work with operators of these platforms to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of their video delivery, helping companies achieve their multiple sustainability targets. “There is growing industry recognition of the importance of embracing environmental goals to contribute to reducing climate change,” describes Ateme COO Joseph Soueidi. Using multiple carbon-efficient components, the solution optimises

hardware requirements, bandwidth usage and energy consumption. This involves a higher density of compression, reductions in packaging and more efficient multiplexing. It also includes an elastic CDN to eliminate the need to build over-capacity. “Several operators across the globe have already seen significant improvements by using Green Delivery, with energy consumption being reduced by 66% compared to the 2018 market average,” Soueidi continues. “With the official launch, we look forward to helping operators reach their sustainability goals, while reducing costs.”

TIME TO WATCH PARTY!

COMMITTING TO THE CLOUD

Flowplayer has partnered with Sceenic on Flowplayer Fanzone, a video player and watch together SDK for co-watching. During the pandemic, the desire to connect with others while being at home has been stronger than ever. Nielsen data found that co-watching makes up 34% of streaming behaviour – meaning one-in-three streamers are actively watching with others. “At Flowplayer, we’re proud to have partnered with Sceenic to bring you the first to market co-watching software solution, that’s ready to be deployed inside OTT and video platforms,” states James Devlin, SVP global sales and marketing. Key features include: inviting friends and family to private rooms to watch content together, creating watch parties so users can meet with others without a private invitation and scheduling watch together events.

National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) has bought 12 Phabrix SxE 3G/HD/SD generation, analysis and monitoring devices. The Phabrix SxEs were brought in to replace NBT’s legacy SD test and measurement equipment. “We are highly impressed with the functionality, portability and value for A NEW TEST FOR THAI TV TVU Networks has partnered up with Blackbird, combining real-time editing tools with the TVU Producer platform – simplifying camera to cloud to consumer workflows. “The integration of Blackbird brings essential editing tools directly into the TVU ecosystem, which can save editors valuable time while producing packages during live events,” adds director of sports, entertainment and strategic commitment to solidify its cloud- based solutions. Without leaving its ecosystem, sports productions have instant access to multiple ISO recordings, making it more efficient to edit highlight reels or share on social media. The same could be applied to other broadcasting instances, such as political debates and concerts. partnerships Greg Doggett. The move reinforces TVU’s

IN VENA VERITAS

In May, BT Media and Broadcast announced the launch of Vena, a software-based network that aims to simplify the ways in which media companies produce and distribute content. BT director of media & broadcast Faisal Mahomed commented: “Customer expectations are increasing, while behaviour is shifting to on-demand content. Broadcasters and media companies need to adapt for these forms of consumption.” Offering on-demand broadcast capabilities, Vena supports multiple video and data signals to deliver needs across live and streaming functionalities. Compatible with existing systems and supply chains, it allows users to add automation and create single-pane snapshots of network performance. Targeted at multiple organisation types, Vena’s operating system is cloud-based – ensuring content creation and distribution across the UK.

money the Phabrix SxE instruments offer,” says director of engineering support at NBT, Kachan Kannika. Offering SMPTE compliance testing

of 350 formats, the SxE devices include advanced SDI physical layer analysis.

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FEELING BOXY

Ncam’s Mk2 connection box is now available. It’s a silent production device that enables filmmakers and broadcasters to link Ncam’s camera tracking bar to any compatible server – both locally and remotely. The key element is that it eliminates the need to attach a server directly to the camera Ncam equipment has been used on big names, such as the box-office hit The Witches , and the Fortnite World Cup . Integrated with the Unreal Engine, the Ncam Reality system also includes the Mk2 camera bar, Mk2 server and Ncam Reality software. All of these work together, to blend live action and CG content in indoor and outdoor environments. The new Mk2 connection box comes armed with the Intel Atom chipset and has the onboard processing ability to support third-party hardware – including smart lens and follow focus systems. GETTING IN THE ZONE A new digital engagement platform called BaM Zone has been launched by IABM. It has been created as a place for IABM members, partners, stakeholders and subscribers to meet and exchange ideas and technologies. The BaM Zone also offers private meeting rooms for participants and focus groups to meet – or host their own events. “Business models are rapidly changing to continuous engagement,” says IABM CEO Peter White. IABM emphasise that although the industry has missed face- to-face contact, it has adopted digital communications as a partial ‘workaround.’ As a result, IABM created events such as BaM Live. The BaM Zone builds on this, extending the collaborative element of these events into an ‘always on’ interactive platform, in order to achieve continuous engagement.

EASY STREAMING CHANNEL CREATION

Frame.io has been updated to Frame. io 3.7.1. This new update features Adobe integration extensions, alongside other performance improvements. Frame.io 3.7.1 includes the redesigned Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects extensions, with intuitive user interfaces – particularly ideal for editors and motion graphics artists. On top of this, the navigation controls have been moved from the lower part of the screen to the top. CEO Emery Wells says: “The updated Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects YOU’VE BEEN FRAMED! Singular.live was recently selected as the first cloud-based graphic platform to be used by ITV. Its graphics were a part of ITV Wales’ coverage of the Welsh Assembly elections last May, which required fast, accurate and up-to-date data. Singular ’s new feature, Data Streams, was used – built for high frequency, high volume and low-latency data. “The building, linking and updating of the custom overlays worked with ease, allowing for a more time-efficient and stress-free production,” comments Keith Jones, technical support engineer for ITV Wales. “Overlay composition build and data delivery was much easier than using traditional systems. Being an HTML5 cloud-based solution, Singular provided easy access to the graphics.” The ITV team used SVG maps of the region to display how the electorate voted – one of the primary visualisations in any election broadcast. ITV Wales were then able to manipulate these maps using composition scripts within Singular, isolating any area with the relevant data. This was constantly updated, using the data stream workflow. Quickchannel has announced the launch of its platform WebRTC. With the aim of providing a simpler way to deliver professional streaming, it allows companies to brand their own player, have dual streams and offer engagement tools – including polling and moderated chats. Quickchannel CEO Viktor Underwood emphasises that the development of the platform was catalysed by the rapid evolution of remote production technology.

“Now that businesses are embracing remote working, customers are going to rely on video communication and live virtual events – which is why streaming from the browser is essential for both internal and external company communication.” Using the platform, any conference room with USB video systems for Zoom or Teams can be turned into a webinar studio by simply connecting the camera to Quickchannel.

extensions dramatically improve the way editors and artists work with Frame.io.” Switching between projects and teams has been simplified, file path breadcrumbs have also been added, and the download button now lets you import directly into Premiere Pro – or download for later review.

ITV SINGLES OUT A SOLUTION MANAGE YOUR STREAMS IN THE CLOUD

Magewell has unveiled Magewell Cloud, a new multi-device management software that provides centralised configuration and control of multiple IP encoders and decoders. It also offers stream management features, including protocol conversion and SRT gateway functionality. “While Magewell streaming and IP conversion solutions all have their own intuitive user interfaces, customers with multiple Magewell devices, or systems supporting Magewell solutions – across several end-user installations – may wish to manage them all remotely from a single dashboard,” states VP of engineering James Liu.

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AUGMENTED REALITY BASKETBALL

For the Europeleague basketball finals in May,

for a more basic approach. However, the collaborating companies realised that using Disguise’s AR workflow, they could produce something more technically ambitious. “I haven’t seen a show with such a big variety of assets that worked so seamlessly,” comments the 3D designer for the show, Lorenzo De Pascalis. The team mapped the venue and its seven LED screens. With Disguise’s software, they were able to plan the show and pre-visualise every aspect.

Filmmaster Events reached out to creative studio Ombra, to help create an explosive pre-game countdown. In turn, the team at Ombra relied on the Disguise augmented reality workflow, powered by three gx 2c media servers, to liven up the event and deliver a sense of excitement in the build-up to the game. The aim was to build an AR broadcast that captured

various elements of basketball and Euroleague culture, represented in each number

of the ten-part countdown before the game. Initially, the companies were going to aim

INTRODUCING CINE 13

WHAT’S IN STORE?

Cine 13, SmallHD’s 4K 13in monitor has recently launched, featuring a low-profile design and pixel-dense display. “Cine 13 is a major upgrade,” states CS Cine product manager David Bredbury. “With upgraded contrast ratio, resolution, portability, brightness and colour reproduction, Cine 13 is a versatile powerhouse.” With HD and 4K video, the new monitor has over 1500 nits of brightness and four independent 12G-SDI inputs and outputs. It also features a dovetail mounting rail for battery plate or accessory, as well

New enhancements were unveiled for Spectra Logic’s StorCycle, its storage lifecycle software that aims to help companies with exponential data growth – by providing a better understanding of their technologies. It achieves this by migrating data to free up primary storage, which in turn protects against ransomware attacks and enables disaster recovery copies of data. StorCycle 3.5 allows tiering and protection of cloud data, as well as boosted metadata searchability. As many M&E organisations have shifted to more cloud- centric remote workflows, they are approaching their entire infrastructures differently – which is where StorCycle aims to lend a hand.

as a removable bottom cheese rail for additional flexibility for mounting. It has an aluminium unibody chassis weighing 6.8lb, and possesses SmallHD’s PageOS 4 tools, including colour pipe rendering and Pomfort livegrade integrations.

KEEPING TALLY

ACCESS TO QUALITY

TallyMan by TSL Products has had an update – including the release of a redundancy package to streamline and ease the ongoing pressures of live production. The package adds protection from unforeseen events, with auto-failover during operation and manual failover for system maintenance. The new

“The new redundancy package provides TallyMan customers with an additional layer of protection from unforeseen events,” says director of products and technology at TSL, Mark Davies. “With a simple-to- operate control panel, this system update provides a seamless experience for broadcasters seeking reliable

Codemill’s content verification application, Accurate.Video Validate, has been upgraded to integrate directly with SDVI Rally Access. A web-native cloud solution, Validate works to achieve high video quality, metadata, audio and subtitles. It also allows broadcasters to monitor changes in quality before delivery. “Rally Access outs time-based metadata tools directly within the viewing/editing application used by operators – maximising their output without additional overhead,” comments Codemill head of R&D Mattias Ahlström. Using visualisation and content validation, the solution’s integration with Rally Access makes QC and compliance more efficient than ever for media organisations.

software also allows users virtual re-entries – in turn allowing the customer to extend the investment of their routers.

and consistent system operations – as well as

uninterrupted performance during times of maintenance.”

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New Blackmagic Studio Camera! The ultimate live production camera in a revolutionary all-in-one design!

Powerful Broadcast Connections Blackmagic Studio Cameras have lots of connections for connecting to both consumer and broadcast equipment. All models feature HDMI with tally, camera control and record trigger, so are perfect for ATEM Mini switchers! The advanced Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pro model is designed for broadcast workflows so has 12G-SDI, 10GBASE-T Ethernet, talkback and balanced XLR audio inputs. USB Expansion Port for Accessories The Blackmagic Studio Camera features a high speed USB-C expansion port that allows you to record to external disks or connect accessories. Plug in an external USB flash disk and the camera can record high quality 12-bit Blackmagic RAW files for later editing and color correction. Plus the files are small and fast, so editing responsiveness is incredible!

Introducing the world’s most advanced self contained studio camera! Blackmagic Studio Cameras have the same features as large studio cameras, miniaturized into a single compact and portable design. Advanced features include talkback, tally, camera control, built in color corrector, Blackmagic RAW recording to USB disks and much more! You can even add a focus and zoom demand for lens control! Revolutionary Studio Camera Design The distinctive Blackmagic Studio Camera has the benef its of a large studio camera because it’s a combination of camera and viewf inder all in a single compact design. The camera is designed for live production so it’s easy to track and frame shots with its large 7" viewfinder. The touchscreen has menus for camera settings, and knobs for brightness, contrast and focus peaking. Get Cinematic Images in Live Production! The amazing 4K sensor combined with Blackmagic generation 5 color science gives you the same imaging technology used in digital film cameras. Plus, when combined with the built in color corrector you get much better images than simple broadcast cameras. The color corrector can even be controlled from the switcher. The resolution of 4096 x 2160 allows both HD and Ultra HD work.

Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Plus �� £975 * Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pro �� £1,335 *

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*Camera shown with optional accessories and lens. SRP is Exclusive of VAT.

From new starters to acquisitions, partnerships to opening academies, a lot has happened in the past few months – and we’ve got the inside track BUSINESS & INDUSTRY

CAST YOUR VOTES

In June, LiveU and Blackbird revealed that their newly pre-integrated live news solution had been selected by Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, in order to enhance the live coverage of regional elections. Managed by CBC, the project provided round-the-clock local support by LiveU and Blackbird’s German partner, Netorium AG. Blackbird CEO Ian McDonough says: “This was an excellent opportunity for Blackbird and LiveU to successfully showcase our new live news solution for a high-profile event, with one of Europe’s most prestigious media companies.”

received feeds directly into Matrix’s cloud channels, with all of them recorded in real time, within the cloud. Following this, selected feeds were distributed to multiple receivers and broadcasted on national news. Working in parallel, the files were accessed via Blackbird’s cloud native editing platform. Functioning remotely in safe and convenient locations, editors were able to clip and publish highlights of events. The platform in turn delivered both short and long form digital assets to multiple channels simultaneously – including social and broadcast media.

A longstanding customer of CBC, LiveU used its Matrix IP cloud-based management and distribution platform for live news content sharing. During the elections, Berlin and Magdeburg

INTEGRATING WITH THE CLOUD NEW FACES

Indielab has appointed Beverley McMillan to a newly created position: programme producer. She is charged with overseeing the expansion of Indielab in the UK’s nations and regions, as well as into the games sector. The appointment comes as Indielab West Yorks was launched in July – a program delivered in partnership with Leeds City Region Expertise Partnership, to support the production industry in West Yorkshire. With 20 years of experience in the film, TV and games industries, McMillan’s expertise spans skills

A partnership has been announced between Dejero and Grabyo, to provide broadcasters, publishers and content owners with a simplified end-to-end solution for remote productions. Dejero has now integrated its mobile transmitters and video transport solutions into Grabyo’s cloud video platform, which in turn offers live production, clipping, editing and distribution tools. Mike Kelley, president of Americas at Grabyo, explains: “By partnering with Dejero, we are able to remove the limitations that come with fixed-location productions.” Using Dejero’s solutions and LivePlus app, video can be reliably transported to Grabyo’s platform wirelessly – thanks to Dejero’s Smart Blending Technology.

development to events. She comes from BAFTA Scotland, where her responsibilities included developing a dynamic learning strategy.

Panasonic’s Kairos has gone from strength to strength, with training academies opening across Europe. Designed to train operators in how to get the best from its next-generation live production platform, the academies have SCHOOL OF PANASONIC

been created at Panasonic Broadcast and Pro-AV partners. The first centres in the line-up include Creative Technology (UK and Sweden), AED (Belgium), KST Moschkau (Germany) and VMB (Spain).

“Kairos is a game-changer. The creative opportunities for live video productions and video streaming services for broadcasters and event producers, is immense,” says Thierry Heldenbergh, AED Display MD.

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VUALTO ACQUISITION

Video currently comprises over 80% of all traffic on the internet. According to JW Player data, people are consuming over two hours of digital video each day, a 40% increase since the beginning of 2020. As a result, the market has seen many changes in the past year – including multiple partnerships and acquisitions. Vualto is an example. It has recently been acquired by JW Player, in a move to deepen its offerings to global broadcasters and to provide its customers with scalable video technology. “This is a huge growth opportunity for us as a business. Our successful partnership with JW Player over the past year has given our teams the opportunity to

successfully go-to-market under real-world circumstances,” describes CEO and co- founder of Vualto, Camilla Young. “Through this, a natural culture match between our teams has already developed, which gives us incredible confidence. We will continue to provide the same high level of support and service that our customers have come to expect from Vualto.” Vualto has stated that the acquisition means it will expand JW’s customer base, with key European clientele – including ITV, France TV and the European Parliament. These broadcasters will now join over 12,000 media companies that use the JW platform – including broadcasters like Fox, BBC, CNBC, Eurosport and Vice.

A NEW VISION FROM TELSTRA

Telstra has expanded its capabilities within global broadcast through its acquisition of MediaCloud. For Telstra, the acquisition comes with a range of software-defined and cloud-based capabilities, media cloud experts and a London master control room – which is equipped to support major global companies and events. “The new capabilities will help broadcasters deploy fresh services

and channels to respond to special events, programming opportunities and new markets in these changing times,” describes head of Telstra broadcast services Andreas Eriksson. It should also come with managed streaming – enabling broadcasters to specify, launch and monitor OTT services, with minimal resources and a fully managed service of media asset management, content orchestration and localisation.

WOODY COLLABORATES WITH AJA

SHOWING SUPPORT FOR POST-PRODUCTION

Woody Technologies’ IN2IT Live capture solution has become increasingly popular in the past few years, particularly with the increase of adoption of distributed workflows. The video recording appliance can be configured and controlled remotely, and includes a server with AJA Corvid 44 or Corvid 88, for four-channel and eight-channel HD video capture. “Video capture is essential to the IN2IT Live workflow, and we knew AJA would be the right fit.

Their technology was easy to integrate and strikes the right balance of quality and affordability,” states Aurélien Brelle, co-founder and global sales manager at Woody Technologies. “When it comes to innovation, AJA has a proven track record of delivering tools that meet the latest customer demands” Woody Technologies has also begun development of an IP version of IN2IT Live, which includes an AJA Kona IP audio and video I/O card.

During the summer, Streamland Media aquired Technicolor Post. The move brought Streamland new artists, technical experts and strategic locations. “We have one clear vision – to build our global network, providing best-in-class services with passionate individuals, dedicated to creative excellence,” states Streamland CEO Bill Romeo. “We are excited to provide our clients with this expanded pool of top-tier talent, innovative technology and additional sites in Toronto and Atlanta.” The acquisition proves a clear statement of Streamland solidifying its commitment to supporting talent within the post-production sphere.

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FEED cannot wait to finally see the faces of the industry at IBC in December. In the meantime, check out the shortlist for its esteemed Innovation Awards

Earlier this year, there was the important news that IBC 2021 was to go ahead, having been moved to 3-6 December. A well-established element of IBC is the Innovation Awards, celebrating the spirit of collaboration – factors of the industry that are ever more prevalent post-pandemic. Now coveted within the broadcasting and tech space, they are presented to the broadcaster or media company that started with a challenge, and brought together technology partners to create a solution.

RECOGNITION ETV Bharat winning the 2019 content delivery award (left); TRT Turkey collecting their award in 2019 (above)

CATEGORY 1

CATEGORY 2

CATEGORY 3

CONTENT CREATION

CONTENT DISTRIBUTION

CONTENT EVERYWHERE

y y Netflix – for creating the first ever hand-drawn anime with experimental 4K and HDR. y y Riedel – produced the first fully decentralised production of a live global music event. y y Songbird – the first American feature film to return to production during the lockdown, using camera to cloud technology. y y Timeline Television – for its remote broadcast app Stream Anywhere, which helped major UK broadcasting production teams to film remotely from a range of locations.

y y Boeing – live streamed the Starliner ’s return from orbit in HD-broadcast quality, with sub-one second latency from a remote desert. y y BT Sport – delivered fully remote coverage of the 2021 UEFA Europa League Final. y y MGM Studios – launched a new blockchain-backed platform with Eluvio, providing a more efficient, secure and cost-effective way to deliver ultra-low latency video. y y Migo – created an entirely new way to deliver digital content in countries that lack a widespread broadband infrastructure. y y Riot Games – first organisation in the world to use JPEG XS compression for two major trans- Atlantic esports tournaments.

y y BT Sport – developed new technologies to recreate the match-day experience for live sports fans watching their favourite teams at home. y y Deutsche Fußball Liga – enhanced the Bundesliga world with an interactive service, allowing each user to follow the matches, teams and players that interest them the most, enabling them to personalise their user experience with detailed graphics and data. y y In The Room – used AI and exclusive Ultra-HD content for consumers to interact “face-to- face” with personalities like Nile Rodgers. y y Mediapro – grew Upbeat, its free esports and entertainment multiplatform. y y Sky Sports and SimplyLive – for their remote production

partnership, which delivered a true cloud-based, multicamera production environment, with a positive environmental impact.

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STARTED: 2013 TESSIAN

CEO: TIM SADLER COUNTRY: UK AND US

What is the company’s origin story? My name is Tim Sadler and I am the CEO for Tessian. While working for some of the world’s largest banks, Tessian’s co-founders saw a problem. Despite millions of dollars spent on security solutions, data breaches continued to rise. Why? Because cybersecurity software has traditionally focused on protecting the machine layer of an organisation – the networks and devices – but not the human layer. People make thousands of decisions every day. There’s always the possibility they will compromise company security by making mistakes, breaking the rules or being tricked by a cybercriminal. Most organisations try to combat human error by removing access to systems and data, or training people to do the right thing 100% of the time. But this isn’t working and is impeding productivity. The founders created Tessian with a mission to secure the human layer by empowering people to do their best work, without security getting in their way. What projects are currently happening? Tessian is pioneering a new approach to cybersecurity and defining a new category of security software called Human Layer Security. Using machine-learning technology, we

automatically predict and eliminate advanced threats on email caused by human error – like data exfiltration, accidental data loss, business email compromise and phishing attacks – with minimal disruption to employee workflow. Today, Tessian secures people on email – because that’s where they spend over 40% of their time at work, and it’s one of the easiest ways for cybercriminals to hack. But there are plans to expand. Future-wise, what’s next? Having raised its Series C funding in May 2021, Tessian has plans to expand its platform’s capabilities beyond email, securing other interfaces like messaging, web and collaboration platforms from incidents of human error. The goal is to help companies replace their secure email gateways, and legacy data loss prevention solutions, so they can effectively secure the human layer. What does the company need right now? People! We want talent to join our journey, as we look to triple our rapidly growing employee base over the next few years – particularly in North America. If you’re interested, get in touch!

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MICROSERVICES ARE NOT LEGO BLOCKS, THEY’RE EVEN BETTER THAN THAT!

Microservices are often compared to the easy click bricks of Lego. And while this makes for great

marketing, the truth is that microservices can bring more agility to the game

he building blocks of Lego are a common analogy that we use to talk about microservices – it pops up all over the place. But this can be misleading. Microservices are a lot more than static blocks.” Matt Bowers is head of the

professional solutions team for Sony’s European Professional Engineering division. He understands the excitement among content creators and broadcasters about cloud-based microservices – and the ability to creatively stack discrete services in configurations tailored to your own business needs can’t help but invite comparisons to everyone’s favourite Danish super-brand. “The Lego metaphor dates back to even before microservices,” continues Bowers. “There’s this dream of ‘if only we could make software like playing with simple static blocks.’ You can build all sorts of things very quickly, very intuitively. But Lego hasn’t changed since the original bricks were patented in 1958, whereas software is continually evolving and infinitely flexible.” We all want simplicity and ease of use, but shouldn’t let this perfectly natural desire obscure the dramatic potential of the tools we have available.

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“Microservices don’t remove complexity. They help you manage complexity,” says Bowers. And dealing with that complexity requires expertise. Even that ‘micro’ prefix isn’t what it appears to be, in that not every microservice operates at a fine granularity. Often to be useful, a microservice needs to work in a broad way across multiple applications. But if it overreaches and starts developing into its own

keeping things simple, but we must be careful. We never want to sacrifice functionality for superficial ease.” The most appropriate metaphor for microservices is not a brittle construction of sharp-edged plastic bricks, but a dynamic, responsive collection of interdependent processes. It’s the image of a living thing – an organic system. “We’ve talked about microservices, behaving like a shoal of fish. Each fish is an independent entity, but when

monolithic service, it stops playing well with others and ceases to be useful. Some content companies are already starting to grow the necessary expertise to take advantage of microservices in-house, realising

MICROSERVICES DON’T REMOVE COMPLEXITY. THEY HELP YOUMANAGE COMPLEXITY

Microservices offer a simple way to mentalise broadcast workflows, but behind that is a complexity – and depth – that makes working with microservices far more powerful than stacking inert blocks. “Building software has always been a specialist skill,” says Bowers. “You need knowledge and the right tools to be able to do that.” The power of software – and microservices in particular – is its flexibility, adaptability, expandability. Microservices can be continuously updated according to the needs at the time, or user requirements. They interweave and scale up and down, in response to the moment-by- moment necessities of the content type, budgets, schedules, resource and viewership. Lego is great for kids (of all ages), but microservices are for grown-ups, who want the best chance at producing the best content and are looking to continuously improve workflows in the future.

they swim together, you see emergent behaviour where they all change direction and make decisions as a unit. Keeping a garden is another way of looking at microservices, with connecting software being more like

there’s more to them creatively than first meets

the eye. Other enterprises are taking advantage of the expertise of outside companies and providers, offloading tech concerns to free up resources for more vital parts of their business. Increasingly, these are companies working beyond traditional broadcast, looking to use and adapt broadcast microservices for specialised needs. “There is something fundamentally different in the software world from the physical experience of playing with Lego bricks. Lego is a dream of

planting trees and finding the right space for a plant to flourish. Some say microservices are like the coordination of different organs in a body.” Whatever model you use, the upshot is that working with microservices is an encounter with a living creative system, able to produce more than the sum of its parts. And like a living system, microservices can grow, develop and adapt, just as your business will. Find out more on: pro.sony/MediaSolutionsToolkit

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LIVE

In an ever-changing world of IP and distributed production, Sony unveils in its most recent white paper the central elements to consider, as a broadcaster that is always looking to invest

AD-HOC OTHER LOCATION

P is completely changing the tempo in the broadcasting space, especially when it comes to producing live events. It is also influencing the decisions broadcasters are making about their businesses in the future. It’s a commonly known denominator that within live production, achieving a low-latency transmission is crucial. IP has been opening gateways in this respect for a while now. Enabling the separation of the acquisition – ie, the talent, action and equipment, as well as the control amongst production staff, and media storage and processing – is key. Most significantly, IP technology transforms the logistics and economics of production, by allowing control, storage and processing to be separated geographically from each other. Creating multiple models for production as a result, operators can choose which is best suited for both medium- and long-term business needs and short-term production requirements – all the while adapting to technical constraints. DISTRIBUTED PRODUCTION Broadcasters tend not to use one specific model exclusively for all live productions. Instead, they pick the most appropriate avenue of production for the

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broadcasting set-up at hand. Multiple models are often selected for just one production. Take, for example, the coverage of a sports event, where a stadium often requires a centralised remote production – with live signals transported to the central facilities over a WAN, combined with cloud production for the playback feed. In this case, a combination of production models is integral to retaining a sophisticated transmission. Broadcasters often have a whole array of production capabilities spread across multiple locations, with some fixed and others being mobile (such as an outside broadcast production truck or

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flight cases), that can be tapped into when needed. This is a truly distributed production, which broadcasters will develop over time, and enables any combination of models to be used when needed.

STRATEGIC OPTION Making the choice of moving to IP is no quick decision. When deciding, broadcasters must think strategically, especially about where they should invest – as well as having an operational mindset when making the choice. Key areas to consider include: y y Business imperatives – cost model, business continuity and choice. y y Production needs – location of staff, cost, production value. y y Technical considerations: latency, bandwidth, processing capacity, reliability and security. The evolution towards distributed production underlines the importance of decision-making. The right partner for each project is vital. As well as the best products, Sony and Nevion have expertise and experience, built on the delivery of hundreds of IP projects across the world. Learn all of this and more from Sony’s white paper, “The Future of Live”. To download it and make the best of IP, go to pro.sony/remoteanddistributed .

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WHAT DID COVID TEACH US ABOUT ELEARNING? The Covid pandemic forced students to learn online at home, while teachers had to deal with unfamiliar digital platforms. So, has eLearning lived up to its promise? Words by Nicole Kobie

hen the pandemic hit the UK, students at Brookham School – a pre-prep and prep school in Hampshire – were sent home just ahead of the Easter break. But for

teachers, there was no holiday. Those two weeks were spent figuring out how to translate classroom curriculums into online teaching. “We were thrown a bit of a curveball,” says headteacher Sophi e Baber, explaining that the school didn’t have any online platform for eLearning, so they initially had to focus on sending out “holding activities”, such as basic worksheets and reading tasks. “We worked all through the Easter holiday, rewriting our curriculum and learning how to use Seesaw,” she adds, referencing a popular online education platform, which boasts a presence in 150 countries, including 75% of US schools. “It wasn’t

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