exciting than ever before. 3D imaging with Fujinon. - Nayla Al Khaja

issue 4 | ocToBer 2010 

Technology inTelligence for TV, film and radio 

IRAQI CHANNEL GOES IP 

Alsumaria deploys Newtec 

IBC WRAP UP 

What’s hot! What’s not! 

dtff tWIttERS 

Amanda Palmer on the 

power of social media 

SCALING 

NEW HEIGHTS 

Emirati filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja on the challenges of shooting in India’s hill station 

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Editor’s Pick 

Piracy is a dirty game, in 

which many broadcasters, CA 

vendors and manufacturers 

play a villain’s role. Steve 

Bjuvgard, head of anti-piracy 

at Arab Media Corporation 

unmasks the real culprits in 

BroadcastPro. Turn to page 48 

BroadcastPro has 

partnered with DIS 

Consulting, which is a 

strategic research partner 

with the NAB Show, to 

bring our readers exclusive 

insights on new trends in 

the broadcast market every 

month. Turn to page 8 

Cover Nayla Al Khaja, 

Emirati filmmaker. 

Publisher 

Dominic De Sousa 

COO 

Nadeem Hood 

Commercial Director 

Richard Judd 

richard@cpidubai.com +971 (0) 4 440 9126 

Senior Editor 

Vijaya Cherian 

vijaya@cpidubai.com +971 (0) 50 768 3435 

Marc-Antoine d’Halluin 

stepped down as CEO of 

Orbit Showtime Network 

(OSN) on September 

30. He will be succeeded 

by David Butorac, who was 

most recently MD of WIN 

Corporation. Another key person 

at OSN has also resigned. 

Turn to page 4 for more details. 

Welcome 

Eight years ago, I recall going on location 

with Emirati filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja as 

she made her first documentary Unveiling 

Dubai. Fresh out of University, Al Khaja came 

to Dubai with two of her college mates from 

Canada to shoot the documentary. Since 

then, Al Khaja has slowly but steadily forged 

her own path experimenting with sensitive 

issues, new technologies and different genres. 

She has worked long hours on set and 

at the editing table; tinkered with different 

formats be they 16mm, 35mm, HD, DSLR 

or the RED One cameras; donned different 

hats on different sets and worked as 

scriptwriter, director, producer, actor and 

any other roles that needed to be filled; 

and more recently, she became the first 

Emirati to shoot in a foreign country. 

This year with her most recent production 

Mallal, Al Khaja hopes to say good bye to 

producing short films and believes she is 

ready to make a feature film. She is 

also one of the few filmmakers who have 

moved beyond personal ambition to help 

other aspiring filmmakers in her country 

find their feet. 

Joining these individual initiatives are 

the likes of big state-backed entities such 

as Abu Dhabi-based media content zone 

twofour54, which has constantly espoused 

the need to generate good, commerciallyviable 

Arabic content. Twofour54 took the 

lead last year by joining hands with UAEbased 

production house Blink Studios to 

produce a 52-episode children’s series in 

Arabic. Now, twofour54 has struck a deal 

with Al Jazeera Children’s Channel to air 

the series, which is an Arabic adaptation of 

Driver Dan’s Story Train, on Baraem TV. 

This issue of BroadcastPro Middle 

East celebrates the works of individuals 

like Nayla Al Khaja and organisations 

such as twofour54 that are laying the 

foundations for developing commerciallyviable 

Arabic content in this region. 

Vijaya Cherian, Senior Editor, BroadcastPro Middle East 

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12 

new Horizons 

Nayla Al Khaja talks about 

her latest production Mallal. 

4 news 

Marc-Antoine and Mike 

Whittaker exit OSN; David 

Butorac and Xavier Willame to 

succeed them. 

18 CAse sTUDY 

Alsumaria moves to IP with 

Newtec solutions. 

24 CAmerA sUpporT 

Broadcast robotics can help 

reduce operational costs. 

34 sHorT TAKes 

Five filmmakers share their 

experience of producing 

10-minute shorts for DTFF. 

38 ibC wrAp-Up 

We bring you the lowdown on 

the show in Amsterdam. 

48 pirACY 

Unmasking the real culprits. 

28 

DTFF TwiTTers 

Amanda Palmer talks 

about the power of social 

media to engage the 

local film community. 

in this issue 

OCTOBER 2010 

October 2010 | www.broadcastprome.com | 3

PRONEWS 

QVESt WiNS al jazEERa cONtRact 

Qatar-based Al Jazeera 

Network recently awarded 

one of the most hotlycontested 

projects in the 

region to Dubai-based systems 

integrator Qvest Media FZ 

LLC. According to the deal, 

Qvest will put in place a crossfunctional, 

media-technical 

infrastructure at Al Jazeera 

Training Centre (AJTC), a 

brand new state-of-the-art 

broadcast training facility 

designed to provide training 

courses in new technologies 

and contemporary concepts to 

Al Jazeera’s employees. Qvest 

Media will be responsible for all 

phases of the project, including 

systems design, supply, 

integration and training. 

Four studios and 

corresponding control rooms 

with support for a range of 

broadcast formats will be 

designed for the project. The 

contract will include fi tting 

out auditoriums that can 

accommodate upto 200 people 

with the latest presentation 

and communication technology 

for interactive live training 

courses. All areas of the 

complex including recording, 

production and further 

processing will be equipped 

entirely with HD-capable 

technology. People will be 

able to train on all fi le-based 

audio and video formats 

as well as all standard HD/ 

SD formats available in 

the market at AJTC. 

To provide a fi le-based 

workfl ow, Qvest Media will 

deploy a fully redundant 

central Media Server System 

based on Avid Unity ISIS 

storage servers. Control 

of ingest and playout 

processes will be handled 

by Avid Interplay platforms. 

Decentralised areas of the 

Media Server System, such 

as on-air graphics, low-res 

browsing and craft editing 

will be linked via IP to 

the Avid storage system. 

Additionally, Avid iNews 

will be the newsroom of 

choice for editorial training 

purposes. Avid iNews will be 

connected with all large feed 

and agency networks. The 

4 | www.broadcastprome.com | October 2010 

Peter Nöthen, MD of Qvest Media with Saeed o. Bawazir, 

technology division director at Al Jazeera. 

video and graphics processing 

will be realised using Final 

Cut Pro and 3D graphic 

workstations networked with 

the system environment. 

In accordance with the 

requirements of a modern 

broadcasting installation, all 

central components such as 

the systems for routing, multiviewing, 

signal conversion, 

synchronisation and so on 

will be accommodated in a 

central equipment room. 

Speaking about the deal, 

Peter Nöthen, managing 

director of Qvest Media 

said: “We are delighted that 

Al Jazeera is placing its 

confi dence in us for this trendsetting 

project. Based on our 

experience, we can say that 

with its innovative approach to 

uniting all multi-media training 

areas under one roof, the 

broadcaster has its fi nger on 

the pulse of the time. Creating 

a training infrastructure that 

unites all processes and tasks 

of the increasingly convergent 

media is certainly an important 

investment for the future.” 

Marc-Antoine (l) and Whittaker (r) sign off. 

marc-antoine & mike 

WHittaker eXit osn 

Following the resignation of 

Mike Whittaker as VP of 

broadcast operations at Orbit 

Showtime Network early last 

month, CEO Marc-Antoine 

d’Halluin also stepped down 

on September 30. 

David Butorac, who was 

recently the MD of Australia’s 

WIN Corporation will take 

over from d’Halluin. Butorac 

has held key positions with 

BSkyB, Astro and Star TV in 

Hong Kong in the past. 

Although Whittaker’s role 

will not initially be fi lled, 

Xavier Willame will join 

OSN as technical consultant 

and may eventually take on 

Whittaker’s role. 

d’Halluin was instrumental 

in enabling the merger 

between Orbit and Showtime, 

launching the fi rst bouquet of 

HD channels and overseeing 

the ongoing consolidation of 

HQ and broadcast functions 

while Whittaker headed the 

fi rst DVR deployment in 

the region, the fi rst widescreen 

transmission as well 

as introducing the new OSN 

HD box. 

Whittaker is due to join 

Technicolor’s broadcast 

services business in 

the UK as VP of Global 

Broadcast Operations 

with responsibility for 

Technicolor’s broadcast 

services business, which 

provides outsource 

services from ingest, media 

management, transcoding, 

subtitling, EPG and playout 

services in SD and HD to 

clients in the US, Europe 

and Asia.

al jazEERa kidS aNd tWOfOuR54 tiE 

Captain Karim Qitar Al 

Hekayat, a new Arabic language 

production from twofour54, 

will be broadcast on Baraem 

TV, a preschool channel from 

Al Jazeera Children’s Channel 

(JCC) early next year as part 

of a deal between the two 

organisations. The 52-episode 

programme, which is adapted 

from Driver Dan’s Story Train, 

a well-known children’s series 

aired on BBC’s CBeebies 

channel, is being filmed 

and post produced by UAE 

animation house Blink Studios 

at twofour54’s intaj facility. 

Captain Karim Qitar Al 

Hekayat reflects the cultures 

of the Arabic-speaking world 

and features animation as 

well as live action sequences 

with local children. 


Malika Alouane, director of 

Channels’ Programming at Al 

Jazeera Children’s Channel 

stated: “We are pleased to 

witness and support the 

development of a high quality 

Arabic long form animation 

production in our region. I would 

like to believe that Captain 

Karim Qitar Al Hekayat will 

bring additional programming 

value to Baraem TV.” 

To complement the television 

series, twofour54 will launch 

an interactive Arabic language 

website in November and is 

in discussions with Arabic 

language publishers to 

develop an Arabic language 

book publishing programme 

as well. The roll out of home 

entertainment and consumer 

products will follow in 2011. 

Since premiering earlier this 

year in the UK on CBeebies, 

Driver Dan’s Story Train has 

established itself as a ratings hit, 

winning a 40% audience share. 

Wayne Borg, COO of twofour54 

claimed that “establishing and 

building a brand that connects 

with the Arabic-speaking 

world has been at the heart 

of twofour54’s ambitions”. 

“Given that 60% of the region’s 

population of 340 million is under 

25 years of age, the children’s 

market is one which has great 

potential in the region. This 

acquisition deal is testament 

to the production quality that 

is possible across the MENA 

region and we look forward to 

working with the team at JCC.” 

PRONEWS 

Peter Daffarn, MD, Photon Beard. 

projects department 

to open Uae office 

Projects Department, the SI arm of 

Photon Beard, will open an office in Ras 

Al Khaimah later this year. The SI, which 

has previously undertaken several multimillion 

dollar lighting projects in different 

parts of the Arab world including Egyptian 

Media Production City, MBC, Arab Media 

Group (now part of Dubai Media Inc) 

among several others, will look to market 

itself more aggressively in the region from 

its local office. 

“We will open in Ras Al Khaimah but 

with a trade licence to sell in the whole of 

the United Arab Emirates. We hope to be 

up and running by CABSAT,” commented 

Peter Daffarn, MD of Photon Beard. 


proNEWs 

Sami El Shafai. 

salam gets vislink 

VISLINK News & Entertainment 

will supply a high-definition 

satellite newsgathering solution 

to Qatar based systems 

integrator Salam Media Cast as 

part of a turnkey solution for a 

key Doha customer. 

The eight uplink systems will 

include Advent 1.2m motorised 

fly-drive antennas and the 

latest modular electronics with 

ASI encapsulation in IP. The new 

systems will join a significant 

number of Advent systems 

already in successful operation 

with the customer. 

Commenting on the order, 

Sami El Shafai, executive 

director of Salam Media Cast 

said it chose VISLINK “because 

of its proven products, IPenabled 

solution and its ability 

to meet rapid delivery times.” 


Mather Al-Ali, GM of VISLINK 

added: “We are honoured to win 

this order and support Salam 

Media Cast.” 

DUBai COnFiRms 

mi:4 sHOOt 

Mission Impossible 4 starring 

Tom Cruise will be filmed in 

Dubai in November. The emirate 

will play host to the film crew 

and stars over a period of three 

weeks. Filming in Dubai will 

be the longest among other 

international cities that will 

feature in MI4 and will require 

at least 400 crew members. 

Dubai Media Incorporated 

(DMI) will offer its technical 

facilities and technical staff 

should the team require 

additional support. 

It is widely believed that 

Dubai-based production house 

Filmworks and rental firm 

Filmquip will be involved in the 

film project. Both companies 

declined to comment. 

Said Bacho, VP, Harris MESA. 

Lebanese Broadcasting 

Corporation International 

(LBCI) recently undertook 

a major upgrade at its 

Beirut facility to streamline 

its workflow and facilitate 

programming delivery across 

multiple platforms. The 

bulk of the equipment was 

provided by Harris and the 

project was implemented 

by local dealer Orbinet. 

A 128x128 Platinum 

router with integrated 

CENTRIO multiviewer, 

six NEXIO AMP servers, 

a NEXIO media gateway 

server, Videotek VTM test 

and measurement equipment 

and three Inscriber RTX 

NET 2D/3D custom on-air 

graphics systems solutions 

were provided for the 

project. In addition, two 

NUCLEUS control panels 

and CCS Navigator software 

provide network monitoring, 

device configuration and 

various levels of control 

and monitoring for the 

broadcaster, unifying 

and streamlining its 

infrastructure operation. 

“This upgrade allows LBCI 

to continue to deliver quality 

programming and content to 

our customers in the region, 


Lbci opts for harris 

not only on traditional delivery 

platforms such as television, 

but also on non-traditional 

delivery platforms such as the 

Internet and mobile devices,” 

commented Jihad Hachem, 

director of broadcast and 

production operation at LBCI. 

“We have been using Harris 

ADC automation software 

for a number of years to 

handle file-based workflows 

around our facility. Harris 

was able to provide us with 

a truly integrated software 

and hardware solution for 

this facility, so the choice 

of Harris infrastructure to 

support this upgrade project 

was an easy one to make.” 

Speaking about the project, 

Said Bacho, vice president of 

Harris Middle East and South 

Asia (MESA) commented 

that the contract was a huge 

win for the company as 

LBCI had shifted to Harris 

servers in its entirety. 

“LBCI has been one of the 

oldest Seachange customers in 

the Middle East so the switch to 

Harris servers was a huge win 

for us,” commented Bacho. 

“We have also 

strengthened our support 

and service offerings in 

the region,” he added. 

Suresh Akkappilly, sales manager, 

Nevion Middle East 

aDmC DeplOys neviOn 

State-backed broadcaster 

Abu Dhabi Media Company 

(ADMC) has deployed Nevion’s 

High Definition signal solutions 

including its HD embedders and 

de-embedders, frame synchronisers 

with de-embedding, and 

3G-HD distribution amplifiers 

and converters at two of its two 

studios to upgrade to HD. The 

studio has been used by Abu 

Dhabi TV’s sport channels for 

live coverage of various league 

football matches including the 

UAE Football League (UFL). 

“We needed a cost-effective 

and reliable signal processing 

solution that could fulfill all our 

requirements for our new stateof-the-art 

HD studios,” commented 

Farid Kabani, head of TV 

broadcast engineering at ADMC. 

“We chose Nevion’s Flashlink 

solutions for their high reliability, 

small form factor, simplicity 

and ease of use. Their customer 

service and regular contact have 

made us feel comfortable with 

our decision and paved the way 

for a good working relationship.” 

Suresh Akkappilly, sales 

manager for Nevion Middle 

East added “with a strict 

timeline of just six weeks, 

Nevion worked closely with Sony 

Professional Middle East ... to 

complete the project on time.” 

tenDeR: JORDan 

Jordan Radio and TV Corporation 

is inviting bids for the design, 

supply, delivery, installation, testing, 

training and commissioning 

of a high-quality broadcastgrade 

continuity playout, news 

playout and archiving server 

system in Jordan TV. The tender 

is open until mid-November.

delta and newtec collaborate in saudi 

Saudi-based systems integrator Delta Company 

Limited and Newtec have teamed up to create 

the infrastructure for Saudi Arabia’s launch of 

five private radio stations. Broadcasting to 30 

FM radio towers, the new radio stations are 

estimated to reach around 25 million people, 

facilitated by Arab States Broadcasting Union 

(ASBU’s) Multimedia Exchange Network Over 

Satellite) system. 

The Kingdom has made five licences available 

for private radio broadcasters. The licences 

have been granted after an auction which raised 

funds for the Saudi Ministry of Culture and 

Information (MOCI). The Saudi authorities’ plan 

includes provision for an expected total of 80 

towers to provide for full national coverage and 

local ad-insertion, using the new capabilities and 

new services of MENOS. 

“This is an important stage in our media 

transformation programme, and we are very 

pleased that this multi-programme private radio 

will be available in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 

with coverage reaching almost 90% of the Saudi 

population,” stated Dr. Riyadh Najm, assistant 

deputy minister for Engineering for the Saudi 

Ministry of Culture and Information. 

The MENOS Radio Satellite Interactive Terminal (SIT) 

can be used to contribute radio content from the remote 

station to the MENOS hub where it can be redistributed. 

The Radio SIT can also locally receive the radio content 

distributed from the MENOS hubs to the FM stations. The 

flexibility of MENOS allows the contributor/distributor to 

schedule the exchange of the radio content at any time in 

an automated way. Up to four audio input channels and 

four output channels are supported, all of which can be 

streamed simultaneously. 

Mohammed S. Tarabulsi, CEO of Delta added that Newtec’s 

technology “made it possible to create a robust, highly 

efficient and advanced infrastructure”. 

As an integrated satellite IP access platform, the MENOS 

Radio SIT provides an ‘always-on’ high-bandwidth Intranet 

and Internet connection, both for unicast and multicast 

traffic. Network members also use this connection for 

capacity reservations, monitor and control of the towers, 

and VoIP services. 

Speaking about the deal, Serge Van Herck, CEO of Newtec 

added: “We are delighted to be enjoying a fruitful collaboration 

with Delta Company as part of our involvement 

in the Saudi media transformation project. This is further 

evidence of our growing presence in the region — including 

in Saudi Arabia itself with our MENOS solution owned 

and operated by our partner ASBU.” 

Miranda NVISION Broadcast Pro Mid East 175 x 110 _Layout 1 28/09/2010 10:03 Page 1 

M I R A N D A N V I S I O N C O M PA C T R O U T E R S 

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n Extremely small form factor for space-conscious 

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n Ultra light weight ideal for mobile applications 

n Wide range of matrix sizes – 8x8, 16x4, 16x16, 32x4, 32x32 

n Comprehensive array of formats including 3Gbps/ HD/SD, 

Analogue Video and Audio, AES and Port/Data routing 

n Powerful configuration tools providing easy set up of salvos and partitioning 

in addition to control panel configuration and network settings 

n Multiple control capabilities using Ethernet, serial control, local and remote control 

panels, in addition to control by other Miranda NVISION or third party routing systems 

SERVING THE BROADCAST INDUSTRY 

CABLES CONNECTORS PATCH PANELS MDUs RACK SYSTEMS FIBRE/HYBRID CABLES ROUTERS KVM SWITCHES 

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t: +44 1844 202101 

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Pronews 

FACTS AND FIGURES 

92.5% of Jordanian TV 

Viewers prefer waTching 

syrian drama series while 

only 61.6% enJoy waTching 

egypTian drama series. 

The aVerage adVerTising 

raTes of free-To-air 

saTelliTe news and 

currenT affairs channels 

in The arab world is 

US$5,219 for a 30-second 

adVerTisemenT during peak 

Time. general fTa channels’ 

raTes followed while 

music channels had The 

lowesT raTes. ad raTes 

remain quiTe low by 

global sTandards. 

The uniTed arab emiraTes is 

The moST CoNNECTED 

CoUNTRy in The arab world 

based on mainlines, 

cellular and inTerneT 

peneTraTion raTes followed 

by saudi arabia and qaTar. 

source: arab adVisors group 


PROTRENDS 

Stereographically speaking, 

3D is a rental business 

Yes, there are going to be quite a few 

customers of professional stereographic 

3D equipment in the next few years and 

this trend is not just a brief one or a tiny 

niche. But, stereographic 3D cannot ever 

become the game changer that HD has 

been. Nor can it penetrate as many homes 

or TV stations and production houses as 

HD. This opinion is based on findings 

coming from D IS’ newly published global 

research report, 3D Production World 2010. 

Despite the statistics that suggest that 

an impressive 13% of the global broadcast 

and professional market will have 

experienced use of 3D by the end of 2011, 

most of them will have done that via rental 

and not purchasing of equipment. Not 

until later in the decade will any significant 

purchases be seen. 

With the probable exception of 3D flat 

panel displays, the leading product genre 

in 3D production and post-production; 

most other categories will need more time 

to take hold. Among the other questions 

that are going to need settlement are: will 

the rigs and other ‘adapt your HD gear to 

3D’ components survive if the whole 

market tends to adopt the purpose-built 

solution? The answer is probably no. So, 

there is a lot at stake in how 3D gets taken 

up, not just in whether it will survive. 

Among important issues is will the gear 

be purpose-built 3D equipment or 

re-purposed HD? Will the viewers need 


to buy multiple pairs of glasses at a price 

close to the cost of the sets themselves 

causing strain on the purse as well as on 

the eyes? Will they ever want to see more 

than ‘appointment’ TV programmes such 

as sports events, rock concerts or 

travelogues? Additionally, there are 

various standardisation issues and missing 

glue products to make for a full end-to end 

workflow, without which full 3D will not be 

feasible. Most people doubt that news will 

ever be done in 3D, for example. The data 

also showed that some non-broadcast 

applications could be important, such as 

medical imaging, games software, and 

military mapping. 

“The real success of 3D 

may depend not so much 

on a producer’s ability to 

create it as the public’s 

appetite for it.” 

The survey, which gathered 1,720 

responses from broadcasters and video 

professionals, worldwide, this summer, 

looked at 3D use or interest and forecast 

over 10-year instead of our normal 

five-year span, because there was an 

acknowledgment that we are in the very 

early days of 3D proliferation. 

There were 10 core 3D product 

categories: cameras, camcorders, rigs, 

processors, displays, servers, switchers, 

graphics, editing and encoders/decoders, 

studied. Their use or plans were looked 

at among: broadcast & cable stations, 

production/post, mobile/OB, independent 

videographers/filmmakers, institutional 

facilities and rental houses. That was done 

in five regions including USA, Europe, 

Middle East/Africa, Asia and the Americas. 

Judging by the number of manufacturers 

alone already offering gear in one or more 

of the genres, 3D has already captured the 

imagination of the equipment makers, as 

much as the public, Hollywood and the 

content delivery entities. 

The study findings suggest that this time 

3D has staying power, more than 

in previous introductions, and that perhaps 

as much as 25% of the broadcast and 

production market will eventually purchase 

3D equipment, but for now, the majority of 

users are testing the waters, conservatively, 

by renting first. Ultimately, however, the real 

success of 3D may depend not so much on a 

producer’s ability to create it as the public’s 

appetite for it. PRO 

Douglas I. Sheer is the CEO and chief 

analyst of DIS Consulting Corporation 

and is a 39-year veteran of the industry. 

His firm is a strategic research partner of 

the NAB Show and of Strategy Analytics.

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pROGlObAl 

gloBecast eXtends 

netWorK to WarsaW 

GlobeCast has established a 

new Point of Presence (PoP) in 

Warsaw for its fi bre network, the 

GlobeCast Backbone Network. 

This new terrestrial link allows 

GlobeCast to offer hybrid 

satellite-fi bre solutions in Eastern 

and Central Europe and to easily 

transport audiovisual content 

between this region and the rest 

of the world. 

Following the launch of PoPs 

in Johannesburg and São Paulo 

earlier this year, Warsaw is the 

33rd point on the GCBN, which 

today spans over 92,000km of 

DTM fi ber linking Africa, Europe, 

Asia, Australia and the Americas. 

Central and Eastern Europe 

represents one of the most 

dynamic markets in pay TV 

today. This new fi bre link from 

Paris (Telehouse 2) to the Pkin 

technical centre in Warsaw 

opens the possibility of the easy 

distribution of foreign channels in 

HD by Polish cable operators. 

This new link will give Polish 

channels increased access to 

GlobeCast teleports and satellite 

platforms around the world, 

including Hot Bird, which is 

home to some of the continent’s 

leading pay TV bouquets. 

The new connection gives 

GlobeCast the ability to receive 

a channel’s signal directly in 

Warsaw, and deliver that channel 

to its Paris teleport for broadcast 

on Hot Bird or any of its other 

satellite platforms. 

gv transmission and 

Headend renamed 

Technicolor has separated its 

transmission and headend 

divisions from Grass Valley. These 

two business units will now 

operate as stand-alone entities 

under the Thomson brand and 

are being renamed Thomson 

Broadcast and Thomson Video 

Networks respectively. Nicolas 

Dallery will head Thomson 

Broadcast while Christophe 

Delahousse will continue to head 

Thomson Video Networks. 

The Associated Press 

and VISLINK News & 

Entertainment have 

successfully completed 

trials of ENPS working 

seamlessly across VISLINK’s 

microwave and Advanced 

Gateway systems. Together 

they provide an integrated 

solution, which enables 

fi le-based workfl ow from 

the fi eld as if connected 

directly to the studio LAN. 

Journalists using ENPS 

in the fi eld can now use 

bandwidth provided by 

VISLINK to connect directly 

to ENPS servers at base, 

submit fi nished stories and 

simultaneously send live 

video. VISLINK emphasises 

the use of microwave 

bandwidth. This reduces 


Ap AND VIslINK 

cOllAbORAte 

iBc 2010 

sHoW neWs 

KIT digital, Inc. has acquired 

UK-based Megahertz Broadcast 

Systems Ltd (MHz) from its 

Canadian parent company, 

AZCAR Technologies, Inc. 

With the acquisition, KIT digital 

claims to have extended its 

existing advanced digital and 

IP video systems integration 

capabilities. The acquisition 

will also help Kit digital 

bridge the gap between 

traditional broadcast and new 

media for its customers. 

Frances Jarvis, managing 

director of Megahertz, 

stated that the move “will 

solidify our offering to our 

global media customers”. 

potential problems with 

public broadband, which 

can become clogged in 

breaking news situations. 

“The Advanced Gateway 

system enhances the workfl ow 

by reliably extending ENPS 

and the fi le-based workfl ow 

into ENG,” stated Mike Palmer, 

director ENPS Design & 

Integration Strategy at AP. 

VISLINK’s Advanced 

Gateway technology enables 

journalists in the fi eld to easily 

download archive proxies, 

create and submit the fi nished 

video wirelessly back to the 

studio, making the workfl ow 

process much more time 

effi cient. The high-speed 

Electronic News Gathering 

microwave links are used to 

rapidly submit the fi les into the 

studio workfl ow while studio 

based Broadcast Engineers 

control of the system and 

the remote equipment. 

The Advanced Gateway 

system uses state-of-the-art 

wireless data bonding to 

maximize available download 

speeds, providing multiple 

persistent connections 

maintain the highest level of 

connectivity available that 

the broadcasters require. 

“The MOS protocol allows 

integrated fi le-based workfl ow 

with ENPS, the Advanced 

Gateway systems closing 

the circle of effi ciency gains 

made in the studio, from the 

implementation of fi le-based 

workfl ow,” commented 

Laurence Venner, VISLINK 

product marketing manager. 

KIt DIGItAl AcquIRes MeGAHeRtZ 

bROADcAst systeMs 

“Our in-depth knowledge of 

broadcast and IT solutions 

enables us to address the 

challenges faced by our clients 

in the deployment of new 

technology while minimising 

the risk to their business. KIT 

digital is clearly emerging as 

a company that understands 

the changing media and 

entertainment environment, 

where consumers can access 

content anywhere, any time 

and on any device, and they 

deliver IP-based solutions 

to meet this demand. With 

these joint credentials, 

together we are able to 

guide customers through 

the ever-changing media 

environment to allow them to 

pursue new revenue streams 

and deploy technology 

solutions throughout 

the content chain.”

ap arcHive ties WitH 

Burmese organisation 

The Associated Press has 

announced that AP Archive 

has reached an agreement 

with Democratic Voice of 

Burma (DVB), an independent, 

nonprofit Burmese media 

organisation, to license DVB’s 

video coverage to third parties 

around the world. With this 

agreement, AP Archive is 

the only international news 

agency with the rights to sell 

DVB’s archival video footage of 

Burma from the past five years. 

This agreement is important 

because Burma is preparing 

to hold general elections in 

November for the first time 

in 20 years and the footage 

includes coverage of recent 

anti-government uprisings. 

AP Archive holds a large 

and growing amount of 

footage created by DVB and 

will add to the collection 

with more footage from 

DVB’s television archives. 

riedel features in 

espn’s X games 

At the production of the 16th 

X Games annual action sports 

competition, which featured 

more than 200 of the world’s 

best athletes competing in BMX 

Freestyle, Moto X, Rally Car and 

Skateboard, ESPN used a multinode 

MediorNet installation 

from Riedel Communications 

onsite to distribute video 

signals between the different 

locations for the live event. 

Six MediorNet mainframes 

with 40 inputs and 48 outputs 

fed various video walls as well 

as commentary positions with 

information and programme 

from the different event 

locations. The installation 

connected the Tech hub on 

Georgia St, the production 

suite on 11th St., the patch 

room, the Staples Centre, the 

Nokia Theater, Nokia Plaza and 

the Park/Street venue located 

at L.A. Live’s event deck. 

Strath Goodship, 

CEO, Miranda. 

MIRANDA buys OMNIbus 

Miranda Technologies Inc. 

has acquired OmniBus 

Systems from Palamon Capital 

Partners, a pan-European 

private equity firm. 

“With its IT-based playout 

and automation solution 

iTX, OmniBus is leading 

broadcasters away from 

multi-vendor, hardware-based 

systems, towards a single 

fully integrated, software 

platform,” commented Strath 

Goodship, Miranda’s president 

and chief executive officer. 

“Over the past four years, 

iTX has been adopted by many 

of the world’s largest and most 

successful broadcasters to 

lower costs and streamline 

their operations. This next 

generation platform has 

proved to be both highly 

scalable and reliable. 

“The addition of OmniBus, 

and specifically iTX, allows 

Miranda to uniquely offer the 

complete range of playout 

solutions, from traditional 

hardware to a fully softwarebased 

environment. 

“We are now positioned 

to help our customers 

transition to more efficient 

operations, by offering the 

best fit of hardware and 

software products to suit their 

individual requirements.” 

Mike Oldham, CEO of 

OmniBus Systems, called iTX 

“an award-winning solution on 

a rapid growth trajectory”. 

“By joining Miranda, we will 

see real product synergies, 

especially in terms of graphics 

workflows and advanced 

monitoring capabilities. We’ll 

also gain more extensive 

worldwide sales and support, 

enabling us to further 

strengthen our customer 

service. Importantly, the fit 

with Miranda is excellent, and 

the OmniBus team is really 

excited by the clear potential 

for our combined businesses.” 

HARMONIc cOMpletes 

OMNeON AcquIsItION 

iBc 2010 

sHoW neWs 

iBc 2010 

sHoW neWs 

Broadcast solutions provider Harmonic Inc. has completed the 

acquisition of Omneon, Inc., a major provider of video production 

and playout solutions for many of the world’s premier media 

companies, for aggregate consideration of approximately $194 

million in cash and approximately 17.1 million shares of its common 

stock. The acquisition will strengthen the company’s position as 

a global leader in video infrastructure for media companies. 

Harmonic has never been a big player at CABSAT while 

Omneon has in the past. The Harmonic brand is expected to 

be showcased at the Dubai event in February next year. 

pROGlObAl 

Hamlet WHicHWire 

speeds rigging 

for paravision 

Video engineering services 

company Paravision has 

selected the Hamlet WhichWire 

to speed its work in rigging 

and installation. WhichWire is 

a handheld, battery-powered, 

waterproof test device, which 

automatically selects the input 

format and shows the signal on 

the integral LCD panel. As well 

as giving instant confidence that 

you have the right cable, LEDs 

on the case give an indication 

of the cable run and status. 

To preserve battery life, the 

WhichWire only powers up on 

detection of an input signal. 

It then determines if it is 

analogue composite or SDI, 

then instantly displays the 

picture. The case is sealed to 

IP65 protection so it can be 

safely used in all weathers as 

an aid to rigging, and because 

it is battery powered it can 

check video signals before 

power is available at the 

remote location. 

“The beauty of WhichWire is 

that it really is just plug and play,” 

stated John Elias of Paravision. 

“You plug a BNC in; it 

switches on, determines what 

the signal is and shows you 

what you have got. With other 

devices you have to switch it 

on and configure it, and there 

is always the risk that you do 

not know if the problem is with 

the signal or the test device. 

Whether I am tracking long 

cable runs with multiple joints 

in the field or working at the 

back of a bay, WhichWire is 

essential for my line of work.” 

80% 

Number of 

exhibitors 

that have 

rebooked space 

at IBC2011. 

Source: Michael Crimp, CEO, IBC. 


PROXXXXXX 

Scaling 

new heights 

Emirati fi lmmaker Nayla Al Khaja recently concluded the production of her last short 

fi lm Mallal in Kerala, India. The fi lmmaker shares some exclusive production notes 

and pictures from the shoot with BroadcastPro Middle East

Nayla Al Khaja. 

PROEXCLUSIVE 

Shooting at 5,000 feet above sea level in the lush 

forests of Munnar, a small hill station in the south 

of India can be a dramatically different and 

challenging experience from fi lming in the desert 

sands, 32-year old Nayla Al Khajia learnt on her 

most recent shoot. 

The Emirati fi lmmaker wrapped up the 

production of Mallal, a short fi lm set in Kerala, last 

month. This shoot signals, in many ways, the end of 

one phase of Al Khaja’s career as a fi lmmaker and 

the beginning of the next. 

“Mallal is my fi fth short and it will be my last 

before I embark on making my fi rst feature-length 

fi lm,” she says. “But I did not expect the production 

to be so different from my previous shoots. It was 

perhaps, the greatest learning experience of my 

life,” she says. 

Mallal, which means “bored” was conceived out 

of sheer boredom on a rainy day in a Sharjah hotel 

room by Al Khaja although the production itself was 

anything but boring. 

“I wrote this script while I was sitting in a hotel 

in Sharjah last year and bored out of my brains,” 

she says. 

“I had gone to speak at an event and the rains 

struck. The power kept going on and off. We 

couldn’t use the elevators. The lobby was fl ooded 

and I had nothing else to do so I took a sheet of 

paper and began to write a script. I called the story 

Mallal because I was bored. Little did I know then 

that I’d win a cash prize of US $13,500 for the script 

at the Gulf Film Festival. It never crossed my mind 

that I should enter the competition but a friend 

recommended that I submit my script and we 

managed to get it in just before the deadline. I was 

speechless when I learnt at the event that I had won 

the fi rst place so ‘thank you Sharjah’, I guess,” says 

Al Khaja. 

“The award helped me to put a fresh spurt of 

energy into the project and I received funds from 

several government entities.” 

Abu Dhabi-based twofour54, which has actively 

promoted the production of Arabic content, 

provided 70% of the budget for the fi lm and offered 


PROEXCLUSIVE 

14 

| www.broadcastprome.com | October 2010 

“If you’re shooting in a remote area, where there are no labs 

and you have to fly to Mumbai every day to develop the rolls ... to 

see the rushes, I won’t dare touch film” 

post production support at its intaj facility; Al Khaja 

put in 15% and other entities helped with the 

remaining bits and pieces, she says. 

The next stage involved filming in Munnar, an 

experience Al Khaja is not likely to forget in a hurry. 

As the journey to Munnar involves driving through 

long and narrow serpentine roads, Al Khaja quickly 

discovered that travelling with 83 crew members, 

trucks, dollies, tracks and tons of equipment can be 

truly daunting. That, however, was only the 

beginning of other surprises – taxes, natural toilets, 

weak signals, leeches, and a few others. 

“Shooting outside the UAE, which is our comfort 

zone, was a huge learning experience. It was not just 

the logistics, but the culture, the taxes, the weather 

conditions and just about everything,” she confides. 

Set in Kerala, Mallal is the story of a newly-wed 

wife who is on her honeymoon but bored in her 

“arranged” marriage. The film takes place on the last 

day of the honeymoon. 

“Little did I know when I set out to shoot in Kerala 

that it would be a logistical nightmare. I was inspired 

by an Indian film that I had seen the previous year at 

GFF and it was set in Kerala. I found a hotel right in 

the middle of the jungle and it had just the perfect 

shades of colours that I wanted,” explains Khaja. 

Perhaps the most interesting element of this 

shoot was that the film had 83 crew members for a 

15-minute shoot. 

Daniel Grant (l) and Nayla Al 

Khaja review some footage 

shot on the RED One. 

Al Khaja directs from a crane. 

“It was a big crew but I learnt that things are 

done very differently in India. There are taxes and 

unions to deal with -- something we have never had 

in the UAE and, therefore, did not budget for. We 

went through Mumbia-based Pukka Pukka Films, 

who were our line producers. We couldn’t hire 

people individually for our shoot. Apparently, they 

come as a team. We also respected the Union hours 

that India has, which is 12 hours with an hour’s 

break. It’s a very good thing. We always work crazy 

hours on our shoots in Dubai and on my last 

project, we worked non-stop for 17 hours so this 

was very different.” 

Besides the question of what and whom to hire, 

shooting in the forest can be both “scary and 

unpredictable”, says the filmmaker. 

“As night falls, the forest takes another form and 

character altogether. Besides this, we had to work 

with the weather. The monsoons were just tapering 

off in Kerala, which means we had a bit of dry and 

wet weather. As continuity is crucial in filmmaking, 

the rains did sometimes get in the way and we 

couldn’t shoot on one day. So instead of five days, we 

had to make do with four days,” explains Al Khaja. 

Interestingly, the filmmaker had her first 

experience in a vanity van with a makeup artist, 

assistant et al in true Bollywood style at this shoot. 

All of the standard kit that one would expect such as 

tracks, dollies, Jimmy Jibs, cranes and so on was

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PROEXCLUSIVE 

QUICK BITES 

Downside? 

“Shooting uphill on narrow 

roads and moving an 83-man 

crew with trucks; fasting 

as it was Ramadan, forest 

conditions, natural toilets and 

weak cell signals.” 

Upside? 

“Awesome learning experience 

and reconnecting with my 

university friend and much 

sought after DoP in Canada, 

the wonderful Daniel Grant.” 

16 


Daniel Grant (l) and Nayla 

Al Khaja (r) in Munnar. 

“My long-term vision is to have 

a feature film studio here in 

Dubai that can produce about 

three or four feature films 

annually in different genres” 

part of the project. “We’ve never done a shoot on 

such a large scale in Dubai. Our resources were 

always limited,” she says. 

The filmmaker also found that the Indian team 

was very quick with lighting. 

“I have never seen lights moved so fast in any 

other part of the world. Only in India have I got the 

lighting changed in five minutes and we were quite 

lucky on that front. My DoP called it magic because 

we had 17 people shifting lights when we needed 

only six. I’ve shot in Toronto, France, London and 

Spain but it’s never been so quick,” she adds. 

Filming in Munnar meant having to deal with 

leeches as well. 

“We were not prepared for the leeches and they 

were everywhere. I had six or seven all over my legs 

and I was wearing sandals the first day so that didn’t 

help matters. We learnt about the oil and salt 

remedies only on the second day. Some of my male 

crew members resorted to wearing stockings. 

Anything was acceptable to keep the leeches away. 

We all bought gum boots eventually,” adds Al Khaja. 

Al Khaja’s long-term friend and DoP Daniel Grant 

who had worked with her on her first documentary 

Unveiling Dubai joined her for this shoot. Together, 

they decided to shoot this film with the RED One 

camera although Al Khaja has often favoured 

celluloid over digital in previous shoots. 

“We had a long debate on whether to shoot on 16, 

35 mm or the RED One. At the end of the day, it all 

boils down to money. If I had the flexibility, I’d shoot 

on 35 mm. But if you’re shooting in a remote area, 

where there are no labs and you have to fly to 

Mumbai every day to develop the rolls ... to see the 

rushes, I won’t dare touch film. It’s too risky when 

you don’t have that much budget and it’s a short. 

Super 16 would have been adequate as well; only 35 

was a bit more. But if you’re shooting in a jungle as 

an independent filmmaker, it’s difficult to go back 

and forth. 

“Also, Grant has worked on the RED so the 

decision was easy. With the RED, I’d get 4k and 

perfect colour correction. I am also delighted that 

I’d be the first to experience the Baselight system, 

which twofour54 acquired recently,” adds Al Khaja. 

Mallal is presently in the post production phase 

and the final cut is scheduled for December. 

“We may go to the Dubai International Film 

Festival but we are aiming to be ready for the Berlin 

Film Festival,” explains Al Khaja. 

Although the Emirati filmmaker has done the 

festival circuit several times over, she claims that it 

has never been her aim to make “festival films”. 

“I want to make a film that is commercially 

successful and which has cinematic appeal. I’d like 

it to be shown in cinemas and come out on DVDs. 

My long-term vision is to have a feature film studio 

here that can produce about three or four feature 

films annually in different genres like horror, action, 

comedy and so on. It’s, of course, a long term goal. 

For now, I’m very excited to begin my first feature. 

“It will be a horror movie. I love this genre and it 

will have a very Middle Eastern flavour as it will 

feature the jinn as we know it, not as the West 

understands it. It will be a relatively low-budget 

feature – just US $1.5 million.” 

In the last eight years, Al Khaja has slowly but 

steadily honed her skills in different areas of 

filmmaking and experimented with different genres 

and technologies in the hope that she would one 

day have enough know-how to undertake the 

challenge of making a feature film. 

But besides nurturing her personal ambitions, 

she has launched several initiatives in the country 

to help other aspiring players in the industry. 

“I will do what I think will give aspiring 

filmmakers the opportunities that I had to create for 

myself. The last eight years, however, have helped 

me immensely and I am now ready to venture into 

making feature films. For me, this is the beginning 

of a new learning experience but I have big dreams 

on how I want to see the UAE become a hotspot for 

filmmakers,” Al Khaja says. - Vijaya Cherian PRO

PROUSER 

18 

| www.broadcastprome.com | October 2010

Iraqi broadcaster 

migrates to IP 

When Alsumaria decided to migrate to an IP environment for its broadcasting 

operations, it chose Newtec solutions to maximise its productivity 

Alsumaria, an independent privately-owned 

Iraqi TV broadcaster, has invested in Newtec’s 

modulation equipment for a third time to 

complete its migration to a tapeless workflow. 

Newtec’s DualFlow and FlexACM technologies 

have been deployed at the broadcaster’s 

hub and in its fleet of DSNG vans to support 

Alsumaria’s IP and ASI operations, provide 

greater efficiency in bandwidth use and also 

enable the broadcaster to achieve a return 

on investment (ROI) within six months. 

Alsumaria, which established operations in 

September 2004, has 500 staff working across 

Iraq, Kurdistan, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates 

and Jordan. The broadcaster has a fleet of DSNG 

vans to provide coverage from locations across the 

country. In the early years, Alsumaria employed 

the traditional tape-based workflow in combination 

with live broadcast over ASI to deliver coverage 

to the newsroom and onwards to the customer 

through a digital terrestrial TV (DTT) network. 

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However, as a new and dynamic player, the 

Iraqi broadcaster has continuously upgraded 

its infrastructure and was recently looking 

to move to a fully file-based IP operation. 

To tackle efficiency over satellite, the broadcaster 

selected the DVB-S2 standard. The next step 

then was to blend the IP operation together 

with the broadcaster’s legacy ASI network and 

take full advantage of the DVB-S2 standard. 

The broadcaster was on the lookout for a 

solution that would provide cost efficiency on 

both the operational (OPEX) as well as on the 

capital investment (CAPEX) level, offer increased 

productivity from DSNG units and faster delivery of 

news content as well as greater quality of service, 

extended reach in the footprint, and transparent 

interoperability with ASI where required. 

This was achieved through Newtec’s DVB-S2 

based solution, where a gradual migration 

was undertaken from a DVB-S2 CCM network 

to a full-blown FlexACM network. 

IN BRIEF 

PROUSER 

End User: Alsumaria 

Objective: To make the 

transition to a file-based IP 

operation with cost effective 

solutions. 

Solution provider: Newtec. 

Solutions: DualFlow 

and FlexACM-enabled 

technologies were installed 

at Alsumaria’s hub and 

in its fleet of DSNG vans, 

allowing support for both IP 

and ASI operation, together 

with better bandwidth 

usage, allowing a return in 

investment in six months. 

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Alsumaria wanted to enable full interactive 

IP communication between the DSNG van 

and its newsroom while also providing the 

capability to switch back to the legacy ASI 

configuration for occasional use of ASI-based 

broadcasting transmissions. To allow this 

mode of operation, the broadcaster chose 

Newtec’s Azimuth DualFlow equipment. 

The DualFlow enables broadcasters and 

DSNG operators to migrate from a traditional 

ASI video satellite transmission network to an IP 

infrastructure. Based on the DVB-S2 standard, 

DualFlow provides cost-effective and scalable 

implementation of IP operation while maintaining 

full compatibility with ASI legacy equipment. 

The solution identifies different stages in 

the migration effort towards IP over satellite: 

from ASI and IP hardware connectivity 

in the same modulation equipment to 

simultaneous transport of live broadcast and 

IP data, and finally two-way IP full interactivity 

over satellite. These stages can be taken 

progressively or all at once depending on the 

legacy and the objectives of the migration. 

With the installation, Alsumaria’s DSNGs can 

now be considered as independent remote offices 

and deploy the satellite connection in three 

modes: firstly for live transmission of MPEG-4 

over IP; secondly for file transfers and downloads 

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PROUSER 

“We now have a state-of-the-art operation that gives us an 

unparalleled ability to respond to events, cover breaking news more 

effectively, and deliver higher quality content to a wider range of 

viewers than ever before. The combination of DualFlow and FlexACM 

means we can now get exceptional functionality and value from our 

DSNG fleet and our satellite bandwidth” 

Jad Atallah, CTO, Alsumaria 

to and from the production centre plus 

other web-based services (email, internet 

access, VoIP); and finally, for occasional 

access to legacy ASI transmissions. 

Alsumaria staff can now easily achieve file 

transfers and downloads between the DSNG 

units and the production centre, increasing 

speed of response to unfolding events. 

The second technology embedded in 

the Alsumaria solution is Newtec’s DVB-S2 

FlexACM. FlexACM was Alsumaria’s answer 

to efficiency improvement, quality of service 

(QoS) and general availability requirements 

in IP (broadcasting) networks over satellite. 

The IP share in Alsumaria’s DSNG fleet is 

mainly reserved for live broadcasts over 

IP next to interactive IP services (web 

browsing, email, file transfers, VoIP) to 

boost the productivity of the remote team. 

FlexACM targets the bandwidth efficiency 

to maximise the return-on-investment. In only 

4Mhz, Alsumaria can achieve five occasional 

use slots with a common forward of 400kHz 

16APSK ¾ and five concurrent slots of 

970kbps for two-way IP operation to five 

DSNGs, or a throughput of 1.9 Mbps 16APSK 

5/6 per channel using MPEG-4oIP video rate. 

Besides major savings in bandwidth, 

FlexACM improves the QoS. The modems 

with FlexACM functionality facilitate high- 

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“As a dynamic, rapidly evolving operator, Alsumaria has been able 

to benefit greatly from the three-stage implementation of DualFlow that 

is part of the Newtec strategy for our satellite broadcasting customers. 

Our aim has always been to provide satellite broadcasters and DSNG 

operators with a practical real-world approach to the introduction of IP, 

allowing them to maintain support for ASI so they can continue to work 

with legacy equipment when required” 

Serge Van Herck, CEO, Newtec. 

speed file transfer between the DSNG and the 

studio/playout/editing site. The manufacturer’s 

PEP-Box Terminals (Performance Enhancing 

Proxy) were added to give DSNG staff accelerated 

file transfers at 1.9Mbps through superior 

data compression and TCP acceleration, to 

provide a high-quality broadband experience. 

Finally, FlexACM protects the satellite 

throughput against adverse conditions (rain fade 

and other sources of interference) and offers 

100% availability. In case of rain fade or other 

interference disturbance, the receiving site 

instantaneously reports the degradation of the 

conditions to the uplink. At the hub, the FlexACM 

system immediately modifies the parameters of all 

following frames, ensuring that no data is lost. In 

other words, even in the worst weather conditions, 

the IP broadcast or IP data transfers are assured 

giving Alsumaria the competitive edge to bring 

the hottest news at all times and in all conditions. 

Newly equipped with DualFlow and FlexACM 

Newtec modulation units, together with IP 

appliances for Performance Enhancement, 

Alsumaria TV DSNG vans deliver today MPEG- 

4 live streaming and are fully adapted to 

store and forward video files over satellite. 

The solution provides comprehensive control 

of the quality of service and higher dedicated 

throughput than traditional VSAT (shared 

MF-TDMA) systems, together with lower 

delay, higher availability and better throughput 

resulting in an ROI of less than six months. 

Jad Atallah, chief technology officer at 

Alsumaria says the broadcaster “now gains 

exceptional functionality and value from our 

DSNG fleet and our satellite bandwidth.” 

“We now have a state-of-the-art operation 

that gives us an unparalleled ability to respond 

to events, cover breaking news more effectively, 

and deliver higher quality content to a wider 

range of viewers than ever before.” PRO 

PROUSER 

ROCKNET PERFORMANCE AUDIO NETWORKS 




PROSUPPORT 

Broadcast 

24 

| www.broadcastprome.com | October 2010

obotics 

While Karen Walker of Vinten Robotics walks us through the 

benefi ts of deploying robotic systems, we look at some other 

support solutions that were launched at IBC 

Broadcast robotics, particularly when 

linked with production automation, has 

become widely established in recent years. 

The technology can cover a broad range 

of applications, from simple one or two 

camera studios to complex productions 

linking studios across long distances. 

The technology required for broadcast 

robotics to work is in place and readily 

available. Yet some users are concerned 

that the initial investment will prove hard 

to recover and the change in operational 

practices may be disruptive and place some 

limitations on production values. In fact, many 

broadcasters who have transitioned to a fully 

robotic studio have found the reverse to be 

true: users note a rapid return on investment 

and are delighted with the fl exibility and 

consistency of the robotic operations. 

One of the signifi cant factors that enable 

broadcasters to achieve a return on their 

investment is low-station maintenance. 

Automating the camera positioning and 

control releases operators to undertake more 

creative and fulfi lling work without compromising 

production quality. The level of automation 

implemented will depend on the nature of 

the production. Some applications will only 

require a motor-driven pan and tilt head on a 

fi xed mount, whilst others will have multiple 

cameras on pedestals moving freely around the 

studio. Alternatively, some studios will always be 

robotically controlled; and in others, there will be 

programmes that use operators on each camera. 

A typical camera robotics installation will 

inevitably encompass a combination of key 

requirements. A news broadcaster, for example, 

might need three or four cameras on robotic 

moving pedestals to cover a dynamic programme 

such as a breakfast show, with perhaps another 

camera on a robotic head fi xed in front of 

the weather set that links to weatherproof 

robotic cameras for external shots. Likewise, 

other broadcasters will use multiple studios, 

linked together on the same programme. 

This means that robotic cameras in remote 

locations will need to be operated with the same 

level of precision from the master studio. 

PROSUPPORT 

LAUNCHED AT IBC 

Sachtler CINE DSLR 

Sachtler’s new Cine DSLR � uid head 

has a payload range of 1 to 5 kg 

(2 to 11 lbs) making it suitable for 

digital single-lens re� ex cameras 

with HD video function. A counterbalance 

in ten steps as well as 

three vertical and horizontal grades 

of drag (+0) allow for professional 

operation. In addition, the Cine 

DSLR comes with a special camera 

plate with an anti-twist retainer for 

HD DSLR cameras. 

“If a video-enabled DSLR is being 

used for � lming, precise panning 

and tilting are only possible with 

� uid heads equipped with a corresponding 

tilt range. And it also 

requires well-engineered damping,” 

says Barbara Jaumann, product 

manager at Sachtler. 

For smooth horizontal and vertical 

pans, the new Cine DSLR � uid head 

works with all big Sachtler heads. 

The three-step damping is based on 

the patented Sachtler damping system. 

The new Cine DSLR � uid head 

works with Sachtler Speedbalance 

technology that enables a fast and 

target-oriented counterbalance of 

the camera set-up. The long sliding 

range of the camera plate as well as 

the self-illuminating Touch Bubble 

are practical features of the new 

head. The Cine DSLR has a tilt range 

of +90° to -75°. 

Lightweight and compact, this 

DSLR � uid head is easy to transport. 

Sacthler claims that its robust metal 

housing protects it well from other 

exterior in� uences. 


PROSUPPORT 

Sky Italia recently installed robotic camera 

pedestals and heads, together with a control system, 

for its new studio in Rome – Studio B. Located in 

a building far away from the main news production 

centre in Milan, Studio B helps ensure that the 

24-hour news service will continue to operate. 

Should there be a problem in the main production 

centre, operations can be moved to the new studio 

quickly and seamlessly, providing resilience to 

the service and adding capacity. For coverage of 

major news events, such as national elections, 

Studio B can be linked to the robotic camera 

system of the main newsroom, allowing the two to 

work as a single virtual studio by one operator. 

When considering a camera robotic system and 

its resulting benefits, therefore, the first decision 

is to ensure that your supplier can meet your 

precise requirements. Another such example is a 

studio’s requirement to be under robotic control 

for one production, and manual control for the 

next. Robotic products can give operators the 

flexibility and control required to execute a range 

of programmes with a single set of equipment. This 

ability for a studio to multitask its operations is key 

in obtaining greater throughput and reducing costs. 

Technically, a camera robotics installation is 

simple. Alongside the existing camera cable, 

operators simply need to add power for the 

robotics and an ethernet cable for control. The 

user interface is also easy to use, with a joystick to 

control and record movements and a touch screen 

to recall them. Routine shot selection can be driven 

from the production automation system, with the 

operator simply making any trims necessary. 

Complex movements can be created and used 

on-air. For example, a director can create a difficult 

tracking shot linked in with graphics as part of an 

opening sequence, confident that it will always 

26 


Shotoku TR-HP targets single operators 

Shotoku’s new control panel, the TR-HP 

offers a small footprint while maintaining 

high-precision joystick control. The Hot 

Panel, being introduced to the European 

market, is ideal for highly cost effective 

single-operator productions where stored 

camera positions may be recalled automatically, 

and a multi-tasking operator can 

achieve final on-air framing. 

The three-axis joystick and rotary control 

knob enables the operator to make perfect 

on-air movements of pan, tilt, zoom and 

focus. With up to 12 assignable, LEDilluminated 

keys, several switch functions 

are also available. A selectable “Auto On- 

Air” function ensures the panel is always 

in control of the on-air camera, making 

operation even more straightforward. 

Three Hot Panels may be mounted 

together in a 19” panel frame, providing 

the added system feature of dedicated, 

“always-on” joystick control of multiple 

cameras. Instant control of a camera 

is guaranteed as each joystick remains 

permanently selected to the camera. 

One or more TR-HP Hot Panels may be 

combined with any of Shotoku’s control 

systems and integrates directly with the 

simple Ethernet control network. 

OConnor demos 2065 fluid head for digital cameras 

OConnor’s new 2065 Fluid Head is designed to handle popular digital cameras like the RED One, SONY 

F-35, and ARRI Alexa. The 2065 is loaded with the same features and controls that all other OConnor 

fluid heads have. Users will enjoy the same OConnor stepless, ultra-smooth pan & tilt fluid drag – specifically 

designed to deliver the control and stability necessary for film-style shooting. OConnor’s patented 

sinusoidal counterbalance system provides true, accurate balance at any point in the tilt range. 

Replacing the 2060HD, the new 2065 shares the ergonomic design of OConnor’s higher-payload fluid 

heads like the popular 2575D and 120EX models. Pan and tilt breaks are conveniently located on the 

left side of the head so operation is both intuitive and familiar. The 2065 also offers many of the same 

features as the 120EX. The platform is equipped with dual scales, one on each side, and four handle 

rosettes allow operation from either side of the head, as well as front or back handle mounting. A handy 

one-touch platform release lever also enables one finger or hand action to undo the safety catch and 

open the lever, which speeds deployment and location changes in the field.

“Automating 

the camera 

positioning and 

control releases 

operators to 

undertake 

more creative 

and fulfilling 

work without 

compromising 

production 

quality” 

Karen Walker, Vinten Radamec 

be perfectly performed by the robotic pedestals 

and heads. Similarly, sequences involving 

virtual reality elements will always be perfectly 

aligned. The ability to perform on-air moves 

with absolute precision is one of the creative 

benefits of camera robotics. Getting complex 

camera movements right first time, and every 

time, has a very positive impact on viewing 

audiences and reduces production costs. 

Learning the necessary skills to operate 

the robotics system in this way is surprisingly 

fast with operators becoming up-to-speed 

within a few hours to be able to concentrate 

on achieving perfect framing on every shot. 

KEYE TV, a local television channel in 

Texas in the United States that had no robotic 

experience recently opted for robotic solutions. 

The director of Broadcast Operations 

& Engineering at KEYE TV, Dusty 

Granberry claimed that the lack of robotic 

experience did not deter its operators. 

“The operators picked it up, and in a day 

and a half of training they were using them.” 

Besides the ease of use, KEYE-TV was 

convinced that the reduction in operation 

costs was real and the quality of production 

has been maintained in this environment. 

In summary, the point at which the savings in 

operational expenditure overcome the capital 

cost of a new system will vary for different 

broadcasters and depend on the labour costs 

within their market as well as the complexity of 

their robotics installation. Despite these variables, 

in virtually every case, it takes between two and 

three years to achieve a return on investment, 

which is well within the expected lifetime of the 

hardware. Therefore, quite simply, implementing 

robotic cameras makes good business sense. PRO 

The GF-Low Rocker 

The GF-Low Rocker provides, on the one 

hand stable, low level, camera pan and 

tilt movements. On the other hand, it is 

a very solid camera mount for securing 

the camera in fixed positions (e.g. on a 

camera car). Features include 360 degree 

panning, 45-degree tilt, 12 cm height, 

6.3kg, extremely solid pan & tilt locks, left 

and right-hand handle positions, three-way 

leveling base and surface hardened finish. 

Peter Harman with the Vision blue at IBC. 

PROSUPPORT 

Vinten launches 

Vision blue 

Vinten launched its new Vision blue at IBC. This 

pan and tilt head and tripod system is designed 

for small, lightweight camcorders and DSLRs 

equipped for video. Vision blue addresses the 

need for a broadcast quality tripod system 

capable of genuinely balancing the smaller, 

lightly accessorised cameras, managing payloads 

between 2.1 - 5kg / 4.6 – 11lbs with a low 

centre of gravity of approximately 55mm. 

The Vision blue head incorporates Vinten’s 

Perfect Balance technology, which enables 

consistent movement and easy positioning of the 

camera at any angle helping operators to achieve 

perfect shots with minimal effort. It also features 

infinitely adjustable Vision LF drag technology 

for silky smooth movement and precise framing. 

Vinten claims this functionality has never 

before been available for such light cameras, 

and will bring a new consistency of movement to 

every user. 

The Vision blue is sold as a pan and tilt head, 

or as complete system with a two-stage aluminum 

tripod and a choice of floor or mid-level 

spreader. It also includes a high contrast blue 

LED illuminated levelling bubble for quick and 

accurate set-up in all lighting situations. 

“All camera operators and professional videographers 

want the same thing: smooth, predictable 

and controllable movement; fast set-up; and 

a reliable product,” says Peter Harman, Vinten 

product manager. 


PROINTERVIEW 

DTFF twitters 

Amanda Palmer, executive director of Doha Film Institute and Doha 

Tribeca Film Festival shares how the organisation has used social 

media effectively to engage a larger cross-section of filmmakers in 

the Middle East to participate in its activities 


Doha Film Institute is known to have utilised 

social networking effectively to market the 

festival and its various initiatives. Can you tell 

us more about this part of your activity? 

Part of Doha Film Institute’s (DFI) mission has 

always been to reach out, engage and give our 

community a sense of ownership of our initiatives, 

be it education, production, or our event, the 

Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF), so social 

networking is an essential part of everything we 

do to communicate with our community. It’s really 

helped us create an organisation that reflects not 

just the people who work for DFI but also the 

community that’s connected to us in any way. 

Facebook, Twitter and BBM are hugely popular 

in Qatar so we’ve been able to connect to different 

communities very easily through these outlets. 

DFI values social networking as a direct and open 

line of interaction. It helps to let everyone know 

what DFI is up to year round, because we have 

so many things happening every week – be it film 

screenings, events, competitions or workshops. It’s 

the best way to post what we’re doing 24/7. Our 

Tweetup events also help us meet our community 

and respond quickly to what we’re interested in; it’s 

very dynamic. Social networking means that you’ve 

opened a door to your community and you have to 

be prepared to interact all year round. Bringing online 

communication off-line makes our relationships 

real and that’s something very important to us. 

Any new features that you have added 

to this element this year? 

This year, we’ve increased our twittering in Arabic 

and have discovered some really impressive 

online forums that are helping us connect 

with some interesting women. Another new 

initiative is our guest blogging partnerships.

We’re working with some very tuned-in regional 

and international bloggers who are offering us 

some interesting perspectives that we want 

to share with our community online too. 

I think we need to see this as something that 

constantly needs to evolve. Social networking is 

a living community and that community is never 

static, so already we are re-launching a new 

website in time for the festival so that we can 

offer a truly online film festival. You’ll see a new 

multimedia exhibition go online with acclaimed 

cinematic photographer Brigitte Lacombe. 

We are also launching online film education 

and and much more in the coming months. 

Can you share stats on how many visitors 

you attract? 

We have almost 6,000 Facebook fans who are 

active daily, and more than 1,500 followers on 

Twitter. Thankfully, our followers are re-tweeting 

our news and events, and our Facebook fans are 

constantly giving us helpful feedback. Our website 

was designed to be an interesting content platform, 

and DFI really enjoys making short films, virals and 

stories about what we’re up to and reflecting it in 

the medium we love best, which is moving images. 

Do you have an IT team in place to handle 

this element? 

Everyone at DFI is involved in our social networking 

and website. Every department is involved in 

making sure the community, be it volunteers or 

film enthusiasts, filmmakers, you name it, are 

engaged. Every morning at our daily meetings 

we ask -- should this go on our website? Let’s 

grab a camera, do a call to action, and see how 

we can engage our community online. There is a 

dedicated web team but there’s nothing isolationist 

PROINTERVIEW 


PROINTERVIEW 

“Every morning at our daily meetings 

we ask -- should this go on our website? 

Let’s grab a camera, do a call to action, 

and see how we can engage our 

community online” 

about their approach; it’s all about collaborating 

between various DFI departments. We’re also 

not trying to be one voice, we have many on 

our online communications to reflect the many 

voices that reflect DFI and our community. 

How receptive has the Middle East been 

to social media? 

Social media outlets are fairly new to Doha 

but their relevance to people’s lives here is 

expanding at a phenomenal rate. What’s most 

interesting about this is that we can look and 

see the mistakes that were done in other parts 

of the world and not repeat them here. 

For example, if you look at the US, there in an 

over-abundance of content being made, some 

not with high standards, and a lot of the content 

goes unnoticed. We looked at that and decided 

not to go down the same path. I come from a 

broadcasting background. As a producer and 

storyteller, I have only ever been interested in 

content that connects me somehow, however 

short or long and whatever the genre. My quality 

control has always been about simply, do I care 

about this – does it make me laugh or have a 

profound impact on the way I see the world. 

At DFI, we are always striving to make content 

of value and how we can repurpose high-quality 

content that is already out there to share with our 

community or showcase talent that’s in our online 

community. So instead of having ten of our staff 

work on the blog, we invite talented bloggers in the 

region to write for us. Instead of producing tons 

of videos ourselves, our content team empowers 

other people through workshops to give their 

unique perspectives; we see our online existence 

as a unique platform to empower storytellers from 

all spheres and to connect them. Every guest 

blogger’s network then becomes a part of ours, 

and every student that tells their friends’ network 

to check out their video on our site improves our 

traffic and the reach of the things we’re doing. 

Personally, I am very excited to be here at such 

a crucial time in this region’s social media evolution. 


IN BRIEF 

Doha Tribeca Film Festival 

2010 will present more than 

40 films in four categories: the 

Arab Film Competition, World 

Panorama, Special Screenings 

and the Arab Short Film 

Competition. 

Venue: Katara, Doha 

Dates: October 26-30 

Opening Gala: Outside the 

Law by Rachid Bouchareb. 

Closing Gala: The First Grader 

by Justin Chadwick 

Arab films debuting at DTFF: 

* Grandma, A Thousand Times 

by Mahmoud Kaabour 

*Hawi by Ibrahim El Batout 

* Man Without a Cellphone 

by Sameh Zoabi 

* The Mountain by 

Ghassan Salhab. 

Connections are being made that otherwise 

wouldn’t have been, information is being released 

that would have otherwise remained private, and 

ideas are being shared that would have otherwise 

gone unheard. The best part of it all is that the 

infrastructure and technology is in place. All we 

have to do is now decide the best way to use it. 

How has the Doha Tribeca Film Festival 

progressed since last year? 

The festival’s first year saw a slate of 31 feature 

films from 23 countries and territories, including 

acclaimed Arab films, documentaries, as well as 

features from Hollywood and Bollywood. Now 

spanning five days, this year’s festival will take 

place at its new hub, Katara, the cultural village in 

Doha. We are very excited to have our first Jury 

who will preside over an Arab Film Competition 

awarding prizes for Best Arab Film and Best 

Arab Filmmaker. In addition to the Arab Film 

Competition, the festival will also feature two 

audience awards, one for Best Narrative Film and 

the other for Best Documentary Film. Each award 

features cash prizes of $100,000 (USD) each. Also 

new this year is the Best Arab Short Film Award, 

which will award $10,000 (USD) to the winner. 

“For a festival to be successful in the Middle 

East or anywhere in the world, you need the 

community’s support, and this was the challenge; we 

had to earn that support as a new untested event and 

organisation. But it’s been so positive ... when 5,000 

people turned up on our opening night last year to 

watch the film in a community screening, it was an 

overwhelming ‘thumbs up’ that we were bringing 

something invaluable to this region”

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PROINTERVIEW 

“Instead of having ten of our staff work on the blog, we invite talented 

bloggers in the region to write for us. Instead of producing tons of videos ourselves, 

our content team empowers other people through workshops to give their unique 

perspectives; we see our online existence as a unique platform to empower 

storytellers from all spheres and to connect them. Every guest blogger’s network then 

becomes a part of ours, and every student that tells their friends’ network to check out 

their video on our site improves our traffic and the reach of the things we’re doing” 


Have your initiatives led to any serious 

filmmaking efforts in the country? 

The Doha Film Institute was founded by 

Qatar’s H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad 

Al Thani with the aim of discovering and 

nurturing filmmaking talent in the region. 

Through its year round initiatives, DFI has 

created a platform for aspiring filmmakers 

through its education workshops, which are 

led by Oscar nominated Palestinian filmmaker 

Scandar Copti and a talented team of mentors 

that include British filmmaker Ben Robinson 

and Lebanese filmmaker Chadi Zenaddine. 

These filmmakers, and many other talented 

mentors, teach local and regional aspiring 

talent the most current and relevant filmmaking 

knowledge, with experience to match. 

Our educational programmes were launched 

a year ago and we’ve already begun to see a 

new generation of filmmakers spawn from that. 

Many started out with just making one-minute 

films and are now making 10-minute films, 

which will premiere at this year’s DTFF. This 

is definitely a clear indication of young talent 

that is serious about the art of filmmaking. 

What are some of the challenges of 

organising a film festival in the Middle East? 

The challenge for me personally was the 

unknown. As a new festival in the Middle East, we 

simply didn’t know for sure if we had large enough 

audiences who would want to come to see films 

in a festival environment or whether the films we 

programmed would appeal to the local audience. 

For a festival to be successful in the Middle 

East or anywhere in the world, you need the 

community’s support, and this was the challenge, 

we had to earn that support as a new untested 

event and organisation. But it’s been so positive, 

and when 5,000 people turned up on our opening 

night last year to watch the film in a community 

screening, it was an overwhelming ‘thumbs up’ 

that we were bringing something invaluable 

to this region. We’re very grateful for that 

support and it keeps us going 24/7, which is a 

challenge that is not unique to any organisation 

that has a festival to produce every year! 

Has DFI launched a fund to promote 

filmmaking in this region? 

We’re very excited this year to be able to make a 

commitment to helping regional filmmakers, and 

ten Arab feature films will be supported every 

year by DFI, as a minimum. We are also interested 

in supporting non-Arab filmmakers and coproductions, 

but it’s important that we start in our 

region and support films in the most sustainable and 

credible way. It’s important too that we don’t just 

support filmmakers financially; it’s about connecting 

them with the best knowledge and relationships 

we can offer to ensure a film gets finished and finds 

audiences. We also want to ensure a wide range 

of different stories and talents get supported to 

reflect the diversity of talent that exists. PRO

PROFILMMAKERS 

Short takes 

BroadcastPro talks to fi ve fi lmmakers who made 10-minute shorts for 

Doha Tribeca Film Festival 2010, which will run from October 26-30 

Eight aspiring fi lmmakers were sent to the Tribeca Film Festival 

in NYC, where they undertook a screenwriting workshop 

and worked with mentors such as writer and director Ruba 

Nadda and screenwriter Sabrina Dhawan, followed by preproduction 

workshops in Qatar, where they were mentored 

by cinematographer Sandi Sissel, and director and producer 

Shekhar Kapoor. Once the workshops were over, the eight 

fi lmmakers came back and made their fi rst 10-minute shorts. 


PROJECT KIT 

* Sony EX1 

* Final Cut Pro 

* Adobe After Effects. 

A still from Kanary.

Mohammed Yousif Al Ibrahim on set. 

Sophia Al-Maria 

Qatari-American 

TiTle: KanaRy 

Kanary is a coming-of-age story with 

themes pulled from the Western genre about 

Reem, a Qatari teenager who discovers a 

surprising secret about her religious father. 

Role: wRiTeR/diRecToR 

“I took on the traditional megalomaniac 

role of writer and director. We had a few 

technically diffi cult shooting days, mainly 

involving the over-complicated assembly of 

a car-mount and the weather. In order to 

see properly into the monitor screen which 

was a major issue, I stapled some heavy 

abaya fabric onto a wide-brimmed visor and 

Voila! we fi xed our major problem: the Sun. 

Otherwise, the cameras performed well both 

on the indoor and outdoor shoots and we 

even used a Canon 5D on one day to shoot 

B-Roll of a sunset. 

“I have remained consistent with shooting 

styles (i.e. if I was doing handheld...I’d 

go guerilla all the way, not half-way) and 

probably cover some of my scenes more 

methodically so I’d have more fi nesse within 

the edit. Perhaps the main challenge was 

working in the blazing heat with a tired crew 

and it was tricky getting good and consistent 

audio. ADR is a friend and all but I’d rather 

not have to used it over all the dialogue. 

My hope is that dubbing will give Kanary a 

nice, Spaghetti Western fl avour.” 

“I have remained 

consistent with shooting 

styles (i.e. if I 

was doing handheld... 

I’d go guerilla all the way, 

not half-way” 

Sophia Al-Maria 

PROFILMMAKERS 

Mohammed Yousif 

Al Ibrahim 

26 years, Qatari 

TiTle: lanD Of PEaRlS 

An elderly pearl shop owner tells his 

grandson a tale of what life was like in the 

pearl-diving past in order to get him to 

mend his relationship with his father. 

Role: wRiTeR & diRecToR. 

“I was writer, director, camera assistant and 

camera operator on this fi lm. A lot of people 

don’t realise that it usually goes beyond the 

two daunting roles of writer and director on 

the production of a low-budget short fi lm. You 

have to be everything you possibly can be. 

“Our mentors walked us through 

what we could and could not do with the 

EX1. We had Oscar-nominated Director 

of Photography Sandi Sissel with us. 

“I struggled with direct sunlight in my 

shoot as 70% of my fi lm involved shooting 

outdoors. Three out of fi ve days were spent 

shooting at sea. Shooting in natural light 

can cause continuity issues during postproduction 

as the sun was constantly moving, 

whereas in a traditional studio, you have the 

freedom to control the intensity and direction 

of light. In order to get around this, we 

constantly cheated the positions of the actors 

during medium and close shots to make it 

look like all the camera angles were shot 

simultaneously in a certain scene, when in 

reality it was shot over a period of four hours. 

“Recording sound at sea was a nuisance. 

We had to deal with unexpected gusts 

of wind, aeroplanes, helicopters, and 

speedboats and it was very tiring. We 

tried to capture as much natural sound 

as possible without using ADR, but at 

the end of the day, it was necessary as 

some of it was out of our control. 

“Filmmaking for me has 

graduated from being a hobby and 

a passion into an obsession.” 

A still from Land of Pearls. 


PROFILMMAKERS 

Tusilya Muthukumar 

Age: 24 

Film TiTle: if Only 

If Only is about two colleagues who 

check into a hotel room to complete 

their assignment on a children’s book, 

where one is the writer, Esha and the 

other is the painter, Suzie. During their 

stay, Esha claims she is haunted by a 

ghost but Suzie does not believe her. 

What unfolds affects both women. 

Role: wRiTeR/diRecToR 

“I wrote the script under the guidance 

of Ruba Nadda and Sabrina Dhawan. 

“I shot on the EX1, which was great 

but it doesn’t work very well in low 

light conditions so the image appears in 

soft focus. But we managed to lighten 

the shots and grade it in FCP. 

“We were given one camera to shoot 

our film. Ideally, I would have liked to use 

more than one camera. The shooting hours 

could have been lesser and faster then. 

“As mine is a horror film, I also felt a 

bit limited by FCP and would have like 

to play with some more editing software 

applications that would have helped 

me to create the effects required for a 

horror film. It may have enhanced the film 

more although I’m quite happy with the 

final product. Filmmaking has been an 

addictive experience for me and I intend 

to pursue a career in filmmaking.” 

Tusilya Muthukumar. 


A still from Um Al Subian. 

Amir Ghonim. 

Amir Mahmoud Ghonim 

Age: 21, Egyptian 

Film TiTle: DOnia 

Donia is about three people from 

different walks of life. The only thing 

they have in common is that they have 

met on the dance floor in a night club. 

The story becomes a metaphor to 

showcase the cracks within society. 

Role: ScReenwRiTeR, and diRecToR. 

“As we were trained on the EX1, it was 

easier to work with it. This camera is 

stable and gives us pure pictures. Also, 

its sensitivity to the exposure and light 

temperature was sufficient for my shoot. 

“It was also easy to carry and we 

could shoot many different and difficult 

angles. We used FCP and After Effects 

to edit and colour grade the film. I’m also 

sending my film to the US for scoring. 

“I did face some significant challenges 

but working with professional and 

experienced crew and editors who knew 

what they were doing made the decisionmaking 

process a lot easier. I plan to 

pursue filmmaking in the future.” 

Wafaa Al-Saffar 

Age: 24, senior student in graphic and 

fashion design in Virginia Commonwealth 

University in Qatar for arts and design. 

TiTle: Um al SUbian 

The film is about a ghost that hunts a 

child. The ghost (Umal-Sobian) is a 

rebellious jinn that tortures children. This 

movie showcases the lifestyle of Qatari 

families in mid 1940s, and their beliefs. 

Role: ediToR/ diRecToR/ ScRipTwRiTeR 

“I made this movie in honour of my 

deceased grandfather, who was one of 

the known ‘Motuwa’ during her time. 

My biggest problem was finding a Qatari 

actress but as I could not find any, I 

shifted my storyline and let the mother 

die at the beginning of the story. Most of 

the actors I found were male so I got one 

of the actors to cross-dress, where he 

wore the (Batwala) which is a traditional 

face covering to hide his features. 

“Shooting in August, when the sun 

was at its hottest made filming outdoors 

difficult so we opted for an indoor location. 

I managed to find a place belonging to an 

antique keeper, where we found a lot of old 

things that he had found over the years and 

bought. As the film was set in the 40s, the 

backdrop was just perfect for the shoot. 

“The script kept changing to the last 

day of the shoot, depending on the 

circumstances we were going through; 

so I had to be flexible while ensuring 

that I did not lose the plot. It was a lot 

of fun but chaotic and stressful as well. 

I like the way all the pieces have come 

together in the final version.” PRO

PROIBC 

Paddy Roache with the new Hitachi SK-HD 1200 camera. 

IBC2010 delivers the goods 

3D, IPTV, sports production and brand new technologies demonstrating media 

convergence caught our eye at IBC. A report. 

If visitor attendance is the yardstick 

by which to gauge whether a show is 

successful or not, the 8.7% rise in this 

year’s attendance over IBC 2009 is a 

supposed indication that the show was 

successful and that the broadcast market 

is slowly heading towards a recovery. 

Organisers claimed the total attendance 

for IBC2010 was 48,521, making it 

the second biggest IBC in history. 

“The rise in attendance this year suggests 

strongly that IBC’s developments are 

delivering what the industry requires from 

its annual global meeting place,” commented 

IBC CEO Michael Crimp. 

“We add value to the exhibition and 

conference, with initiatives like training and 

workshops, the Connected World, where 

our end of the industry could understand 

changing consumer behaviours, and bring 

in stunning technology demonstrations 

like NHK’s Super Hi-Vision. One of our 

biggest challenges was to reflect the way 

the industry was changing, with much 

more focus on strategic decisions about 

technology and growth. With decisionmaking 

moving upwards within an 

38 


Happy Hour at Axon. 

organisation, IBC has to be relevant to 

CEOs who previously might not have had 

it on their radar,” he added. 

As Crimp pointed out, one of the chief 

attractions of the show was Japanese 

broadcaster NHK’s demonstration of 

Super Hi-Vision and its power to deliver 

unprecedented image quality. 

Super Hi-Vision is an ultra-high 

definition television system that has 16 

times the resolution of today’s HD with 

pictures at 7680 x 4320 pixels at 60 frames 

a second progressive transmission. The 

audio is equally remarkable with 22.2 

channel surround sound. 

The 2010 demo included a new 

generation of practical, full resolution 

three-chip cameras. One of these has 

been set up permanently in the centre of 

Amsterdam and sent live pictures back to 

IBC over fibre. 

Super Hi -Vision generated a 

lot of interest among visitors. 

It was also interesting to note 

that although 3D has not taken 

off commercially, it was one of 

the technologies along with IPTV 

that most manufacturers were 

pushing aggressively at IBC. 

One impressive product that caught our 

eye was the 3D One camcorder that includes 

twin lenses and twin viewfinders. The lenses 

are 65mm apart, and users can see stereo 

through the twin viewfinders, which seem 

simple to align. 3D One has been designed 

to prevent users from shooting bad 3D. 

With normal 3D rigs, it is very easy to go 

out of alignment, something the integrated 

camcorder won’t do - but 3D One has taken 

this further by not allowing users to go 

negative as it’s a completely parallel system. 

“This is the most foolproof 3D camera that 

there is. You set it down, you press record, 

you stop, and you have your file recorded 

properly,” commented Marcelo Ackermann, 

development and marketing support, 3D One. 

Steve Schklair, 3Ality’s founder and CEO, 

who delivered the IBC 3D-Day Keynote 

warned that 3D broadcast would have to 

offer something more compelling that 2D for 

viewers to keep returning to the technology 

after the novelty had worn off. “If 3D 

content is not compelling, the technology 

will disappear again,” he cautioned.

“[While 3D is a wonderful new paintbrush ... 

you’ve really got to paint good pictures with it.” 

Steve Schklair, founder and CEO, 3Ality. 

At the Sony stand. 

IBC2010 was fantastic. It was bigger and better than 

2009 with the addition of the 13th Hall. There were 

thousands of products being pitched for the same 

space and there were huge 3D demonstrations of 

stereoscopic production and transmission modules this 

year. 3D was the biggest driver for product innovation 

this year, with many stands displaying evidence of their 

latest stereo-capable kit. 

Among the technologies I liked was the Adobe Flash 

Media Server 4 family, which claims to be the industry’s 

leading solution for streaming video and real-time 

communication; Ericsson’s commercial multi-screen 

TV offering, which combines the full features of IPTV, 

mobile TV, and web TV with a common look-and-feel 

for the user interface; the very innovative picture 

stitching technology displayed by Sony that is ideal for 

production on a soccer field; Dolby’s implementation 

of the open specification on the Axon G3D100 

stereoscopic production and transmission module that 

allows real-time, side-by-side formatting for interlaced 

and progressive 3D sources and, of course, the Super 

Hi-Vision demo. With the exception of the soaring hotel 

prices, everything else was simply fantastic. 

Melvin Saldanha, DVP of engineering, 

Ten Sports, Dubai 

I’ve been going to IBC since 2004 and was happy to 

go as part of the twofour54 tadreeb team this year. 

Everybody was talking about the Middle East and the 

incredible projects that were being deployed in this 

part of the world. 

I personally went to IBC with three objectives 

in mind this year. First, I wanted to look at new 

technologies that would be relevant to the Middle 

East and North Africa and that we could possibly 

integrate into our portfolio. Secondly, we wanted 

to look at new technologies that could support our 

training solutions with regards to quality, efficiency 

and mobility. Thirdly, we were on the lookout for new 

training solutions that would help establish twofour54 

tadreeb as a leading training academy for media 

related programmes in the MENA region. 

Our clients mainly have requirements for training in 

areas such as Digital Archiving, hardware/software 

certification, general broadcast operations as well as 

HD and 3D technology and we saw several impressive 

solutions in these areas at IBC. I was especially 

impressed by the new Panasonic AG3DA1 camera 

and Roland’s new mobile A/V mixer solutions. 

Alex Gehrig, director operations, 

twofour54 tadreeb, Abu Dhabi 

3D was part of the glamour 

of the IBC2010 awards. 

90-year-old Bill Vinten, son of the founder 

William Charles Vinten at the manufacturer’s 

centennial celebrations in Amsterdam. 

PROIBC 

The two main technology attractions were 3D and IPTV 

and almost all exhibitors had something in terms of 3D 

to demonstrate. 

I was impressed by several products such as Snell’s 

real-time standards conversion and restoration system 

where Snell’s processing can rapidly unlock the value 

of previously unviable content with Alchemist standards 

conversion and Archangel restoration; Miranda’s 3G bps/ 

HD broadcast infrastructure and Avid, which cotinues to 

dominate the non-linear editing space. With Blue order, 

I expect AVID to penetrate new fields of media asset 

management. It seems that the international market will 

be dominated by new giants like Miranda, Snell, and 

AVID in addition to the existing ones like Sony, Panasonic 

and Harris. 

For HEAT, attending IBC 2010 was very important, as 

it coincided with two new contracts: an HD TV studio 

in Jordan and a complete TV station project in Iraq. It 

provided us with an opportunity to conclude our deals 

with our suppliers such as Sony, Miranda, Snell, For-A, 

Sachltler, Omneon, and others. This will boost our efforts 

in completing our system integration projects within the 

scheduled timeline. 

Omar Hikmat, managing director, 

HEAT for Engineering and Technology, Jordan 


PROIBC 

IBC was an important show for Ross. We are 

continuously growing with many innovative and 

technologically advanced products. Visitors 

showed an interest in our complete Stereoscopic 

3D Infrastructure, the built in MultiViewer for our 

switchers, NK Series Routers, DWDM Fiber Optic 

Transmitters and Receivers, SoftMetal Video Server, 

XPression Character Generator and OverDrive 

Automated Production Control System. Due to the 

EID Religious Holiday coinciding with IBC, Middle 

East visitors were low, but those who made it are 

likely to be serious future Ross buyers. Our future 

plans include a Middle East Roadshow, tradeshows, 

and our Ross Award winning Technical Support. 

Brian Murray – regional sales manager, Ross Video 

Middle East, Africa & India 


From left: Andreas Hilmer and Nils Quak 

of Riedel demonstrate some of the 

manufacturer’s new products at IBC. 

He added that while 3D was a really 

cool tool, “a wonderful new paintbrush”, 

… “you’ve really got to paint good pictures 

with it”. 

In the meantime, The BBC Academy 

has launched an introductory course on 

Stereoscopic 3D. The training course 

examines the challenges of planning, 

production, post production and 

delivering 3D. 

The course introduces delegates to 

the capture techniques used, handson 

operation of the different 3D rigs, 

framing and directing challenges and 

understanding the science behind good 

and bad 3D experiences. 

The programme mixes studio 

production with location filming. It 

demonstrates S3D post, typical problems 

encountered and how to deliver a 

headache-free viewing experience. 

Andy Wilson, head of the Centre of 

Technology, commented that the “training 

module is an essential part of the BBC 

Academy’s role in supporting future 

output and training the industry”. 

“We are keen to build partnerships 

with companies, broadcasters and other 

organisations around 3D training,” he stated. 

For some companies such as Hitachi and 

Vinten, this year was very special as both 

celebrated 100 years of success. IBC 2010 

presented the perfect opportunity for the 

manufacturers’ centenary celebrations. 

Hitachi used the occasion to showcase 

several new products including its new 1080p 

SK-HD1200 – the latest in the SK-HD family of 

HD broadcast cameras. 

Its new 3G SK-HD 1200 camera offering 

full multi-format operation based on its 3 

native 1080p 2/3 inch CCDs was especially a 

hit with visitors. 

“Broadcasters and production companies 

in our region will make a serious error of 

judgment if they don’t evaluate this camera for 

their current and future requirements,” stated 

Paddy Roache, director and general manager 

of Hitachi Europe. 

“The SK-HD 1200 is developed from our 

highly successful SK-HD1000 camera line, 

which was used extensively during the 

Vancouver Winter Games. The SK-HD 1000 

with native 1080i and 720p options in triax and 

fibre is used extensively throughout Europe, 

the Middle East and Africa,” he added. 

Riedel demonstrated new products 

including its Mediornet solution that 

reiterated the company’s vision of

expanding its offerings to provide 

the infrastructure for distributing 

HD video, audio, intercom and data 

through its solutions. 

Besides this, a lot of attention was 

paid to sports production at IBC. 

Sony’s picture stitching technology, 

which uses three co-sited cameras to 

produce one panoramic image was 

especially impressive. The image 

streams from the mounted cameras 

are stitched together to form one 

overall picture. 

From this, an operator can create 

a virtual camera and position this 

according to the on screen action, 

allowing broadcasters a view of any 

point of interest in the scene. 

The software can also be 

programmed with additional depth 

information, for example a football 

stadium; to artificially create a 3D 

view of the scene. 

Several brand new and innovative 

technologies caught the attention of 

BroadcastPro Middle East at IBC 

and in the coming months, we hope to 

feature some of these in our magazine. 

Watch this space! PRO 

Arri’s new lights impress IBC visitors. 

From Arri’s left: new Peter lights Kyriakose impress and IBC visitors. 

From left: Peter Kyriakos of UBMS 

and Roger Wilson at the Vitec Group’s 

stand at IBC. 

Axon had a successful IBC 2010. Not only did we 

welcome many more visitors than in 2008 and 

2009, but several projects were concluded during 

the exhibition. We had a constant flow of visitors at 

our newly designed stand. We welcomed visitors 

from all over the world and the Middle East was 

extremely well represented (not in the least as AXON 

had assisted its customers with obtaining visit visa 

for the Netherlands). 

Several new products were launched and although 

our centrepieces were SynView multiviewer, Cortex 

Master Control, the Synapse modular range and the 

TRACS2 compliance recorders, the eye catchers were 

the iPad SynTouch application (that allows for control 

of our Synapse modular range and our G/H3D100 

module, that showed not only the several 3D 

topologies, but also a full-fledged 2D-3D conversion, 

even of live sources). Every day was concluded with 

the AXON Happy Hour, now an institution and a great 

success with a daily price-draw of an iPad. We look 

forward to 2011! 

Mark Barkey, regional sales manager Middle East, 

Axon Digital Design 

PROIBC 

VINTEN DEVELOPS “NEXT 

GENERATION” TV PRODUCTS 

The VITEC Group showcased several new solutions 

from its various brands at its stand. Roger Wilson, 

MD of Vitec Group pointed out, one of the core 

strategies of the company has been to “move on 

to the next generation” and “develop products that 

address the new requirements of the market. 

“What we have showcased at IBC2010 tends to 

relate to the changes in the market. For example, 

cameras are getting smaller and, therefore, there is 

a corresponding requirement for camera support 

systems that address that market. One important 

product that we have highlighted at the show is our 

Vision Blue, which is designed for small cameras 

like the DSLR. 

“Areas such as virtual reality and integration 

with graphics environments still need to 

be addressed. The way TV is made today is 

developing as well and in response to the 

progress on that front, we have built new 

versions of pan and tilt heads, for example, that 

have encoders built in. We’re also looking to 

expand what we are doing in the robotics area,” 

he added. 

Wilson also added that the company works 

closely with its key distributors to ensure that 

they understand their products well and can 

adequately support their respective regions. 

At the show, the Vitec Group also named its 

Dubai-based distributor United Broadcast and 

Media Solutions (UBMS) as the regional master 

distributor of Vitec Group’s Videocom division, 

which includes brands such as Sachtler, Vinten 

Litepanels, Oconnor and Petrol Bags, amongst 

others. UBMS was also awarded the Best 

Sachtler Agent for 2009 by Sachtler. 


LATEST PROTECH 

DVS Clipster 

DVS’ CLIPSTER now comes with a tool set for the logging 

and linking of digital material. Digital deliverables of 

modern RAW cameras can be created at high speed. 

CLIPSTER is capable of creating a single timeline 

from a wide range of different RAW data, e.g. material 

from RED, ARRI D-20/D-21, ALEXA, Phantom or 

SI-2K cameras. All RAW formats can be decoded and 

demosaiced in real-time. With its comprehensive set of 

burn-in features and a wide range of deliverable formats, 

CLIPSTER covers all aspects of the deliverable workflow. 

Post houses benefit from the DI workstation’s new DCI 

capabilities: CLIPSTER generates 3D Digital Cinema 

Packages (DCP) in real-time and its sophisticated 

hardware helps accelerate DCI Mastering and 3D 

subtitling in 4K. Numerous stereoscopic real-time 

workflows enable users to effortlessly handle 3D 

material. Thanks to the new 3D depth grading, it is 

now possible to fine-tune the depth of a 3D scene. 

Here, CLIPSTER uses a nuanced approach that enables 

the creation of perfect 3D for any screen size. 

As of now, CLIPSTER also supports another 

Apple codec with capabilities for Apple ProRes 422 

generation in Proxy, LT and 4444. In the 444 version, 

CLIPSTER offers 12-bit processing for ALEXA 

camera feed. The DI workstation reads and writes 

the codec under the Windows operating system. 


NETIA CMS 

The new NETIA content management system 

(CMS) is an integrated suite of media asset 

management solutions that together enable 

users to streamline all of their production 

processes. Through a single customisable 

Web-based interface, the NETIA CMS facilitates 

highly automated, easy-to-manage workflows 

across the production environment, from editing 

through post and distribution. 

Built on NETIA’s existing MAM system, the 

CMS also enables media companies to store, 

manage, and distribute content to any service 

provider or multimedia platform. 

Within the CMS, a workflow manager automates, 

choreographs, visually represents, and 

then executes processes or workflows. A variety 

of modules provide for ingest and quality control; 

metadata extraction and tagging; search, 

browse, and low-resolution proxy generation; 

integration with key third-party systems including 

QA, tape/disk-based archive, nonlinear editing, 

playout, and traffic automation; and multiplatform 

delivery to mobile TV, VOD/catch-up TV, 

IPTV, HD, and SD playout automation systems.

LINEAr ACouSTIC 

The new UPMAX II Reference 

Upmixer from Linear Acoustic 

produces a very stable 

5.1-channel version of twochannel 

inputs. Active steering, 

typically found in other upmixing 

products, is not employed in 

this algorithm. Audio elements 

are extracted using frequency 

domain filtering and time domain 

amplitude techniques. The 

bass enhancement signal for 

the LFE channel is derived from 

the left, center, and right channels, 

allowing quick creation of 

subwoofer channel elements 

without compromising full-range 

consumer playback systems. 

The surround field can be 

infinitely adjusted via the Center 

Channel Width control and 

the Surround Channel Depth 

controls. This allows programming 

ranging from simple stereo 

to LtRt to be appropriately 

reproduced from a 5.1-channel 

playback system. 

A full-colour OLED display, 

rotary encoder, and four control 

keys provide for straightforward 

menu navigation and function 

adjustment on the unit. UPMAX 

II features an auto-ranging 

power supply with an option for 

a second redundant power supply. 

Bypass relays are provided 

for trouble-free operation in 

transmission-critical environments. 

UPMAX II accepts three 

AES pairs of audio. It will upmix 

the first pair, and allows all 

three pairs to pass via a crossfade 

when upmixing is disabled. 

This allows the unit to remain in 

a 5.1-channel path. Upmixing 

and bypass can be controlled 

by GPI contact closure and applied 

metadata. UPMAX II also 

includes a utility encoder that 

accepts 5.1 channels and produces 

a two-channel LoRo, LtRt, 

or LtRt2 output; this encoder 

can be independent or it can 

be fed by the same channels 

applied to the upmixer. 

Optional HD/SD-SDI I/O is 

available, allowing access to all 

16 embedded audio channels. 

Audio can be processed without 

modification from any embedded 

input pair to any embedded 

output pair, allowing utility channel 

pair shuffling. 

JVC 

GY-HM790 

The new GY-HM790 camera is the flagship of 

JVC’s ProHD product line, offering new features 

for both studio and ENG applications, while 

implementing popular features from established 

ProHD models. In the studio, its modular design 

creates a cleaner integration for multicore or 

fibre-based production. In the field, its three 

1/3-inch CCDs allow a lighter, more compact 

form factor for better manoeuvrability. It 

produces 1920x1080 images and can record in 

1080i, 720p, and even SD (576i) for operations 

that have not yet made the move to HD. The 

camera records to solid-state memory at 

35 Mbps (HQ mode/variable bit rate) or 19 

Mbps/25 Mbps (SP mode/constant bit rate). 

With broadcasters facing an expensive 

transition to digital television, and consumers 

wanting more high definition programming, 

JVC identified the need for affordable HD 

production equipment for local, regional and 

national network news. Since the inception 

of the ProHD product line, JVC claims 

to have had a clear vision for ProHD. 

All three cameras in the ProHD range 

(the hand-held GY-HM100, the shouldermounted 

GY-HM700 and the new GY-HM790 

studio/ENG camera) use industry standard 

long-GOP compression with a low bit rate, 

creating manageable data streams and file 

sizes. They record to inexpensive SDHC 

solid-state media cards, and customers love 

the convenience, reliability and low cost. 


SIrIuS 830 rouTEr 

Snell has expanded its 

Sirius 800 series of largescale, 

multi-format expandable 

routers with the Sirius 830. At 

16RU, the Sirius 830 offers 

a more compact 288 x 288 

frame size for mid- to largescale 

studio or OB productions, 

with the ability to add an 

additional 144 independently 

controllable outputs for connection 

to Snell’s MV-Series 

or any third-party multiviewer 

solution. The new router was on 

display at IBC. 

The Sirius 830 features 

high-performance crosspoint 

modules for flexible routing 

of SD, HD, ASI, 3Gbps, and 

embedded audio signals. 

Optional redundant crosspoints 

use intelligent path monitoring, 

which in the event of a failure 

can automatically switch to 

the redundant path and issue 

a user alarm through Snell’s 

system-wide Centra control 

and monitoring application. The 

intuitive touch-screen interface 

on the Sirius 830’s front panel 

allows quick and easy access 

to a comprehensive range of 

status and diagnostic information. 

All of this information 

can be linked to Snell’s Centra 

system, allowing remote access 

to the same information, or 

through the Centra rules engine 

for automatic re-routing of 

signals — making the routing 

system truly self-healing. 



rEdroCk MICro 

NANo dSLr rIGS 

The Redrock Micro’s “nano” 

line extends Redrock’s current 

rigs and accessories for HDSLR 

cameras, and is designed for 

low-cost entry level, photojournalism/documentary, 

and 

discreet shooting applications. 

The nano rigs are manufactured 

to precision professional 

standards, and can be easily 

upgraded to more advanced 

rigs as needed. 

“We developed the nano 

rigs from extensive input from 

professional and aspiring still/ 

motion photographers,” said 

James Hurd, chief revolutionary 

for Redrock Micro. 

“Customers wanted additional 

options that were 

smaller, more lightweight, 

and offered an affordable 

entry point, while maintaining 

Redrock professional quality 

and interoperability.” 

The DSLR rigs and accessories 

are available with United 

Broadcast and Media Solutions. 

SGL SuPPorTS LTo-5 

Software Generation Ltd 

has demonstrated support 

for the latest evolution of 

the LTO (Linear-Tape Open) 

Programme, LTO Ultrium5 tape 

drive and libraries. With a 

native uncompressed storage 

capacity of 1.5TB on each 

tape cartridge, this version of 

LTO provides a cost-effective 

solution today. A single LTO-5 

tape can store approximately 

28 hours of 120Mbs HD material 

and with transfer rates up 

to 140MBs. LTO-5 is designed 

for media and entertainment 

companies wishing to preserve 

their valuable material in a 

long term archive. 

LTO-5 drives are designed 

with backwards-compatible 

read-and-write capability with 

LTO-4 cartridges, and backward 

read capabilities with 

LTO-3 and LTO-4 cartridges, 

helping to protect investments 

and ease implementation. 

The LTO Programme was 

formed in 1997 and HP, IBM 

and Quantum jointly oversee 

the development and roadmap 

of LTO technology. 


MAYAH FM Radio to MPEG 

TS Transcoder 

At IBC, MAYAH launched FM Radio to 

MPEG TS Transcoder, a cost saving solution 

to provide local data over IP networks. 

German audio and video codec manufacturer 

MAYAH Communications showcased its FM 

Radio to MPEG TS Transcoder / Converter, 

which is based on the new generation 

audio codec CENTAURI III 4000. 

With the FM Radio to MPEG TS 

Converter option for CENTAURI III MAYAH 

provides an affordable, efficient, space 

and cost saving solution for cable network 

operators willing to deliver any local 

radio programs to their customers. Up to 

8 programmes can be received, encoded 

and streamed with one 2RU device. 

Demodulated signal as well as the RDS 

data is transferred digitally to the MPEG 

encoder and then streamed out at the 

dedicated streaming IP interface. 

For audio compression, the industry 

standards are supported by the Converter: 

MPEG-1 Layer 2, MPEG-4 AAC or HE-AACv2. 

For IP transport, a variety of protocols can be 

used: from the DVB compliant MPEG TS to 

ISMA compliant or plain UDP/RTP. For MPEG 

TS, MAYAH provides any combination of Single 

Programme or Multiple Programme Streams. 

An efficient hardware platform of the new 

generation audio codec, CENTAURI III allows 

the high density rack installations with the 

best security possibilities, thanks to redundant 

power supply option and always available dual 

IP interface for separate control and streaming. 

Set-up of all parameters is relatively easy. 

VoIP wITH NEVIoN 

The FCS1000-PLUS platform, a highdensity 

video in-service monitoring 

solution, now includes support for 

video-over-IP monitoring, offering 

customers a complete solution for 

monitoring the entire video transport 

infrastructure. Users can pinpoint 

quality of service issues with wirespeed 

monitoring of video-over-IP 

traffic at the Ethernet, IP, UDP and 

RTP layers, support a large number 

of IP flows using different transport 

formats, and have the ability to monitor 

video-over-IP traffic without the 

risk of signal interruption. Deployed 

by service providers and broadcasters 

worldwide, the FCS1000-PLUS is 

ideal for central monitoring of a large 

number of DVB-ASI transport streams 

or HD/SD-SDI video signals. 

Nevion also showcased a new 

connection management platform 

for IP that allows service providers 

to provision and monitor services 

without considering detailed configuration 

settings in each network 

element. Users will be able to set 

up connections by selecting service 

profiles and auto-detected available 

end points. Additional advanced 

capabilities include bandwidth 

utilisation management and forward 

error correction for the most efficient 

use of infrastructure with the right 

quality of service.


SoNY PMw-500 

Sony Professional announced 

the latest edition to its hugely 

popular XDCAM HD422 family 

product range, the PMW-500, 

bringing together for the first 

time the performance quality of 

the PDW-700 with the operational 

flexibility of recording to 

solid state memory. 

The 2/3” shoulder camcorder, 

equipped with Power HAD FX 

CCD image sensors, is capable 

of recording in 50 Mb/s in Full 

HD 1080p and is the ideal 

choice for broadcasters and 

freelancers looking for a versatile 

compact memory based 

camcorder. The PMW-500 has 

already received significant 

interest from major European 

broadcasters, including RTL TVI 

in Belgium, which has recently 

invested in 22 units to support 

its launch of HD early next year. 

“The PMW-500 represents 

the next step in the evolution 

of our XDCAM product 

range,” said Richard Brooking, 

XDCAM product manager, Sony 

Professional. “Since 2003, the 

XDCAM format has become 

the industry standard with over 

150,000 units sold worldwide. 

From speaking to our customers, 

there was a clear need for 

a light weight memory based 

camcorder which had the same 

rich functionality of Sony’s highend 

camcorders but at a more 

affordable price.” 

The PMW-500 utilises the 

SxS Pro Memory Card first 

introduced to the XDCAM 

EX range in 2007. The SxS 

memory card gives the advantage 

of providing users with 

an extremely high level of reliability 

and fast access speeds, 

something critical in demanding 

professional operations. In 

addition, by using solid-state 

memory, the camcorder benefits 

from having a low level 

of power consumption, thus 

eliminating the need for large 

battery packs. 


SSl 

C100 Broadcast Console v3 

Solid State Logic demonstrated an 

extensive collection of significant new 

features for its C100 HDS High End 

Broadcast Console at IBC. The addition 

of Production Automation integration, 

alongside its Dialogue Automix and 

5.1 Upmix features and new low cost 

I/O, addresses growing trends in 

broadcast production, with enhanced 

remote control capability and tools 

that improve production efficiency. 

These major upgrades to the C100 HDS 

Console and Routing & I/O platforms will 

be introduced with V3 software, as part 

of a collection of system improvements 

which add substantial new functionality. 

Additionally, V3 software introduces 

support for new low cost I/O, and expanded 

remote GPIO options. In response to 

growing client requirements for automated 

production environments, V3 extends 

remote control capability for the C100 with 

Pro-Bel protocol compatibility and full 

implementation of Ross Overdrive & Sony 

ELC Production Automation systems. V3 

brings SSL’s acclaimed Dialogue Automix 

option to the C100 which transparently 

manages the physically challenging task 

of riding the faders in the fast paced 

environment of a live multi-microphone 

production. Dialogue Automix eliminates 

missed upcuts and maintains a smooth, 

balanced level of background ambience. 

For today’s HD production environments, 

V3 also expands the console’s already class 

leading surround production capabilities 

with the addition of an automatic stereo 

to surround 5.1 Up-mix option. 

The introduction of V3 also adds 

compatibility with SSL’s Alpha-Link Live 

audio converter and Alpha-Link 8RMP 8 

channel mic pre units, providing additional 

new low cost audio I/O options for C100. 

A new Ethernet connected Remote GPIO 

1U rack unit provides up to 48 channels 

of GPIO capacity wherever you need it.

PROGUEST 

As I once told a CA vendor, you build 

a big mountain that the pirates can’t climb, 

so they simply walk around the bottom. 

Piracy: the good, 

the bad and the ugly 

Having worked in anti-piracy for a number 

of years, it surprises me that people really 

don’t understand piracy, pirates or their 

consequences. 

The Stationers’ Company of London in 

1557 received a Royal Charter giving the 

company a monopoly on publication and 

tasking it with enforcing the charter. 

Those who violated the charter were 

labelled pirates as early as 1603; now 400 

years later… 

Today, broadcast piracy is big business. 

Everyone has seen internet-connected boxes 

that will let you watch almost anything that 

your dish can pick up. The system used by 

most pirates is control word sharing. This 

system is very simple - in fact, as long ago as 

1998, the system was described by John 

McCormack, and so was called the McCormack 

hack. The Conditional Access (CA) vendors 

were aware of this hack, yet chose to ignore it. 

At that time the internet was very slow, 

so CA vendors and broadcasters did not see 

it as a problem. As the internet moved to 

high-speed broadband, however, control 

word sharing became technically and 

commercially viable. 

Common sense would lead you to think 

that the CA vendors would have been 

prepared for this, and would have had 

solutions in place, but this is not true. 

The question is, why? 


This is the part where the piracy story 

takes a twist. Between 1998 and 2002, most 

broadcasters suffered from piracy. At 

the same time, CA vendors were making 

huge profi ts. How is this possible? Well, 

it’s simple. Much of the software used by 

the pirates actually belonged to the CA 

vendors, and as the pirates always paid 

the licence fees to the CA vendors on time, 

a blind eye was turned to the practice. The 

vendors were happy selling the smart card 

chips and cards to the pirates. 

If one were to examine the fi nancial reports, 

you would fi nd that some CA vendors had a 

peak in their profi ts during high levels of 

piracy. It should be remembered that CA 

vendors make a large profi t from a card swap, 

whilst the operator is forced to pay out of fear. 

The CA vendors then released the cure 

to stop the piracy, but, interestingly, this 

did not protect against control word 

sharing, which is still the largest form of 

piracy. Interestingly, the CA vendors knew 

about this kind of piracy as early as 1988. 

As I once told a CA vendor, you build a 

big mountain that the pirates can’t climb, so 

they simply walk around the bottom. 

There have been some interesting and 

well-publicised court cases recently about 

CA vendors hacking other CA systems. The 

most recent involved NDS and Nagra in the 

US, and both sides claimed victory. 

Interestingly, even some broadcasters are, 

or have been, actively involved in piracy. 

Piracy is big business and a lot of money 

is involved. The average person on the street 

thinks he is getting something for free, when, 

in truth, the real price is very high. 

Solutions are diffi cult to fi nd. CA vendors 

are now saying that “secure silicon” boxes are 

the way forward, but even I can see a weakness 

in these systems. To have a secure system 

you need to control everything, and most 

broadcasters will not invest that kind of money. 

CA vendors know that there are very few 

large broadcasters to sell to. Their interest is in 

making a profi t, and profi t for them is in the 

licences. The broadcaster needs a subscription 

to make pay TV pay. 

It is very diffi cult to listen to the so-called 

experts in CA, when even the chip 

manufacturers involved are less than economical 

with the truth about their silicon. When you also 

see large international companies involved in 

piracy - albeit at arm’s length – questions need 

to be asked about the motives of the players. 

You have to ask yourself - is there a cure, 

or is piracy simply an inevitable cost of doing 

business? At the end of the day, it is the honest 

broadcasters and the innocent subscribers that 

lose. Everyone else still turns a profi t. 

Steve Bjuvgard is head of Anti-Piracy 

at Arab Media Corporation.

KP 12 CLD 

12-position color display keypanel 

The revolutionary KP 12 CLD from RTS introduces several 

new features designed to enhance capability and ease of 

use. The intuitive graphic interface is housed inside two 

full-color LCD displays. 

The front panel also features conveniences such as a userprogrammable 

buttons, one-touch listen volume adjustment 

on each of the 14 new multifunction keys, and a backlit 

keypad. In addition, the KP 12 CLD can be ordered with the 

new KP 12 CLD rear connector module or/and our sophisticated 

RVON-2 VOIP module. Like all RTS products, the KP 12 CLD 

is designed with expansion in mind. The front-mounted USB 

port and modular rear panel allow for future upgrades that 

will keep the KP 12 CLD on the forefront of technology for 

years to come. 

Innovating the Future of Global Communications 

Bosch Communications Systems · Headquarter Europe, Middle-East & Africa 

EVI Audio GmbH · Sachsenring 60 · 94315 Straubing · Germany · Phone: +49 9421 706-0 · www.rtsintercoms.com 

UAE: Robert Bosch Middle East FZE, Phone: +971 42123-363

More exciting than ever before. 

3D imaging with Fujinon. 

www.fujinon.de Medical TV CCTV Machine Vision Binoculars 

The future of television 

is 3D! Fujinon 

3D systems help you to shape this future. 

Take advantage of our vast experience 

gathered in many years of collaboration with 

the pioneers of 3D film production. Lens pairs 

with perfectly matched zoom and focus positioning 

build the foundation for superior performance in sophisticated 3D productions. 16-Bit 

encoders and no-backlash mechanisms complement the synchronous interaction. 

In combination with 16-bit lens feedback, the new Fujinon 3D synchronous control 

system guarantees the required parallel positioning of zoom and focus and helps to 

avoid the need for elaborate correction measures during postproduction. The results 

are fascinating from the first to the last frame. Fujinon. To see more is to know more. 

Fujinon 3D lenses with 

3D synchronous control system 

FUJINON (EUROPE) GMBH, MIDDLE EAST OFFICE, JEBEL ALI FREE ZONE, P.O. BOX 18408, Dubai, U.A.E., TEL.: +971 4 887 3074, FAX: +971 4 887 3053, fujinonm@emirates.net.ae 

FUJINON (EUROPE) GMBH, HALSKESTRASSE 4, 47877 WILLICH, GERMANY, TEL.: +49 (0) 21 54 9 24-0, FAX: +49 (0) 21 54 9 24-290, www.fujinon.de

exciting than ever before. 3D imaging with Fujinon. - Nayla Al Khaja

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