Tyrell: SyNABsis 2016

The essential guide to NAB 2016 

NAB2016 REVIEW 

T yrell’s SyNABsis of the show in Las Vegas. 

+353 (1) 888-1118 Unit 13, Bluebell Business Park, Old Naas Road, Dublin 12 info@tyrellcct.com

Contents 

WELCOME & “VIEW OF VEGAS” 

TYRELL’S TAKE ON THE AVID NEXIS 

VIRTUAL REALITY, A MORE IMMERSIVE RABBIT HOLE? 

AVID GRAPHICS UPDATE 

THE FREESPEAK II BASE 2 

LYTRO BRINGS ITS LIGHT TECH TO CINEMA & VFX 

THE DEMOCRATISATION OF CONTENT….. 

SO, DRONES ARE STILL COOL 

WILL RESOLVE BE YOUR NEXT NLE? 

IP STREAM WORKFLOWS ARE ON THE UP 

THUNDERBOLT 3 @ NAB 2016 

NEARLY 40 WITH VIRTUAL REALITY 

STORAGEDNA DNAFUSION WITH SONY ODA TECHNOLOGY 

FINGER ON THE PULSE OF NEWS GATHERING 

VIDCHECKER 7 IS HERE 

ADOBE – VR VIDEO WORKFLOW SUPPORT 

ASPERA STILL LEADING THE WAY IN FILE TRANSFER 

LIVESTREAM – RTMP SURGE OR CHEAP REMOTE PRODUCTION? 

SYNCBAC PRO – LOCKING GOPROS 

Object Matrix and Sony Media Navigator ODA 

PROMAX SYSTEMS BRINGS PLATFORM TO ARCHIVE 

PROMAX “ONE APPLICATION, ONE CATALOGUE, ONE SYSTEM” 

BLACKMAGIC URSA STUDIO VIEW FINDER 

EDITSHARE FLOW & FLOW STORY 

GLOO TO STICK AVID, SONY, SGL AND OBJECT MATRIX TOGETHER 

ROSS | PIXELS ON ACIDCAM WITH ULTRACHROMEHR 

OBJECT MATRIX GIVES US VISION 

ANG LEE’S NEW MOVIE 3D 4K/120FPS WOWS VIPS @ NAB SHOW 

NOKIA @ NAB WITH OZO VR CAMERA 

SUMMARY & SIGN OFF 

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2. | 

© | SyNABsis 2016

Welcome 

NAB 2016; a view of Vegas from London and Dublin 

Attendance at NAB in Las 

Vegas has for a long time been 

a fixed item in the travel, 

marketing and cost-of-sales 

budgets for Tyrell. 

We’ve always had a good time 

and come home with new 

ideas and technologies to 

offer to our customers, but 

this year we began to 

question the real cost-value 

balance and decided to 

conduct an experiment. 

We’ve used the 10-14 days, including 

recovery from fatigue and jetlag, differently, 

to try and provide our customers with better 

quality information from the show that helps 

them make better buying decisions and helps 

us win more business. 

By watching and reporting on NAB 2016 

from back at base, we’re also kind of 

following a trend that’s developing in the 

world of broadcast and in particular sport, 

news and major events. The marriage of 

media technology, IT and telecoms is 

allowing content creators to look differently 

at how they operate in the field. 

Along with VR, HDR, HFR and the inevitable 

UAVs, remote production was one of the hot 

topics of this year’s show. All it needs now is 

its own acronym! 

Every four years, billions of earthlings enjoy coverage of the 

Olympic games from lots of new angles and vantage points and at 

a noticeably higher resolution than the previous games. 

Everything looks pristine, the presenters never miss a cue and 

the pictures (almost) always end up on screen at the right time 

and in the right order. 

Most viewers probably don’t appreciate just how much it costs 

the rights-holding broadcasters to beam those pictures onto 

their various screens and devices, but it’s a big issue for the bean 

counters. 

The kit, the on-screen talent and the studio facilities account for 

a sizeable chunk of the budget, obviously, but, historically, 

coverage of major events has always meant having lots of people 

on the ground fulfilling a variety of roles and that costs big 

money. 

Roving camera crews are, of course, essential, while editors and producers crammed into pokey 

bays or hunched over desks and galleries full of calmly effective operators and the world’s best 

pointers and shouters have long been the norm. Then there are the many, many others, further 

up and down the food chain. 

The flights, accommodation, meals, local transport, security and out-of-pocket expenses. It all 

adds up, it really does, 

So, it’s probably comes as a big relief that you can now choose to just send production teams to a 

major event such as the Olympics while everything else is taken care of back at base. But how is 

this possible? And how can companies with similar requirements benefit too? 

IP-based production technology, remote post production and workflow tools and international 

fibre optic connectivity allow geographically dispersed workgroups to feel like a closely-coupled 

team. And it’s all now becoming much more affordable and accessible to a wider market. 

Everywhere you look, tape is all but dead, but disk-based cameras alone do not always speed up a 

workflow sufficiently in today’s get-it-onto-their-devices-before-they-get-bored-and 

-go-and-do-something-else content world. 

In the broadcast arena, AIMS (the Alliance for IP Media Solutions) is a new trade body that 

promotes the open standards broadcast and media companies will use to move from legacy SDI 

systems to a virtualised, IP-based future. While everybody waits for native IP support to take 

hold in broadcast, then migrate through the camera ranges, devices like LiveU’s 3G-enabled 

portable field units allow production teams to stream live for web distribution, point to point, and 

point to multi-point. 

On the NAB 2016 show floor, the web TV channel This Week in Technology (TWiT) streamed 

entire programmes from ia studio on the LiveU booth, a Panasonic PTZ robotic cameras were 

paired with LU500 lightweight backpacks connected to a NewTek TriCaster multi-camera 

production system, which was in turn connected to an LU700 hybrid rack-mount encoder, which 

then streamed live to TWiT.tv, via TWiT HQ in Petaluma, California. 

The pictures were great, the presenters and their guests looked relaxed and confident and the 

content was really pretty entertaining, as promotion-heavy trade show propaganda goes, 

Elsewhere, over on the NewTek stand, they were showing TalkShow, which adds live, full HD 

Skype TX video interviews to productions, which means, in theory, any one of Skype’s 74,000,000 

Continued Overleaf > 

© | SyNABsis 2016 | 3

users can now be a guest on a TV show. Hang 

on, there’s got to be a new show format in there 

somewhere. Quick, somebody bury it?! 

What was on view at NAB to help the small 

armies who tirelessly log and tag shots and the 

editorial teams who want to produce finished 

content the moment they can start manipulating 

the assets? 

Mercifully, Thunderbolt 3 is not the third film in 

a low budget superhero movie franchise. It 

takes a USB-C port and stuffs up to 40 Gigabits 

per second of data down it. There’s no need to 

list the things that enables you to do, because 

it’s pretty much anything in content production 

terms, including driving the biggest bank of 

monitors you can fit on your desk or wall. 

MAMs and storage systems got built-in file 

transfer capability, most noticeably Avid’s 

collaborations with Aspera and Signiant. There 

were also lots of remote access, software-only, 

Internet-enabled and cloud-based tools on 

show. If you believed the hype, they give us the 

power to assemble entire programmes and 

fling huge amounts of data from one side of the 

planet with so little effort that it’s enough to 

make one feel superhuman. 

Virtual reality took over from drones as the big 

talking point at this year’s show. It conjures up 

images of hundreds of people walking around 

in sightless goggles, bumping into each other 

and spilling their Starbucks lattes. VR is such a 

deeply immersive and personal experience it 

feels glib and trite to write about it without 

actually having been there to have a go 

ourselves and pass on our thoughts to you. 

Suffice to say, it’s one that’s walking unsteadily 

on the path that winds its way between fad and 

game-changing breakthrough. Perhaps we 

should get our hands on a few systems and 

invite you all over to share the demo experiences 

so we can chat about it afterwards? 

There were drones, obviously. They’re getting 

cleverer and more sophisticated, and the 

people are getting more creative. 

You can now buy a drone that is umbilically 

linked to a power source on the ground, so it 

can stay up in they air indefinitely - great for 

that protracted armed siege, or an aerial view 

of an attritional crown green bowls match. 

Another manufacturer has adapted its UAVs to 

make LED lights the payload. Imagine, a 

completely mobile, totally flexible and 

beautifully choreographed lighting set-up for 

an OB, movie or commercial shoot that 

disassembles itself, flies back to where you’re 

standing and fits in the back of a van! 

It’s dog-eat-cat-eat-mouse-eat-cheese in this 

content industry of ours. Everybody wants to 

sweat their assets and grab our eyeballs … or is 

is grab their assets and sweat our eyeballs? I 

forget sometimes. 

The Sprokit 2016 Program is focused on giving 

new, emerging companies a channel to market 

for their solutions for helping businesses and 

organisations to squeeze every drop of value 

they can from what they own or represent. We 

picked four of them to highlight. 

One is all about reaching a highly targeted 

group of viewers with branded content and 

modifying your campaign in real time based on 

how they engage with that content. Yes, they’re 

American. 

Another connects viewers directly to content 

owners via their second screens, even to the 

point where they can buy the products that are 

being used in a programme they’re watching. 

That just sounds dangerous. 

A third tracks how many times a product is 

evident during, say, a televised sporting event. 

That will come in handy when it comes to fee 

negotiations. 

A fourth, a Dublin start-up, allows advertisers 

to sync their online adverting to their 

competitor’s TV commercials and their own TV 

commercials to achieve maximum impact. That 

sounds brutal. In post, there didn’t seem to be a 

lot to note that wasn’t already flagged in 

advance or half-expected. 

Autodesk announced that it has bought Solid 

Angle, the makers of render engine Arnold, 

gaining a stronger grip on that market, which is 

heading towards the cloud if Amazon and 

Google have anything to do with it. Traditional 

VFX strongholds like Autodesk, who, 

remember swallowed up discreet logic and 

Softimage some time back, will need to 

maintain some control, even if it’s only over 

how render licences are used and paid for. 

Elsewhere, on one of the biggest booths in the 

South hall, is the Aussie disruptor-in-chief 

Grant Petty about to nark the NLE makers as 

much as he has everybody else with 

Blackmagic’s latest incarnation of Resolve? 

It looks good, it’s got the bells and whistles and 

it’s not expensive - i.e. all the things he and his 

company usually get right. However if he’s 

looking to use it to protect and build his 

hardware interface market, there are questions 

over whether it will play nicely with 

everybody’s third part I/O devices, which will 

slow down or ultimately scupper him. Maybe he 

could start giving boxes away for free? He’s 

pulled so many stunts in the past, you wouldn’t 

put it past him. 

All-in-all, a solid if slightly predictable NAB 

from where we sit. We don’t feel like we missed 

out too much. We can pick the bones out of the 

news stories and anecdotes from friends who 

did attend, so we’ll still end up showing you the 

latest and greatest hardware and software on 

offer. We’ve saved a lot of shoe leather and we 

feel bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, so don’t be 

surprised if you get a call very soon telling you 

all about it. 

– Bryan Malone 

4. | 


TYRELL’S TAKE ON 

THE AVID NEXIS 

Exciting news from Avid in the company’s shared 

storage range. Avid NEXIS has been unveiled, a 

new software-defined storage platform with 

great flexibility in terms of how it can be 

deployed, scalability, and data protection. 

What does software-defined platform mean? It means that the 

NEXIS can be adapted to the media creation applications a 

creative facility uses (Media Composer, Pro Tools, Apple Final 

Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere Pro, Grass Valley EDIUS to name a 

few), so there is no need from the creatives’ perspective to 

change their current workflow (which is only improved) or 

software they use, except for moving their media to the NEXIS 

system and learning the basics of logging in/mounting 

workspaces etc. 

From a technical standpoint, NEXIS carries on the tradition of 

previous Avid storage platforms. It’s a reliable and very secure 

system for storing data and the new next generation NEXIS|FS 

file system is instrumental in all this. 

Protection can be customised per workspace and can be 

changed dynamically as requirements change. Users can 

choose between single or dual disk protection, but RAID 

mirroring can be added on top of this, effectively offering 

protection against up to five simultaneous drive failures. 

This certainly will bring peace of mind to many technical 

professionals, as most advanced shared storage systems up to 

now were offering protection for up to 2 drives (RAID6). 

Otherwise, additional costly solutions would have to be added 

to the mix to offer that extra protection (nearline, LTO 

archiving). 

I 

Another great feature and bonus for facilities that already own 

ISIS systems is seamless integration of NEXIS with their 

existing ISIS servers; both systems can be managed through 

the updated NEXIS client software. NEXIS also integrates with 

the AVID MediaCentral Platform and expands its capabilities - 

a media-aware next-generation file system with pre-integrated 

hardware built to work as a cohesive system, 

The Nexis range includes medium capacity models and a 

System Director Appliance which can increase the scalability 

and redundancy of the system dramatically, adding the 

modularity and expansion capabilities of their flagship ISIS 

7000/7500 servers to the NEXIS platform Controller for high 

availability option, as well as a more affordable model the Avid 

NEXIS|PRO along the same lines as their recent ISIS 1000 

model, without sacrificing any of the advantages that the 

NEXIS platform has to offer. 

Read more about the Avid Nexis on our product page. 

© | SyNABsis 2016 | 5

Introduction 

VIRTUAL REALITY, A MORE IMMERSIVE RABBIT HOLE ? 

Fads in media entertainment come and go. The saturation of next-gen stereoscopic began four years 

ago and it was the talking point of trade shows for about two years before it started to decline in 

popularity. For the most part, stereoscopic disgusted cinephiles; it was deemed a gimmick and 

superfluous to the enjoyment of a movie. However, some studios pulled it off well (Avatar was 

considered a huge 3D success), whilst it seemed like an afterthought to others (Thor), but ultimately 

stereo3D seems to be petering out, unlikely to surface again shortly in any meaningful way. 

The essence of a fad in this industry is to allow the user to connect with 

whatever media they choose to consume in a new way; it is usually created 

to aid immersion users become consumed by the experience, and for the 

most part, I believe this is a positive thing once it’s done well. 

So perhaps VR is the newest fad, destined to ride the crest of a wave for a 

few years before fading into obscurity like so many before it. Or, maybe, it’s 

exactly what a generation with a notoriously short attention span needs. 

Virtual Reality as a concept is designed to augment our viewing 

experience by hijacking our senses. 

Now, that might sound dystopian, but it’s truly poised to unlock a trove of 

creativity far beyond what we know today. I remember the first time I 

watched a piece of video made for VR: it was the trailer for the upcoming 

Warcraft movie where you take the perspective of a character atop a 

Griffin in flight over a magnificent vista. I looked left and right to see my 

friends in a tight v-formation beside me, I could read their expressions as I 

pleased or just look ahead as we approached an ancient city. 

Audio was being pumped directly into my ears and responded to my 

orientation, my vision was totally fixated on the scene in front of me, my 

peripheries were engaged, I was completely immersed in the scene – 

conversely, my first experience of new-gen stereoscopic (Beowulf) had 

nowhere near as much of an impact. 

The release of both Oculus Rift and HTC’s Vive this year has given home 

users a consumer-grade entry point for VR. It’s not cheap (approximately 

€600), but then again, neither is a 52 inch LCD. 

The biggest problem right now isn’t the price however, it’s the noticeable 

absence of content. It might be a bit unfair to highlight content as a problem 

at such an early stage of the VR life cycle, but it’s going to be hard to 

convince consumers to drop nearly a grand on something they will struggle 

to get a return-on-investment from. 

It may be taboo, but it can’t be ignored. The adult entertainment industry 

was quick to pounce on VR as a delivery mechanism, with many VR scenes 

already in circulation, and I will say this: 

Many consider the battle between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD to have been lost 

by Toshiba after they declined to allow distribution of x-rated content on 

their HD-DVD platform. 

In fact, pornography accounts for such an enormous swathe of video 

content in general, that its involvement in VR alone could mean protracted 

use for VR as a viewing platform into the future. 

So in terms of content, there’s no shortage of potential users, they just 

haven’t begun to invest heavily in VR yet. 

Reports suggest that VR will see exponential growth at the beginning of the 

next decade, with estimates of 37 million VR head-sets in circulation by 

2020, but for the next three to four years, VR is likely to occupy the 

speciality or ‘enthusiast’ space. However, this hasn’t dissuaded the media 

production industry from throwing some R&D resources at VR production. 

Both The Foundry and Adobe have just announced their respective VR 

workflow tools at NAB and Kaleidoscope, a consortium of VR creators, 

showed up in Vegas in a big way, bringing a showcase of work to share with 

the denizens of NAB 2016. 

It’s also worth mentioning that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, 

purchased Oculus Rift for €1.7bn, so it’s clear to see that the stakes for VR 

are being driven deep. 

I could be accused of misrepresenting VR as a concept without mentioning 

the video game industry, and while it’s outside the scope of this article, it’s 

well worth noting that the industry is fawning over VR and the digital 

distribution giants Valve, who own and operate Steam, are welcoming the 

VR revolution with open arms. So again, it’s looking like the foundations for 

VR are deep. 

There’s generally a theme at every trade show, whether it’s stereoscopic 

or 4K, but this year it’s VR – and for what it’s worth, I believe it’s much 

more than just a fleeting piece of immersive tech, I believe it could 

actually reinvigorate and capture the attention of an audience possibly 

jaded by yet another superhero movie. 

6. | 


AVID GRAPHICS UPDATE 

Avid has updated its graphics platform with 

support for 3D motion graphics and sports 

with the new 4Designer, an update of 

Maestro, and a sports telestration tool, Spark. 

T 

he 4Designer graphics authoring tool is a complete toolset for creating 

2D and 3D motion graphics in a wide range of resolutions. The latest 

version of Maestro provides a way to manage and play out on-air 3D 

graphics, and supports video ingest and playout. Maestro is tightly 

integrated with the MediaCentral Platform. 

The Avid Spark telestration tool enables on-air commentators to 

draw and add graphics to a video in real time, giving audiences 

better visual insight into key plays, game flow, and analysis. 

This feature-rich toolset provides broadcasters with the tools they need to 

create stunning real-time visual content for news, elections, sports events, 

weather segments, business reports, and more. As the successor to the 

award-winning 3Designer, 4Designer offers more power, speed, and new 

features in a more modern interface, yet maintains the same workflows and 

compatibility with existing 3Designer templates. 

THE FREESPEAK II BASE 2 

Remastering of an old hit or a new 

kid on the block?! 

Upon the announcement of the release 

of a new FreeSpeak II Base2 (FS2B2) I 

must admit I got a bit giddy. After 

looking over the datasheet and the 

pictures it left me with more questions 

than answers. 

“IP 

configurative-based 

software” 

The good news is that it is loosely based on the 

LQ-R base and chipset and has elements of the 

Helix-Net in there as well. It is nice to see some 

consistency in the product release catalogue from 

Clear-Com because for years there were many 

alterations to the products and their design as the 

company underwent many changes of ownership. 

Under the stability of HME it is good to see some 

consistency not only in the design but also in the 

operation of the units. That means that after many, 

many requests the software for the base gets a 

re-working and it is based on the LQ and Helix-Net 

OS, CCM. 

This is a welcome addition. No need to install 

programs on a PC and make sure that specific PC is 

on site with you. It is an IP configurative-based 

software, which means the brains are housed inside 

the chipset (just like LQ and Helix-Net) and you can 

access it using just a network and a browser. You 

can even do it on your phone and tablet! 

© 2. | 

| SyNABsis 2016 © | SyNABsis 2016 | 7

Introduction 








LYTRO BRINGS ITS LIGHT TECH 

TO CINEMA & VFX 

At this year’s NAB, the Lytro guys unveiled 

their prototype camera. 7ft long, 755 

megapixels RAW, 300 frames per second and 

16 stops of dynamic range. 

I 

t got everyone immediately talking about the potential changes this will 

make to the post production & VFX industry, especially it terms of the 

time and effort used current to making composites work. Does this mean 

we are witnessing the potential end of the green screen? 

The camera and its massive storage array, which can record approximately 

100 shots, not only capture all the colour information, but in addition the 

direction and placement of every ray of light, hence the storage array. 

8. | 


“Does this mean we 

are witnessing the 

potential end of the 

green screen?” 

This information can produce a 3D model of what the camera sees, which 

can undoubtedly save anyone playing with the shots a huge amount of time 

during post production. 

Lytro isn’t a new name in this market. It started life at a consumer photo 

camera that also made use of light field technology to not just capture the 

intensity of light for any given photo, but also the direction of individual 

light rays. 

The great thing is that this could then be manipulated after the fact. You 

could change the focus and other key aspects after the original photo had 

been taken. 

To try it out for yourself, click on this photograph and dynamically change 

the focus point https://pictures.lytro.com/ 

© 2. | 


THE DEMOCRATISATION 

OF CONTENT... 

Introduction 




‘The democratisation of 


content’ was one of the 


favoured sayings of a beloved 


CEO I once worked for. 


Various releases at NAB have 

demonstrated that never before 

has it been so easy for individuals 

and companies to make and 

distribute their content. 

My kids watch hours of YouTube content 

created by their own age group, I am particularly 

keen on watching old skool funk or top 10 

rugby tackle videos that are available online. 

What do these examples have in common? 

They don’t care who watches their content, 

they do not care about the demographic or 

effectiveness of their audience. However, 

companies do. They create content to speak to 

At this year’s NAB, the their Lytro audience, guys to drive unveiled revenue. 


megapixels RAW, 300 At frames Tyrell we are per working second more and more with 

16 stops of dynamic range. corporate companies to help them manage, edit 

and distribute their content assets. We talk 

about how giving them immediate access to 

t got everyone immediately talking their content about the can potential help them changes monetise this their will 

Imake to the post production & assets, VFX industry, how secure especially efficient it storage terms of and the 

time and effort used current to workflows making composites can help them work. turn Does around this mean their 

we are witnessing the potential footage end of the to a green final asset screen? they can distribute. 

The camera and its massive storage But that array, is normally which can where record our approximately 

role ends. We 

100 shots, not only capture all the don’t colour usually information, pay attention but in to addition how they the target 

direction and placement of every and ray measure of light, the hence success the required of their output. storage 

array. 

Through my NAB research I came across a 

number of companies whose approach made 

me consider this next stage of the content 

workflow. When streaming or broadcasting 

your content who are you playing to? Are you 

hitting the right audience or providing 

immediate access to your product/message? 

The following four companies exhibited at NAB 

this year as part of the Sprokit 2016 Program, 

which gives a voice to emerging companies. 

What I like about new companies, and what 

caught my eye with these examples, is that they 

normally have the vision and freedom to 

innovate. 

10. | 


“When streaming or broadcasting your content 

who are you playing to? Are you hitting the 

right audience or providing immediate access 

to your product/message?” 

www.amplive.us 

If you wish to target a specific demographic Amplive allows 

you the marketer to create a targeted campaign. You define 

your OVP, who you wish to target and they build the 

distribution and ensure that the right viewers are targeted. 

What I like about this service is that as the campaign 

develops you get to watch the dashboard results as they 

come in, so you can monitor or re-work your strategy in 

realtime. The site allows you launch a free campaign to test 

the service. At the moment Amplive’s efforts appear to be 

focused on the US market but I am keen to see how and 

where they develop it over between now and NAB 2017. 

www.appiness.mobi 

Focusing on the 2nd screen relationship we have with our TV, 

Appiness is a European startup providing the link between 

programme content and its viewers, allowing the latter to 

connect with related show content or even allow them to 

purchase a product they see onscreen. 

The Appiness marketing video shows the use of a second 

screen to access a recipe or buy the pans or knives the chef is 

using. Co-founder and COO Michel De Watcher has 

confirmed that their product has no geography or language 

limitations and is already in testing with different 

broadcasters in Europe. 

www.tvadsync.com 

TVadsSync is an interesting Dublin start-up specialising in 

driving focused targeted adverts to second screen. TVadSync 

allow advertisers to sync their online advertisements to their 

competitor’s TV broadcast commercials. Alternatively, 

companies can sync their online advertising to their TV 

advertising, creating a very focused burst. 

www.nervve.com 

Are you a sport team wanting to source sponsorship or 

demonstrate ROI for existing sponsors? Do you wish to track 

how often a product or talent appears? Nervve provide a 

search algorithm that provides you with results data very 

quickly. The Nervve site also suggests MAM API integraton, 

though details of that are not clear as of yet. 

What did that CEO of mine actually mean by the ‘democoratisaion of content’? 

Democracy gives everyone a voice, in this case he was referring to the fact 

that there has never been a better time, and it’s never been easier, to create 

and distribute your content and speak to our audience. 

These four companies are giving us a chance to make sure your voice is 

heard by the right people…….and maybe might even make you money! 

© 2. | 


Introduction 

SO, DRONES ARE STILL COOL 








“It’s a live virtual 

reality headset 

drone.” 





We all get very excited when we 

talk about drones, but I’m not 

really sure why. Maybe it’s the 

carbon fibre blades glistening in 

the sun? Maybe it’s the raw 

engineering coming together to 

create these beasts of machines? 

Or could it be the beautiful 

flowing aerial shots they produce 

that we now see in every single 

media piece being created – “we 

just need to film the exhibitors 

for a web stream”. “Okay, cool, so 

we’ll have 4 drones flying over 

the audience getting wikid sick 

slow-mo shots of the exhibitor 

going through his PowerPoint, 

it’ll be awesome!”. 

I 



ollow the confused-looking time and effort freelance used current to From making the composites videos online work. these Does things this look mean amazing, 

F camera men and eventually we are witnessing you’ll find the thepotential I end highly of recommend the green screen? you check them out. 

drone stands. 

The camera and its massive storage Then, array, I asked which myself, can “why record don’t approximately 

we control all our 

There you should also 100 find shots, students, not older only capture all the cameras colour like information, that?”. We but shoot in with addition our the eyes every 

enthusiasts who talk about direction the kit and required placement to of every day ray and of we light, are hence good the at it. required Why not storage use this 

get those shots in the olden array. days and of course method to frame and shoot with our broadcast 

the people who are skilled enough to actually cameras? Leave our heads to control the pan and 

use these drones, all loitering to get a look at tilt controls. 

the new technological enhancements. 

So are there any new enhancements? Well one 

company in particular has caught my eye 

because they are looking at the flying world a 

little differently, combining two of the most 

exciting broadcast sub divisions, drones and 

virtual reality. 

The Ghost Drone 2.0 by Ehang offers 

smart phone tilt control for more 

natural flying and controls coupled 

with a VR headset that enables a 

pilot camera operator to pan and tilt 

using head movement. 

Zoom may be an issue though. You would have to 

walk closer to the shot to frame it or run away to 

zoom out. Maybe I’m just a maverick and only 

after I’m dead will people look back at my crazy 

ideas and call me a genius. Who knows? All I really 

know is drones are cool. 

A word of warning though, if you buy a drone at NAB 

please don’t fly it near any airports, you’d think I 

wouldn’t need to say that but you’d be wrong. 

12. | 


WILL RESOLVE BE YOUR NEXT NLE ? 

If you take a quick look at the 

post production industry you’ll 

see the majority of post houses 

use Avid Media Composer, Avid 

Symphony and Avid DS. 

A growing number are using 

Adobe Premier Pro and a few are 

still stuck using FCP 7, but could 

this all be about to change? 

NAB 2016 has seen BlackMagic Design reveal its 

latest DaVinci Resolve offering - version 12.5. 

“I see DaVinci Resolve as a 

genuine choice for new post 

start-ups who want more tools 

in one application” 

Already a hugely popular finishing system, 

Resolve now has the tools, the price point and 

more importantly the research and development 

behind it to make waves in the NLE pool. 

Is it any good? It seems so. You get the same basic 

tools that an editor would recognise, like dynamic 

ripple, roll, split, slip and slide trims, full screen 

cinema viewer, clip bins etc. with some further 

features to enhance editing like trimming 

multiple clips at once, smart bins for advance 

organisation, common output selects and 

advanced noise reduction to name a few. 

Plus you get all these advanced features with a 

sexy interface which shows your customers you 

are a modern post house that is ahead of the 

times and, yes, you’ll happily put a bowling alley 

in your edit suite. Who wants another craft beer? 

Let’s be realistic though, any move away from 

Media Composer or Premier Pro will happen at a 

snail’s pace. The costs of moving over and the 

downtime involved in training your staff up on a 

new NLE mean these switches won’t be 

happening quickly. 

There’s also the hardware crossover to think 

about. It’s fine if you use BlackMagic’s I/Os, but 

good luck getting your AJA, Bluefish444 or 

Matrox to work with DaVinci Resolve. 

Advanced Features 

Trimming multiple clips at once 

Smart bins for advance organisation 

Common output selects 

Advanced noise reduction 

I see DaVinci Resolve as a genuine choice for new 

post start-ups who want more tools in one 

application and haven’t the restraints that 

existing post houses have. And why not? You get a 

competitively-priced software package with a 

popular finishing tool set and a constantly 

improving NLE, it’s a win-win. 

Ultimately, BlackMagic wants you to use its 

products to record, ingest, metadata tag, edit, 

encode, colour correct, export, wash, clean and 

start a family with your media. Something’s 

missing though…a BlackMagic SAN? – but watch 

this space, they might join the other 50 vendors 

in that overcrowded market sub-sector. 

© 2. | 


Introduction 

IP STREAM WORKFLOWS ARE ON THE UP 

Major companies such as Avid, Sony, Newtek, LiveStream and AJA all presented concrete evidence at this 

year’s NAB that there is a move towards IP streaming workflows, replacing traditional co-axial cabling 

and SDI signals. 

Avid announced their plans to “accelerate the media industry’s transition to 

IP by supporting real-time signals in the Avid MediaCentral Platform” and 

their commitment to enhance their current solutions by adding IP 

interfaces in future versions. 

AJA is already selling its brand new KONA IP I/O card. 

Newtek has just announced Connect Pro, a multi-purpose software tool 

enabling IP video production by providing the glue between different IP 

video devices, standards, and formats, which rendered IP interoperability 

difficult up to now. 

Other manufacturers such as Matrox, Panasonic, and PTZ Optics are also 

advertising their IP-based video products and Sony has already created a 

new IP video-based ecosystem, including cameras, switchers, signal 

processors and management software. 

IP streaming is not something new. The technology has already been 

implemented by companies such as NewTek, in their flagship product 

TriCaster, but there hadn’t been an industry-wide shift up until this point. 

This situation now seems to be changing quickly. 

Despite the readily-available network infrastructure at many media 

facilities, the bigger video routers can accommodate a large amount of 

inputs/outputs at a reduced rack real-estate requirements, many more than 

a network switch would be able to up to now in terms of overall bandwidth, 

and with a reasonable power consumption, despite the specialised co-axial 

cabling costs. 

Having said that, as technology moves on at an extremely fast pace, new 

40Gbps switches and network infrastructure are available on the market at 

increasingly lower prices and with reduced power consumption 

characteristics. 

This can definitely bring a shift in the video infrastructure preferences of 

facilities from a cost perspective, as conventional SDI infrastructure costs 

can become prohibitive, particularly with 4K production getting more 

traction. 

Another factor to consider in all this SDI to IP transition is the personnel 

supporting these technologies and infrastructures. With networking 

technology entering every step of the video production/post/delivery 

process, traditional video engineers have had to re-educate and train 

themselves anew in order to adapt to the new IT/network-based video 

technologies, as IT and networking was not part of their engineering 

education. For younger engineers these new technologies are the norm, but 

that does not remove the effort needed to understand complex IP 

technologies and networks. 

Where does the future lie? As data networks have become the heart of our 

global communications and information infrastructure, it is quite obvious 

that video technology would not escape the same fate, and this is obvious in 

the new offerings major video technology manufacturers are presenting. 

Welcome to the future, video over IP is where it’s at. 

14. | 


THUNDERBOLT 3 @ NAB 2016 

Almost a year ago Intel unveiled Thunderbolt 

3, a super-fast versatile connection for 

computer peripherals, including numerous 

USB devices. 

Using the USB-C connector and boasting 

40Gbs of bandwidth, Thunderbolt 3 allows for 

two 4K display connections, incredibly fast 

data transfers, support for HDMI 

2.0/DisplayPort 1.2 protocols, while providing 

DC power at the same time. 

A 

t this year’s NAB, Promise, LaCie, and CalDigit have revealed their new 

Thunderbolt 3 products providing high bandwidth and high 

capacity. These solutions will suit many small companies lacking the budget for 

shared storage systems, as well as individual creative freelancers. 

Pegasus 

Their new offering is the Pegasus3 series of Thunderbolt products. The 

flagship model is the Pegasus R8 which is as you might have guessed is 

an 8-bay RAID enclosure. Two smaller models, the R6 and R4, boast 6 

and 4 drive bays each respectively. The new enclosures feature two 

Thunderbolt ports allowing daisy chaining, and also a full sized 

DisplayPort connection to connect a 4K monitor. 

Caldigit 

Caldigit presented their new T8 Extreme Thunderbolt 3 RAID, which 

features 8 bays, supporting both 2.5 (up to 8TB using SSD’s) and 3.5 

drives (up to 48TB). The T8 can be configured as RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, or JBOD 

and features dual Thunderbolt 3 ports as well as a full sized DisplayPort. 

Speeds can reach up to 1440MB/s with SSDs. Caldigit also revamped 

their existing T8 RAID enclosure with dual Thunderbolt 3 ports and a 

DisplayPort connector. 

LaCie 

Keeping the biggest for last…The new contender from LaCie is the 12big 

Thunderbolt 3 12-Bay Desktop RAID storage solution. With transfer 

speeds of up to 2600MB/s, it supports up to 96TB of storage, a 

record-setting storage space for locally attached storage. And to put the 

cherry on top it comes with a 5 year warranty covering the drives, 

enclosure, and spare parts. 

© 2. | 


NEARLY 40 WITH 

VIRTUAL REALITY 

Introduction 



ago and “In it the was left the corner, talking weighing point in of at 42,000 trade shows pounds for about two years before it started to decline in 

popularity. (Sterling, For obviously) the most we part, have stereoscopic Nokias Ozo, in disgusted the cinephiles; it was deemed a gimmick and 

superfluous right corner, to the weighing enjoyment in at £4,500 of a movie. we have However, some studios pulled it off well (Avatar was 

considered GoPro a Omni…” huge 3D success), whilst it seemed like an afterthought to others (Thor), but ultimately 


This year is the big 40 and I’ve been going on about wanting a 

GoPro. Unfortunately for my partner, NAB has just upgraded 

my birthday wish list from a single Hero4 to six Hero4s! 

What is there not to like about VR? It’s immersive, it’s sexy 

and it’s without a doubt going to be big. Content is king and 

never before has it been so accessible for creatives to push 

the boundary of content making. 

Where the Ozo packs a heavyweight punch with 8 channel 

video/audio, 3G-SDI and DPX—4k output, the Omni is a 6 

camera array allowing the capture of H.264 or MP4, in 

360-degree and 48KHz PCM. Included within the £4,500 

package is the Smart Remote and Kolor Software for 

stitching your eye-watering action footage together. Take a 

moment to watch the Tahiti Surf video, you can feel your 

action hero credit card burning in your pocket! 

At the other end of the scale is the ‘Odyssey’, which is aimed 

at a more select, qualified audience. It’s a 16 Hero4 camera 

enclosure for capturing 360-degree panoramic stereoscopic 

8k footage and is optimised for Google’s cloud-based Jump 

Assembler. At approx. £10,000, it’s exciting but it doesn’t get 

me as excited as the accessibility of the Omni. 

While we’re all still unsure about the adoption rate of VR 

technology and whether we all start re-directing and 

re-purposing the captured material, one thing is for sure. I’m 

40 years old this year. 





I 







direction and placement of every ray of light, hence the required storage 

array. 

16. | 


STORAGE DNA 

DNAFUSION WITH SONY 

ODA TECHNOLOGY 

Do you need nearline storage? You think you 

need nearline storage…but, really, you can 

bypass nearline storage and edit straight from 

your archive, which can act as your nearline 

storage at the same time. 

S 

torage DNA has created an amazing solution by leveraging the 

power of Sony ODA technology, which 

negates the need for nearline storage! This is a bold statement, how 

did they do that (?) you will certainly wonder. 

Well, SDNA has teamed up with Sony and combined the strengths of 

their own advanced and very reliable media intelligent/archiving 

software and Sony’s exciting new Optical Disc Archive technology, 

and they have come up with a solution which is a total game changer. 

Sony’s ODA capabilities as a long term storage medium (50 years), 

the UDF format, and random access optical disc-based cartridges 

enable content creators not only to archive their material securely, 

but to also retrieve it quickly at any time and start editing and 

repurposing it again. 

The Sony Optical cartridge random access features in conjunction 

with DNAfusion software allow for the browsing, playing, 

transcoding, subclipping and conforming of media stored in ODA 

cartridges, therefore there’s no need for expensive nearline solutions, 

as the same functions and capabilities can be performed with 

DNAfusion. 

In a few words, your archive system can also be your nearline system 

at the same time, saving you money, and also offering better 

protection of your data than nearline RAID system solutions. 

It is a totally different approach to the current storage system 

architectures and workflows out there, but we see a lot of potential in 

DNAfusion and a fresh new approach to doing things. 

© 2. | 


FINGER ON THE PULSE OF 

NEWS GATHERING 

Introduction 








Viewer contribution or User Generated content 

has changed the format of news gathering and 

presentation. Axle is working to make journalists 

of us all by making it easier for us to contribute 

to a developing story. Axle Video has announced 

a fully integrated mobile app it calls Pulse, which 

allows broadcasters to collaborate with their 

audiences. 

Pulse is available as either a complete hardware/software 

solution for purchase or as a monthly cloud subscription and 

includes branded apps for both iOS and Android 

smartphones. 

You would expect an app of this kind to allow contributors to 

just sign up, shoot and upload video, but the two features 

that caught our eye make this a very exciting development 

are the ability for the contributor to enter into dialogue with 

the broadcaster, developing further the collaboration 

between studio and location and a livestreaming mode which 

turns the smartphone into a live on-location feed! 

Now everyone with a mobile phone will be able to break the 

news, once the negotiations and rights have been signed over 

of course! 

VIDCHECKER 7 IS HERE 

The hugely popular QC software application has 

had an upgrade, Version 7 sees a variety of new 

features added to further enhance the 

automated content quality control process for 

transmission. 

I’ve looked through the list of new features and found one 

that I think is particularly interesting; the new 

file-correction option. Now customers can add a wide range 

of file-correction capabilities into Vidchecker, where before 

an entirely separate application would be needed. 

Using Vidchecker templates, detection and automatic 

correction can be set, for adding bars and black to a file 

without disruption, for PSE correction for luminance flashes 

and for transcoding to a common file format. 

At this year’s What we NAB, are seeing the here Lytro is a further guys step unveiled 

into a completely 

their prototype automated back-end camera. workflow. 7ft long, This form 755 of QC represents 

megapixels the new RAW, file-based 300 workflows frames that per almost second all of us and have 

16 stops adopted of dynamic in its most range. ideal form. The digits are all there, so 

human interaction, especially in technical quality control, just 

over-complicates things and leave margins for error. 


Imake to the However, post production don’t kick & your VFX QC industry, operator especially out of the it terms door just of the 

time and effort yet. These used current software to applications making composites still need work. programming Does this mean and 

we are witnessing maintaining the potential and there end is always of the green the need screen? to QC the content 

of a file. We are a long way off a computer algorithm 

The camera detecting and its massive if Trevor’s storage death array, scene which in Hollyoaks can record was approximately 

too 

100 shots, not horrific only for capture little Sally the to colour watch information, 6:45pm. but in addition the 


array. This all reminds of me of when I was a QC operator at 

University. Everybody hated me as I kept failing their 

programmes, and rightly so, but I learnt that you need QC 

ops with good understanding of the OFCOM content rules, 

as creatives will argue anything is pre-watershed, and then 

the fines come rolling in. 

“a further step into a 

completely automated 

back-end workflow” 

18. | 


VR VIDEO WORKFLOW SUPPORT 

Adobe is upping its game within its Creative 

Cloud environment by bringing some new cool 

features for video editing, audio, motion 

graphics, and collaboration. Many media 

companies have embraced Adobe’s Creative 

Cloud suite for their creative work during the 

last few years. This has mainly been price-led, 

especially when the Adobe tools are compared 

with those from other software vendors like 

Avid, but also because Adobe offers a complete 

package of applications that provide the tools to 

do virtually everything involved in video 

post-production, including audio. 

Some of the new features that stand out are: 

VR video workflow support, enabling the import of 

equirectangular stitched video media in the new BR VIdeo 

mode. Pan and tilt controls provide preview features with 

free panning, so editors can see what viewers will see when 

looking at any direction from within the sphere. 

Generating proxies on ingest in Premier Pro and Media 

Encoder CC (while linking them automatically to hi-res 

media and being able to switch between the two at the press 

of a button), as well as support for 6K/8K files from RED 

WEAPON cameras. 

Edit immediately during ingest in Premier Pro CC, which will 

allow users to edit straightaway, while video and audio files 

are imported in the background. 

More powerful colour correction, as Lumetri Tools are being 

enhanced with faster controls and HSL Secondaries for 

greater colour control and manipulation. 

New Essential Sound panel in Audition CC enabling audio 

mixing with professional results. 

Smoother playback in After Effects CC as a result of the 

improved video and audio preview engine. 

© 2. | 


ASPERA STILL LEADING THE 

WAY IN FILE TRANSFER 

Introduction 








“...fast transfer of 

live video and 

other data 

streams across 

the world.” 





During the last two decades 

there have been advances in 

video production and 

broadcasting technology that 

have led to an explosion in 

content creation from various 

sources and from all across the 

world. 

Because production companies 

and news organisations have 

branches in different countries 

and/or send their crews to 

remote locations they needed to 

be able to send files fast. 

I 



tandard Internet time connections and effort were used too current to making The new composites release of work. FASP Does 3.6, Aspera’s this mean core 

S slow to accomplish we are this witnessing in a reliable the andpotential end transport of the green protocol, screen? which improves the speed, 

timely manner. With the transition from tape to performance, and security of all the company’s 

file-based media driving The camera an increase and its in content massive storage products, array, which introduces can record a very approximately 

useful automation 

production, the need 100 for shots, fast transfers not only capture all the service colour for information, file system but watching addition and notification 

ray of (Asperawatchd), light, hence the a required powerful storage tool for the 

the 

increased dramatically. direction and placement of every 

array. 

remote management of storage devices. 

A gap in the market for the development of fast 

and secure file transfers was filled by Aspera Another innovation is the FASPStream API 

with the FASP protocol, which bypasses 

which allows users to transfer not only files 

network bottlenecks. Aspera has dominated read from a disk or the cloud and delivered as 

the market since 2004 and it seems that at 

files, but also rot read any data stream and 

least for now they will continue to do so by 

convert it into a file and vice versa, allowing for 

offering yet more options and advances in their the fast transfer of live video and other data 

products. 

streams across the world. 

Increased content creation requires storage 

management and control and Aspera’s new 

offerings, as well as advances in cloud data 

transfers and SaaS services, include management 

and notification tools which users will find 

extremely useful: 

Aspera Files is the company’s new SaaS offering 

for global content sharing, allowing for fast, 

secure, and reliable exchange of massive data 

sets directly from cloud and on premises. 

Aspera Files includes some great new features 

such video, photos, and video submission to 

FIles dropboxes from iOS and Android mobile 

devices as well as new One-click Authenticated 

Dropboxes and Authenticated Links to Folders. 

20. | 


LIVESTREAM – RTMP SURGE OR CHEAP REMOTE PRODUCTION? 

Either way something exciting is 

happening in Brooklyn! 

At NAB, LiveStream unveiled a 

whole raft of new products that 

provide new and existing users 

with better scalability and 

production capability than ever 

before. Now, is that the reality 

or is it just a gimmick? 

A 

fter looking through the press blurb 

and the NAB show release video 

on the LiveStream Platform, I came to the 

conclusion that there was only one way 

to answer the question and that was to 

give it a go. So I downloaded the Studio 

4.0 Beta and tried out some of the new 

features. I have to say, I am mightily 

impressed with how they have integrated 

the new features into a user interface 

that existing Studio customers still know 

and love. 

As James May would say, “The bit that 

got my little bit fizzing!” was the 

revolution in collaborative production. 

Nothing revolutionary I hear you cry! But 

at this price point, oh, it is! This starts to 

make LiveStream a real contender in the 

live production switching market and 

with the enhancement that Mevo brings! 

(I’ll get to that later) it becomes, in my 

opinion, the most flexible solution on the 

streaming and switcher market today. 

With the advent of Studio 4.0 we are able 

to access a feature called Web Control. 

This enables any device that can run the 

Google Chrome Browser to become part 

of the collaborative production crew for 

an event. 

Before I get to carried away, there are 

some limitations, especially in the Beta I 

am looking at. For example, it does’t give 

me access to the media bins or graphics 

tabs so I can change the upcoming 

graphics. However, I have been tweeted 

that this may become available as web 

control evolves. It does mean, though, 

that this is a cost-effective way to have 

more than one operator working on a 

LiveStream event without the cost of 

more hardware and in my book that’s a 

job well done. 

© 2. | 


SYNCBAC PRO – 

LOCKING GOPROS 

Introduction 


Facilis updates for 

NAB 2016 




superfluous to the enjoyment of a movie. However, some studios 

2016 

pulled 

has been 

it 

an 

off 

interesting 

well (Avatar 

year 

was 

so far for 

considered a huge 3D success), whilst it seemed like an afterthought 

Facilis. The 

to 

company 

others 

has 

(Thor), 

made 

but 

a couple 

ultimately 

of 

stereo3D seems to be petering out, unlikely to surface again 

aggressive 

shortly in 

moves 

any meaningful 

towards positioning 

way. 

itself as 

the number one choice for high bandwidth 

storage. 

There can’t be many small to medium-sized kit 

lists exist these days that don’t include a GoPro. 

Since its arrival in the mid noughties the GoPro 

Hero range has proved hugely popular for 

capturing those action shots we love so much. 

The major benefit is their size. Combine this with 

a wide range of camera mounts and you can 

basically put these 4K cameras anywhere. 

SyncBac Pro is now offering GoPro users the option of 

syncing multiple Heros4 cameras together. 

This simple attachment uses B:Link wireless RF technology 

to send wave or pulse signals to all cameras, accurately 

syncing timecode to one master camera. With SyncBac Pro, 

users can also remotely record, start, stop and control 

multiple GoPros centrally from a computer, tablet or 

smartphone. 

Finally, no more running over to each camera when you want 

to record! You can also use the SyncBac Pro to sync timecode 

with any professional camera or audio equipment using a 

pulse, wave or minitrx+ unit. 

I know it’s not very sexy, but timecode is important for 

post-production and here’s why. Any editor will tell you how 

frustrating it is to sync cameras after a multi-camera shoot, 

especially if audio syncing is involved. Get it wrong and the 

edit just won’t look right and you’ll be consistently adjusting 

the sync on the clips. Get it right though, and all your wildest 

dreams will come true. 

There are a couple of methods to sync multi-camera shoots; 

with an audio or vision signal or using timecode. The problem 

with the first method is the human eye. Some eyes are better 

than others and it’s very likely that Bob from engineering will 

pop his head around the door at some point and tell you the 

edit looks “a bit out of sync”. What does Bob know? 

With a synced timecode signal it’s easy to line all your 

camera footage up and confidently edit knowing the visuals 

and audio are in sync, Bob can do one! 

Early this year we saw Facilis take the 

unprecedented step of dramatically lowering the 

cost of ownership of the Terrablock range of 

Shared Storage. 

When you think of 4K performance, Facilis wants its name to 

be the first to your lips. At NAB the company announced two 

pipe upgrades that will contribute to their argument: The 

SAS Controller in their flagship servers has had an upgrade 

to 12GBps (previously 6Gbps). Through their partnership 

with Atto comes support for the the 32GBps fibre 

infrastructure (previously 16GBps). Although we do not have 

any performance data at the time of writing it will be 

At this year’s interesting NAB, to see the how Lytro these upgrades, guys unveiled 

mixed with SSD 

their prototype performance, camera. develop their 7ft 4K long, story. 755 


In addition to the announced hardware upgrades, the 

16 stops FastTracker of dynamic asset range. search tool has had an upgrade. There’s 

also cloud integration as well as the searching and viewing of 

still images alongside the usual video asset formats one 


I 

would expect from a storage manufacturer. 



Finally, there is now integration of Adobe project 


management which allows multiple Premier Pro clients to 

share projects and associated metadata and collaborate, 


using the Adobe Collaboration Hub, which runs on the 


TerraBlock server as a standalone application. 


array. 

This is really exciting news for any Premier Pro editors who 

use Facilis storage or are looking for shared storage in the 

near future. For me, one of the main benefits of shared 

storage is that the projects themselves are shared, not just 

the media. It’s something Avid Media Composer users have 

been benefiting from for a while now but with this new 

feature, Premier Pro customers will have the same creative 

collaboration options on a fast dedicated storage network. 

At Tyrell we are seeing more and more of our customers 

switching over to Adobe Creative Cloud. With its tight 

integration between After Effects and Premier Pro and 

access to an impressive catalogue of other applications, 

users are finding new and creative ways to improve their 

workflows. So it’s no surprise to see storage companies 

investing in Adobe integration. What we are now seeing 

though is the added benefits of this integration for the end 

user. Keep up the great work Facilis! 

22. | 


Object Matrix and Sony Media Navigator ODA 

It looks likes the Object Matrix guys have been busy partnering over the past few months; Glookast, BT Media 

& Entertainment and now Sony. It’s another good news story for Tyrell, as it’s been confirmed today at NAB 

that integration of Sony’s Media Navigator MAM system and Optical Disc Archive technology with Object 

Matrix’s MatrixStore nearline storage system is complete. 

Sony’s Media Navigator MAM system is a powerful and flexible 

asset management system for small to medium-sized production 

environments. It offers great scalability at a reduced cost 

compared with the others. Combined with their Optical Disc 

Archive technology, a new contender in the long term archive 

storage solutions (with great benefits such as future 

compatibility of current ODS cartridges with future ODA 

libraries, random access of data, and 50 year archival life), the 

result is a robust MAM system with great archival and retrieval 

capabilities, as well as speed. 

We all should know that Object Matrix offers ultra secure 

nearline storage in a node type configurations. You can duplicate 

data onsite on OM MatrixStore nodes, but also on nodes at 

offsite locations, effectively gaining bulletproof protection 

against data loss of important assets. 

The combination of the three technologies (MatrixStore, Media 

Navigator, ODA technology) offers a super-secure 

nearline/archive system with great capabilities such as secure 

ingest, powerful logging and metadata entry tools, easy access 

and fast retrieval of archived material. This effectively enables 

archived material or data parked on nearline storage to be kept 

alive and enables creative companies to re purpose their 

existing material quickly, thus saving money. 

Object Matrix Sony production bundles, available through the Sony 

reseller channel, will contain any of the following elements: 

• Capacity packs of Object Matrix, from 60 terabytes useable 

• Move2ODA, a HSM application that moves content from 

MatrixStore to ODA Libraries using the Sony ODA APIs 

• Sony ODA libraries or ODA drives 

• Media Asset Management applications 

• WORM functionality - both MatrixStore object storage and ODA 

provide this important function 

Now it’s a battle for control software - Sony Media Navigator MAM, 

Object Matrix applications or even a 3rd party application - so choose 

wisely. 

© 2. | 


Introduction 

PROMAX SYSTEMS BRINGS PLATFORM TO ARCHIVE 

ProMAX Systems has just announced Platform Pro-Cache 50, which marks the next evolution in the 

ProMAX-acquired Cache-A archiving line and is the latest addition to the Platform Family of Workflow 

Servers. The Platform Pro-Cache will include all the functionality of Platform, giving creatives the ability 

to render, transcode, manage and share media assets as well as backup and archive, all in one 

simple-to-use, workflow server unit. 

The new Platform Pro-Cache features a Windows based environment 

which allows a massive leap in integration and management capabilities in a 

small flexible package. By standardising on the most common business OS 

in use today, it affords an extra layer of comfort to end-users when setting 

up and deploying the system and significantly reduces the need for support. 

“Clients with older Cache-A units now have a cutting edge, 

integration-friendly upgrade path for their old archive systems,” stated 

Brian Reisdorf, VP Technical Services, ProMAX Systems. “Because Platform 

can import, manage, and read older Cache-A based LTO tapes and 

catalogues it’s an easy transition that allows our users the option to 

continue onto the next version of the venerable Pro-Cache standalone 

archive unit, or to step up into a full-featured workflow server that can read 

and add to their existing Cache-A archives”. 

Platform Pro-Cache builds on its predecessor’s strengths - reliability and 

ease of use - adding superior functionality to maximise efficiency for the 

end-user. 

This next evolution in archiving solutions boasts industry standard 

capabilities, including Full and Incremental Backups, recurring jobs, tar, 

LTFS and the ability to read existing Cache-A tapes, a fully searchable 

catalogue of every file copied to tape, custom metadata management, proxy 

generation before archives and the ability to view proxies on archived 

assets. 

Cache-A users with older units now have a cutting edge, 

integration-friendly upgrade path for their old archive systems that 

includes all of the features and benefits of the Platform. 

• powerful workflow server capability like all ProMAX Platform Devices 

• supports both Full & Incremental Backup 

• a full catalogue of files copied to tape with full file and metadata search 

• proxy generating capabilities for all video assets before copying to tape 

• archiving to tape with full MD5 Checksum read and compare 

• LTO6 and LTO7 models with 10TB of disk storage 

• industry Standard LTFS and tar formats 

• support for Multiple Drives or Library 

• supports up to 2 Tape Drives 

• tape copy speeds up to 300MB/second 

• port 1GbE connections standard, 2 Port 10GbE Fibre, 2 Port 10GbE 

copper Optional 

• includes (2) x USB 3.0, (2) x USB 2.0, (1) x eSata and (1) SAS External 

24. | 


PROMAX “ONE APPLICATION, ONE CATALOGUE, ONE SYSTEM” 

An all software set of announcements from 

ProMax, further building on the success they 

have had with the Platform hardware series. 

With the release of Platform V5 with 

integration for Adobe Premiere Pro CC, 

ProMAX has taken the first major step of 

workflow server integration within a NLE 

environment. This development further 

boosts workflow efficiency for media 

professionals, allowing them to work within 

one interface without the need for jumping 

from one UI to the other, which takes extra 

time and stifles the creative process. 

Our main takeaways from ProMax are: 

• integration with Adobe Premiere Pro. 

• editors from within Premiere 

• reduce the amount of application navigation by accessing the Platform GUI and 

Platform catalogue. 

• mount/dismount volumes 

• search media and projects. 

• play media within the search window 

• drag clips from the search window onto the Premiere project, source or preview 

monitor 

• submit files for transcoding to the Platform server (Episode Pro/Engine) 

• integration of Cache-A archiving 

ProMax has taken a step further than their peers by removing third party or 

secondary software to manage archive and retrieval. Users have full LTO 

management directly from the same Platform used for asset management. There’s 

an enhanced set of user and media administration tools, further enriching the 

functionality of Platform Version 5 

© 2. | 


BLACKMAGIC URSA 

STUDIO VIEW FINDER 

Introduction 


EDITSHARE FLOW & 

FLOW STORY 




superfluous to the enjoyment of a movie. However, some studios 

Editshare 

pulled 

followed 

it off well 

up on 

(Avatar 

the best 

was 

April Fool’s 

considered a huge 3D success), whilst it seemed like an afterthought 

day email the 

to others 

year, with 

(Thor), 

details 

but 

of 

ultimately 

the new “met 

stereo3D seems to be petering out, unlikely to surface again 

and 

shortly 

ate her 

in 

server”, 

any meaningful 

by continuing 

way. 

to innovate 

with a growing portfolio of workflow products. 

A view into the future or a pricey squint through 

the looking glass? 

When I was asked to look at the Blackmagic range of releases 

at NAB I certainly had a plethora to choose from. Now, whilst 

many people will pick out different things, it was this particular 

viewfinder for the URSA Studio Mini Camera which piqued my 

interest. Not being a camera guy, it may seem like a strange 

option but let me delve into why I chose it. 

Firstly, it is the sheer number of features that are included. The 

full range of motion and the left- or right-handed tension 

control are nice touches and also the customisable function 

buttons really make this a useful addition to the URSA Studio 

Mini Camera. 

Like most viewfinders it has a large RGB Tally and ISO record 

indicator. It connects directly to the SDI Input and Power on 

the Camera, so no extra cabling is required, keeping the whole 

package in a small form factor. Lastly the viewfinder is 

compatible with the Blackmagic Video Device Embedded 

Control Protocol, meaning you have full control of camera 

functions such as Talkback (with a cool feature using iPhone 

headphones and the mic button as a PTT button), tally, colour 

correction, image detail, lens function and many more. 

Editshare decided to announce the new XStream EFS SSD 

before travelling to NAB, which they say can get to 1800 

MB/sec and should have no problem playing with multiple 

streams of 4K even at DPX and EXR. As it’s based on the EFS 

platform, the storage pool can scale in both bandwidth and 

storage, while being aware of existing storage infrastructure. 

But brand new for NAB is Flow Story, the first in a new 

generation of content creation applications for collaborative 

and remote workflows. Flow Story provides remote and 

secure access to on-premise stored media directly through 

any Internet connection. Having full integration with 

EditShare storage, MAM and video server solutions, Flow 

Story is aimed at fast turnaround environments such as 

editorial, reality TV, news and sports, providing users the 

At this year’s ability to NAB, package the content Lytro for finishing, guys unveiled 

delivery or playout. 


“While security, cost and bandwidth concerns often make 


hosted cloud solutions prohibitive for many productions, 

16 stops EditShare of dynamic AirFlow’s range. ‘private cloud’ allows you to utilise your 

existing on-premise shared storage already used for high 

bandwidth workflows to provide secure remote access to 


I 

media and metadata via your facility’s internet connection,” 


explains Jeff Herzog, EditShare’s Flow product manager. 


“Add in the extensive new codec support and new Flow Story 


application, and productions of almost any format or 

workflow requirement can easily enable remote 


collaboration and editing.” 



array. 

In my opinion, the URSA Studio Viewfinder is a very useful bit 

of kit and not only if you have a Blackmagic camera, as it is a 

good viewfinder. However, if you have a URSA Studio Mini 

Camera, take my advice, this is a must have add on! 

26. | 


GLOO TO STICK AVID, SONY, SGL 

AND OBJECT MATRIX TOGETHER 

It’s important to talk about what our 

partners have been up to and not just the 

products that are being released. One 

company doing fantastic business, 

particularly in the South American market at 

the moment, is Glookast. 

Glookast recently announced a huge partnership deal with 

Object Matrix to supply Globo (a Brazilian television network) 

with an implemented end-to-end disaster recovery workflow 

using Glookast’s Glooport family of products. This workflow 

allows editors to have quick, reliable access to their media at 

their disaster recovery location. Globo is one of the largest 

commercial TV networks in terms of annual revenue worldwide, 

so this is a huge deal for both Glookast and Object Matrix and 

shows the importance of open collaboration. 

This is not the only large South American job Glookast has 

landed in 2016. Along with Avid and Object Matrix, Glookast 

will be providing Casablanca Studios in Rio de Janeiro with 4K 

content ingest workflows. The Gloobox Capture 4K and 

Gloobox Ingested HR will become the middle men of the 

operation, transcoding media to offline formats before parking 

the high-end stuff to the MatrixStore via Avid Interplay ready 

for relinking later down the line. 

It’s this type of integration that Glookast is doing so well with. 

Yes, there are thousands of products that promise the world by 

enhancing your workflow and offering increased … that list 

would go on and on for too long … but connecting these 

products together in a way that minimises human interaction is 

where you find true value for money. 

The Globo and Casablanca deals would not have happened if it 

wasn’t for this kind of tight collaboration. Yes, you can have Avid 

ISIS with Interplay at one end and MatrixStore at the other, but 

without a common bridge between them the entire workflow, 

whether that’s disaster recovery or 4K ingest, becomes a very 

manual process. 

Not content with just winning huge contracts, Glookast has also 

announced v2 of its software feature set, solving the complexity 

of any 4K workflow with ‘4K capture, sharing, managing, 

converting and distribution across multiple platforms from 

multiple sources, at multiple resolutions.’ 

With these types of technological advancements, 4K content is 

becoming a viable option for any workflow. It’s what your 

customers want and Tyrell can help you through the process. 

© 2. | 


ROSS | PIXELS ON ACIDCAM 

WITH ULTRACHROMEHR 

Introduction 


The Ross ACID Cameras provide standard SMPTE 4:2:2 

video outputs as well as adding a new, unique output called 

UltraChromeHR. This output signal contains full bandwidth 

colour information in a patent pending 0:4:4 coding format 

from the camera image sensors. 

This signal contains full bandwidth colour information. The 

standard 4:2:2 and UltraChromeHR outputs are received by 

the Carbonite UltraChromeHR chroma keying system and 

internally combined to create beautiful keys from the 

resultant 4:4:4 signals, and so offer unprecedented 

performance when used as Chroma Key sources for virtual 

productions. 

However, even if you not using chroma key on a daily basis, 

the ACID cameras can produce spectacular video images in 

normal use. They can be equipped with viewfinders, output 

adaptors, and all the accessories necessary for full studio 

usage; and of course fit incredibly well with Ross robotic 

systems. 

Solo’s impressive video feature set also includes: a 

MultiViewer and Four MediaStores for animated graphics 

and stills. 


Check out the details on their new micro site 

their prototype http://www.rossvideo.com/plus/carbonite-solo/ 

camera. 7ft long, 755 



I 

ROSS VIDEO 

Ross claim they can produce the very best 

image from chroma key sets for compositing 

Fads with in they’re media new entertainment camera called come ACID, and go. The saturation of next-gen stereoscopic began four years 

INTRODUCE 

ago ultimately and it was solving the talking all the common point of problems trade shows for about two years before it started to decline in 

popularity. with green For screen. the most Pairing part, the cameras stereoscopic with the disgusted cinephiles; it was deemed a gimmick and 

superfluous new standalone to the Carbonite enjoyment UltrachromeHR 

of a movie. However, some studios pulled it off well (Avatar was 

considered multi-channel a huge chroma 3D success), keying system whilst delivers it seemed a like an afterthought to others (Thor), but ultimately 

stereo3D full resolution seems 4:4:4 to be signal. petering out, unlikely to surface again Ross shortly Video in has any just meaningful unveiled the way. Carbonite 

Black Solo, designed for the smaller 

productions, with a nice price point, 

CARBONITE BLACK SOLO 

With a single ME, Carbonite Solo includes 4 

keyers plus a transition keyer, for DVE, and 

media wipes as well as one high quality 

Ultrachrome chroma keyer. 

Solo also comes equipped with 2 MiniMEs, perfect for use in 

event production or for secondary outputs. Each MiniME has 

two keyers of its own, providing Solo with an amazing 9 

keyers in total. 








array. 

28. | 


OBJECT MATRIX GIVES US VISION 

For well over a decade, the guys in Object Matrix have been tirelessly trying to educate our industry in 

the merits of protecting our assets. It seems that the message is finally settling, with some huge success, 

seeing them recently deliver 100’s of Terabytes of storage to content creation organisations around the 

world, 

They have recently announced a service collaboration with BT 

Media & Broadcast, which will be available later this year. Using 

Object Matrix’s object-based storage, of which they own nearly 2 

Petabytes, BT Media & Broadcast will be offering a cloud-based 

service that will allow companies to deploy a disaster recovery site 

as and when required. This is very timely, as companies from 

production to broadcast are continuously reviewing the business 

models that allow for on-premise DR purchases. Of course, with so 

many unknowns, the model never normally stacks up, but we think 

this is the slickest to date. 

Vision 

• search, browse, download and playback petabytes of digital content 

• finds content that has been archived by any application 

• £1995/$3295/€2795 p.a 

We all know that if we can’t find what we are looking for quickly we 

move on. Being able to swiftly search, view and share media assets 

is truly It a looks business likes benefit. the Talk Object to any Matrix publishing guys studio have or news been busy partnering Vision over G the past few months; Glookast, BT Media 

desk about how they get the stories to break first. It’s all about 

& Entertainment and now Sony. It’s another good news story for Tyrell, as it’s been confirmed today at NAB 

finding the shot. Enter the stunning new Vision interface from 

that integration of Sony’s Media Navigator MAM system and • everything Optical that Disc Vision Archive does but technology with integrated with proxy Object generation 

Object Matrix. 

powered by Glookast 

Matrix’s MatrixStore nearline storage system is complete. 

It’s been integrated with MatrixStore and uses the power of 

• delivered as two appliances or VMs 

Process-in-Place to examine and enhance metadata of archived 

Sony’s Media Navigator MAM system is a powerful and flexible 

Object Matrix Sony production bundles, available through the Sony 

content. It then allows any authorised user to quickly search, 

asset management system for small to medium-sized production reseller •£2495/$3995/€3495 channel, will contain p.a any of the following elements: 

preview and share assets using only their web browsers. 

environments. It offers great scalability at a reduced cost 

compared with the others. Combined with their Optical Disc 

• Capacity packs of Object Matrix, from 60 terabytes useable 

Vision is a powerful search tool that looks at any metadata users 

Archive technology, a new contender in the long term archive 

have added during the ingest of the assets as well as metadata 

storage solutions (with great benefits such as future 

• Move2ODA, a HSM application that moves content from 

extracted from the assets themselves. In particular, Vision is aware 

compatibility of current ODS cartridges with future ODA 

MatrixStore to ODA Libraries using the Sony ODA APIs 

of AS11 metadata and provides powerful search options that is 

libraries, random access of data, and 50 year archival life), the 

domain aware. 

Vision + 

result is a robust MAM system with great archival and retrieval • Sony ODA libraries or ODA drives 

capabilities, as well as speed. 

Vision is available in the following configurations and can be 

• everything that Vision does but with proxy generation provided by 3rd 

Media Asset Management applications 

delivered as an appliance or in a virtual machine (VM). 

party applications 

We all should know that Object Matrix offers ultra secure 

nearline storage in a node type configurations. You can duplicate 

WORM functionality - both MatrixStore object storage and ODA 

• requires professional services 

data onsite on OM MatrixStore nodes, but also on nodes at 

provide this important function 

offsite locations, effectively gaining bulletproof protection 

• £2495/$3995/€3495 p.a 

against data loss of important assets. 

Now it’s a battle for control software - Sony Media Navigator MAM, 

Object Matrix applications or even a 3rd party application - so choose 

wisely. 

The combination of the three technologies (MatrixStore, Media 

Navigator, ODA technology) offers a super-secure 

nearline/archive system with great capabilities such as secure 

ingest, powerful logging and metadata entry tools, easy access 

and fast retrieval of archived material. This effectively archived 

material or data parked on nearline storage to be kept alive and 

enables creative companies to re purpose their existing material 

quickly, thus saving money. 

It’s a small price to pay to give the entire organisation access to all your assets 

on or off site. 

22. © 2. | | 

| SyNABsis 2016 © | | SyNABsis 2016 

| 21 29

ANG LEE’S NEW MOVIE 

3D 4K/120FPS WOWS 

VIPS @ NAB SHOW 

NOKIA @ NAB WITH 

OZO VR CAMERA 

At a predicted $60,000 and launching before 

the end of year, the 6 month old OZO VR 

Camera was on Nokia’s booth at NAB. It has 

eight synchronised 2K x 2K sensors with eight 

microphones, so it will capture spatial sound, as 

well visuals, onto a 500GB storage module, 

giving you a VR immersive experience with 

both sound and video. 

At the SMPTE Future Of Cinema conference, 

which took place the Saturday before NAB 

opened its doors, they screened 11 minutes of 

Ang Lee’s new Iraq war movie “Billy Lynn’s Long 

Halftime Walk” . That’s 4k for each eye, both 

eyes at 120fps, using 2 x high-end Christie 

projectors, 28 foot-lambert. 

It’s getting rave reactions for its slightly disorientating 

immersive realism and the director admitted during his 

keynote speech before the screening that he’s finding 

shooting in this new format a big challenge. 

While cinema - and this 3D presentation - is a a great starting 

point, 120fps 2D content is going to look fantastic anywhere 

a large screen is required, in store, for wall-sized 

presentations etc., so we look forward to bringing you more 

information about its development in the coming months. 

30. | 


Summary & Sign Off 

The purpose of the Tyrell “SyNABsis” was to simply ensure that the entire Tyrell team benefitted from this 

year's NAB, without having to drag everyone over to the searing Nevada desert. Some would have truly 

enjoyed it, but I think this is the first year that it's felt like the entire team is aware of all the product 

launches and technology developments at the industry largest fair. We’ve even had, dare I say it, a debate 

about what was relevant for us and hopefully all our customers. 

While we won't be suffering the horrible jetlag and also starting the detox to remove all the bad but necessary 

eating & drinking choices that were made over the past week, I think next year we might try a hybrid version of 

SyNABsis. An on premises high resolution team and send the proxies to Las Vegas to mingle with the users. We still 

believe that people do really sell to people and at Tyrell, its always been about our relationships with our 

manufacturers and customers. 

Thanks for tuning into the our SyNABsis of the NAB SHow and thank you to everyone who contributed towards it 

and apologies in advance for the the middle of the night text reminders for photos etc. … at least until the next 

time. We might see you all at London’s new Media Production Show on the 9th & 10th of June in The Business 

Design Centre, Islington. We’re on Stand 308. You can register here http://mediaproductionshow.com/ 

And lastly, before you ask, Syn”IBC”sis has been copyrighted. 

Ireland 

Unit 13, Bluebell Business Park 

Old Naas Road 

Dublin 12 

+353 (1) 888 1118 

hello@tyrellcct.com 

UK 

80 Berwick Street 

London 

W1F8TU 

+44 (207) 148 6200 

hello@tyrellcct.com 

© 2. |

Tyrell: SyNABsis 2016

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