In Broadcast - February 2015 - 74

74

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 2 | February 2015

InFocus

Essential Video Monitoring cont'd...
Player, aimed at facilities dealing
with incoming clips and programmes.
Kirkaldie explains that because of
the software behind these products,
it is possible to monitor in IP even if
the main stream is SDI. "We combine
technical monitoring with the visual,"
he explains. "We don't go as far as PSE
[PhotoSensitive Epilepsy] testing but
our systems do provide sanity checking
in terms of sync and other basis
parameters." A common use for the
Multiviewer is live broadcasts, where
camera feeds can be checked and the
pictures assessed.
In line with new EBU guidelines,
post-production houses are taking
on responsibility for QC at the
start of the broadcast chain. Bruce
Devlin, Chief Media Scientist at Dalet
Digital Media Systems, observes
that facilities are now doing "more
monitoring", with the UK DPP (Digital
Production Partnership) issuing policy
on the delivery of programmes for
broadcasters. "There is the need for
a level of detail," he says, "looking at
the MXF [Material eXchange Format]
file and things like H.264 compression.

Under the DPP specifications this
means checking the metadata in a file
as well."
While manufacturers such as Dalet,
which incorporates the AmberFin
scalable transcoding platform, are
producing comprehensive systems
for automated analysis, Devlin says
the industry also works on the basis
of trust, with material from unknown
suppliers being subjected to more
rigorous testing than those providing
programmes on a regular basis: "If
you didn't trust a supplier then your
expectations would be lower, so the
monitoring you use will be higher."
Monitoring & Fixing
Howard Twine, Senior Sales Manager
of file-based QC specialist Vidcheck,
says comprehensive monitoring and
problem fixing tools are now necessary
due to the speed that material has
to be dealt with to meet broadcast
schedules. "Workflows have to be fast
and facilities don't have the time to
bounce something back to the content
creator," he explains. "With both SD
and HD, people need the ability to

make decisions about
content and provide
more tests, such as
looking at closed
captions and making
sure the aspect ratio
is correct."
Monitoring and QC
is well established
from acquisition to
transmission and is
becoming more formalised. A new
component is extending the chain to
the point of delivery, ensuring that
what the viewer is receiving, whether
through a set-top box or on a mobile
device, is as it should be. This is now
an issue because of the number of
coding formats involved in getting
programming and streaming video to a
wide variety of platforms.
Among the companies catering
for this extension to the monitoring
process is French developer WitBe,
which produces a range of 'robot
monitors' for IP, mobile, video and
telephony.
WitBe's Director of Professional
Services, Yoann Hinard, says the end

WitBe produces a range of monitors for
IP, mobile, video and telephony

user has been its focus since being
established in 2000. "Our robots
are able to tell the broadcaster,
service provider or telco if assets are
available, with alarms if there are
problems such as a blank screen, low
quality images, jerkiness or blocking"
he comments.
As Hinard observes, TV, whether
provided by traditional broadcasters,
telecoms companies or new media
organisations, is shifting to IP. This
doesn't make the tests and monitoring
required any different - the aim is and
should be to maintain the levels of
quality and service viewers have been
used to - but it does change how and
when they are applied.

First V1sion Wearable
Camera System
E

uroleague Basketball, Europe's
most prestigious professional
club basketball competition, has
selected First V1sion's wearable sports
broadcast system.
The company's patented smart
jerseys will be worn by teams during
Euroleague games, enabling fans
to see what the players see, and
delivering an immersive viewing
experience. Initial trials will begin
during training sessions early this year
followed by Top 16 Euroleague games
and Final Four games in 2015.
Integrating an advanced lightweight
wearable camera and biometric
sensors into a smart athletic jersey,
the First V1sion system has the
potential to change the way that fans
watch and enjoy practically any sport -
from soccer and athletics to basketball
and tennis - by transmitting real-time
HD footage from the sports person's
own viewpoint for simultaneous live
broadcast.
"Wearable broadcast technology

will change how fans watch basketball
by giving them the sensations of
speed, emotion and excitement
as experienced first-hand by the
players on the court," said Alex
Ferrer Kristjansson, Director, Brand
&
Communications,
Euroleague.
"Basketball is a fast-paced sport,
but we believe that the First V1sion
system will be more than a match for
these demanding conditions, while
being practically imperceptible to the
players."
First V1sion's patented system
boasts zero-delay broadcast-quality
vision, sound and biometric data in
HD (1080p). It is compatible with
broadcast footage and provides
previously unseen camera angles to
create truly comprehensive sports
coverage.
The technology is fully integrated
into the smart jerseys and allows a full
range of motion without interfering
with play. First V1sion can be adapted
for any sport, with the plug-and-

A 'smart' jersey
houses the
lightweight wearable
camera system -

- First official Spanish league soccer game
filmed using First V1sion at Cordoba C.F.

play system being quick and easy to
implement.
"We want to bring fans closer to
those incredible sporting moments
that excite, inspire and motivate
us," said Jose A. Ildefonso, CEO, First
V1sion. "We are very excited to be
working with Euroleague Basketball,
because it's a truly global competition
with viewers around the world. Our
aim is for implementations such as
these to bring wearable broadcast
technology to a wider audience, as we
sincerely believe that our system can

offer rich new perspectives to fans of
all sports."
The Euroleague is the highest level
and most important professional club
basketball competition in Europe,
with teams from up to 18 different
countries.
During the season, the Euroleague
is broadcast on television in 199
countries. It is televised in the United
States and Canada on NBA TV and
available online through ESPN3. The
Euroleague Final Four is broadcast on
television in 201 countries.
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