Broadcastpro Middle East

Technology inTelligence for TV, film and radio

issue 5 | noVemBer 2010

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ

New OSN chief to rewrite pay TV rules

It’s paytIme

Saudi EducationKFU’s multi-million

dollar TV facility

REElS on WhEElSSe7en rolls out new HD truck

aRabian Knight

Tarak Ben Ammar on empowering Arab filmmakers

Twofour54º_Tadreeb_FF ad_Int'l female_Broadcast pro_207x270.ai 1 10/7/10 6:41 PM

After the quiet summer months, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha have all been abuzz with production activity. If Abu Dhabi and Doha were busy with their respective film festivals, Dubai had cause to be even more happy as the shoot for Mission Impossible 4 had begun in the emirate on October 29. This production signals a lot of positive changes for the GCC film industry. It indicates that local governments are serious about promoting their locations and will make substantial efforts to ensure that international players take them seriously.

One of the oft-heard criticisms about undertaking a production in the UAE has been the lack of soft incentives. We’re given to understand that Dubai government has waived off fees for several services and requested that various public entities work closely with each other to ensure the shoot goes smoothly. This is in addition to securing huge discounts on accommodation from various private entities for the crew. Such

productions bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the country besides giving the local economy a huge boost.

Jamal Al Sharif, MD of Dubai Studio City and Dubai Media City divulged to BroadcastPro in an exclusive interview that a lot of the equipment that was being shipped to the country for Mission Impossible 4 was likely to remain here for another big shoot although he didn’t provide any further information. This spells good news for the local production industry.

Alongside this development, we are also beginning to see Arab filmmakers who have made significant inroads in the international film market. Tarak Ben Ammar is a Tunisian film producer and director, who has made it big in Hollywood but has used his knowledge and experience to build a film industry in this own home country.

Last month, Ben Ammar embarked on his most exciting film production Black Gold. He proudly declared in his keynote address

that “more than 400 Tunisian technicians” were involved in the filming of Black Gold.

“The film will be shot in my studios in Tunisia, studios that were built, painted and dressed by Tunisian hands. The post- production will be done in my labs in Tunisia during the shoot by Tunisian technicians,” he said.

Ben Ammar’s keynote address was so awe-inspiring that we secured permission from him to bring excerpts of his speech to our readers.

I was especially touched by his words to Arab investors. “If you want to play the Hollywood game, then do not just invest in films. Work with them not just as financiers but as partners on equal terms. Do not let them just see you as a pay check. Impose your own culture, your own stories...”

Having lived in the Middle East for more than three decades and having seen the rich culture and heritage that the Arab world has, I hope at least a few filmmakers will follow in Ben Ammar’s footsteps.

Welcome

This month is the first of a quarterly column that Hasan Sayed Hasan, a broadcast veteran and head of twofour54intaj will write for BroadcastPro Middle East on topics and trends that are relevant to the Arab world. His first column addresses an issue that is close to each of our hearts.

Turn to page 48 for more details.

www.broadcastprome.comSubscribe now

Vijaya Cherian, Senior Editor, BroadcastPro Middle East

PublisherDominic De Sousa

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Cover David Butorac, CEO, OSN

Technology inTelligence for TV, film and radio

issue 5 | noVemBer 2010

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ

New OSN CEO rewrites pay TV rules

It’s paytIme

Saudi EducationKFU’s multi-million

dollar TV facility

REElS on WhEElSSe7en rolls out new HD truck

aRabian Knight

Tarak Ben Ammar on empowering Arab filmmakers

Capture the best withour finest.Over the years, Sony’s standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) production cameras have been widely accepted by a great number of video professionals around the world, due to their excellent picture performance and system versatility.

Sony now proudly introduces the HXC-100 and HSC-300 HD/SD System Cameras equipped with newly developed digital triax technology which allows systems to be configured with conventional triax installations. The HXC-100 and HSC-300 cameras support high quality HD or SD applications. They use the latest 14-bit A/D conversion circuit as well as the superb 2/3-inch PowerHAD™ FX CCDs to bring out high picture quality. With a variety of beneficial functions packed into these cameras, such as its Focus Assist function, they provide genuine user-friendliness. • SophisticatedPowerHADFXCCD• High-quality14-bitA/Dconversion and DSP LSI• Digitaltriaxoperation• Largelensoperation(HSC-300)• Versatilesystemconfiguration (HSCU-300)• Robustmagnesium-alloy casting body• Position-adjustableshoulderpad• Focusassistfunctions• HyperGamma

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For further information contactSony Professional Solutions MEA FZ LLCUnit C-50, P. O. Box 502050International Media Production ZoneDubai, United Arab EmiratesTel: +971 4 391 8400Email: [email protected]: www.pro.sony.eu/mea

Sony_HSC 300-HXC 100_Brpadcast Pro_275x205 cm.indd 1 10/14/10 2:30:28 PM

4 news Entire staff axed as Alif Alif

shuts down; The Foundry and MediaCast tie

10 3d TRAInInG Ikegami holds 3D

training in UAE.

24 ob CAse sTUdY Inside the newest HD

truck in the market.

34 KsA PRoJeCT A look at King Faisal

University’s $2.7 million TV project.

38 FRoM TUnIsIA Tarak Ben Ammar shares

his filmmaking experience at The Circle Conference.

32 & 40 TeCH FoCUs Unleashing the power

of broadband and managing DSNG services

cost-effectively.

36 edITInG budrus Arab filmmakers work

magic into film in post.

36 GUesT CoLUMn “Preservation factories”

are the need of the hour, says Hasan Sayed Hasan of twofour54 intaj.

IT’s PAYTIMeOSN’s new CEO David Butorac shares details of his humble beginnings as a cameraman, his move up the corporate ladder, and his views on sports rights, pay TV vs. FTAs and his plans for OSN.

in this issue

NOVEMBER 2010

November 2010 | www.broadcastprome.com | 3

12

| www.broadcastprome.com | November 20104

Chatti ya dini winsBlaCk Pearl at aBu dhaBi Film FestAmong the many Black Pearl awards that were handed out at Abu Dhabi Film Festival last month, the one that caught our attention was Chatti ya Dini (Here comes the Rain), a 97-minute feature directed by Bahij Hojeij (Lebanon) and co-produced by Paul Baboudjian. Chatti ya Dini won the $100,000 cash prize for Best Narrative Film from the Arab World at the festival.

The US $1.1 million film was again part of the screenings at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, which was held from October 26-30.

A still from Chatti ya Dini, which won “Best Narrative Film from the Arab World” at ADFF, and co-producer, Paul Baboudjian inset.

PrOnews

Jordan’s Royal Film Commission (RFC) chose eight projects to participate in the sixth annual Rawi Screenwriters’ Lab that was hosted from October 28 to November 1 in consultation with Sundance Institute. The Rawi lab was held at the Wadi Feynan Eco-Lodge in Jordan’s southern desert. The five-day programme gave participants the

mOre exhiBitOrs jOin CaBsat; iBC OFFers suPPOrt

Several major industry players have confirmed their attendance at CABSAT 2011, BroadcastPro can reveal. Key names

include Grass Valley; Thomson Broadcast; Abu Dhabi Media Company’s OB arm, Live; For. A; Quantel; and Fuji Film along with Fujinon.

Speaking about the new exhibitors, David Roberts, industry group manager for CABSAT commented: “Grass Valley previously exhibited three years ago as Thomson Grass Valley but now both companies are exhibiting separately and independently with big stands. Live! and Quantel also last exhibited three years ago so this is a big win for us.”

For the first time, CABSAT will also have as many as five OB vans on display outside the main entrance to the show. At least one of these will be brand new to the region although further information is under wraps for now.

BroadcastPro has also learnt that the best of the keynotes from IBC 2010 will be part of the Broadcast Conference programme. However, CABSAT was unable to confirm further details at the time of going to press.

The film was shot on a Red One camera and a large part of the film was shot hand-held to get the right look. Although shot over six weeks in many locations across Beirut, the online edit and sound mix for the film was undertaken in Rome.

“We had received a grant from SANAD for post-production.The Black Pearl earned the movie a further $100,000. This is a huge encouragement for the region’s filmmakers,” Baboudjian told BroadcastPro Middle East.

jOrdan’s rFC ChOOses eight PrOjeCts FOr sCreenwriters’ laBopportunity to work intensively on their feature narrative screenplays through one-on-one meetings with internationally-acclaimed screenwriters.

Speaking about the programme, Reem Bader, lab manager, Rawi Screenwriters said: “This year, Rawi has brought together creative advisors to work with eight Fellows from Jordan, Palestine,

Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Algeria. This stimulating gathering will allow yet again a new generation of Fellows to have their voices heard. We’re driven by the passion of contributing to the development of innovative stories and approaches by Arab screenwriters and feel fortunate to become part of their creative journeys.”


The Foundry has partnered with Dubai-based distributor MediaCast to market its solutions more effectively in the region. The deal entitles MediaCast to distribute The Foundry’s products in all parts of the Middle East except Egypt.

Speaking about the deal, Ben Minall, regional sales manager for The Foundry said: “We haven’t really focused on this region before and it’s time to change that. More and more broadcasters such as Sky are using our solutions for their commercials and broadcasts. We believe it’s time to show broadcasters here what our solutions are capable of doing for them.”

Minall, who was a demo artist with The Foundry for the last three years before undertaking his new role in sales, came to Dubai last month to demonstrate some of the company’s key products such as Nuke and Mari (developed initially for Avatar

and now bought and commercialised by The Foundry) along with MediaCast to broadcasters, and production and post production houses in Dubai.

“I know these products inside out and the benefits it can bring to end users here. Some of the Flame artists and 3D artists we saw here liked Nuke because it is quite fast and has an elegant workflow; they found its 3D tracker especially appealing. We also met with some end users who expressed an interest in Storm, our new Red Digital Camera production hub,” Minall said.

Speaking about the deal, Pierre Guidera, senior media specialist at MediaCast Dubai added: “This deal is another string to our bow. With this deal, we now have a whole range of options for post production users from solutions based on hardware to software as well as a mix of these.”

the FOundry enters middle east with mediaCast deal

From left: Pierre Guidera, senior media specialist at MediaCast with Ben Minall, regional sales manager, The Foundry in Dubai.

Ayman Al Zyoud, CEO of Charisma in Abu Dhabi.

LocaL taLent wiLL drive LocaL content: charisma headLebanese media house Charisma, which recently opened an office in twofour54, Abu Dhabi, will expand its operations even further in the Middle East in a bid to encourage local talent to be involved in productions relevant to their respective countries, Ayman Al Zyoud, CEO of the company told BroadcastPro.

“Each country looks for content that reflects its own culture, so we are planning to expand geographically and be in every country where we can have a presence and create content from there. The core idea is that if you want to get close to your target audience, you have to involve them in the creation of your content,” he stated.

Al Zyoud’s comments come in the wake of its new operations in twofour54. “We will produce both scripted and non-scripted content from Abu Dhabi. We are looking at 1000 hours of TV material and 200 hours of drama in the first year, and that will increase in the coming years. We are already developing ideas with local broadcasters in Abu Dhabi and we are in the pre-production stage of certain drama series that we will announce in the coming weeks,” he stated.

Although Charisma already has operations in Riyadh, Jeddah, Manama, Cairo, Beirut and Dubai, the Abu Dhabi outfit will be quite large and employ between 70 and 120 people including both permanent staff and freelancers to meet the company’s ambitious production goals.

“We have begun work with one intaj studio as of last month and will require two from March. We will be using the intaj facilities for the next five years,” added Al Zyoud.

Saudi-owned channel Alif Alif laid off its entire staff claiming that it was placing its Dubai operations “on hold indefinitely”, BroadcastPro Middle East can reveal.

Although exact numbers were not available at the time of going to press, it is believed that at least 30 to 35 people will be affected by the

decision. Alif Alif will, however, retain its licence and related property in Dubai should it decide to resume the project at a future date.

The TV channel, which is owned by Saudi Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, founder of Al Watan Arabic daily, had previously taken over Zee TV’s studio facilities in Dubai to begin production.

aliF aliF shuts dOwn, all emPlOyees axed

PrOnews


Dubai Studio City has provided several soft incentives to Paramount so as to make Dubai attractive for the filming of Mission Impossible 4, BroadcastPro has learnt.

“It’s a big film and we’ve been working on it for some time,” Jamal Al Sharif, MD of Dubai Studio City and Dubai Media City told BroadcastPro.

Al Sharif stated that this was the biggest shoot undertaken in the country

duBai studiO City ChieF Breaks silenCe On missiOn imPOssiBle 4

and the project called for a lot of coordination between various government departments.

“Without exaggerating, some scenes will require 800 people on set. It is normal for Hollywood and Bollywood to handle such capacity but now, Dubai has shown that it can also handle it by collaborating with various departments to secure the locations, take care of the logistics, the backlot where they are going to build the sets and so on,” he added.

While a lot of action has

PrOnews

suhaiL ahmed joins tsL middLe eastThe Middle East arm of TSL has expanded its regional operations with the appointment of Suhail Ahmed as manager of technical services. In his new role, Ahmed will be responsible for providing support for current, existing and future projects in the Middle East. Ahmed will also be closely involved with all technical aspects of TSL’s operations in the region.

Speaking about Ahmed’s appointment, Colin Sherriff, general manager of TSL Middle East said: “The addition of Suhail Ahmed is an important step in the continued growth of our Dubai office and will further strengthen our regional support operations. As well as developing local integration capabilities, Suhail will assist with proposals, presentations, and customer liaison. As a highly experienced and respected professional, we are delighted that he has joined our team.”

Ahmed joins TSL from CNBC Arabia where he was Bureau operations manager.

doLBY muLLs meeXPansion Andreas Spechtler, who recently joined Dolby as VP, EMEA visited Dubai last month. Hinting at the possibility of expanding

Dolby’s operations in the region, Spechtler told BroadcastPro: “Dolby is exploring the opportunity of entering the Middle East and possibly, Dubai is the right gateway to the region.”

Spechtler will be responsible for leading all Dolby sales and marketing activities in the EMEA territory. His responsibilities include overseeing marketing, business development and sales, as well as field operations and customer support for the expanding EMEA region.

Spechtler, who has worked previously with RealNetworks and Sony in senior management positions, holds a number of patents for online and mobile music services technologies.

Studio City will provide customised soft incentives to each client, says Jamal Al Sharif.

ministers from saudi moci visit Be QuincY PLantEngineers from KSA’s Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) visited Broadcast Electronics’ plant in Quincy to preview the company’s STX LP transmitter as more than 30 BE STX LP transmitters ranging in power from 1 kW to 5 kW are scheduled for shipment to the Kingdom in Q4, 2010.

CEO of BE Joseph W. Roarks said: “Saudi MOCI has purchased several hundred BE FM transmitters along with associated RF

equipment from BE. In fact, this year they will significantly pass the 300 unit mark of radio transmitters in the Kingdom.”

been sighted at International Media Production Zone (IMPZ), Al Sharif declined to comment on this.

He, however, confirmed that DSC provided several soft incentives to make shooting in Dubai attractive although he added that these incentives would vary from project to project.

“We do not have a structured incentive programme. We like to provide customised services to clients to match their business in Dubai. We have worked with many hotels and furnished apartments to drop their rates for this project. The services provided by the Civil Defence, the Royal Airforce, the RTA, Ministry of Defence and many departments, waiving off customs fees on the equipment that is being brought into the country, and providing multiple entry visas or work permits within 48 hours are some of the ways in which we offer soft incentives,” he stated.

Al Sharif also hinted that a large quantity of equipment that is being brought into Dubai may remain here for another major international film, although he declined to comment further.

From left: Mizyad Al Omar from Saudi MOCI and Quincy’s Mayor at the BE plant.

STOP PRESS twofour54 is looking for an alternative site for its second phase of expansion following a decision to cancel its initial plans to base its state-of-the-art facilities at Mina Zayed, according to a report in The National. While a number of locations are being considered, there are strong rumours that the project will be based on one of the islands in Abu Dhabi.


Egyptian Radio & Television Union (ERTU) has partnered with Prodea Systems to address the growing demand for digital content and applications in the country. The state broadcaster will use Prodea Systems’ open platform to provide a host of multimedia services

ranging from video-on-demand, internet radio and digital music, to video conferencing and popular social networking applications (including Twitter and Facebook).

Eng. Osama El Sheikh, president of ERTU called the platform “one of the most advanced solutions”.

“Prodea’s technology will provide not only premium on-demand entertainment, but also a host of advanced services that will be launched in Egypt for the first time,” he claimed.

The Prodea Systems platform provides a turnkey, white-label solution for traditional and alternative service providers who require continuous and timely

delivery of new services to their subscribers over an existing broadband infrastructure. The open platform enables carrier-grade services to be delivered directly to a variety of fixed appliances in the home or automobile, as well as mobile lifestyle devices including smart phones, portable media players or laptops.

This means consumers can utilise any broadband connection to download apps that can be accessed from devices such as a TV, PC, Mobile, iPad, or iPhone.

Hamid Ansari, president and co-founder of Prodea Systems added: “We are honoured that ERTU has selected us to be a partner in the digital transformation of the country’s broadcasting and content distribution efforts. Egypt is one of the region’s leading internet markets in terms of user growth, services offered and price competitiveness. This makes Egypt a central part of our mission to aggressively seed the market with our intelligent home hub, in order to deliver a unified digital home solution throughout the region and enrich people’s lives.”

PrOnews

ertu COllaBOrates with PrOdea systems FOr COntent distriButiOn

ranade eXits saLam Sandeep Ranade has left Salam Media Cast, Dubai and joined

Al Jazeera’s Strategy Planning and Projects Department as Supervisor of Unit. In his new role, Ranade will be responsible for evaluating and managing various projects across the Qatar-based network.

cartoon networK araBic Launches

The Arabic version of Car-toon Network was launched last month. The FTA chan-nel will initially

feature dubbed episodes of in-ternational children’s favourites while regional animations such as Ben and Izzy and FREEJ will also be screened, according to Alan Musa, VP and GM of Turner Broadcasting for the Middle East, Africa & pan-Arab region.

Hamid Ansari, Prodea Systems.


After years of dominance by analogue and digital tape and a variety of disk formats, including removable media options, professional recording media is being challenged all the more by solid state media and portable hard drives. Initially looking at this trend with dismay, the same media manufacturers have now begun to enthusiastically supply solid state packs, drives and digital disks, and portable hard drives to compensate for the dwindling traditional tape and older disk media purchased by end-users.

This is based on Recording Media World 2010, a report published by DIS Consulting based on its global study of recording media in use by video professionals.

The transition that began with a gradual shift from tape to disk over the past two decades, and from analogue to digital in the past decade has taken another substantial turn in the last two years, partially caused by the recession, but largely due to technological developments.

The study which went to the field over the summer months looked at most of the different formats of film, disk and tape in

regular use by professionals in five regions: USA, Europe, Middle-East/Africa, Asia and the Americas. Segments studied included: Broadcast/Cable, Production/Post, Mobile/OB, Event Videographers, Independent Videographers, Institutional facilities and rental Houses.

Among the many media formats covered in the study were: in Film: 8mm, 16mm, Super 16, 35mm, 65mm and 70mm; in Tape: VHS/S-VHS, Betacam (and SP and SX), D-VHS, Digital 8, Digital Betacam, DLT, Mini-DV, HDV, DVCPro (25/50 and HD), DV-Cam, HD-Cam and HD-Cam/SR, LTO, VXA, DDS, RDX ands others; in Disk: CDR, CDRW, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, HDD, RevPro, Blu-Ray, XD-cam, UMD, Mini-disk, Optical Disk and others; and in Solid State and Hard Drives: Compact Flash, External hard drives, Internal Hard Drives, IMX, GPAKs, P2, SD Cards, SXS and others.

These were looked at from the perspective of bought (in 2010) and planned (for 2011) actions in unit and dollar terms and by brand in specific applications of professional media.

In the MEA region, users tend to look particularly for durability and quality and tend to stick to best known brands in their media selections. Price does not appear to be the primary motivation.

One apparent driver of the latest round of changes seems to be the increasingly agnostic nature of the modern camcorder, making up the bulk of recording media usage, which often allows for not only multiple formats to be utilised in the same camera body but also easy attachment of a portable hard drive as well, helping to build the path to alternatives to traditional media.

Another equally important driver, despite the changing times, has been a major push to preserve aging tape archives that has pumped up LTO, a widely preferred tape option for archival preservation, first boosted by its testing and selection by the US Library of Congress. This reflects the drift away from the use of tape recorders to the tapeless workflows of media servers and mass media storage.

The future may be increasingly wireless and that technology trend has not been lost on media makers or professional media end-users. These same recording media manufacturers are doing their level best to anticipate that direction and get out in front of it. PRO

Douglas I. Sheer is CEO and chief analyst of DIS Consulting, New York.

Hard drives, solid state rock professional recording media market

PRORESEARCH

What is the single most important reason you purchase a particular brand of recording media?

MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Durable

Quality & performaNce

best kNowN braND iN market

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

loNg lifespaN

always useD iN the past

easy to use

best DiscouNts oN larger orDers

service

What compression algorithm do you typically use with your recording media?

BROADCAST

mpeg2 4:2:0

mpeg2 4:2:2

jpeg 2000

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

mpeg4 sp 4:2:2

avc-iNtra

mpeg4 sp 4:4:4

mpeg-4 sls

prores 300

PROTRAINING


Ikegami conducted a two-day workshop in Dubai last month in conjunction with local distributor Tek Signals. The aim of the workshop was to familiarise end users in the region with some of Ikegami’s new solutions including its 3D camera control for 3D sports productions, its tapeless HD camera and recorder with file-based workflow as well as some of its HD LCD monitors.

Ken Ishizuka, manager, Business Development team for overseas sales development, Ikegami who had come to the workshop along with regional sales manager Kentaro Tanaka stated that it was the company’s first attempt at conducting a workshop in the region.

“This is our first time here. We realise that 3D technology is becoming increasingly popular in the Middle East so we thought it was a good time to showcase our own solutions for this space,” he stated.

The focus of the workshop was primarily on how end users could employ Ikegami’s 3D kit with traditional HD cameras to film in 3D.

The manufacturer’s new BSH-200/CPH-200 camera-hub-switching unit supports up to four pairs of HD cameras for use in shooting stereoscopic 3D television productions. The BSH-200/CPH-200 is a vital component for shooting major events in 3D HD, such as football and baseball games or rock concerts. This unit works together with a maintenance control panel (MCP) and four operation control panels (OCPs), providing extensive set-up control for optimisation of each camera and subsequent parallel operational control for the four pairs of HD cameras. The

BSH-200/CPH-200 ensures that any subsequent camera adjustments are shared precisely by each camera pair, thus maintaining matched camera settings for optimum 3-D HD image capture.

Joseph Varghese, division manager, Broadcast & Professional Systems, Tek Signals stated that it was “a simple way to ensure that you can use an existing pair of identical Ikegami HD cameras and set it up together to shoot in 3D”.

“With one common OCP, you can control the iris, zoom, focus etc. on two cameras.”

Other highlights included the HDK-79EXIII full digital HDTV portable camera system, which employs new 2/3-inch native 1080i AIT CCD image sensors, and offers quiet pictures with 60dB SNR (in HD) to meet the requirements of both HDTV and SDTV production.

Ikegami also demonstrated its multi-format HD POV/multi-purpose cameras. These cameras employ three newly developed 2.5 mega-pixel CMOS sensors. The HDL-50 series of POV (point-of-view) “Box-Style” and “multi-purpose” and “multi-format” cameras are designed for capture of broadcast-quality HD from unmanned and/or inaccessible locations.

“They can be used for a range of applications from capturing POV video of traffic and weather conditions for TV stations to unmanned speed shots at motor races for network sports coverage. Most recently, the applications have extended to 3D production, especially for steadicam use,” claims Varghese.

The workshop attracted more than 40 end users from the UAE.

3D TRAININGRegional sales manager Kentaro Tanaka demos the GFCAM to end users at the workshop. Ken Ishizuka (seated) and Joseph Varghese of Tek Signals pose with the 3D kit.

PROTRAINING


MAJOR 3D DRIVERS“This workshop was useful as it helped to educate end users on how to produce 3D footage. But 3D is still very young not just here but across the world. If I am the owner of a studio, I will not invest in 3D yet.

“3D, however, is ideal for creating ads. Now, there are more and more 3D movies shown in the theatre. So, when people are wearing their special glasses and seated in a theatre to watch a 3D movie, it’s the perfect time to show a 3D ad as well. In that sense, there is a market for 3D commercials. But for everyday shooting, 3D does not make sense. Not enough people have the experience to produce 3D without giving people a headache. Once 3D TV sets that don’t need glasses are manufactured and more consumers start to purchase it, 3D production will become more popular.”

Andrzej Skocinski, TV systems engineer, Sharjah TV.

Ikegami’s GFCAM HDS-V10 HD ENG camera/recorder attacted a lot of attention at the workshop. Aimed at providing workflow-efficient, tapeless, and affordable HD video acquisition, this camera uses MPEG-2 compression and the MXF file format for an open-codec HD/SD recording architecture that’s compatible with most editing systems.

The GFCAM records file-based video in either 1080i or 720p on Flash-RAM media contained within a rugged GFPAK that includes a USB port allowing for instant access to the video from laptop or desktop editing systems.

Tapeless recording advantages of the GFCAM include “Pakless” recording while exchanging media packs, proxy generation, and Bluetooth for instant export of thumbnail clips directly to laptops for fast logging, metadata insertion, and other workflow benefits.

New features demonstrated at the workshop included 24p/25p/30p native recording capability and new lower-cost

64/128 GB Flash media that employs MLC (Multi Level Cell) technology with 10,000 times rewrite capacity and the GFP-CFA CF adaptor for a compact flash card.

Regional sales manager Kentaro Tanaka demonstrated the camera’s compatibility with most of the industry-standard NLE solutions such as Grass Valley Edius, Apple FCP, Avid Media composer, Harris Velocity and Adobe Premiere.

“What makes this camera unique is that it can used in both studio and field applications,” explains Varghese.

“When you use it as an ENG camera, you can use a battery or an external power supply. You merely have to take the card out and do your editing. It is compatible with most of the NLE software applications.

If you use it in a studio setup, you can directly connect an operational control panel (OCP) to the camera so that it can function as a standalone camera.” PRO

IkegamI’s gFCam

The workshop demonstrated how two traditional Ikegami cameras could be used to produce 3D footage with its 3D kit.

PROEXCLUSIVE


PROEXCLUSIVE

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to be in the Middle East.I’m a humble cameraman who started his career in television as a camera operator and at some point, they gave me a desk to drive and I ended up on the corporate side of things. This is the only industry I’ve ever worked in and I’ve worked my way up from the shop floor so I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of the operations side of things.

At the same time, I’ve also had the privilege of being a part of some large-scale operations particularly as television modernised. For instance, I was head of operations at BSkyB at the time when we launched the digital platform, which actually revolutionised TV throughout the world. Likewise, I’ve had great opportunities with Astro in Malaysia and WIN Corporation in Australia.

I have been in this industry at the most amazing period in the industry’s lifecycle. And that’s one of the most exciting things about coming here now — to lead OSN through its next phase. This region and this company is geared to do in terms of multi-channel subscription television

what has happened in every other major region of the world. If you look at the Annual Media Survey from PwC, their prediction is also that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is going to be the fastest growing region in terms of entertainment spend which includes both consumer spend and advertising as well as broadband penetration.

Tell us about your days as a cameraman. Have you covered any important moments in history?Yes, I was in China covering the aftermath of Tiananmen Square; I covered the aftermath of the Berlin Wall coming down and the elections that saw the unification of Germany. I also had the opportunity to cover the war in Yugoslavia for Sky News and the first Gulf War from both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. I also covered live the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.

You were here during the Gulf War?Yes; I covered the first Gulf War for Sky News from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. My first day in Kuwait City was the day after its liberation. In fact, in my office in Malaysia,

It’s paytime

I used to have photographs that I had taken from the War on my wall. A journalist once asked me why I had these photos on my wall and I said they were there to remind me of the times when I had a real job.

I hear you turned Astro and WIN Corporation around from loss-making operations to profit-making ones?I don’t think I can take credit on my own for doing anything. WIN Corp was already making profits when I joined it but it was the only broadcast company that improved its margins during the crash of 2009.

Astro Malaysia did become significantly profitable. But no one person can do that to a company. We had a fantastic team as we do here. So I have been privileged to work for some companies, where we have been able to make a material difference to the financial performance of the business.

What was the secret to making these corporations more successful?The best example to use is Malaysia as it is most akin in terms of the industry to this region. Malaysia, like this region, is a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual market and what

From humble cameraman to CEO of some of the world’s leading media houses, David Butorac has done it all before heading down to Dubai to run OSN. In an exclusive interview with Vijaya Cherian, the new CEO shares some of his strategies to make pay TV more profitable in the Middle East


PROEXCLUSIVE

we had to do to improve the business was make our programme offering relevant to all sectors of the community, and also, send that message out not just to our customers but also to those who were not our customers. Ensuring we had the right content for all sectors of the community and not just catering to one sector was key.

We also changed our marketing strategy. We stopped selling set-top boxes (STBs) and started marketing the services that the STB delivered instead. I will never forget standing in front of around 250 sales guys we had throughout Malaysia. Their job was to sell STBs. I told them I had worked out how we need to move forward and the first step in that direction was to stop selling STBs. They thought this new CEO who had just come in was crazy. But selling the services instead — the channels, the content, the entertainment information and the education — helped us eventually to significantly improve the business.

Will there be any strategic changes at OSN?It’s too early to say. Marc-Antoine and his team have done all the hard work of bolting the two businesses together and for me, I have no legacy from either of

the platforms. I am the CEO of OSN and so we have a clear focus of where we are going. I don’t see any great revolution in terms of strategy and structure. Certainly, I see evolution. What you will see in the weeks ahead as I settle into the role is that the business will continue to grow and evolve. Today, we are just over a 1000 employees and hopefully, we will grow further. When I joined Sky TV in the UK, we had 400 employees. When I left, we had 11,000 employees.

That’s quite a positive comment at a time when we were expecting to hear about more job cuts?The reality is that we’re running a business. Our shareholders have invested a lot of money to get where we are today. The content providers and technology providers have all been paid a lot of money over the last few years by OSN. The people who haven’t had a great return so far are our shareholders and they deserve that return. We need to run this business as a modern professional business and that means sometimes taking hard decisions and I don’t shy away from any of that. Having said that, the best way to grow our business is to invest in our people. I have only been

here a couple of weeks but I can see that we have a dedicated and confident team. What I intend to do as I have done in every other business I have worked in is to invest in those people so we can get the best out of them and grow the business.

And the reason I do this is because I was just a cameraman when I started with News Corp. And when I left there, it was to run a multi-channel business and the reason I was able to do that was because I worked for a company that was prepared to invest in its employees, and that is my intention with this company. To recognise the quality of what we have got, to work with our fantastic team within and to grow the business.

How many people does OSN have right now?Our total staff is just over a thousand and that’s after the consolidation.

Will the departure of your CTO Mike Whittaker put OSN at a disadvantage?Mike was a very capable CTO but he also had a fantastic team that still exists. Mike’s team is now being led by Xavier Willame, who is a very experienced CTO and someone whom I have worked with previously at Sky.

What’s your take on the free TV versus pay TV debate?If you look at the history of multi-channel television in every market that it was launched in, free-to-air (FTA) competitors thought it would never work. It happened in America and it happened in Britain. In the United Kingdom, when subscription TV was launched, the dominant FTAs said it would never work and today, Sky TV has revenues in excess of £3 billion and they are a pretty big broadcaster. Even in Asia, the FTAs thought that subscription TV wasn’t really going to work but it took off and I think this region is geared for that to

“In the United Kingdom, when subscription TV was launched, the dominant FTAs said it would never work and today, Sky TV has revenues in excess of £3 billion and they are a pretty big broadcaster.”


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PROEXCLUSIVE

happen now. No doubt, FTA broadcasters have been very dominant and powerful and did not really see that there was going to be a role for pay TV to eclipse that but things have changed.

I agree that the quality of some of the FTA broadcasters like MBC here is fantastic. They have huge brand recognition and a portfolio of programmes that are worth watching. But our intention is to grow alongside the FTA market and to offer a different premium service that the consumer recognises offers good value for their money. FTA will always be there and I am not afraid of the fact that currently, FTA broadcasters in this region have a very big audience and the subscription audiences by comparison are relatively small because I am quite confident that as we grow, we will reach the critical mass where people recognise the relevance of the programming that we do.

What is OSN’s biggest strength and what are the challenges ahead?There is no question that for us the challenge here is what exists for a lot of multi-channel television — piracy. This is a big challenge but thankfully, we are able to fix that.

We are shifting our entire subscriber base to a new range of boxes that will allow us to properly showcase HD content and the premium content that we have. At the same time, it will allow us to switch off the illegal reception of our signals. When that happens, we are very confident that the people who enjoy the quality of our services today but have

resisted the charm of paying us for it will be compelled to come to us legally. Piracy is an ongoing battle.

Our biggest strengths are our people and our portfolio of channels.

One of the other things that I’d like to achieve with these channels is to gain recognition for the investment we have made in our non-English language content that I suspect our viewers do not yet realise. This will be a focus for us as we grow so that we can ensure that the consumer does not just view OSN as a great TV platform but also sees us a great aggregator and producer of content.

There are a number of channels on our platform that offer exclusive Arabic content that we commissioned but for which, we do not get credit. We specifically commission this content for our platform. Our consumer does not identify those channels with us. We hope to change that.

Is piracy worth tackling? Yes, of course! We used to have piracy in the UK, in Asia and many other markets but not any more because of a mixture of advanced technology platforms like the one we are transitioning to today and assistance from governments who see intellectual property abuse as a crime. The onus is on us to achieve this from a technological perspective.

But it is for the government to recognise this as a significant crime. Is it something we can tackle? Yes. Should it be tackled? Yes.

Are your plans for 3D still on track?3D is part of the roadmap but it is still very niche. When you look at some of the production work that is going on in the UK with regards to sports production in 3D, we realise it is amazing. But we also have to recognise that there isn’t a proliferation of 3D receiving equipment in this region. OSN has a technological platform that can embrace any technological advancement including 3D.

Our STBs are capable of downloading 3D content and showcasing it on a 3D screen. But the reception equipment is not there yet. It’s not such a high priority for me. The bigger priority is to continue to bring in a lot more high quality HD content and a good breadth of SD content. But the advantage we have in this market is that we are actually able to showcase 3D straight away if we want to.

“One of the things I’d like to achieve with these channels is to gain recognition for the investment we have made in our non-English language content that I suspect our viewers do not yet realise.”


PROEXCLUSIVE

When’s the last time you held a camera?Still camera? Very regularly as taking photographs is my hobby. But the last time I used a TV camera was probably in 1992. The last time I did a major news coverage was in the Yugoslav war.

I started my career in Channel 9 Perth, which is part of WIN Corporation. In 1985, I left Channel 9 Perth as a B grade cameraman to seek my fame and fortune in Melbourne, Australia and in 2008, I returned as MD of the parent company. Although the newsroom in Channel 9 Perth had been re-equipped with a lot of new cameras, at the back, they had a little museum sort of area with a whole lot of cameras from the past. I looked at it and realised that I had used all of those cameras when I was a cameraman there. Having said that, one of the joys of being a CEO is that you get to buy all of them. We re-equipped two of our major newsrooms in Channel 9 —Perth and Adelaide and we invested in Sony XD HD cameras, which are phenomenal.

Back in the days when I was on the road as a news gatherer and we travelled to far-flung places, we carried about 16 flight cases and carried a lot of tape-based equipment. Today, a disk-based camera and a laptop is all you need. In our days, we thought shooting video was amazing because you’d see the footage in real time versus the guys who shot on film a generation before us and had to wait three days to see it.

So you agree that technology has revolutionised production and news gathering today?Certainly. I think the technology changes have had a huge impact on the news business over the last 10 to 15 years. Disk-based cameras especially have

revolutionised news gathering. The scenes out of Chile last month as the miners were being rescued is a great example. It was an amazing TV event that made for compulsive viewing. Not only were there cameras live at the top, there were cameras live at the bottom of the shaft as well. It’s not just the disk-based cameras but also non-linear editing that has changed the face of TV.

News coverage in war especially has seen huge shifts thanks to new technology. In the Vitenam war days, a cameraman went into the field, shot pictures of the conflict, came back, put the film in the canister, sent it off to London or New York, processed the film and two or three days later, it would appear on TV screens somewhere.

Track forward to the first Gulf War. We had massive satellite dish operations and went live with press conference from Riyadh everyday. We would show everything.

Track forward again to the second Gulf War. Live cameras were placed on tanks as they went through the front so you could actually have live point of view pictures as the battle was unfolding. Technology has allowed that advancement to happen.

What’s your opinion about acquiring sports rights. Can it be profitable?Maybe in this region, they don’t make profits because of the ludicrous rates at which they are bought but BSkyB makes a lot of money on sport.

Sports rights have escalated dramatically in the last 10 to 15 years because of the predominance of subscription growth. If you look at the English Premier League, BSky B bought their first set of rights in 1991-1992 and paid £205 million for five years of rights. At that time, it seemed like an exponentially large amount of money. The last EPL global beam which was for three years was sold for about £2.5 billion. So it went from £205 million for five years to £2.8 billion for three years.

And what we’ve seen in some markets — sadly, this market is one of them — is that rights costs escalate way beyond the economic capacity. So I would argue the money that has been paid particularly for rights like the Premier League cannot be economically returned in this market. What needs to happen is that if businesses are being run purely on economic rationale, the rights costs need to settle into a position that a legitimate business can afford to pay. They are valuable rights and sport is a strong product but ultimately, people want to watch television seven days a week and not just when football is on. Would I like to have the EPL still? Yes. Will I pay a ludicrous amount of money for it? No. Instead, we will continue to showcase great content for seven days a week and not for 90 minutes a week. PRO

“.. if businesses are being run purely on economic rationale, the [sports] rights costs need to settle into a position that a legitimate business can afford to pay. They are valuable rights and sport is a strong product but ultimately, people want to watch television seven days a week and not just when football is on.”


PROUSER

SE7EN HITS THE ROAD

Vijaya Cherian looks at how the UAE’s newest HD truck has been kitted out

to support various OB applications


PROUSER

the right equipment that is attractive to both local and international productions, according to Tabet.

“HD is in demand now so it made business sense to have an HD truck. But we deliberately chose the new, high-end Sony HDC-1500 cameras because they are also multi-format. We are the only company to own these cameras in the country and perhaps, in the region. International clients, especially from the US operate on different frequencies, and therefore, find the HDC-1500 attractive as it supports different formats and caters to their specific requirements,” he explains.

Another impressive factor, according to Tabet, is the size of the truck and the number of rooms it has. For one, the truck has two production rooms.

“Having two production rooms means the client has the flexibility to undertake two productions simultaneously. So if you are covering big events, one production room can

“International clients, especially from the US operate on different frequencies, and, therefore, find the HDC-1500 attractive as it supports different formats and caters to their specific requirements.”Pierre Tabet, head of operations, Se7en.

Se7en, a Dubai-based production and events company has rolled out a 14-camera High Definition (HD) truck this month in time to cover some of the region’s biggest events that will be hosted this quarter including sport, live performances and national celebrations. The truck, which is wired for 18 cameras, is the only one in the country fitted out with Sony’s new high-end HDC-1500 camera systems, and follows on from Se7en’s investment in an SD truck late last year.

Se7en began its OB operations with a 16-camera SD truck that has travelled to different parts of the Middle East since its launch.

“It’s the only SD OB van that can support both 16:9 and 4:3 formats in this region and it immediately became very popular in the market. This truck has travelled to many countries in the Gulf to cover some major events for some of the region’s leading broadcasters,” explains Pierre Tabet, head of Se7en’s OB operations.

As very few players in the region’s OB space presently rent their kit, services and crew to third party players, Se7en has a distinct advantage. In addition, having been head of operations at MBC for seven years and then LIVE, Abu Dhabi Media Company’s OB arm before joining Se7en’s OB operations, Tabet understands the market well.

A significant part of addressing client requirements has been to choose


PROUSER

focus on the main event while the other can focus on the studio or the highlights. You don’t require an additional OB van to cover the studio or the highlights,” he explains.

In all, the OB truck is very spacious, giving the client enough room to operate flexibly while also enabling large and flexible equipment to be deployed, according to Tabet.

“The size of the truck and the number of rooms immediately puts us at an advantage. For instance, it enables us to add a big video mixer with four DVE channels and this is a luxury in this market,” he says.

It’s also interesting to note that the production rooms are fitted with the Sony MVS 6000 HD video mixer and the HDC 1500 multi-format cameras on fibre. Other key highlights include the EVS system with HD support and a Midas Pro6 audio console.

Supplied and deployed by local distributor NMK Electronics, the Midas Pro6 is aimed at the broadcast market.

“This is the first digital Midas desk to be deployed in a truck in the region,”

comments Chicco Hiranandani, business development manager at NMK Eletcronics, the Midas distributor in the UAE.

“This is the seventh Midas digital console in the region but the first in an OB truck. What makes this desk special is that there is a lot of redundancy in terms of power, signal and DSP processing. The built-in redundancy makes it ideal for the broadcast market. In addition, this console does not use Windows like most other competing products. It uses Linux, which immediately translates to a much faster startup time and greater reliability.

“In terms of operation, it is again very quick because it doesn’t use layers unlike most competing products. All the channels you want can be placed right in front of you with the help of pop groups. In addition, this console can integrate with different protocols such as MADI and in the future, if Pierre wants to expand, he can use fibre optics to run one cable inside the venue and patch all his inputs there. This kind of flexibility immediately makes this console very attractive,” explains Hiranandani.

Tech specs

Four separate production rooms: audio control, video production, video control And edit-suite or second video production

VIDEO

12-cameras wired for 18 fibre-cameras SONY MVS 6000 HD vision mixer with 32 inputs and FXprocessor (2 chan. of DVE) SONY DVS 8000 digital vision mixer (32 inputs, 2 ME´s + PP) in video production HD Miranda matrix 144 x 144 SDI matrix 128 x 196 and 16 x 16 14 Sony HDC 1500 cameras CANON HJ17 with extender CANON HJ72 Box lenses CANON HJ60 Box lenses CANON HJ 40 CANON HJ 11 x 4.7 02 x HD SONY mini-cameras with WA lenses HDW 1800 – 2000 VTRs EVS 6 channels 160 video monitors HD - SDI Embedders and de-embedders and synchronisers

Audio

Pro6 digital sound mixer 16 x 16 digital audio router Genelec 1031A audio monitors 06 wireless talkback base stations

Grundig with 30 handhelds FK 109/ MT209 1 Telos 100, 1 Studer telephone hybrid Clearcom Eclipse digital communication

system, matrix size: 96 x 96 - About 20 talkback systems.

“[The Midas Pro6 audio console is] special because there is a lot of redundancy in terms of power, signal and DSP processing. The built-in redundancy makes it ideal for the broadcast market. In addition, this console does not use Windows ... It uses Linux, which immediately translates to a much faster startup time and greater reliability.Chicco Hiranandani, business development manager, NMK Electronics.

Pierre Tabet, head of operations at Se7en says the Pro6 will give the crew the flexibility to mix the audio for different apps.


PROUSER

Tabet adds that the company had several reasons for choosing Midas. As an events company, most of the firm’s engineers are very familiar with the brand and its operations.

Besides this, the Se7en OB truck is aimed at covering several different kinds of applications besides sport such as concerts for both Arab and international clients and Pro6 provides immense flexibility, according to Talbet.

In addition, this mixer allows the sound engineer in the OB truck to mix a concert differently from the engineer who is seated at the concert itself.

“With this mixer, we are no longer dependent on the engineer in front of house (FOH) position at the concert. What happens is that the sound engineer in the concert does a mix and sends the right and left master to the OB truck. If he does not do a good mix, the sound engineer in the OB truck can’t do anything about it. His hands are tied.

“With this mixer, the engineer at the concert can do his own mix for monitoring, the Public Address (PA) system and so on, and for broadcast, the house mixer inside the OB van can do another mix that is more appropriate for TV without worrying about distortion,” Tabet explains.

As with all OB trucks, Se7en also has a wireless HD system that it sourced from Dubai-based local distributor Advanced Media Trading.

“This wireless camera system supports 1 watt and 5 watt at the same time so it can be used for both short distance and long distance shoots at the same time. This is primarily designed for live coverage. We have used this previously in our SD truck and like the solution,” explains Tabet.

Alaa Rantisi, broadcast engineer at Advanced Media calls the L1500 “the most powerful and flexible wireless camera transmitter, offering HD and SD transmission from the same unit”.

“The modular design of this transmitter allows you to start from a standard SD transmitter and add camera control and HD capability as and when you require. It has unmatched RF flexibility with the ability to change RF modules in the field as needed to cover the frequency range from 1GHz to 7GHz and above,” says Rantisi.

Tabet claims that Se7en’s biggest strength lies in its ability to provide a turnkey solution with full support to clients.

“Se7en has everything inhouse from lighting, sound equipment, LED screens, plasmas, monitors, multimedia and set designers to security to undertake an event from A to Z. We also have a highly qualified team of professionals from engineers to crew to support such events. When you have all the resources inhouse, it becomes easier to provide a more reliable and cost effective as well as turnkey solution to clients,” Tabet claims.

Se7en has plans to expand its OB fleet further although details are under wraps for now. PRO

“The modular design of this transmitter [L1500] allows you to start from a standard SD transmitter and add camera control and HD capability as and when you require.” Alaa Rantisi, broadcast engineer, Advanced Media Trading.

Se7en has presently invested in 14 Sony HDC-1500 cameras for its new HD truck.


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PROKSA

Saudi-based systems integrator First Gulf Company (FGC) has secured a major contract to build a complete High Definition (HD) studio in the Kingdom for King Faisal University (KFU). The studio will be used by KFU students for traditional TV production. The facility will also be fully wired to enable the uplink of live programmes via satellite directly to homes.

Walid AlMoukhtar, general manager of FGC says the prime objective of building such a facility is not just to train students on traditional production and broadcasting but also to facilitate distance learning.

“Distance learning is very common in Saudi Arabia, especially among women who find it difficult to travel for social or financial reasons. But the concept is now becoming more widespread among the youth here. KFU intends to have a free-to-air (FTA) satellite channel and anyone interested in accessing their courses and lectures can tune into it,” he says.

The scope of this project includes kitting out a studio for traditional TV production, supporting KFU’s audiovisual needs mainly its theatre and also delivering programmes to homes via satellite.

One entire floor of KFU’s media building will be converted to a TV and radio broadcast facility for this project, according to Orlando Castro, broadcast systems engineer at FG.

“The floor will be re-partitioned to provide space for one TV studio, one production control room, CAR, one dimmer room, three editing rooms, one voice-over booth, one radio studio and control room, and a satellite uplink section. The studio floor and other rooms are

presently not designed for TV production application. We will have to undertake sound isolation and acoustic treatment to make it more feasible for production. Additionally, the A/C system will be re-designed to provide enough cooling to the studio and other rooms,” he says.

Castro claims that this is the first studio in an academic facility in the Kingdom to be equipped with full HD/SD broadcast-quality equipment.

The production control room will be designed to serve both the University’s TV studio floor, which is 140 sqm and its 3000 sqm theatre. Both facilities are housed in the same media building.

The TV studio will be equipped with four Hitachi HD broadcast cameras (SK-HD1000) and the theatre will be fitted with six Hitachi cameras expandable to nine in the future. Lighting for the studio will also be undertaken by FGC engineers. An ADC dimmer and control surface as well as various studio fresnel and soft light type luminaires will be deployed.

“An event held in either of the two venues can be handled easily by the production control room, selectively or simultaneously, through the help of a camera hybrid fibre cable patch panel and Harris 64x64 3G/HD/SD-SDI Platinum router that are installed in the Central Apparatus Room (CAR),” explains Castro.

The studio system architecture is designed to work on 720P/50 HD format for now and will be migrated eventually to 1080P by upgrading some of the key components of the system.

It can provide HD and SD output simultaneously for live transmission through the proposed satellite uplink.

Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal University invests in studio facilitySI First Gulf Company undertakes US $2.7million project

FACTSLocation: Saudi ArabiaEnd user: King Faisal UniversityObjective: Build training facilities for traditional TV production, support KFU’s audiovisual needs mainly its theatre and also deliver programmes created by KFU to home via satellite to facilitate distance learning.Approximate budget: US $2.7 million


PROKSA

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Autoscript prompter Panasonic P2 Studio recorder Sony XDCAM HD deck IMX studio recorder Genelec 8050 for studio and control rooms audio reference monitoring

Sennheiser wireless microphone system

In addition to studio equipment, the facility comprises three editing suites running under Avid Media Composer Mojo DX with 5 TB of RAID protected storage, Panasonic P2 Deck, Sony XDCAM HD Deck and DVCAM VTRs.

FGC will add a two-channel redundant satellite uplink for KFU to enable Direct to Home (DTH) broadcast through ARABSAT. The uplink will use three MPEG 4/2 HD/SD Ericsson encoders, Ericsson redundant multiplexers and modulators as well as nCompass Control/monitoring systems.

FGC’s GM AlMoukhtar explains that this is the first such project undertaken by an academic institution in the Kingdom and a first for the systems integrator as well.

“The education sector has not invested in training facilities thus far. However, all that is due to change. The Kingdom plans to spend more on education and improve the education model here.

“KFU is the first University to come up with the idea of reaching their distance learning students through satellite. They plan to eventually incorporate streaming and interactivity features as well into this project. Seeing this, another major University is also looking to do something similar but on a much larger scale,” explains AlMoukhtar.

The KFU project is scheduled for completion in four months. PRO

“KFU is the first University to come up with the idea of reaching their distance learning students through satellite. They plan to eventually incorporate streaming and interactivity features as well into this project.”Walid Al Moukhtar, general manager, First Gulf Company, Saudi Arabia.

Walid AlMoukhtar (middle), GM of FGC and the president of KFU (r) sign the contract as FGC CEO Naim Saidi looks on.

PROFILM


I am a man from the south who succeeded in the north and did not forget his roots.I [took] the knowledge and experience I gained working in Europe and [brought] that back with me to Tunisia, along the way building film studios, setting up labs and launching a free, independent TV network called Nessma. I have employed tens of thousands of Tunisians in the process.

Like many young Arabs, a career in the media for me was not easy to choose, particularly when it came to convincing my parents. I studied international economics and politics at Georgetown University and returned to Tunisia, as far as my family was concerned, to carry on our tradition of politics and diplomacy. (Ben Ammar’s uncle was Habib Bourguiba, the first president of an independent Tunisia).

I had been too close to the world of politics and didn’t like it. It was the audiovisual industry that interested me — not necessarily filmmaking, it could have been advertising or journalism. I was fascinated to see the ways in which

Arabian KnightTarak Ben Ammar, president of Quinta Communications delivered a powerful speech at the Circle Conference in Abu Dhabi last month that showcased his own achievements in filmmaking while also urging the Arab world to take their cultural heritage to international markets. We bring you excerpts.

the Americans could sell us a bottle of Coca-Cola and almost give it a soul.

I asked myself, what can I do that will give me a career, independence from my family and serve my country?

It was at that moment that the idea of cinema came to me. I wanted to promote Tunisia, as the Spanish and Italians had done for their countries. There is no more powerful tool than the ability to make someone connect with your story through an image, a word, a song.

How many people learnt about India’s struggle for independence through a film like Gandhi [or] sympathised with the plight of the Native Americans after a film like Dances with Wolves ?

The moving image is the single most effective means of mass communication. That is why we [must] get our stories out to the world through films and TV.

In an age when we see Islamophobia rising, we have a responsibility to provide a counter balance. We must do everything we can to ensure that the tolerant, moderate view of the Arab

world, including Islam and the plurality of other religions which exist here, along with the progressive, compassionate hopes and dreams of so many in this region, are allowed a platform for expression. We must let the world know that Arab is not a dirty word.

When I read in the Financial Times, that over the next four years, the Gulf states between them are set to spend over US $120 billion on armaments, and then I find out that companies based here have yet to spend any meaningful production dollars on Arab cinema, I know that something is wrong.

If we can give just 0.1% of the expenditure committed to armaments to the fields of culture, we will be able to sustain the Arab film industry for years to come.

I have seen some of the film deals announced by my friends in Abu Dhabi [but] I hope my friends ... will not put too much focus on Hollywood films. The film business is a different place today to when I began my career.

Today, it is a genuinely global business. The studios in America regularly make

Tarak Ben Ammar flanked by his son (right) and director general of ADACH, HE Mohammed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei (left).

PROFILM



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more money theatrically internationally than they do in the US.

If you are to invest in Hollywood films, think strategically. Be smarter than the investors who came to Los Angeles before you with their chequebooks open only to leave years later with a hole where their money used to be. You wouldn’t be the first. The only ones who have succeeded are those who gave as much importance to their own region as they did the glittering lights of Hollywood.

Great things are being done in Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dubai and other places. Now is the time to connect the dots. It is not enough to pay lip service to this market.

I myself have made a number of Arab feature films over the years, such as The Kite by a Lebanese filmmaker Randa Chahall, which won the special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival and the Dove’s Lost Necklace by Tunisian filmmaker Nacer Khemir.

I know that it is not easy to have these stories connect with international audiences. There are dozens of scripts by aspiring Arab filmmakers lying on the desks of executives here in Abu Dhabi.

You cannot measure the value and upside of these projects merely in terms of dollars and cents. Do not only ask these filmmakers how much money their films will make. Take into account its potential cultural impact, socio-political importance and above all, its quality as a feature film.

ARAB FILMS FOR A gLOBAL MARKETThis year, Quinta Communications launched a film division with the dedicated aim of producing feature films about the Arab world and Middle East for the international market. We are ready to work with filmmakers across this region to ensure that their films will be seen by audiences across Europe. We already have distribution in France, Italy and Spain. We now have the infrastructure to take your stories into multiple territories.

That was one of the main reasons why, this year, we co-produced two films: Julian Schnabel’s Miral and Rachid Bouchareb’s Outside The Law.

Julian’s film is based on Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal’s biographical book Miral. It tells the story of the wonderful Palestinian lady Hend Husseini, who founded the Dar El Tifl orphanage in Jerusalem following the partition of Palestine and creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

Here was a film that was both politically sensitive and commercially challenging. And yet, I found it impossible to say no to Julian and Jerome Seydoux at Pathe when they asked me to come on board the project. Here we had a film that was defiantly pro-

“On Black Gold, we have more than 400 Tunisian technicians ... These aren’t just drivers. They’re actors, craftsmen, decorators, painters and cameramen working across every department. Only 10% of the crew will be made up of foreign workers.”

Outside the Law

“Rachid Bouchareb’s Outside the Law was co-financed by Quinta, Canal Plus and the Algerian goverment and was shot in my studios in Tunisia. The film is about the Algerian struggle for independence against French colonial rule.

“It is rare to work with a filmmaker like Rachid Bouchareb who was able to change French law thanks to his earlier film Days of Glory, which recounted the forgotten contribution of Arabs and Muslims to World War 2 in the fight against Nazism and fascism.

“These are two films which make bold statements. The Algerian government did not hesitate to co-finance Rachid’s film — even though it was shot in Tunisia — and the state-owned oil company Sonatrach did not hesitate to agree to finance the Oscar campaign in the best foreign language film category.

“These decisions were not based on dollars and cents. They were based on supporting a filmmaker and his vision in telling the world about the story of the Algerian people and their fight for freedom.”

PROFILM


LOOKINg BACKWhen I began my career, I did not have the backing of petro-dollars. When I convinced the likes of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Franco Zeffirelli and Roman Polanski to come and film in Tunisia, I had no money to offer them ... no financial support from the Tunisian government ... and zero financing from any local banks.

35 years and 65 films later, [more than] half a million salary slips have been paid out to Tunisians and half a billion dollars has been spent in Tunisia.

If I was able to do all this with no money, imagine what could be done here in Abu Dhabi and this region with the resources at your disposal. You could do ten times what I did.

But there must be the will and interest to invest locally and regionally.

Work with Europe. In Europe alone, you have some 25 million Arabs, who deserve to be addressed.

Never before has the youth been in a position to play such a crucial role in the Arab world. Two thirds of our population is under the age of 25. For the most part, our youth do not get their information from newspapers or book but from television. What’s more, in the Arab world, this generation watches on average six hours of television a day. That is almost double the average of TV viewers in Europe.

To my friends in Abu Dhabi, my advice is if you want to play the Hollywood game, then do not just invest in films. Work with them not just as financiers but as partners on equal terms. Do not let them just see you as a pay check. Impose your own culture, your own stories. If you want to play that game, then play the big boys’ game.

Buy companies. Acquire a studio. That’s where the real power lies. That is what will really grab the attention of corporate America, particularly in these economic times. The Japanese understood that when they bought Columbia. So did the French when they bought Universal.

And do not ignore the rest of the world.

Hollywood doesn’t need your money but it will happily take it, just as it took countless others before you.

NEW OPPORTUNITIESSometimes life, and business, throw up opportunities, moments when we must make a decision. One of those moments came to me with my decision to move into film distribution with Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ.

At the time, Mel was being accused of having made an anti-Semitic film by people who had not even seen it. Those rumours created an atmosphere of fear and meant that a boycott by distributors and exhibitors in Europe, particularly France, was becoming a reality. For me, this stood against all my principles of believing in freedom of speech and the freedom to follow one’s faith.

So, I decided to distribute the film in France and secured its release in over ten other territories across the world. I had friends and associates try to stop me from doing it. Many told me that as an Arab and a Muslim, I was leaving myself open to accusations of being an anti-Semite myself.

But it was because I was an Arab and a Muslim that I felt a moral obligation to defend someone else’s faith.

I was brought up in an environment where Habib Bourguiba made a speech in 1965 in Jericho — before the Six Day war in 1967 — where he called for the right of Israel to exist on the condition that there was an end to the occupation of Palestinian lands and the creation of a Palestinian state. At the time, he was attacked by other leaders as a traitor. Today, his vision is the universally-accepted template for the establishment of a Palestinian state and an end to this interminable conflict.

I would pose the following questions to my friends in Abu Dhabi and the region as a whole.

What have you done to build up a local Arab market for Arab films? How many trips have you taken to Egypt to see if you can replicate the successful local model there on a more regional basis?

How many trips have you taken to Syria, Jordan, Morocco or Tunisia — countries which have made great strides in developing their local production infrastructure? What are you doing to improve regional collaboration?

“If you want to play the Hollywood game... play the big boys’ game. Buy companies. Acquire a studio. That’s where the real power lies.”

peace and in favour of the establishment of a Palestinian state being made by an American Jewish filmmaker who had spent his whole life being a keen supporter of Israel. Once he had heard the other side of the story, however, by reading Rula’s book, he took it upon himself ... to do all he could to bring about an end to that injustice.

Julian is ... an artist so his tool of choice was to make an artistic expression of the need for an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The film received its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, where it received a standing ovation.

I spent that evening talking to Italians in the audience, some in tears, who told me they had never seen the Palestinian side of the story away from the news.

Miral went on to win the Unicef Award at the Venice Film Festival for best reflecting the principles of Unicef.

PROFILM



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Black Gold

Filming for Black Gold began on October 18 in Ben Ammar’s studios in Tunisia. The film will be entirely produced and post produced in Tunisia. Ben Ammar tells us about how it was conceived.

“I have wanted to make this film for more than 30 years. It is an adaptation of a book I first optioned in 1978 by Hans Reusch called The Great Thirst.

“It tells the story of the rivalry between two Emirs in Arabia in the 1930s just as oil is being discovered and the rise of a young, dynamic leader who unites the various tribes of the Arabian Peninsula.

“Not since Lawrence of Arabia has a film dealt with the Arab world in such a manner. Whereas that film was the story of a Western man who came to fall in love with Arab customs and traditions, in ours we are focusing on the pride, dignity and honour of the Arabs themselves.

“This is a $55 million film, and will be filled with spectacular action sequences, romance and intrigue on an epic scale with thousands of extras.

“On Black Gold, we have more than 400 Tunisian technicians working on the shoot. These aren’t just drivers. They’re actors, craftsmen, decorators, painters and cameramen working across every department. Only 10 per cent of the crew will be made up of foreign workers.

“The film will be shot in my studios in Tunisia, studios that were built, painted and dressed by Tunisian hands. The post-production will be done in my labs in Tunisia during the shoot by Tunisian technicians.”

And so, I released Passion of the Christ precisely because I felt it was my duty to defend the religious rights of Christians and Jews.

And if an Arab and a Muslim can support and promote [someone else’s] religious freedoms and beliefs, so too must they support and promote the freedoms and beliefs of their neighbours.

And so, six years later, a film like Black Gold which shows the tolerant, moderate side of Arabs and Muslims, set under the glittering stars of the Arabian desert, and wrapped up in an exciting, big budget adventure story for the whole family will be the big Christmas release across the world for two of America’s biggest studios.

I can announce today that Warner Bros and Universal have come on board Black Gold as worldwide partner-distributors on a multi-territory basis.

This is unprecedented for a film made by Arabs, about Arabs and filmed in the Arab world.

If major companies like Universal and Warner Bros can see the upside in a film in which the hero is a young Arab, it shows you how cinema can truly transcend borders.

That is the true upside of filmmaking. It is not in a dollars and cents accounting approach. It lies in the power of the idea and the power of the imagination.

To the aspiring Emirati filmmakers here today, do not think that because your land is blessed with resources, everything should be handed to you on a plate. Quite the contrary.

Earn it. Learn about the business of film. Great filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Roman Polanski succeeded without the help of hand outs. All they had was imagination, talent and an appetite for hard work. You must be the same. Do not ignore your legacy.

Anyone can make a film that adheres to the bottom line. Very few can make a film that lives in our dreams for years and creates a value incalculable in mere dollars and cents. Let that be your real upside. PRO

Tarak Ben Ammar is a well-known international movie producer and distributor from Tunisia. He is also the owner of French production and distribution company Quinta Communications.

Tarak Ben Ammar delivers keynote at The Circle Conference, Abu Dhabi.

PROBROADBAND

Unlocking service provider bandwidthA new era of co-operation between telcos and broadcasters holds the key to unleashing the true power of broadband


Content, content and more content. It’s the story of our time and applicable to every country in the world. Distributing additional content, especially real-time and interactive, requires more bandwidth. With the growth of technologies such as HD, 3D and 3Gbps infrastructure, coupled with the need to maximise revenues by selling content, broadcasters’ bandwidth requirements are ever-increasing, and telcos are the only companies with the infrastructure to meet them.

Now is the time for service providers and broadcasters to work together for their mutual benefit. In the Middle East, it may be a matter of years before both sectors truly take advantage of the opportunities for co-operation and profit, but a very compelling business model that will benefit each industry, awaits the early adopters who overcome their apprehensions.

PROBROADBAND


Recognising the potentialTelecoms have the bandwidth capacity that they can make available to broadcasters. While it seems simple enough, a shift in thinking must occur on both sides. Telecoms have only recently started to embrace leasing bandwidth to broadcasters and have begun to recognise the long-term revenue potential. But now, the costs to acquire this bandwidth are a major inhibitor to broadcasters’ more prolific use. Telecoms need to make bandwidth available at a cost that broadcasters can afford and should work to ensure that broadcaster concerns about quality and security are met. Yet, when telecom bandwidth is opened up to broadcasters at an affordable price, demand will grow dramatically. Considering the global growth of networks and channels, there’s no end in sight to the growth of broadcasters and other providers distributing high quality, wide-ranging content to the end user.

One could make an analogy to the birth of “no frills” airlines several decades ago. More and more people were travelling by air for business and leisure. Despite the increase, many more wanted to fly but were excluded by the high price. Enter the no-frills airlines which literally created a new market by substantially lowering the cost of flying for the consumer. The flood gates were opened and the new market was here to stay.

FACTS & FIGURES

A survey conducted by Nevion earlier this year found that content owners — broadcasters, in particular — are eager to use service providers’ IP networks for video transport. Of the more than 200 content owners surveyed across the globe — broadcasters, cable TV companies, film studios, government agencies and educational institutions — 25% are already taking advantage of service providers’ IP networks, and a further 45% would consider doing so. Overall, 65% of broadcasters were enthusiastic about the opportunity of working with service providers. The recognition among broadcasters that telcos can meet their bandwidth needs is clear. But service providers must understand the very specific needs of the broadcast industry for the relationship to be successful.

IP video delivery chain

PROBROADBAND

“Many years of research have gone into developing products that allow broadcasters high-quality, easy and cost-effective utilisation of telecom infrastructures. It’s time to get past old assumptions and open the doors of communication to the possibilities and profits enabled by technological advances and next-generation equipment. Both telcos and broadcasters simply have too much to gain. Let’s start talking.”Oddbjørn Bergem, CEO, Nevion


MaRket DRiveRs While the need for more bandwidth to push more and more content is a given, a closer look reveals deeper market dynamics at work. A broadcaster or production house, for example, wants to produce and sell the rights to an event for the widest possible audience. Any action that makes the event more accessible and production affordable will open up more opportunities and increased revenue. But this is an expensive proposition.

An OB van equipped with onsite production equipment, and crew of 10 to 20 with cameras and gear to cover a live event is costly. And often, production is done onsite with the feed sent back to the main hub where graphics and other elements are added before finally being distributed. Broadcasters would much rather transport the live feed directly to the main site using telco bandwidth capacity and handle all production in-house for a much more streamlined and cost-effective operation. But the business model has to work. The cost for broadcasters to lease telco lines and bring the feed back through that infrastructure has to cost less than the onsite scenario. Additionally, satellite capacity for contribution video is prohibitively expensive for broadcasters and results in lower quality for the end user.

When production is done onsite and sent back via satellite, the signal must be dramatically compressed. Extra compression is not needed when signals are sent through telco lines, so quality is more pristine and much closer to the original. Naturally, there will always be a need for OB vans and remote production, as there is no way to pull cables to remote sites, especially in the case of live news.

the technology is heRe nowThe technology is here now to make the relationship work. Recent advances in video over IP for content delivery now meet broadcasters’ assurances for quality, monitoring, control and management. New compression technologies such as JPEG 2000 can provide extremely low latency — as low as 45ms per encode/decode cycle with the right implementation — and visually and mathematically lossless quality. Transport streams offer the control and monitoring capabilities broadcasters require and protection switching provides redundancy to ensure that SLAs are adhered to. These advances are critical to easing broadcaster fears about quality and the potential lack of control traditionally associated with IP transport. PRO

Oddbjørn Bergem is CEO of Nevion.

Promoting a dialogue In October this year, Nevion hosted discussions between top Middle East telecom providers and regional broadcasters to promote the idea of co-operation. As Nevion grew out of a merger between European-based Network Electronics, which provided broadcaster-focused video processing and transport equipment, and US-based Video Products Group (VPG) that primarily serviced the telecommunications market with video transport solutions, the company has roots firmly planted in both sectors. At the discussions, the company put forward the potential benefits and pitfalls of the broadcaster and telecom relationship.

Even with extreme compression, JPEG 2000 compressed images degrade with subtle blurring—not annoying blocking and tiling.


Working magic into BudrusOne village’s attempt to survive the Middle East conflict is captured by DNA and Blackmagic Design

PROEDITING

The small village of Budrus is at the forefront of the unarmed movement within the Occupied Palestinian territories and, more broadly, the Middle East. Budrus, a multi-award winning film, which was produced late last year, documents the very real danger facing this small village. A documentary of gritty substance, it records the inspirational journey of the residents of Budrus and their attempts to bring a just peace to their corner of the world.

More specifically, it focuses on a man and his 15-year-old daughter in their unarmed movement to save their village from destruction. Along the way, the film shows the human face of Fatah and Hamas, as well as the many Israeli supporters who come to Budrus. These different people from different cultures all come together in a desperate desire for peace and to defend the rights of the villagers of Budrus to live in freedom. This collective non-violent action, designed to confront the ever-present danger to the village of Budrus, was showcased at Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) last year.

Director Julia Bacha and producer Ronit Avni had a powerful story to tell but required to stand out


from the huge number of documentaries about the region and they felt that it could be done best in post production. As a result, they turned to post production company DNA and its founder Darius Fisher to make it different.

For DNA’s Darius Fisher, and colleague Olaf Wendt, bringing Budrus to life meant working with widely varying source footage and meeting the very tight deadlines imposed by the international film festival circuit. By its very nature, Budrus is meant to tell a multicultural story. This called for numerous versions in different languages and formats so that the documentary could be shown on the big screen around the world.

Budrus was off-lined in New York and D.C. using Final Cut Pro NLE systems, and was then on-lined and conformed by DNA in Los Angeles, with the help of their huge range of Blackmagic Design equipment.

“We were in charge of managing the whole finishing process,” said DNA’s Fisher, “and this included resolution and frame rate conversion in addition to Teague Cowley and Olaf Wendt’s entire colour correction process. With new

PROEDITING

“With new footage still trickling in and different festivals demanding different formats under tight deadlines, we could not have maintained our delivery schedule without the solutions we used.”Darius Fisher, founder, DNA.

The team at DIFF with HM Queen Noor last year.


footage still trickling in and different festivals demanding different formats under tight deadlines, we could not have maintained our delivery schedule without the solutions we used,” says Fisher.

This involved accessing more than eight terabytes of source material that Fisher and Wendt stored on their self-designed networked storage systems.

“We were able to create a multi-level, hybrid infrastructure for our workflow, starting with our Blackmagic Design Studio Videohub router that let us distribute our HD-SDI signals from any workstation to wherever they were needed. This included the Teranex VC100 Format Converter we relied on for transcoding to HD and the Apple Color system that was used for colour grading. We would send the video from the Apple Color system using Blackmagic Design’s DVI Extender to a JVC DLS 35 digital projector to evaluate the final result,” adds Fisher.

In fact, DNA had calibrated all of its flat panel monitors and digital projection using probes generating 3D LUTs to Rec. 709 and was able to feed them with any needed signal out of their Color system through their HDLink Pro high definition resolution monitoring converters.

“This gave us consistent HD visual imagery with a full range of monitoring capability. The Blackmagic Design equipment enabled us to rely on a uniform viewing environment,” explains DNA’s Wendt.

The facility boasts four Blackmagic Design Multibridge Pros and one Multibridge Eclipse system among the facility’s external PCI Express capture and playback equipment, adds Fisher. The Multibridge can switch instantly between SD and HD (or 2K if needed), which, with the help of their Blackmagic Design Mini Converters, provided reliable I/O to any of DNA’s workstations.

“We even had a VHS deck with a component output and I was able to feed its analogue standard definition video and stereo audio channels to our Multibridge Pro to mux the video and audio into an SD digital signal. We could then send it via SDI to the Teranex converter where it was up-rezzed and de-interlaced into proper 1080P HD, then sent through the Blackmagic Design Studio Videohub to a Multibridge Pro where it was captured as a 1080p 23.98 or 25PsF Quicktime file.”

The modular architecture of the Blackmagic Design Mini Converters meant DNA could always find a way to route a signal to the workstation or monitor where it was needed.

“A lot of the material we had to work with had interlaced fields in its video so the ability to route signals to our broadcast Sony CRT was very helpful in making sure we took the correct approach to de-interlacing,” explains Fisher.

Budrus went on to win several awards at the Berlin Film Festival, Tribeca, the San Francisco International Film Festival and the Jerusalem Film Festival. PRO

“A lot of the material we had to work with had interlaced fields in its video. So the ability to route signals to our ... Sony CRT was very helpful in making sure we took the correct approach to de-interlacing.” Darius Fisher, DNA.

PROEDITING

Producer/executive procucer of Budrus, Ronit Avni.

Director/producer of Budrus, Julia Bacha.

A school in Budrus.

AXONglue and beyond

3D signal processingAxon also provides modular solutions for 3D-TV: the G3D100 (3Gbps version,

also available in HD version: H3D100). This product, part of the Synapse family is a pragmatic toolbox for customers that are involved in 3D production and need to

monitor, process and transmit stereoscopic images.

So, when you become involved in 3D production, select Axon as your technology partner and partner and you will be in good company. Many major broadcast companies have

made the same choice, and they also discovered that Axon is really all about ‘glue and beyond’. www.axon.tv/G3D100

Committed.


DSNG TechNoloGyBack in the late 1990s, I was attending an internal meeting at MHz to discuss the future strategies for the business. We had been successfully selling vehicle-based broadcast systems and Digital Satellite Newsgathering vehicles (DSNGs) in particular up to that point. But the general conclusion then was that these vehicles were too expensive, the market was pretty much saturated and future links would be over the ever increasing network of fibre being installed. Luckily for us, we can apply Mark Twain’s quote to this subject namely - “the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated”.

Today, the DSNG market remains extremely healthy and companies continue to deliver a wide variety of vehicles ranging from small people carriers (SUVs) to large chassis cab solutions.

The challenges in the area of DSNGs are no different to the rest of the broadcast industry at this time. More services are needed to a higher quality on a reduced budget. There are pressures at the higher end to deliver HD and ultimately 3D, and there are pressures on news operations to get more people to where the action is more quickly and provide better and more in-depth reporting.

Given that news seems to happen just about anywhere, satellite is still the preferred medium for transmitting the pictures back into the broadcast

The cost of operating DSNG facilities can be reduced considerably by addressing the limitations of satellite capacity and increased data throughput, thereby, making them more attractive to end users

network. Even if other mediums are available to file reports, it could be that in any disaster area for example, these are likely to be under strain from the ongoing events and the broadcaster needs his own pipeline back to HQ.

This paper looks at the possibilities of reducing costs of DSNG facilities by addressing the limitations of satellite capacity and increased data throughput, thereby making DSNG facilities a more attractive option for more operators.

SaTelliTe capaciTyAs a means of making life relatively simple, the broadcast industry uses geostationary satellites for delivery of content to the home and for contribution of material from the field. There are only a finite number of orbital slots available for geostationary satellites to avoid interference with each other and the most useful positions serving Europe, North America and China/Japan are increasingly being filled. Added to this, there is an increasing demand for satellite communications from other industries. As the demand continues to outstrip the limited resource, the cost of using these facilities remains comparatively high.

One possible solution to provide increased capacity is to use higher frequencies. Most broadcast satellites have traditionally used C-band (typically 5.925 GHz to 6.425 GHz for uplink), Ku-

DSNG services over IP at Ka-band

PROTECH

band (13.750 to 14.500 GHz for uplink) or more recently DBS-band (17.300 GHz - 18.100 GHz for uplink). Technological enhancements in recent years have brought about the use of higher frequencies at Ka-band (26.5 GHz to 40 GHz for uplink) as a means of capitalising on further operating efficiencies.

Several satellite service providers are already offering space at Ka-band and many more are planned in the near future. There are currently around 38 launches planned with Ka-band space proposed up to 2013 (satellites are ordered 3 years in advance). Of course, not all of these will have occasional use space available to broadcasters, but many will.


Much of the capacity of Ka-band is aimed at providing Internet access via satellite for domestic and business users; however it is also targeted at broadcasters. It would be possible for a contribution link to be received by a dedicated ground station and relayed via satellite again to the broadcaster’s receive site. This “double hop” and consequential extra delay may not be desirable, so more likely, after receiving the signal at the ground station, it will be delivered to the broadcaster via IP/MPLS over fibre for example (more later).

Moving up the spectrum and gaining more bandwidth comes at a price. The technical challenges are greater due to increased losses in the system and

Ka-band’s greater susceptibility to such interference as rain fade. A long-standing experience with RF technologies is essential to guide customers through the challenges of deploying such technology, minimising the risks and enabling them to benefit from the lower costs offered by transition-ing their operations to Ka-band.

ViDeo oVer ip oVer SaTelliTeThere have been major technological advances to reduce the bandwidth needed for video transmission over satellite in recent years. The introduction of MPEG-4 as an encoding standard and DVB-S2 as a modulation standard are now well established.

Broadcasters are quite familiar with sending Internet Protocol (IP) traffic over satellite to support the DSNG function. Previously, however, DSNG services such as remote control, communications, access to newsroom server and the like, could only be achieved by sending up extra channels over the satellite. These extra channels require additional equipment and the booking of supplementary space on the satellite (or sacrificing some bandwidth from the video channel). Using IP technology allows everything to be on the same network in the truck and using less equipment while a single “IP pipe” connects the truck to the TV station over the satellite.

One of the ways to deliver more efficient DSNG operations is by remotely controlling and monitoring DSNGs in the field. Such a solution enables news operations to cost-effectively deploy their news crews in the field and re-deploy resources where they can be most beneficial to the whole news operation. One way to achieve this is by using IP satellite modems at each end of the link rather than in addition to the broadcast chain modulators and demodulators.

There is now also broad acceptance by broadcasters of IP technology within their station infrastructure. File-based workflows are being rolled out throughout

PROTECH


the industry. Files are replacing video delivered via coax cables from the cameras, through the post-production phase and on to the playout servers and archiving. Furthermore, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is rapidly becoming the preferred mechanism for delivering video over terrestrial fibre to broadcasters. So far, satellite video delivery over IP has been lagging behind.

Unlike traditional video delivery mechanisms, IP is asynchronous. This has the advantage that the same format can be used for sending both real-time video and file transfers either faster or slower than real time. As mentioned earlier, even though IP is an asynchronous protocol, encapsulation techniques such as Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) have been developed to ensure it is possible to deliver time-critical signals successfully.

It is likely that MPEG will continue to be the format for broadcast encoding in the foreseeable future. MPEG encoders are usually equipped with a Transport Stream (TS) output over Asynchronous Serial Interface (ASI). However, already many manufacturers have fitted their equipment with Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) outputs. A suitably equipped modulator can take this data stream, which might be over UDP over IP, or RTP over UDP over IP, it will

strip off the RTP, UDP and IP layers, and send only the transport stream over the satellite link. This will be encapsulated much more efficiently. The encapsulation scheme for both DVB-S and DVB-S2 can be Multi-Protocol Encapsulation (MPE) and in the case of DVB-S2, Extended Performance Encapsulation (XPE), giving up to a further 8% saving on bandwidth requirements when compared with MPE.

If the link can be two-way, then we open up the possibility for the link to carry voice traffic (communications), email, access to newsroom servers, remote control and monitoring, as well as the live feed. This obviously makes much better use of the bandwidth available on the link.

Now, there are solutions that allow a DSNG to be operated from base via satellite using the same modems being used for the traffic resulting in less equipment being used. This reduction in equipment delivers economies to the operation through lower power consumption — supporting the development of more sustainable, environmentally –friendly processes.

A further advantage of a two-way link is that there could be quality of service (QoS) data transferred between modulator and demodulator. This means that the modulation scheme and

error correcting (modcod) can always be optimally set for the conditions prevailing on the link at the time. The highest possible bandwidth will always be achieved whilst maintaining an acceptable QoS. At present, an earth station would generally use an Up Path Power Controller (UPPC) to vary the uplink power based on the conditions prevailing at the uplink location based on feedback from a beacon receiver. A UPPC is unlikely to be fitted to a DSNG so the operator would simply ride the power level controls. With QoS feedback from the receiving modem, the modcod can be automatically adjusted so a contribution feed from the DSNG in the morning in clear weather might take place at 8PSK 5/6. In the afternoon, during a thunderstorm (and even a bit of miss-pointing), this may automatically be dropped to QPSK 2/3, without intervention from the operator.

With the use of clever prioritising within the modems, it is possible for a single data stream to contain data for file transfer, browsing, email, remote control, etc, plus a live video stream which is always given priority.

Naturally, there are challenges in using IP over satellite. The delays inherent in the link actually makes it unsuitable for IP traffic, however, the modems can use techniques such as acceleration and pre-fetching to respond to local network requests from within the unit rather than wait for a response from the far end. These techniques have been in use for many years.

coNcluSioNThe use of Ka-band for satellite contribution offers huge savings in terms of increased capacity. The greater integration of IP technologies will make the system and the workflow much simpler and allow the satellite links to be used more economically.

More economical use of the links, in turn, means less power is required for the uplink. Less uplink power can lead to smaller power systems in the DSNG vehicles and this can result in smaller and more economical vehicles being the most suitable solution. PRO

PROTECH

Stephen Burgess is technical director at MHz.

A LOOK AT HOW AN IP NETWORK CHANGES THE WORKFLOW

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T: +971 507305856 I [email protected] - UK - USA - SINGAPORE - INDIA I www.wasp3d.com

On-air Graphics I Virtual Studio I Stereo 3D I Touch Screen Graphics I Character Generation


LATEST PROTECH

Available in 2 M/E or 2.5 M/E models, For-A’s HANABI Series switcher features support for HD/SD mixed inputs, as well as optional support for 3Gbps and stereoscopic 3D production.

“Flexibility and functionality were two of the most important considerations when we designed the new HVS-4000HS,” said Hiro Tanoue, president, FOR-A Corporation of America. “Our new switcher delivers the features that can handle the mixed format productions of today, along with options like 3G and 3D to make sure our customers can handle the production needs of tomorrow.”

With its optional stereo 3D function, the HVS-4000HS can handle the left and right video from a stereo camera as a pair, which allows the operator to switch or invert video, add delays, execute horizontal shifts and transitions, and more. While the switcher supports 1080i, 720p, NTSC, and PAL signals, its optional 3G-SDI input provides support for 1080p signals.

Standard features include 3D DVE, six still stores (expandable to eight), four keyers for each M/E, macro function, external device control, video file support, and built-in multi-viewer. The HVS-4000HS includes 16 HD/SD-SDI inputs and 16 outputs, which can be expanded to up to 48 inputs and 24 outputs. Selectable outputs include PGM, PREV, CLEAN, KEY, AUX, and MV. Four utility bus channels can be used for keyer external mask, wipe border, background for M/E bus picture-in-picture, sources for keyers that do not have a dedicated bus, side panel, and local still.

FOR-A HVS-4000HS MULTI-FORMAT VIDEO SWITCHER

TRAnSVIDEO 3D MOnITORTransvideo has developed the world’s first field wireless HD SDI monitor for 3D D-Cinema. The CineMonitorHD 3DView “S”, which is being used by Wim Wenders and Alain Derobe on the forthcoming feature film Pina, completes the 3DView family. It fulfils the requirements of the growing digital community that wants to shoot 3D films with two DSLR cameras or other non-genlockable cameras. The CineMonitorHD 3D View includes several modes to help the operator to correlate cameras and to preview the image in anaglyph mode. It also features multi-format inputs (HD/SD-SDI, HDMI and composite video) and a useful genlock analyser which precisely analyses the synchronisation status of the cameras in a graphical way. The 3DView “S” comes with 10” and 12” screens.

HITACHI SK-HD1200Hitachi Broadcast’s SK-HD1200 is a high-performance portable HDTV studio and EFP camera, with three 2.3 million pixel 1080p CCDs. The SK-HD1200 delivers sharper and cleaner HD images owing to its 14-bit A/D converters and the implementation of Hitachi’s latest digital processing technology. The SK-HD1200 has a high sensitivity and a horizontal resolution performance of 1100 TV lines — delivering high picture quality with low noise and ultra-low vertical smear. These cameras are the first flexible dockable HD TV cameras on the market that allow multiple configurations thanks to their fibre optic, digital Triax cable and wireless transmission adapters.

The SK-HD range gives the choice of native 1080i or 720p CCD options as well as the new multi-format 1080p SK-HD1200. They feature a solid state HDTV recorder option utilising the Panasonic P2 format and a large lens studio adapter with Ethernet connectivity. For ease of set up and operation, the SK-HD1200 camera is complemented by a range of accessories including a full studio adapter which enables the use of both hanger-type and bayonet-type lenses without removing the camera from the adapter, an easy to use camera control unit and a digital triax system. Finally, a new remote control unit has all the commonly used functions of the camera and has Ethernet connectivity and touch screen panel operation.

User set-up and scene file information can be stored in a plug-in SD card to enable users to keep their adjustment data for when continuity is important — maintaining the characteristics of the production, even after a break in filming. Designed to provide flexibility and ease of operation for both the operators and broadcasters, the SK-HD1200 is a lightweight and ergonomic camera with a low centre of gravity. The camera has a range of features including quick focus, several new gamma tables, 12-vector and linear masking, flesh tone masking, automatic electronic shutter and an Electronic Colour Correcting filter.

LATEST PROTECH

Al MAzroui – iCAS (l.l.C) Send your rFQ now to: e-MAil: [email protected] www.AlMAzrouiCAS.CoM

your brilliAnt broAdCASt Supplier!Al Mazroui - ICAS is fully dedicated to provide Broadcast products to all market segments. Having various offices located in the U.A.E (Abu Dhabi, Dubai & Jebel Ali) and around the Gulf region (Qatar & Kuwait) supported by a relatively large stock inventory, Being a “BELDEN Platinum Distributor”, Al Mazroui - ICAS has successfully undertaken major projects that highly profile our quality services. Belden A/V cables & ADC connectivity satisfy any client requirement.

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1 HD designed coaxial cables 2 Belden guarantees return loss3 Installable performance 4 Very low attenuation5 Matte finished outer jacket, available in 10 colors6 Longer lengths possible 7 Patch cables are available8 Bundled versions (VideoFlex & BananaPeel) 9 All cables are available in halogen-free (direct burial, UV-resistant)10 179DT is designed for OB van’s (extreme small, save space and weight)

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LATEST PROTECH

OConnor MatteboxThe OConnor O-Box WM is a two-stage wide-angle mattebox designed around the 16:9 format full-size sensor. Very compact, it accommodates lenses up to 18mm (and in some cases wider). This precision mechanical device adeptly accepts up to three filters: two in top-loading filter frames (two 4x4” and two 4x5.65 inch frames are included). The rear frame is rotatable 360 degrees. A third 138mm round filter sleekly fits in the bellows.

Constructed of OConnor’s proprietary rugged composite, the sunshade is lightweight yet substantially stronger and more impact-resistant than existing units. This translates to fewer sunshade replacements arising from the rigours of professional production environments.

The O-Box WM is the first commercially produced mattebox to have integrated handgrip interfaces. While traditionally, operators have used the sunshade as a handle, this precarious handling is remedied by OConnor’s O-Grips that can be conveniently attached directly to the O-Box support cage in three locations: camera left, right or bottom centre. The bottom centre position is particularly useful for small setups such as with HDSLR cameras. That’s when the O-Grips can turn into a pistol-style grip for the operator’s right hand while the follow focus handwheel is in their left.

The O-Box WM can be clamped directly onto lenses with outer diameters of 150mm or less, and can also be supported by the removable 15mm LWS rod bracket. Studio 15mm and 19mm mounting options are also possible via industry standard adapters.

The O-Box WM Kit comprises the WM Mattebox including the Wide Mini Sunshade made of proprietary composite material with two stages; front fixed/ rear rotatable 360 degrees, two top-loading 4x4” filter frames, two 4x5.65” size filter frames and a provision for a third 138mm filter, top flag and mounting bracket.

JüngER AUDIO MAgICDynamics processing specialist Jünger Audio announces the C8000 LEVEL MAGIC automated audio loudness control system can now connect to the Virtual Studio Manager (VSM) panels that are commonly used in Outside Broadcast vehicles and broadcast facilities where space is at a premium.

Using the EMBER protocol, the VSM server can now talk to all units in Jünger Audio’s C8000 series. Once they have been correctly programmed, these units can be located in a machine room but controlled via the VSM panel on board the OB vehicle, thus saving a considerable amount of weight and rack space.

VSM is a one-stop control solution for broadcasters, allowing them to manage communications between routers, mixers, converters and many other third party devices. The system, which is incorporated into more than 75% of all European mobile broadcast trucks, joins these devices together under one operational layer. This provides substantial production benefits as only one operational system is necessary to manage even the most diverse workflows, devices and demands.

HARMOnIC SUPRALInKHarmonic’s SUPRALink Universal Transmitter is a cost-effective and versatile 16-wavelength 1550 nm dense wave division multiplexing solution that improves efficiency and lowers costs for the complete range of forward HFC transmission applications. This full-band solution covers the entire RF spectrum, enabling cable operators to flexibly support any forward transmission need. Service providers deploying SUPRALink can avoid the need for new fibre installations to support additional segmentation and commercial services applications. In a typical installation, SUPRALink can be as low as one tenth of the cost of alternative solutions that require new fibre. It is comparable in cost to 1310 nm systems while its 1550 nm-based design extends fibre reach out to 70 km.

BELDEn SMPTE311 HD CAMERA ASSEMBLyBelden’s new SMPTE311 HD Camera Assembly supports 720p, 1080i and 1080p. This system will replace SD infrastructure where stiff, heavy, triax cable is currently employed, or in long haul situations.

Ideal for use in studios or in the field as well as for permanent installations, these assemblies are suitable for HD video installers; HD system integrators; HD OB van users; HD equipment rental companies; and camera teams in professional broadcasting, studios, sports stadiums, concert venues and live outdoor broadcasts.

LATEST PROTECH


PROGUEST

When I visited my cousin in Sweden last month, he told me about a set of old audio cassettes in his possession and how he didn’t know what was stored on them. We started listening to the tapes only to find that one of them had a four-minute voice recording from my late father. It was a recorded audio message from my father to his nephew who was studying abroad 24 years ago. My father passed away the following year, and it was the first time I had heard his voice since then as I’ve never had any audio or video recording of him.

This four-minute audio clip is now the only audiovisual legacy of my father and is obviously invaluable to me and my family. The first thing I did was to immediately record (digitise) the tape onto my laptop. I later backed up the file at home and sent it electronically to my family. I am confident now it will never be lost.

The accumulation and transmission of memory from one generation to another is a sustaining motivation to us as humans. The 20th century has introduced a new type of memory in the form of sound recording and the moving image called the “Audiovisual Memory”. The world’s population needs to ensure that this is transmitted to future generations.

Hundreds of millions of audiovisual films and tapes are spread around the globe in personal, corporate, and national libraries and collections. Physical damage and deterioration of the media assets, format obsolescence and lack of adequate internal resources in the form of funding, training and expertise contribute to the

fact that a major part of the audiovisual memory of the human kind is in jeopardy.

Indeed, UNESCO has forecast that 80% of the 200 million hours of the world’s television and radio are doomed to disappear by 2015. This estimation is extremely worrying as entire volumes of our global heritage will disappear very soon. Priceless content lies hidden in these films and tapes, and the only way to protect them is to immediately convert them into the digital domain where files have real longevity and can be saved, backed-up, and utilised in an unlimited number of ways.

In addition to the immense cultural values of such content, there are huge opportunities for commercially exploting their value as well. Commercial entities should, therefore, seriously protect their audiovisual libraries by turning their archives into assets.

The task of reformatting the audiovisual collections, however, requires high expertise and specific equipment. These projects are complex to manage in terms of workload, decision-making and cost.

Large national archives, libraries and broadcasters may have the budget to implement high-cost digitisation, preservation, restoration and archiving systems to process the millions of tapes in their large libraries.

Small- and medium-sized archives, on the other hand, currently face major technical, structural and financial challenges in preserving their content. Technical obsolescence, physical deterioration, the lack of adequate cataloguing and the

extensive amount of material demand efficient technical services in order to accelerate preservation efforts.

The only apparent viable solution seems to be digitisation. There is a need to develop highly efficient and cost-effective “preservation factories” to help protect valuable media assets professionally, reliably and economically, and to turn fragile audiovisual archives into robust, secure and accessible digital assets.

Unfortunately, only very few government entities in the Middle East region such as in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi have recently started digitisation and preservation projects for parts of their national archives. The region is currently far behind in its efforts to preserve its audiovisual memory.

Even if all the governments’ audiovisual libraries were preserved, which does not seem to be happening before damage to most of the media is beyond rescue, such libraries constitute only a small portion of the overall collections. Major parts of our history and cultural identities reside in private and corporate collections and are in real danger of being lost forever. Considering the diversity and the number of collections that contain a huge number of audiovisual materials, even the notion that these records can be lost is alarming and the task of preventing these losses is daunting.

Have you thought of digitising your audiovisual collection yet? PRO

Hasan R. Sayed Hasan is head of twofour54 intaj.

Our memory at risk

There is a need to develop highly efficient and cost-effective “preservation factories” to help protect valuable media assets professionally, reliably and economically

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 user-programmable 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.

KP 12 CLD12-position color display keypanel

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

Inno v at i n g t he Fut ure o f G l o b a l Co mmun i c at i o n s

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