AV Specialist - Africa Edition Vol 92 - (Page 17)

organizations believe that geo-tagged archives are a future revenue source. The same geo-location tag technology may eventually find its way into consumer mobiles. Recent journalist conferences have highlighted an authentication problem, especially as networks like CNN International and BBC World are getting more interested in using citizen photographers. After major events, like the recent coup in Thailand, calls go out to viewers via both TV and web to send their photos in, if they are related to the story. But since there are now citizen “photoshoppers” out there, sometimes backed by people with a vested political interest, verification teams are being formed by TV networks to prevent them being part of an elaborate hoax The built-in microphones in some of the more expensive PDA’s have also proved useful to radio reporters, who often struggle with obsolete technology. Technica Del Arte BV which, despite its name, is based in Maastricht in the software depends on the configuration needed, but is in the region of 650 Euros per mobile unit. is significantly lower for the consumer. That’s important when most mobile phone subscription plans are still based on a bandwidth charge. In addition, by generating the graphics on the phone itself, all sorts of personalization possibilities can be realized, ideal for the way advertising is going. Distribution – Systems Confusion There were heated discussions in Amsterdam about the various ways broadcasters can get their content onto mobile devices. Some clearly believe that the web will continue to be an important pipeline, with Apple launching a movie services via i-Tunes on the last day of IBC. But the video iPod is still not Wi-Fi enabled, nor has Apple announced any timescale for entering the mobile phone market. So whereas, Apple is doing well in on-demand audio and video, both podcasting and vodcasting are useless technologies for breaking-news. Mobile Content Management The growth of the mobile platform is also causing challenges once content reaches professional newsrooms. As many broadcasters and content producers are looking for ways to cut spiralling costs, adding new staff to manage mobile platforms is usually out of the question. But since relevant content is the key to getting this part of the industry off the ground, there need to be ways to fold production from mobile devices into the current broadcast production workflow. Some of the non-linear editing manufacturers have now extended their single solution concept to include delivery to mobile platforms. At IBC, Paris based Dalet Digital Media Systems, demonstrated that their Dalet 5.1 and DaletPlus products which have built in support for all types of digital radio broadcast systems, as well as a special plug-in to let producers ‘click and pod cast’ any audiofile that’s in the sound achive. In addition to the audio, the programme metadata is wrapped into the cast, so the relevant information is displayed on many MP3 players as scrolling text. One of the liveliest demos came from Vizrt, a Norwegian company that’s rapidly expanding its portfolio of tools to do much more than TV graphics. At IBC they premiered a system which tackles the problem readily apparent to anyone who has watched regular TV on a small mobile phone screen; the compression makes text in graphics or subtitles impossible to read. Petter Ole Jakobsen who heads research at Vizrt explains the solution. “Our development team in Thailand has come up with a different approach, so that graphics and video remain separate while they travel over the mobile network and are then combined by a piece of free software in the handset. You can download this software over the phone. It’s a bit like installing a plug-in on a web-page.” Not only are the graphics much easier to read, the bandwidth consumption 17 On-Demand Video Sony announced a new Wi-Ficapable communicator called MyLo, standing for My Life On Line. Launched in the US for US$350, the device has built in Skype /Google Talk phone and chat capabilities. This allows free calls, but requires the user to be in range of a Wi-Fi connection. The same device plays music, videos and photos, but demands the user get these via a connection to a PC. Digital Rights Management means you can’t do a ‘MyLo-MyLo’ direct music swap with friends. Archos, best known for its portal video player line, used IBC to announce its Model 604-wifi capable personal video recorder. Like the Sony Mylo, it uses Microsoft’s digital rights management to prevent copying material to other devices. But the touch-screen includes a specially adapted Opera-based browser for searching the web. The rechargeable batteries last for 16 hours while listening to audio, five hours for video, and four hours when using the WiFi. According to Henri Crohas, president of Archos, the 604 WiFi will soon be compatible with IPTV services, allowing you to watch live TV channels on the device. The 604 was launched in Europe at the start of October at just under 500 Euros. Netherlands, was short listed for one of the new IBC Innovation Awards. Over the last two years, they’ve worked with BBC Radio Lincolnshire and the Limburg radio station L1 to turn an ordinary Pocket PC phone into a professional quality audio recorder. Since the demise of the standard cassette recorder, many of the solutions for local radio reporters have been based around the consumer quality MiniDisc recorders or flash-driven MP3 recorders. But the Luci software from Technica del Arte adds the capability to send completed clips back to the studio via the UMTS mobile phone network or from a wireless hotspot. BBC local radio claim that community correspondents using the devices are producing 50% more material, since they don’t have to waste time looking for studios or an ISDN line to get topical interviews to the station. The system can also transmit still pictures and video, but, at this stage, the designers have focused on the needs of audio journalists. The price of the

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AV Specialist - Africa Edition Vol 92

Larger than life
Mediatech Aftrica shines bright in local market
HD camcorder runs with the wild dogs
Divers Down pursues tapeless workflow
Broadcast industy feedback

AV Specialist - Africa Edition Vol 92