noggin's posts, page 303

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NG
noggin Founding member

International News Presentation: Past and Present

Hmm - my reading of that article is slightly different. They talk about 'verbouwing' which I thought meant renovation or rebuilding ?

It suggests that they are upgrading the set and production equipment in their existing studio and NOT getting a new studio, just a new set (and possibly new production facilities) in their existing studio?

They talk about temporarily moving to a different studio from August 23rd until early November, when the upgrade to their existing studio should be finished and they can move back in? So not a new studio, just an upgrade to their existing studio with a new set?

However you mention studio 8 - which isn't mentioned in the article - so possibly you know more than the original author Smile

They also talk about the new set design removing the need for set changes between shows, so presumably this is a cost saving exercise as well.

(Studio = space programmes are made in, Set = furniture and design elements within the studio. Important to remember studio and set are different things...)


I suspect the 360 degree camera is describing a camera mounting that allows 360 degree coverage of the studio rather than a camera shooting 360 degree video. (The writer of the article may not realise the difference) There aren't any 360-degree video capture cameras that generate a broadcast standard HD signal yet, so if they do have 360 degree video capture cameras in the studio, then they will be separate for webstreaming a 'you're in the studio' experience? (Or if they are going for an AR or VR set they may be talking about the camera tracking cameras that many systems use that are arranged 360 degrees around the studio to 'see' the cameras. These cameras have 'Christmas trees' on top that the cameras can see and analyse to determine the cameras' positions within the studio space)

Ceiling mounted cameras (either on track or robot arm-style jibs) are increasingly popular in news studios - as you can quickly hide them by pulling them up into the lighting grid - which allows much wider shots to be taken at certain points without seeing cameras in shot. It may be that are going for these (though they make lighting a challenge) - which could also be described as 'allowing 360 degree shooting', as they effectively remove your dead areas. I've seen them in use in TV2 Denmark, Tagesschau in Germany etc.
Last edited by noggin on 20 August 2016 8:41am - 4 times in total
NG
noggin Founding member

Virgin Media reveals it's "V6" UHD set top box

picard posted:
It's rushed, just like Q, although the design of Q is much better.


What makes you think the Sky Q is rushed? It's been in development for quite a while AIUI (and the use of Unicable LNBs is a very neat development)
NG
noggin Founding member

Olympics 2016

DVB Cornwall posted:
I've been using BBC FOUR as my Network feed until Midnight daily then switching to BBC ONE. Dan's style is perfect and relieves tensions wonderfully. My main coverage has been from the choices on Connected TV.

Don't hold your breath on BBC FOUR in 2020. We need a full explanation of what's going to be offered first, even so the time zone of Tokyo will lean towards BBC TWO being the second feed, if there is one, post Eurosport.


I thought the Eurosport deal meant one TV channel and one additional stream (which I guess could be Red Button / Web, but not a conventional linear channel) for live coverage, with all other content available non-live (not sure what the definition of non-live will be)

I think that means that only BBC One/Two or possibly BBC One/Four will be in play sharing the single TV channel duties from 2018 onwards?

(So the BBC surrendered significant rights for 2018/2020 but in return got the same rights for 2022/2024, rather than an even more diluted offering - as some other European countries have - or ITV/C4/Five getting them)
NG
noggin Founding member

Sky News: Presenters & Rotas

Wasn't Mark's departure announced, by him, quite a while ago? ISTR that the changes at Sky are heavily based around cost-cutting and slimming down the service both on-screen and behind the cameras.

I wouldn't link it to the Owen Jones interview at all.
NG
noggin Founding member

BBC Breakfast

London Lite posted:
The stand-in jobs are advertised internally I believe, alas why the likes of Ben Thompson and Victoria Fritz have done cover pres shifts on Sunday's and are in addition to their contracted day job. (Incidentally, the Breakfast cover this week for her is part of her contract with BBC Business).


Think 'advertised internally' may be a little strong. Suspect more a case that usual suspects are emailed.
NG
noggin Founding member

Why are we still stuck with teletext-era style subtitles?

The UK's subtitling system is still based on WST (aka teletext) subtitles under the bonnet. The systems used to embed subtitle data into SDI/HD-SDI video signals that most (all?) UK broadcasters use internally are still based around the same 40x25 character-based system with the same colour control codes etc.

Digital TV actually allows you to chose whether you then encode in conventional WST format (i.e. CEEFAX style) or whether you use DVB Subtitles, which are nicely bitmapped (with the 'look' dictated by the broadcaster not the receiver) Important to remember that WST is still very popular in mainland Europe - and is still in use in places like Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark etc. (This is also useful if you still have analogue cable ring mains in use as you can re-code the WST data into blanking for analogue receivers to decode)

DVB Subtitle encoders render subtitles in a nicer format (using Tiresias as the typeface usually) but are still, in the UK, being fed 40x25 7 colour data using a system that dates back to the mid-70s or earlier...

Also because Sky are still using conventional teletext subtitling for broadcast (in the DVB WST implementation) with the Sky box rendering the subtitles (hence Sky are in control of the tyepface) and aren't using DVB Subtitles (i.e. the bit image ones) that Freeview and Freesat use, DSat broadcasts carry both flavours of subtitles - DVB WST for Sky, DVB Subs for Freesat)

If you use a third party reception solution for DSat you can often chose between WST and DVB Subs, and the WST typeface will vary between receivers (some offering more 'CEEFAX' character shapes than others)
Last edited by noggin on 18 August 2016 4:24pm
NG
noggin Founding member

2016 Paralympic Games

Gareth E posted:
Jon posted:
Hatton Cross posted:
"concern"
Gold medal for the Rio 2016 organizers in understatment, there.

London 2012 had the right idea. Little things like a £10 day pass onto the Olympic Park, just to walk around, watch the sports on the big screens, and soak up the atmosphere. Yes, some would argue it was a 'second chance', but it filled up the park for a second time within 2 months, and was a spotlight for the Paralympic games movement.

They did a £20 day pass in the Excel Cenre as well, where several indoor sports were taking place at the same time - and I was lucky to go and 'hop' from arena to arena, sport to sport. By 1pm there were queues to get into the fencing and floor ball sports. The atmosphere talking to someone next to me in the break between matches he said was exactly the same as the Olympics, with the partizan home crowd cheering Team GB athletes, and if there was no home competitior - the underdog.

All affordable (as some prices in the Olympic ticket lottery were, frankly, stupid) day out at a once in a lifetime sporting event.

Me thinks, this isn't been done in Rio this time around.

You're forgetting one important thing, which is we are rich countryl, Brazil is poor. You couldn't exactly mirror the pricing strategy and hope for exactly the same effect. In fact I'd be quite surprised if they had a totally different strategy towards ticketing than 2012.

It might just simply be the case the desire isn't there to go and watch the wheelchair 400m final in Brazil or people don't have enough free time of disposable income.


I think the money issue is the main factor. A large chunk of the Brazilian people simply can't afford the luxury of going to watch sporting events - especially when it comes to sports which they don't have a huge passion for. Which, lets face it, is everything bar football and beach volleyball.

One very noticeable thing today is that there are huge crowds for the men's triathlon - spectactors lining every part of the course, sometimes 4 or 5 deep. Matt Chilton commented that its probably the best-supported event in the Olympics so far. And of course - which the exception of the grandstand seating - is absolutely free.


Yep. Nail on the head. Think we sometimes forget quite how well-off as a country the UK is (in comparison to most others)
NG
noggin Founding member

MeteoGroup gets BBC Weather contract from 2017

Steve in Pudsey posted:
Did TUPE apply to ITV franchises in the way it does to railway franchises? The staff of GNER are still working for Virgin East Coast via a series of TUPE arrangements, was GMTV required to take on TV-am staff under TUPE? I guess it's more likely that everyone at TV-am was on a fixed term contract and the renewal of these was carefully managed.


Didn't TVam outsource news provision to Sky News towards the end of their franchise, I'd assumed (possibly wrongly) that this was to allow them to wind down the in house news operation?
NG
noggin Founding member

2016 Paralympic Games

Steve in Pudsey posted:
james-2001 posted:
Steve in Pudsey posted:
If you're talking about Ortis, he had come from Live and Kicking so should have been expected to be a safe pair of hands on live TV. He's been a Gadget Show regular since.


I imagine Live & Kicking, which was quite structured, is quite different to a live sports broadcast though!


True, although sports broadcasting is often more like continuity announcing, and I think Ortis did a stint on CBBC too, so he shouldn't have been as poor as he was, on paper.


What makes you think sports presentation is like continuity announcing? It really isn't that comparable.

They are both skilled roles, but just because both of them appear to involve linking between things, that doesn't mean they have the same skill set. In many ways sports presentation is more like news presentation, though often without the benefit of a prompt (and in many cases with just a running order and not a script.)
NG
noggin Founding member

MeteoGroup gets BBC Weather contract from 2017

globaltraffic24 posted:
Graphics people, web people, etc will have little chance of being able to use TUPE as they almost definitely will be working on the Met Office website and other sub-contracts. Of course, the other factor to consider with TUPE is that the new providers often don't want to take on the staff so simply negotiate handsome pay-offs.


My understanding is that the graphic design team involved in the current Met Office provided BBC Weather operation, along with any producers, are employed directly by the BBC.

Forecasting and presentation, data provision and team management, has been the area the Met Office provides staff and handles (though these days I don't believe all on-screen weather presenters are contracted directly to the Met Office, though many are Met Office staff)

I'd also expect TUPE to come into play for some roles as discussed above.
NG
noggin Founding member

"Double Exposure" Effect on Candles/Lights

bluecortina posted:
Spencer For Hire posted:
Interesting thread. Black and white TV also seemed to suffer badly from the effects of bright lights which sometimes appeared dark at the centre of the light, or developed dark halos like this...

*

I presume the cause is similar?


Have look at this link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_camera_tube

... and look for the section on dark halo.


Yes - artificial detail correction added 'in tube'. Probably one of the reasons people loved IOs in the B&W days - as they gave such a sharp/crisp-looking picture. (They also suffered less from lag than Vidicons, which used to 'smear' a bit).

AIUI the EMI 2001 was originally designed to take Vidicons (when it would have been the 2000?), but the BBC were expected to reject it as plumbicons were so obviously better), so a re-engineered 2001 with plumbicons was quickly developed.

Incidentally AIUI CBS and Philips/Norelco in the US worked very hard to get Plumbicons to work as they realised the existing tubes were terrible AND RCA were effectively part of NBC (or vice versa) and CBS really didn't want to have to buy (or continue to buy) RCA colour cameras (effectively buying from their rivals)
NG
noggin Founding member

"Double Exposure" Effect on Candles/Lights

Spencer For Hire posted:
Interesting thread. Black and white TV also seemed to suffer badly from the effects of bright lights which sometimes appeared dark at the centre of the light, or developed dark halos like this...

*

I presume the cause is similar?


Yep - artefact of the Image Orthicon tubes used in B&W cameras and early US colour cameras. In colour it looks very odd indeed - you see it in early Johnny Carson show clips. European colour services were later and launched, in the main, with plumbicon colour cameras (which continued to be used until CCDs - with a few Saticons and other variations on a theme)