Sky News presentation - New studio onwards

If you look closer, it seems to be the way they get UGC or content from mobiles onto air quickly. Someone sent them a load of clips on wetransfer, that's loaded into a playlist in VLC and it loops. Stills set to a duration of 10 seconds too.

Means the ratio doesn't need tweaked in an edit and can go straight on air, stills or video - in this case someone probably forgot to turn on 'loop'

Nice idea, fire the HDMI out of the mac mini into an SDI converter and it's in the video router.

I didn't see that. Just figured it was a way to get things to air. As to the LiveU comment I mentioned that the computer monitored the sources (previews them) and selects which output server.

Interesting seeing other things for AviWest, uPods.

Why would a PC have to be 60Hz? Macs and PCs can easily be configured to output 50p or 50i over HDMI, DVI or Displayport->HDMI if they are connected to devices that support 50Hz. Broadcasters do it all the time these days. It's a lot easier than the days of 60Hz VGA and scan converters being needed.

I know broadcasters that use Raspberry Pis with HDMI->SDI converters running Kodi or similar media playback software to get consumer video on-air or ingested into servers quickly. It's often easier and quicker than converting the files to a broadcast format before-hand.

Lots of BBC English regions used to have Western Digital WDTV Lives with HDMI to SDI converters in their Hubs for the same purpose.

Sky News overnights back in the old studio instead of being against the blue background in the glass box.

Is it still in election style or back to what it was pre-election?

I'm guessing that due to the positive feedback sky news got at the election, and the fact that quite frankly the background didn't really work overnight, they decided to use the old studio again. Also, they're not going to their new studio until November, so the decision makes sense. I don't watch overnights, so I don't know if it's temporary or not.

Or, they're building a new gallery and associated infrastructure, so they will need to take the box off air every now and again to get it plumbed in and working with the new facilities.

Was that feed of the Windows desktop definitely live? Is it possible that they were using the kind of set up you describe as a quick way of ingesting material (as noggin suggests) by effectively dubbing it off in realt ime rather than waiting for it to transcode, and the resulting file wasn't properly topped and tailed before being played out?

It wasn't a windows desktop it was a MAC.

Prior to the studio being changed for the election I'd have said sure, but there are more visual distractions there now than there used to be, before the election, and the two white screens to the left and right of the presenter should be either removed or show something different, right now they look ridiculous and totally out of place.

Are there ever two ways between the gallery and presenter on air? They occasionally happen over here during morning cable shows (I know Morning Joe does it regularly) when the presenter "makes" who ever is talking in their IFB say it on air. I've noticed a few occasions where during Sunrise on the weekends they make comments of producers ridiculing them (this weekend was Stephen Dixon's shoes).

I've never known two-ways between the gallery and presenters to ever happen on air, on any news channel. They mention the production team occasionally, but I don't recall ever seeing or hearing from them. Kay Burley often mentions her director and producer on air too.

Obviously correct me if I'm wrong.