Video World

Over the last few years, I’ve written several columns on the subject of 4K, and the message in the consumer marketplace remains unchanged: the big television manufacturers need shiny new toys to sell, and 4K gets the nod. Granted, the pictures are stunning, the resolution is remarkable, the price point is way higher than HD, and 4K content is very scarce.

Back when the Raiders had a team that knew how to find the end zone, I used to run slo-mo (instant replay) as part of an eclectic and highly skilled television crew in the Bay Area. We did broadcasts for the Raiders, the Giants and the A’s, Cal and Stanford basketball, and other various live events ranging from the Miss California pageant to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The goal of this column is simply to inform and enlighten, and rest assured, I’m definitely not trying to spoil your television watching experience at home. However, you may have been sold a bill of goods by your friendly video service provider, so a little knowledge will go a long way.

By now, you’ve probably heard the hype about Ultra HD (also known as 4K), since the major manufacturers of 4K televisions are promoting it to the max. This new video format has four times the resolution of high definition video (1920×1080). Much has happened since the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which was 4K’s global coming-out party. In the biz, hopes remain very high for this new breed of video (clearly, since the coming out party for 3D in 2012 proved to be a flash in the pan).

Just about a year ago, I wrote a primer on LED digitizers, which included a lengthy discussion of the processing required between the video source and the LED wall itself.  True, you simply can’t connect a video signal directly to an LED wall and expect to see a picture.  In order to create an image of the desired size, shape and aspect ratio, the wall (regardless of the manufacturer) requires proprietary video processing and a proprietary input signal, rather than a standard DVI, HDMI, or HD-SDI format.  To put it another way, the wall is looking for data — not video.

Back when I worked in broadcast television, the first thing they told the on-camera newscaster was “never wear a striped.” The skeptic who disregarded the message was shown his air-check the next day (along with a nasty note from management), and his jaw dropped when he saw the patterns of geometric lines crisscrossing his shirt. From that point forward, a solid-colored wardrobe was standard issue.

The NFL and college football seasons are finally in full swing, the beer is cold, the easy chair is comfy and life is good. Every year, television game coverage continues to advance, with new technologies, higher quality images and better graphics that combine to make our sports viewing experience pretty special.

In case you haven’t noticed, the world of broadcasting and television is changing fast. Since we’re all part of the change, and in the midst of the evolution itself, it might be difficult to see the forest. I’m not talking about video technology (where change is a given factor), but specifically, I’m referring to the way that television programming is created, distributed and delivered.

Every year in the spring, the worldwide broadcasting and post-production community gets together at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas. The show has become a remarkable incubator of audio and video technology, and this year was no different — with thousands of exhibitors and over 90,000 attendees from 155 countries.
At NAB, I’m always on the lookout for something different — a new technology or a new production tool that’s destined to change the way we work, and possibly change the way that content is created. This year, it wasn’t an “app” or a software program, or even a new 4K camera. In fact, this year — it had rotors.

The history of lighting dates back to a distant time when there wasn’t any artificial lighting at all. In fact, in the early days, some film studios were designed with a rotating open roof to allow the maximum amount of natural light to fill the stage. Film companies moved to Hollywood in droves, where natural light was plentiful. Inevitably, directors wanted to film in the evenings, and they had the audacity to want a little “visual mood” in their scenes. Thankfully, along came Thomas Edison, followed closely by Mr. Mole, Mr. Richardson, and the Kliegl Brothers. Suddenly, the “electric” lighting industry was born.

This column marks my 30th story for PLSN … or maybe it’s the 31st. (Senior moments can sneak up to you at any point in time, so I might be off by a bit.) Way back in 2007, I penned a lengthy story about a remarkable concert by The Who in Dallas, and the editor at t he time invited me on board as a contributor. Thirty columns later, video is still causing smiles, gasps and major headaches all across the industry, and there’s no shortage of topics to write about.

Well, there they go again, changing everything — and making us regret every buying decision we’ve ever made. You bought your Canon DSLR, and they unveiled the new model within moments. You bought your iPad, and sure enough, out comes the Mini. You saved for years and bought that gorgeous 3D-ready 56” high-definition LCD flat panel with 2 million freakin’ pixels — and now they’ve done it again.