TVNZ, Hobson St and HD playout status

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cyril7

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Topic # 76738 5-Feb-2011 17:20
Hi, this is post that I hope some of the technical guys at Hobson St who I know lurk here may have some response to. Naturally normal employer confidentiality issues may restrict certain info, but a basic heads up would be good. Sometime back there was comments regarding the final upgrade of Hobson Streets playout switcher/server to support HD, there seemed to be a delay in the commissioning of this. Of late I have noted an increase in the number of HD programs on both TVOne and TV2, so my guess is that this is now complete, can this be confirmed, and along with that whats the status of DD/AC3. Cheers Cyril

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Reply # 435700 5-Feb-2011 17:38
+1 to hearing a response for this query. Looking forward to hearing some juicy Dolby on TV1 and TV2. :) I too have noticed a jump in content carrying the HD logo on TV1 and TV2. Most notably, Friends is now in 16:9 HD?!? A bit odd, since I thought it was originally shot in 4:3?

old3eyes

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Reply # 435722 5-Feb-2011 19:17
Another one who would like this info on DD audio.. Regards, Old3eyes

robjg63

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Reply # 435726 5-Feb-2011 19:42
I have noticed they suddenly bumped up the HD content recently as well. Funnily enough I flicked over a couple of channels a couple of nights back and thought 'oh - not the 3 billionith repeat of Friends' then later it clicked it didnt have the black bits down the side. I figured maybe they zoomed and streched it or something. Seeing your comment made me look around. I found this comment on a 'pending' release of Friends on Blu-Ray: "Okay, first, before all of you `know it alls' start saying: "But Friends was filmed in SD and is 4:3 and would look awful on blu-ray, there's no point" Well, you are wrong, Friends wasn't shot on standard video. Unlike most other sitcoms of it's time, it was filmed in HD in widescreen on 35mm film (the same film used for todays blockbuster movies) but it was then edited on video, meaning it would be standard definition, and not widescreen (which was basically the same as every television at the time) So, what would be needed to pull off a task as putting Friends on blu-ray would be to go through all the original footage and re-edit using the original editors notes. Now, FOX stated that Friends will be on blu-ray in the future. And... on the bbfc website (ratings) all the early episodes of Friends(first few seasons) have been re-rated for a future release (obviously the widescreen releases!) So, definitely before the year is out, we will have the first (if not first few) seasons of Friends in HD in 16:9 on blu-ray! " Not too interested in Friends - but apparently a couple of other series were done the same way - Seinfeld for example - guess it gives the studios a bit more cash to redo some shows. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it it himself - A. H. Weiler

dontpanic42

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Reply # 435743 5-Feb-2011 20:28
robjg63: Not too interested in Friends - but apparently a couple of other series were done the same way - Seinfeld for example - guess it gives the studios a bit more cash to redo some shows. Very interesting. I would definitely buy the complete Seinfeld series if it came out on Blu-ray! BTW, I think this may be straying a bit too OT. Anyway, hopefully we do get a reply from someone within TVNZ.

old3eyes

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Reply # 435814 6-Feb-2011 09:40
Allot of US programs are shot in 35mm and have been done so for about 50 years. That's how HD releases of Star Trek TOS were produced.. One that always interests me when I see it is Entertainment This Week. In 4x3 with a HD log. Do they really make a SD version in 4x3 from a 16x9 HD original?? Regards, Old3eyes

paulmilbank

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Reply # 435869 6-Feb-2011 14:00
It may also be due to the new years compliment of programs coming in. As more and more content is released in HD, tv stations in NZ have been picking it up for the new broadcasting year. We seem to have just had a lot of shows finish and new ones start up, so it is natural that many of the new shows would be in HD instead of SD as that would be the default now for TV programs.

hdinsider

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Reply # 436495 7-Feb-2011 19:37
old3eyes: Allot of US programs are shot in 35mm and have been done so for about 50 years. That's how HD releases of Star Trek TOS were produced.. One that always interests me when I see it is Entertainment This Week. In 4x3 with a HD log. Do they really make a SD version in 4x3 from a 16x9 HD original?? The international SD Entertainment feed is 4:3 because other broadcasters that take it around Asia on Intelsat 5 are still 4:3. Really annoying to see the "HD" logo on it! Sorry, way off topic.... don't mess with me.... i'm the hd insider....

cyril7

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Reply # 436513 7-Feb-2011 19:59
Hi, so hdinsider back to the original topic, any comment, we wait with bated breath. Cyril

hdinsider

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Reply # 436518 7-Feb-2011 20:12
I too would like to know what the holdup is too... that's my tax money they're spending (sort of). Seems like it's been so long since that Dolby from the Beijing Olympics! because it has been... don't mess with me.... i'm the hd insider....

Journeyman

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Reply # 446105 6-Mar-2011 20:34
Playout upgrade was completed and channels transferred over before xmas last year (I don't recall the exact dates). Heartland was the last to transfer across, just a few weeks back. HTH.

dontpanic42

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Reply # 446107 6-Mar-2011 20:49
Journeyman: Playout upgrade was completed and channels transferred over before xmas last year (I don't recall the exact dates). Heartland was the last to transfer across, just a few weeks back. HTH. So what does this "playout upgrade" mean exactly? Do you know when we can expect DD5.1 on TV1 and TV2? :)

Journeyman

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Reply # 446139 6-Mar-2011 22:56
dontpanic42: Journeyman: Playout upgrade was completed and channels transferred over before xmas last year (I don't recall the exact dates). Heartland was the last to transfer across, just a few weeks back. HTH. So what does this "playout upgrade" mean exactly? I hope I'm not being naughty here, but I don't believe this is commercially sensitive info so I'll do a cut & paste: ...will take TVNZ from being a largely tape based facility, to a server based production and play-out facility where we can run multiple channels through one system. It will give us the ability to track media through its lifecycle from ingest to play-out and archive. It will also manage all associated metadata with that media. Currently we have many production islands across TVNZ like News (Digiknow), Promos, Production etc. We want to be able to move media between these islands as files. This gives greater access to our assets across TVNZ and allows for more streamlined workflow. In short, it's an upgrade to keep pace with the development of technology, as tape is phased out in favour of files and, of course, you need hardware to do that. Do you know when we can expect DD5.1 on TV1 and TV2? No idea I'm afraid, I'm not really in a position to know (at least, not until closer to when it happens). However, if it's any consolation I believe currently tvnz currently plays a kind of 'pseudo' 5.1 made from the tracks come from tha material supplied.

dontpanic42

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Reply # 446148 6-Mar-2011 23:36
Journeyman: I hope I'm not being naughty here, but I don't believe this is commercially sensitive info so I'll do a cut & paste: ...will take TVNZ from being a largely tape based facility, to a server based production and play-out facility where we can run multiple channels through one system. It will give us the ability to track media through its lifecycle from ingest to play-out and archive. It will also manage all associated metadata with that media. Currently we have many production islands across TVNZ like News (Digiknow), Promos, Production etc. We want to be able to move media between these islands as files. This gives greater access to our assets across TVNZ and allows for more streamlined workflow. In short, it's an upgrade to keep pace with the development of technology, as tape is phased out in favour of files and, of course, you need hardware to do that. Thanks for that explanation. Very helpful. :) Do you know when we can expect DD5.1 on TV1 and TV2? No idea I'm afraid, I'm not really in a position to know (at least, not until closer to when it happens). However, if it's any consolation I believe currently tvnz currently plays a kind of 'pseudo' 5.1 made from the tracks come from tha material supplied. I have definitely noticed the "pseudo 5.1" effect that you mention, and it is actually quite effective surround-wise in a lot of content. However, I think the concern of most people is the absolutely shocking quality that HE-AAC presents. It really is consistently bad, and has no dynamic range at all. Flat as a pancake. At the very least, couldn't the bitrate be upped to a healthy 256kbps or more? Considering the video stream of most FreeviewHD stuff is between 4Mbps - 12Mbps, surely it wouldn't be to much of a toll on bandwidth if the audio bitrate increased to something more respectable than what can only be (guessing by the sound quality) around 80kbps, if that. At least until DD comes.

grolschie

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Reply # 446168 7-Mar-2011 08:16
dontpanic42: However, I think the concern of most people is the absolutely shocking quality that HE-AAC presents. It really is consistently bad... It sounds tinny and harsh to my ears at times. I am guessing even an extra 32kbit/s possibly might help.

richms

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Reply # 446231 7-Mar-2011 11:33
grolschie: dontpanic42: However, I think the concern of most people is the absolutely shocking quality that HE-AAC presents. It really is consistently bad... It sounds tinny and harsh to my ears at times. I am guessing even an extra 32kbit/s possibly might help. Thats the HE part, normal AAC is fine. HE does some weird pseudo science voodoo to make up the upper half of the spectrum up from parameters like MP3 pro did - before it went the way of the do-do. I seriously think they are having some of their audio decisions made by people who are either deaf, or using the speakers built into the TV and have no quality to start with. Best thing with AC3 is the LFE - means that those of us with decent systems can actually get some bass out of it ;) Richard rich.ms

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