2024 was a big year for newsrooms with a record number of elections taking place around the globe.

To enable news departments to deliver reliable, engaging and data-driven election results to viewers quickly, we have put together a comprehensive guide on the changes in viewing habits and audience expectations over the last few years, and how leading newsrooms are using graphics and technology to meet them.

What to Expect:

91ÌÒÉ«’s Election Graphics Guide is a comprehensive resource designed to help newsroom directors enhance their election coverage with better graphics and more efficient workflows.

In this guide, we discuss how the news media landscape has evolved and explore the technology newscasters are relying on to provide more engaging, more accurate real-time data to keep their viewers informed.

Specifically, the guide covers essential topics such as data integration, real-time updates, and effective templated design strategies, making it an invaluable tool for anyone involved in producing election-related content.

Who Should Read This Guide?

• News Producers & Newscast Directors
• Broadcast Professionals
• Graphic Designers

For expert insights on how newsrooms can get ahead in addressing their elections needs with cutting-edge graphics and production workflows, download your free guide.

The post How Newsrooms can get ahead in the election news marathon appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

We sat down with Jens Steinmann (JS) | Head of Project Engineering, spidercam and Louisa von Lenthe (LvL) | Director Inhouse Operations, Sports Production, Sky Deutschland, to delve into their continued relationship and how the technology has changed the way they work.

Q: How did the partnership between Sky Deutschland and spidercam begin?

JS: The idea to integrate spidercam into the Sky Deutschland studio emerged around the end of 2016. With an existing relationship forged through various outside broadcast productions, Sky approached us for a spidercam installation in their new football studio.

LvL: Having utilized spidercam in field operations for several years, incorporating it into our studio was a logical progression. Familiar with the team and the system’s functionality, our aim was to uphold the highest quality in our T1 productions while enhancing the overall user experience – a goal successfully achieved by spidercam.

Q: What is the advantage of having a cable-based system in a studio environment?

JS: Employing spidercam in a studio setting brings a distinct advantage: delivering camera movements unmatched by other systems. We boast unparalleled flexibility compared to camera cranes, offering a smaller, less intrusive, and highly mobile solution. This eliminates the need for steadycams, tracking cameras, and camera cranes. Furthermore, spidercam enables stable AR graphics and the capability to reach any point in the studio within seconds.

LvL:  The use of the spidercam system gives us the opportunity to make the storytelling in our programs more dynamic and to add high-quality augmented graphics.

Q: Can you describe the nature of your relationship?

JS: Our relationship with Sky is excellent, and we are pleased to continue supporting them. They have been pioneers in augmented reality (AR), relying on spidercam and our graphics from the early stages. Their high standards constantly push us to innovate, fostering a fantastic and collaborative relationship

LvL: The relationship has always been cooperative and constructive. We share a deep understanding of each other’s needs and challenges, working collaboratively. The enduring relationship we’ve cultivated over the years is one of the most rewarding aspects of our collaboration with spidercam.

Q: What type of training and support did spidercam provide?

JS: Initially, we supplied a pilot and operator for approximately a year, aiming for Sky to operate the system independently, a goal they accomplished. Our engineers are available round the clock for any assistance, and while the demand for support has diminished over the years, we are always prepared to assist Sky whenever needed. Additionally, we maintain ongoing support through training for new features and providing pilots as required.

LvL: The experience was extremely positive. The spidercam team adhered to all our agreed terms and conditions, making the collaboration enjoyable.

The partnership between Sky Deutschland and spidercam is just one example of the importance of collaboration when integrating broadcast technology, which can even lead to enhancements in production quality and operational efficiency.

We look forward to an ongoing partnership with Sky Deutschland that promises to continually push the envelope of what’s possible in live broadcasting.

Discover how Sky Deutschland implemented a range of Ross Robotics — read our full case study here.

The post Managing Relationships — Sky Deutschland & spidercam appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

In my last post, I wrote about SDPE, the  that is at the heart of our Ultrix Acuity hyper-converged production platform. In that article, I also mentioned that this innovative hardware board could be repurposed to add features and create exciting new products. Well, guess what? We’ve already got something new for you: Ultrix Carbonite, the next-generation production powerhouse based on the SDPE hardware blade. With enhanced new features, the ability to accommodate differing connection schemes and signal formats, and legendary Carbonite ease of use, the world’s most popular mid-size production platform just got better. Let’s take a deeper dive into Ultrix Carbonite.

Ultrix Carbonite

First off, let’s be perfectly clear: the SDPE blade in Ultrix Carbonite is identical to the one used in Ultrix Acuity – no differences whatsoever. To be sure, Ultrix Acuity requires a CPU card that isn’t needed in Ultrix Carbonite, but the SDPE blade itself is exactly the same. And down the road, that’s going to open up some very interesting and exciting opportunities; but more about that later. For now, let’s run through some of the major features of this new platform.

For starters, Ultrix Carbonite SDPE blades can be mounted in either the FR2 (2RU) or FR5 (5RU) Ultrix frames. So for those of you with space-constrained tech cores or already-stuffed mobile units, the FR2 can be a godsend. Now obviously the larger frame can provide a bigger I/O matrix, but no matter which frame is chosen, the Carbonite blade has access to all Ultrix inputs, in groups of 18, for assignment as production switcher sources. Additionally, the blade itself has four dedicated inputs and four dedicated outputs. That means a single blade provides a 22 x 22 I/O matrix in either HD or UHD.

Each Ultrix Carbonite blade can provide up to two HD or UHD Mix/Effects banks along with four MiniME banks. (In UHD mode, two MiniME banks are available.) And for all you eagle-eyes out there who spotted the six keyer buttons on our gorgeous TouchDrive panels, you win! Ultrix Carbonite supports six full-function keyers and one transition keyer on each M/E. And don’t forget that each MiniME has two independent keyers as well, so a two M/E Ultrix Carbonite in HD provides twenty-two keyers! Add floating 2D DVEs, UltraChrome chroma-key engines, MediaStores, MultiViewers, and DashBoard integration and you’ve got one very powerful little beast.

But Wait, There’s More

Now for some of the really cool stuff. Although it may be less practical in the FR2, multiple Carbonite SDPE blades can be installed in either frame – up to two in the FR2 and four in the FR5. If you happen to have both an Acuity control panel and TouchDrive^TM control panel, you can even install Acuity and Carbonite SDPE blades in the same FR5 chassis as well. What’s more, each Carbonite and Acuity instance can operate in a different format! Imagine: one control room running a show in HD while another is doing a UHD program using the same chassis! Talk about space-saving! And power-saving, HVAC-saving, engineering-saving
and oh yeah, money-saving!

Want more? Well, remember how earlier I mentioned that the SDPE blade that powers Ultrix Carbonite is the exact same hardware as that of Ultrix Acuity? (Starting to see the light bulbs go on
) That’s right: with a simple firmware upgrade, you’ll be able to repurpose the blade itself to be either an Acuity, a Carbonite, or whatever other new gadgets we come up with! Think about that – a single, multi-purpose hardware card that can be reprogrammed as needed. At that point, even your shelf-spare inventory will be smaller and less expensive. That’s real-world innovation.

Learn More

For more information on Ultrix Carbonite, click here to visit our product page.

To watch the Ross Live 2021 Ultrix Carbonite Tech Talk presentation, .

The post The Evolution of the Software-Defined Production Engine – Introducing Ultrix Carbonite appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

But that was then and this is now: A world where a single device contains my music player, reading library, diary, information access portal, messaging system and telephone. With all of my personal devices consolidated into a single smartphone, complying with newer and tougher airline regulations has been made easier, not to mention making the whole experience much more convenient (and painless!).

Saving Space and Streamlining Control

Size and weight have traditionally been issues for our broadcast customers as well. This is especially true for those in outside broadcast (OB) applications. Typical requirements for an OB van might include a large video router and production switcher, MultiViewers, frame synchronisers and converters, audio embedders and de-embedders, audio mixers and more. While the range of tools required to deliver a top-notch production is ever-increasing, the size and weight limits of OB vans have remained mostly constant.

But what if it was possible to shrink the space required for all that gear from say, five equipment racks to just seven rack units? That would not only save space but also reduce the weight, cabling, power and cooling requirements tremendously. For any production facility, especially an outside broadcast van, the overall savings would be significant.

Operationally, a fully-integrated system means that control can also be streamlined. Simple, unified system control provides better engineering and operational workflows. Not only does this offer more efficient operation, it also helps the production team offer a better and more consistent program to the viewer.

Hyper-Converged Production

As you may have guessed by now, that 7RU, all-in-one, integrated solution exists in Ultrix Acuity – a machine that is much bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.

So, if size matters at your facility, and it almost surely does, perhaps a different, efficient and revolutionary solution is a better answer than just another new box that won’t fit. Think about it.

Learn More

With the recent launch of Ultrix Acuity, one of our early customers, , explained how the integrated solution was perfect for the build-out of their new OB Truck, Waves 12G. Not only does Ultrix Acuity deliver on UHD or HD productions requirements, but it also complies with the size constraints of an OB Van.

For more information on Ultrix Acuity, click here to visit our product page.

The post Size Matters: Consolidate Your Production Equipment appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

To be sure, we do sound cool when we rattle off those incomprehensible all-caps names – after all, doesn’t “JAY-san” sound so much hipper than “JavaScript Object Notation?” (Yes, I did have to look it up
I mean, Google it
) But here’s one you may not have heard: SDPE. And before your thumbs do the walking, I’ll tell you that SDPE stands for “Software-Defined Production Engine.” Thirty-two letters, nine syllables; all in all, quite a mouthful. And frankly, “SDPE” probably gives you about as much information as “Software-Defined Production Engine” anyway.

Software-Defined Production Engine Explained

So, what is an “SDPE” and what is it used for? The answer is pretty simple: It’s a piece of hardware whose function is defined by the software that is loaded and running.

But wait, that doesn’t tell us much at all! And besides, isn’t every device these days “defined” by the software it runs? After all, your laptop or mobile device wouldn’t be much good without the operating system and applications that it uses, so aren’t all devices “software-defined?”

That’s true enough, but in the case of the Ross Software-Defined Production Engine, we’re talking about something much more interesting and exciting. But before jumping into that, let’s take a step back to ancient times; specifically, AD 2015.

It was April of that year when Ross introduced the Carbonite Black 2RU (initialism alert!) production switcher chassis. It featured a larger I/O matrix (another IA!), larger M/E count (and another!) and was paired with the beautiful new Carbonite Black series of control panels. But even as Carbonite Black was beginning to ship, the development team was asking a question: Was it possible to create an entirely different product using the Carbonite Black chassis by simply writing new software code? This idea became known internally as the “Software-Defined Production Engine,” but because we love initials as much as the next person, it was quickly shortened to SDPE.

In 2016, Ross introduced UltrachromeHR, a standalone chroma-key engine that could provide up to four high-quality keys each with additional layers and transitions. It was followed by Mosaic, a multi-channel image processing engine specially designed to help manage signals to large-scale displays such as LED walls. Both products had one thing in common: each used a standard Carbonite Black chassis. In other words, the exact same hardware was used to create three different products, each with its own unique capabilities. That was the start


Introducing Ultrix Acuity

Fast-forward to early 2021 and the introduction of Ultrix Acuity, a powerful merger of two flagship Ross products based on the next step in the evolution of SDPE. Ultrix Acuity is, essentially, a standard Ultrix router frame that, in addition to input/output cards, is also fitted with specially designed SDPE switcher blades to produce a completely unique hybrid product. But that’s just the beginning…

The SDPE blade gives us a platform to develop completely new products with different features and capabilities. And because they share the same base hardware, a whole new world of possibilities opens up as well.

I’d love to give you a peek behind the curtain to show you what’s next for that same SDPE blade, but that would just spoil all the fun. But I can tell you that the roadmap for the SDPE blade is extensive and we’re going to have lots more to talk about in the coming weeks and months. So, as the saying goes, “stay tuned”. I can’t guarantee any new initialisms, but I can promise we’ll have more exciting news.

Learn More

For more information on Ultrix Acuity, visit our product page.

The post Alphabet Soup (AS) – Software-Defined Production Engine (SDPE) Explained appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

Ross stated that the new policy is designed to ensure that Ross employees don’t have to face that type of financial stress. The policy will impact 100 employees and their families in the Ottawa area, with many centered around the town of Iroquois, where 91ÌÒɫ’s manufacturing facility is located. 

Our manufacturing staff have been essential in keeping the company going during the pandemic, and the senior management team decided that the time was right to say thank you with this new policy.

For more information on the new $20 minimum wage policy, you can read our press release.

The post David Ross Speaks to 1310 News About New $20 Minimum Wage Policy appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

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Visual and On-Demand

Kiva’s intuitive user interface features a familiar visual ‘shot-box’ style to allow you to easily ingest, organize and confidently present a wide variety of media on-demand. With a simple click, operators can present a range of digital media assets into venue videoboards with unparalleled flexibility and ease. These include real-time video clips, ‘fill+matte’ stills and animations, surround-sound audio, and sponsored adverts.

The highly visual interface will be sure to unlock new levels of creativity, as Kiva allows operators to rearrange active playlists on the fly. This means unwanted playlist items can be skipped or removed, or new media assets can be added, all without interrupting the item being presented live.

Robust and Reliable

Kiva is built upon dedicated, real-time Abekas¼ hardware media processing engines, ensuring your live productions will never suffer from video playout stutters, audio dropouts, user interface freezes, or unexpected hang-ups. Even if an operator were to accidently ‘quit’ the main user interface, your active recordings or live media playout will not be interrupted. Simply re-launch the Kiva application, and you’ll see and hear all live operations have continued as they were.

Finally, Kiva is available in a Single-Channel model or Dual-Channel model, so you can choose the option that best fits your production needs and budget. The Kiva Single-Channel model features one base-band Video + Audio recording input, one Preview Video + Key Player output, and one Program Video + Key Player output. The Kiva Dual-Channel model simply doubles these video channel resources.

Learn More

For more information on the Kiva Live Presentation Server, you can watch the Tech Talk presentation on-demand or visit the product page.

The post Present Your Live Video Production Content Like Never Before appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.

Ross is aware of the tremendous strain being placed on the healthcare system as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are so grateful to the hospital staff working tirelessly to control the spread of the virus. We hope that the face shields can be put to good use.

The post Ross Iroquois Donates Face Shields to Kemptville District Hospital appeared first on 91ÌÒÉ«.