• Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016
Women in Consumer Electronics Becomes Women in Consumer Technology
Glenda MacMullin, COO & CFO, Consumer Technology Association
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- 

Women in Consumer Technology, formerly Women in Consumer Electronics, an industry organization that promotes the advancement of women in the consumer technology industry, today officially announced its rebrand to Women in Consumer Technology. The new direction was first introduced at the organization’s annual Legacy Awards Networking Reception during CES 2016. At the ceremony, Women in Consumer Technology also honored its six 2016 Legacy Awards inductees.

“The time is right to evolve our identity to Women in Consumer Technology,” said Carol Campbell, founder of Women in Consumer Technology. “Since our inception in 2009, the success of the organization has been fueled by the support of organizations like CTA and CEDIA, which have also broadened their scope to drive and embrace innovation in the consumer and home technology fields. We are proud that Women in Consumer Technology has gained the respect of our industry as a representative of the important initiatives that support women in the consumer technology sector as just plain good business. We have worked hard to collaborate with our sister organizations such as the Women of InfoComm Network (WIN) and other prominent voices to attract more women to our industry. Through our organization, we train, encourage, and support these women to ultimately watch them thrive.”

During the CES event, the organization also honored the 2016 Legacy Awards recipients, six top-level executives from the retail, association, entertainment, manufacturing, and distribution segments.

Women in Consumer Technology Class of 2016 Legacy Award Inductees:
• Ann Boutcher, consultant, Voxx International Corporation
• Glenda MacMullin, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, Consumer Technology Association
• Tara Maitra, sr. VP and general manager, Content and Media Sales, TiVo
• Dawn vonBechmann, sr. VP, Technology, Entertainment and Office, Walmart/Sam’s Club
• Carol Campbell Inspiration Award: Iris Goldschmidt, CEO, APW Holdings LLC.
• Woman to Watch: Vanessa Zitzmann, marketing and sales, 21st Century Distributing

“This year’s inductees are all remarkable women,” added Campbell. “It was an honor to present this year’s awards to such an inspiring group who continue to move our legacy forward and drive the advancement of their companies and the industry.”

The rebrand also marks the introduction of a new and refreshed website to support the variety of programs available to members and non-members alike. Member benefits include admission to the one-on-one Mentoring Program and discounts for Women in Consumer Technology live events including the annual Career Enhancement Forum, CEDIA Breakfast and the CES Legacy Awards Networking Reception. Members also enjoy access to the Women in Consumer Technology member directory and all communications. The peer networking Women in Consumer Technology Connect Circles remain a free service to all interested participants.

Plans for the Women in Consumer Technology Career Enhancement Forum taking place on June 21, 2016 at the start of CE Week were also announced. The fifth annual forum, “Design Your Life: A Road-map to Success Amid Change,” will offer an action-packed agenda including New York Times Bestseller author, journalist, and popular lecturer, Gail Sheehy as Opening Keynote. In her 50 years as a writer Sheehy is the embodiment of this year’s theme and will discuss her various experiences based on her ‘Passages’ book series. In addition, Sam Horn returns with her featured workshop SerenDestiny® — Is the light on in your eyes? In this engaging workshop, Horn will share stories of people who have set their SerenDestiny in motion by aligning with congruent individuals, activities and opportunities.

  • Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016
Hungarian Filmlab turns to Baselight for grading on Oscar-nominated "Son of Saul"
A scene from "Son of Saul" (photo courtesy of Laokoon Filmgroup)
LONDON -- 

Son of Saul, László Nemes’ Golden Globe winner, got its subtle grading atmosphere from one of the FilmLight Baselight suites at Budapest facility Magyar Filmlabor (Hungarian Filmlab). The harrowing story, also nominated for best foreign language Oscar, is set in the horrors of Auschwitz in 1944. The mood is underlined by a stark and understated look, thanks to being shot on 35mm film.

Son of Saul is a very raw story. To capture the emotions that underpin the movie, Nemes set about what seems today like a revolutionary analogue to digital workflow: he not only shot the feature on film, but he finished and reviewed it on film, too. Having achieved the visual style that Nemes and the movie’s DP Mátyás Erdély wanted in the film print, colorist László Kovács set about recreating this in Baselight.

“We never wanted to make a ‘pretty’ film,” said Erdély. “We were aiming for something very raw and very simple. It was treated with the utmost care by László, and I was very impressed by what we were able to accomplish.”

Son of Saul, winner of the Golden Globe for best foreign language film, was made on a tight budget and shot using Kodak stocks in ARRI cameras. Post at Magyar Filmlabor saw a combination of traditional color timing and digital grading to achieve the required look. “Even in the DI we mainly used primary color correction,” according to Erdély. “We wanted to limit ourselves to the most essential tools.

“The look itself may be very simple, but the way it was achieved was very sophisticated,” he added. “We did not want audiences to even realize it had been graded, which required a really subtle approach. There was a lot of creativity and talent involved – but the outcome looks like there wasn’t!”

For the post, the 35mm negatives were digitized at 4k resolution by a FilmLight Northlight scanner, allowing the film’s producers to create a 4k digital master from which both 35mm release prints and 2K DCP files were derived. Close liaison between Magyar Filmlabor’s colorists and color timers ensured the two deliverables were a perfect match.

Magyar Filmlabor has long been an advocate of the power of FilmLight’s postproduction tools: its first Baselight ONE system is serial number 4. The company also has a Baselight FOUR for major projects such as Son of Saul.

Son of Saul--Saul Fia in its original Hungarian--has won numerous awards including four at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival where it debuted. It went into theatrical release on December 18, 2015.

  • Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016
Adcock-Hill to become VP, operations for ARRI Rental US
Ashley Adcock-Hill
SECAUCUS, NJ -- 

Ashley Adcock-Hill will be taking on the role of VP, operations for ARRI Rental US effective on April 4. She will be based in the Secaucus office.

Adcock-Hill has spent the last two years heading up ARRI Rental’s Global Rental Systems Development team, leading new systems implementations in the UK and Europe. She has more than 20 years’ operational experience in the US rental industry.

In addition to ARRI Rental’s US facilities for further new systems implementations, Adcock-Hill will be responsible for the processes, structures and overall operational efficiency of ARRI Rental US.

Taking over Adcock-Hill’s current role of project leader, Global Rental Systems Development, will be Phu Bui. Stepping up from her position as sr. project coordinator, Bui will continue to be based out of the ARRI Rental UK office.

  • Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016
LG unveils smartphone with dual camera, virtual-reality set
Frank Lee, head of Brand Marketing for LG Electronic MobileComm USA, shows the LG 360 VR glasses during the LG unpacked 2016 event on the eve of this week’s Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 21. 2016. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -- 

LG is unveiling a smartphone with two lenses and jumping into the nascent world of virtual reality.

The main camera on LG's upcoming G5 smartphone will have both a regular lens for standard shots and a wider-angle lens so you can capture more of what's in front of you without having to step back.

It will also adopt a modular approach to design, so you'll be able to pop out the phone's bottom and swap in new hardware features. Early options include a camera grip with physical buttons to take shots and control video recording.

Sunday's announcements at the Mobile World Congress wireless show in Barcelona, Spain, come as worldwide smartphone growth has slowed.

Frank Lee, a spokesman with LG's U.S. mobile business, said phone launches no longer generate the excitement they used to, so "it's our responsibility to bring some energy."

Beyond improving just the phone, LG is turning to a whole collection of products that work with it.

LG will have its own VR headset - a lighter version of Samsung's Gear VR, which came out last fall.

LG designed the LG 360 VR headset to work with an LG smartphone that's attached by a cable. With Samsung's VR device, the smartphone is inserted at eye level and becomes the headset's display, increasing the weight on the head. LG's version still uses the smartphone to process the images, but instead of displaying them on the phone screen, images get sent to separate, lighter displays in the headset's eyepieces.

LG is also making a 360-degree camera and a spherical robot camera that resembles the BB-8 droid in the new "Star Wars" movie.

Prices and release dates have yet to be announced, though the LG phone is expected in the U.S. in April.

  • Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016
NAB Show to host Kaleidoscope VR Showcase
René Pinnell, co-founder of Kaleidoscope
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- 

The NAB Show has partnered with Kaleidoscope, the largest community for virtual reality (VR) creators, to host the inaugural Kaleidoscope VR Showcase at NAB Show, which will take place April 18–21 in Las Vegas.

The Kaleidoscope VR Showcase at NAB Show will feature groundbreaking virtual reality films and immersive experiences, which hail from North America, Europe, South America and beyond. For the first time, NAB Show attendees will have the opportunity to travel to virtual worlds and experience the most innovative narrative, environmental and interactive content.

“With the rapid evolution of media and entertainment, it’s clear that virtual reality will play a prominent role in the future of film and broadcasting,” said NAB EVP of Conventions and Business Operations Chris Brown. “Kaleidoscope will be a major highlight of our virtual reality educational programming--we can’t wait to see what this next generation of artists brings to the NAB Show floor.”

Founded in 2015 by entrepreneur René Pinnell and former Industrial Light & Magic technical director Michael Breymann, Kaleidoscope empowers independent VR artists and works to promote the visibility of VR as the new frontier of film and entertainment. Previous to its involvement with NAB Show, the inaugural Kaleidoscope VR Film Festival toured across the North American continent, visiting 10 cities that included Austin, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, and more in 2015.

“As the home of unique and award-winning virtual reality content and artists, Kaleidoscope is thrilled to bring this new frontier of experiential entertainment to NAB Show,” said René Pinnell, co-founder of Kaleidoscope. “The success of our North American tour highlighted the resounding interest in this medium, and the artists that are its pioneers. There’s no better place to showcase this extraordinary movement in media than at NAB Show.”

  • Monday, Feb. 15, 2016
Telestream introduces ABR Optimization for OTT distribution at BVE 2016
Paul Turner
NEVADA CITY, Calif. -- 

At BVE, Telestream (stand K06), a provider of digital media tools and workflow solutions, will debut major new functionality within its Flagship enterprise-class software product, Vantage. The company reports that this new feature represents a quantum progression in Vantage’s multiscreen OTT distribution capabilities, empowering content owners, producers, and distributors to quickly, easily and efficiently package, monetize and distribute their media over multiple delivery networks.

The latest addition to the Vantage platform is an Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) Optimization feature that can significantly reduce delivery bandwidth needs and costs within multiscreen distribution applications. This advanced feature can achieve real-world bandwidth reductions of 25-40 percent while maintaining a premium viewing experience through high quality media distribution.

In the world of multiscreen media delivery, Content Delivery Network (CDN) costs are a significant issue for broadcasters. While traditionally they are used to fixed distribution costs, irrespective of viewing audience, this is not the case when distributing via CDN. These distribution partners charge on a “per-bit, per-viewer” basis, so the more multiscreen viewers, the higher the cost of distribution. Therefore, the ability of a product to produce high quality images at lower bit rates is a major consideration.

At the same time, numerous studies indicate a direct correlation between quality of the image (both in terms of spatial resolution and motion representation) and viewer retention. Today, viewers are not content to view postage-sized images running at 15 frames per second, and will not wait while the player buffers sufficient frames to restart the playback process.

ABR Optimize for Telestream Vantage Multiscreen intelligently manages delivery of adaptive-bitrate packages, which significantly reduce delivery bandwidth and distribution cost while ensuring high perceived quality. ABR Optimize enables service providers and content creators to set a guaranteed quality level for adaptive bitrate encoded video services that maintain a premium viewing experience. The guaranteed quality level is based on SSIMPlus, the Emmy-award-winning quality measurement suite from SSIMWave. SSIMWave used their research and expertise to develop a quality of experience (QoE) measurement technique that closely tracks the perception of actual viewers.

“In today’s competitive viewing environment, broadcasters and service providers live or die according to their ability to provide the best looking content on the broadest range of devices. And there is an entirely different business model which sees OTT distribution increase in line with audience size,” commented Paul Turner, VP of Enterprise Product Management at Telestream. “Vantage ABR Optimize provides users with a real competitive advantage – significant CDN savings reinforced by the best moving image quality, all the time, on every device.”

  • Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016
For virtual reality pioneers, no rush to succeed in 2016
In this June 11, 2015 file photo, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey holds up the new Oculus Rift virtual reality headset for photographers following a news conference, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 

Palmer Luckey doesn't just want to sell a bunch of virtual reality headsets. He wants buyers to use them every day.

The founder of Oculus told a group of developers working on VR content Wednesday that the immersive medium's success should be measured by time- not necessarily money - spent on it.

"We can sell a bunch of things that will sit on a desk and stay dusty," he said on stage at the Vision Summit. "I wouldn't consider that successful. If we can make things that people use every day, that's a good sign for the future of virtual reality as an ecosystem."

Oculus' technology surrounds wearers' eyes with 360-degree views of virtual worlds that are either created inside a computer or captured with several cameras. The headset tracks a users' movement and can be used with Oculus' wand-like Touch controllers to create an interactive experience.

The Facebook-owned company is scheduled to launch the Rift headset March 28. Oculus incited sticker shock in January when it announced the consumer edition would cost $599 - or $1,499 when bundled with a high-powered PC required to use it.

"We shipped a couple hundred thousand developments kits, but that's nothing on what we plan on doing this year," teased Luckey.

The first-ever Vision Summit was organized by game engine purveyor Unity, which unveiled a tool Wednesday that allows VR designers to create and manipulate virtual worlds while wearing headsets.

Luckey announced that the Rift would come with a four-month trial of a professional edition of the Unity engine, so that all Rift buyers "could be a creator, not just a consumer."

Unity CEO John Riccitiello cautioned the 1,400 attendees at the Hollywood & Highland Center that 2016 will not be the year that VR sees mainstream adoption and that the technology has been "overhyped" by the media.

"It's going to be bigger in the long run," said Riccitiello, who previously served as president and COO of video game publisher Electronic Arts.

Riccitiello projected 1 billion consumers will own VR technology in 5 to 10 years, pointing to the similar growth of such technologies as smartphones.

While VR on smartphones is now available with headsets like Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear, higher fidelity experiences won't be available until the launch of the Oculus Rift, Sony's PlayStation VR and Vive from HTC and Valve.

PlayStation VR and Vive will be available later this year for yet-to-be-announced prices.

Valve co-founder Gabe Newell sent the Vision Summit audience into an Oprah Winfrey-like frenzy when he announced that all the developers in attendance would receive a free Vive system.

"You get a Vive, and you get a Vive, and you get a Vive," the veteran game designer joked.

The conference continues through Thursday with such talks as "Emotional Presence in Virtual Reality" and "VR in the Classroom."

  • Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016
SGL increases archive flexibility with new Flashnet features
Lee Sheppard, director of product management, SGL
FAREHAM, UK -- 

SGL, a provider of content archive and storage management software for media and entertainment, has announced the latest version of its FlashNet flagship content management system as well as support for LTO-7. This new version of FlashNet provides media companies around the world with additional workflow opportunities and greater flexibility and is a precursor to SGL’s big FlashNet launch at NAB 2016.

New FlashNet now supports reading and restoring from SMPTE’s Archive eXchange Format (AXF). FlashNet can read and process AXF objects providing greater flexibility for customers, ensuring long term availability of content in the future regardless of technology evolution. Additional FlashNet features also allow customers to allocate a pre-defined number of drives within their library for a specific role, such as archiving Avid jobs only, or restoring/archiving material at a certain time of day. This allows larger broadcasters with multiple drives to further improve operational procedures.

SGL’s support for LTO-7 specifications enables tape cartridge native storage capacity of over 6TB, which is more than twice the compressed capacity of the previous generation. Tape drive data transfer rates also double those of LTO-6. As with previous generations, LTO-7 drives will provide backward compatibility with the ability to read and write LTO generation 6 cartridges and read LTO generation 5 cartridges, helping to preserve media investments and ease implementation.

“This latest version of FlashNet further improves productivity for customers and is a warm up to the big FlashNet launch at NAB 2016. This will include an elegant new user interface that will be incrementally rolled out over the next 12 months. The new dashboard will further simplify archive procedures with sophisticated tools for archive and restore functionality, system health, monitoring, analysis and more,” said Lee Sheppard, director of product management, SGL.

  • Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016
Sundance's "The 4th" deploys Blackmagic Design Cameras and DaVinci Resolve 12 Studio
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera
FREMONT, Calif. -- 

The Sundance film “The 4th” was shot using a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera and Blackmagic Cinema Camera EF, and was graded with DaVinci Resolve 12 Studio. The film by director and writer Andre Hyland was shot by DPs Shane Bruce Johnston and Charles J. Gibson, and color graded by Mark Todd Osborne at MTO ColorData.

“The 4th” is a comedy that tells the story of a slacker named Jamie who tries to make his way through the Fourth of July while dealing with chain of bad luck and escalating situations. It’s the first full length film by Hyland, who won Sundance acclaim for his 2014 short film “Funnel.” Also starring Hyland, the film explores how a chance encounter can completely change a day’s course of events through the lens of a slacker comedy.

For Johnston and Gibson, the film’s improvisational humor and run and gun style called for a two-camera approach, using Blackmagic Design’s Pocket Cinema Camera and Blackmagic Cinema Camera EF. With the cameras, the DPs were able to easily shoot on the go using handheld rigs.

“When we were evaluating gear for the film, it was crucially important that we selected cameras that could produce cinematic images while also being compact enough for guerrilla style shooting,” said Johnston. “With the Blackmagic Design cameras, we achieved our goal of producing an indie film with cinematic moments.”

With Jamie’s journey taking him throughout Los Angeles, the film was shot in a variety of locations, including dark streets and packed cars. The Blackmagic Design cameras allowed Johnston and Gibson to capture the shots they needed, even when they didn’t have a lot of light or were in cramped quarters.

“Both of the cameras worked very well in low light, so we didn’t need to worry about a lighting setup,” said Gibson. “This was especially helpful when we were on sidewalks just working under the streetlights.”

Johnson added, “The Pocket Cinema Camera’s size also came in handy during shoots in the car. Even when there were four actors packed in we were able to use the camera’s flexibility to our advantage and get the shots we needed. For the film’s establishing shot, I was perched about 40 feet up in the air and had to capture a long sequence of Hyland walking toward me from down the street. The shot was a continuous take for more than five minutes and there’s no way I could have pulled it off with a bulkier camera.”

Blackmagic Design’s solutions also helped on the post production side, with Osborne using DaVinci Resolve 12 Studio for the film’s color grading.

“‘The 4th’ was shot in a relatively short period of time so the challenge was to keep all of the scenes balanced and natural looking,” said Osborne. “It’s a slice of life piece so it just needed strong, rich colors and nice skin tones. With DaVinci Resolve 12 Studio, I was able to accomplish the needed balance and look that the film called for.”

  • Monday, Feb. 8, 2016
Vaddio introduces new camera controller
Vaddio's Precision Camera Controller Premier (PCC Premier)
MINNEAPOLIS -- 

Vaddio, a provider of conferencing and broadcast audio visual solutions, has announced the Vaddio Precision Camera Controller Premier (PCC Premier), the newest addition to the camera controller consoles with the added advantage of anywhere, anytime control. The PCC Premier enables simultaneous control of up to 16 Vaddio RoboSHOT PTZ cameras over an IP network connection. An IP address book can virtually control up to 80 PTZ cameras with the simple press of a button. In addition to Vaddio’s PTZ camera, the PCC Premier can control both Sony and Panasonic cameras via the eight RS-232 connection ports providing maximum installation flexibility for any production.

Vaddio has also included support for a built-in H.264 decoder targeting remote studio and campus operating center applications. Paired with Vaddio RoboSHOT HD-SDI, RoboSHOT 12 USB, or ClearSHOT 10 USB, camera operators will have ability to remotely view and control live production events over the network.

Camera operators can paint and frame camera shots on-the-fly using the intuitive control surface on the PCC Premier, supporting the most demanding production environments. The PCC Premier includes a three-axis Hall-effect joystick, PTZ speed control knobs, large focus knob, illuminated push buttons for camera selection, and a full color touchscreen display with easy-to-find image and preset controls. Setup and management of the PCC Premier is available through an embedded web server accessed by a standard PC browser.

“The ability to remotely control groups of cameras is an asset for live production – we can literally be anywhere without losing any camera quality or control,” stated Ed Ellett, president and CEO of Vaddio. “The PCC Premier is Vaddio’s newest enterprise class solution to control and stream remote cameras over an IP Network.”

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