NBC's digital wall..................................
tvbroadcast.com
NBC Installs MultiVision Videowalls
By Lauren Rooney
Syncom Image Display Systems, Inc. of Quebec has found a way to increase the quality of pictures on a videowall, while decreasing the maintenance costs.
The company's MultiVision multi-image processor, a rear-projection technology, eliminates the need for several video monitors, and delivers high-quality digital pictures that can be combined with graphics or computer images to give television news and production technicians another tool in enhancing their daily broadcasts.
Syncom president Michael Poirier said there are three components to the MultiVision: MultiVision, which is the technology that processes the images; RetroVision rear projector, which makes the pictures usable in a television environment where there is a lot of light; and a screen.
"Basically, our technology takes one picture and subdivides it into up to nine pictures," explained Poirier. "When you put all the elements together, you get the equivalent of a videowall, but with only one projector instead of nine. The advantage of that is lower initial cost, substantial maintenance savings, and much more nicer images."
The pictures are digital, but Poirier said with special adapters stations can use the MultiVision system in analog format. The system is also capable of displaying an NTSC and a computer signal simultaneously on the same imaging device.
"It captures a video image and displays it on a screen," said Poirier, "which eliminates the need for chromakey. For years, talent has been faking seeing pictures. Now, instead of looking at a green screen, they can actually see the video."
Poirier stated this offers an advantage to weather forecasters who can now look at their weather maps, rather than a trio of monitors in the studio. "And you have a 170-degree viewing angle so you can zoom in, pull back, or pan," he said.
NAB '98 attendees were able to see the MultiVision first hand, but viewers at home can see the MultiVision in action on NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw and Dateline NBC. NBC replaced their videowalls for those programs in March with the MultiVision.
Nightly News director Brett Holey was the one at NBC who pushed for the new wall. "I had seen a demo tape of the Syncom product," he said. "NBC had invested a significant amount of money in the previous technology, so I had to justify the aesthetic versus cost. We set up the Syncom system here and did a side-by-side test with the old videowall. That was what really got everyone on the bandwagon."
The NBC videowall includes the MultiVision MV9 multi-image processor, RetroVision RV 120, and a 6 x 8 ft. Plexiglas screen for Nightly News and a Stewart film soft screen for Dateline NBC. NBC technical manager Roger Cucci said the biggest advantage of the MultiVision is how easy it is to maintain.
"Originally, Nightly News had nine video cubes," he recalled. "Engineers would spend two to three hours balancing all the cubes before each broadcast."
Cucci said now, with one screen and one projector, it's much easier to lock the image quality in place.
He added that the system was easy for technicians to learn how to use. "We had to add a second video person to manipulate the images, and we did have some training. But the software is relatively easy to work."
Currently at NBC, a technician plays Betacam SP tape into the videowall, adjusting the picture or adding effects as needed. In another month or two, NBC hopes to have a digital control/edit room up and running, and they'll feed a lot of what goes into the wall from a computer.
Poirier said the MultiVision carries a relatively low price tag--from $15,000 for a system that gives you four images to mix and match to $35,000 for a system that does wall effects, 2D effects, and more. He added that Syncom's projectors are compact.
"We've developed the RetroVision series of products that vary in size from 84 inches up to 180 inches," he said. "They take up very little space."
Cucci said that NBC has found one problem with their videowall. "There appears to be a problem with the filament design in the projector lamp light," he said. "They're rated for 1,000 to 1,200 hours, but we're not getting the lamp life we expected."
He quickly added, though, that Syncom has replaced worn lamps under warranty and is correcting the design problem.
For its part, Syncom said it is not done fine-tuning the product. "We'll be introducing four or five new products at InfoComm in Dallas, Texas [this month]," said Poirier. "Some will have more flexibility to what's out there now, others will offer very low cost solutions to making the transition from analog to digital--such as routers that can take analog and digital signals together."
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