Hidden Depths: Disguise’s Integration of Depth and Volumetric Capture Workflows for Virtual Production - $15
Date: March 21, 2025Topics: 2025 BEITC Proceedings, Production Advancements: Avatars and Immersive ContentThe ability to capture a volumetric representation of performers in a production environment would enable a multitude of novel on-set and post-production workflows. Current methods are impractical due to their reliance on large numbers of cameras and consistent lighting conditions. We propose a framework for creating 2.5D assets from a single monocular video, allowing digitised performers to be viewed from a range of angles with the appearance of depth. An application processes the video offline, using depth and segmentation AI models to create a packaged 2.5D asset. This is then loaded into Disguise Designer for pre-visualisation of the performers within the virtual stage. Analysis of state-of-the-art depth inference models, using videos captured to represent the challenges of production environments, shows that it is possible to obtain coherent video depth maps in these conditions. However, metric models do not always identify absolute depth values accurately, and it is necessary to use models specifically tailored for video to ensure temporal consistency in the result. This work is intended to act as a foundation for more comprehensive 3D volumetric capture of performers in real production environments.
Chris Nash, Nathan Butt, Andrea Loriedo, Robin Spooner, Taegyun Ha, Phillip Coulam-Jones, James Bentley | Disguise | London, United Kingdom
Aljosa Smolic | Lucerne University of Applied Arts and Sciences | Lucerne, Switzerland
High-Power Digital FM Field Test Project - $15
Date: April 14, 2023Topics: 2023 BEITC Proceedings, Innovaton in RadioA petition for rulemaking filed at the FCC in October 2022 by NAB and Xperi requests that the FCC adopt an updated formula to determine FM power levels for stations seeking to exceed the currently authorized FM digital ERP of -14dBc. The proposed new formula, which is based on real world, operational experience gained since the FCC last approved a power increase in 2010, will allow more stations to increase digital power above the existing -14 dBc level, without the need for separate FCC authorization. Included in the joint NAB-Xperi filing is information on a field test project conducted by NAB, Audacy, New York Public Radio and Xperi in 2021 to assess the impact on first-adjacent channels of increasing the digital power level from -14 dBc to -10 dBc. The results of this field test demonstrate that the new formula being proposed should adequately protect first-adjacent channels, and are the topic of this paper.
David Layer | National Association of Broadcasters | Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Alan Jurison | iHeartMedia | Syracuse, New York, United States
Russ Mundschenk | Xperi, Inc. (retired) | Columbia, Maryland, United States
Steve Shultis | New York Public Radio | New York, New York, United States
E. Glynn Walden | Audacy, Inc. (retired) | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
How 5G Technology Simplified Live Remote Broadcasts During the Pandemic - $15
Date: April 23, 2022Topics: 2022 BEITC Proceedings, Remote and Work-from-Home OperationsLearn how Broadcasters and producers overcame the restrictions of the pandemic using 5G and REMI technology.
Jim Jachetta | VidOvation Corporation | Anaheim, California, United States
How AI Can Reduce Energy Consumption and Drive Sustainability in FM Radio Broadcasting - $15
Date: April 14, 2023Topics: 2023 BEITC Proceedings, Radio TechnologyWith energy costs soaring across the globe, reducing energy consumption is increasingly a top priority among radio broadcasters, to reduce operating costs as well as to meet the world’s growing need to implement greener solutions. In the broadcasting chain, the transmitter represents the most impactful device from an energy-usage perspective, as it continuously delivers a fixed output power to the antenna. In the FM chain, transmitters go from a few watts to dozens of kilowatts depending on the coverage area, landscape and radio listeners’ profile. To support broadcasters in meeting their sustainability goals and economic challenges, a technique called SmartFM is described in this paper that enables up to 40% lower energy consumption.
Daniel Werbrouck | WorldCast Systems | Bordeaux, France
How IP-based broadcast meets 5G for resilient and sustainable media distribution - $15
Date: April 3, 2024Topics: 2024 BEITC Proceedings, Application of 5G in BroadcastingThe newest generations of technical standards for digital terrestrial television broadcasting have embraced IP-based approaches. At the same time, we have seen the inclusion of multicast and broadcast technologies in the most recent releases of the global mobile telecommunications standard, with the availability of 5G Broadcast being one significant outcome, along with the integration of 5G Multicast/Broadcast capabilities within the 5G Media Streaming system. While true convergence between broadcast and mobile technologies remains unlikely to occur, the preconditions for mutually beneficial interworking between the different systems seem now to have been mostly fulfilled. This paper describes the main evolutions of both broadcast and mobile technical standards as they have approached more closely the domains of the other, culminating most notably with the arrival of ATSC 3.0, DVB-I and DVB-NIP as game-changing systems, and the aforementioned new solutions from 3GPP. Having described the innovative aspects of the different systems, the paper highlights some of the collaborative initiatives that target interworking, whether at the system core, on the radio frequency level or on the service layer, involving the standards developing organizations behind the systems.
Emily Dubs | DVB Project | Geneva, Switzerland
How NextGen Broadcasting Improves Public Safety and Community Security by Providing Advanced Emergency Information Service - $15
Date: April 14, 2023Topics: 2023 BEITC Proceedings, National Security Applications of ATSC 3.0Broadcast television has always done an excellent job of entertaining, educating, and informing us; however, the recent technological advancements in broadcasting that now brings consumers content via multiple platforms and devices can also be leveraged to provide critical, lifesaving emergency information in real time during local, state, or federal crisis situations. The ATSC 3.0 television standard, powered by NextGen Broadcast deployment, combined with its new Internet Protocol functions, can provide first responders and emergency managers with advanced methods to deliver dramatically improved interactive content and targeted Advanced Emergency Information (AEI) alerting to citizens, not just on their televisions, but also to any other device within range of a broadcast television signal or connected to the Internet.
First responders and emergency managers have always battled an array of emergency scenarios, but today they are coming quicker and with much greater intensity whether it be the result of a natural disaster, a technological disaster (e.g., railroad derailment with chemical spill) or a pandemic. Complicating today’s task of providing critical messaging and information during emergency events is the challenge of reaching an ever-shifting population demographic that now receives its information from a growing variety of sources and devices. This paper explores how ATSC 3.0 and NextGen Broadcasting enhancements can significantly improve how this task is performed for the betterment of community safety.
Niem Dang | Sinclair Broadcast Group | Hunt Valley, Maryland, United States
Kevin Wong | Sinclair Broadcast Group | Hunt Valley, Maryland, United States
