Brad's Blog

Southern Cross Austereo chooses MediaHub Australia to manage and deliver Sky News Regional Channels across Australia

SYDNEY, 17 September 2020 – Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) is one of Australia’s leading media companies reaching more than 95% of the Australian population through its radio, television, and digital assets. SCA broadcasts 93 free to air TV signals across regional Australia including Sky News Regional which is broadcast in 17 of SCA’s regional markets across Victoria, Southern NSW and Queensland. Recently when SCA was working with Sky News Australia on a broadcast deal for the regional channels, it was Sky News Australia themselves who recommended SCA use MediaHub to deliver their services across Australia.

MediaHub Australia Executive Head of Operations, Scott Jolly, explained, “SCA and Sky News were keen to partner with MediaHub due to our quality of service and the collaborative relationship we already had with Sky News Australia. After a series of meetings and discussions with SCA we were awarded the contract.”

As a result, Sky News Regional launched offering free-to-air channels to viewers in parts of NSW, VIC, QLD and SA with a focus on live breaking news, weather, national affairs and sport from the Sky News Australia and FOX Sports News teams.

Jolly continued, “SCA required three HD channels for regional Queensland, regional Southern NSW and regional Victoria. The channels are a mix of Sky News Australia and FOX SPORTS News programming. On a technical level they required connectivity via MediaHub’s FibreHub network to and from four live studios including live talkback. They also needed channel branding and graphics capabilities, promo and commercial content aggregation and commercial insertion for each of the three markets. Finally, SCA wanted us to provide programme record, preparation and turnaround for replay and breaking news quick-switching capabilities.”

The requirements were comprehensive, but the timeframe was tight. According to Jolly, this wasn’t an issue for MediaHub Australia.

He continued, “MediaHub provided three free to air, dedicated, live 24-hour news channels within three weeks. This included building workflows for schedule delivery and conversion, graphics requirements, commercial aggregation from suppliers and workflows for promos. Our solution also includes facilitating an exclusive dedicated breakfast show for Sky News Regional viewers.”

Now complete and operational, the new MediaHub Australia solution comprises of fully redundant A and B broadcast chains allowing for high availability delivered from MediaHub’s datacentre in Ingleburn, NSW, including ingest, processing, channel creation, presentation playout and distribution operations.

Sky News Head of Operations and Innovation, Mark McKeown, said, Sky News Head of Operations and Innovation, Mark McKeown, said, “MediaHub is one of our most trusted technology partners. The team is innovative and efficient, and its products and services are flexible, scalable and reliable which is critical for live events and 24/7 channels.”

SCA Head of Engineering, Dan Jackson, added, “SCA leveraged MediaHub’s solutions to achieve cost-efficient scaling and speed up time to market launching the live 24-hour news channels in just three weeks. It’s not just a clever and seamless solution that MediaHub have provided, it’s also an incredibly efficient one too.”

With Mark McKeown and the Sky News team and Dan Jackson and the SCA team clearly impressed, Scott Jolly concluded by acknowledging the fundamentals that made this project such a success by saying, “It was a pleasure to collaborate on this project with both the Sky News and SCA teams and its testament to their skills and determination that we achieved this all so quickly. MediaHub has an excellent and close working relationship with Sky News Australia providing playout for their channels on Foxtel and their OTT platforms and we are delighted to expand on the services we provide for SCA on free to air.”

Picture credits
MediaHub Australia’s MCR

-Brad

Video of the Day (iPad mini (2021) Deep Dive — Should YOU Upgrade?)

iPad mini (2021) Deep Dive — Should YOU Upgrade?

Check out this cool Video from Rene Ritchie 🙂

-Brad

D2N reaches for the skies with Airspeeder and Alauda Aeronautics Provides full comms solution for teams and races

D2N reaches for the skies with Airspeeder and Alauda Aeronautics
Provides full comms solution for teams and races

SYDNEY, 16 September 2021 – What Formula 1 brings to track-based racing cars Airspeeder brings to the ultimate

Airspeeder flying car in race mode

D2N MD, Jason Owen, explained, “Airspeeder and the engineering team at sister-company Alauda Aeronatics reached out to us as they knew of our reputation in the sports industry and were looking for a comms solution for their new race program. They were developing a flying racing car series and were in the test and development stage. This in turn called for a communication system between the pilot, who flies the aircraft remotely, the engineers and the flight test director.”

Race engineers working on an Airspeeder flying car

Alauda’s engineers initially wanted a comms system to cover two applications for the forthcoming EXA remotely piloted racing series and the Airspeeder crewed electric flying cars races. These were, firstly the R&D of the vehicles with a pilot and secondly a number of engineers who all communicate as a group.

The second application was also required to take care of a race management team that would ultimately manage the actual running of the races.

Owen continued, “Race Management need the ability to communicate with each team as a group to dynamically respond to racing condition changes. To meet all of their requirements we suggested they invest in a high-end radio system as this would take care of the teams’ needs and form the foundation of the race management solution moving forward.”

Race engineers working on an Airspeeder flying car

The comms solution proposed and supplied by D2N consists of Hytera PD662 radios and Raytalk noise-cancelling headsets.

Owen added, “We also built some custom wiring setups for the pilots so they could key up the radio whilst flying the vehicle. The headset we provided for the pilots allows for the connection of multiple radios and a race control channel. The evolution of these clever pieces of kit come from our long history of developing and supplying specialist headsets for motorsport.”

Race engineer working on an Airspeeder event

Looking to the future Airspeeder and Alauda will also require future communications post testing for racing, much like an F1 team has comms with their driver, as their prototype aircraft in turn develop into manned aircraft.

Owen said, “This second, comms post testing, stage is a longer-term solution but needs to be implemented in the near future for testing. The maximum distance for this part of the solution at this stage would be 1-2km and this would grow to over 5km in time.”

Considering Airspeeder is a relatively new sport with incredibly unique and specific requirements, the technology partnership with D2N has been seamless thus far.

Owen continued, “We tried to deliver over and above as we not only solved their initial comms challenge but also put them on a path where systems can be repeated and scaled to suit their operation as more teams come on board and the governance of race management requirements grow.”

As Airspeeder grows in stature and popularity the awareness around the sport has also been growing at an astonishing pace, as has its technical and comms requirements.

Jason Owen concluded, “For most of this year, it has all been about R&D and test flights of the actual vehicles. D2N is already an integral part of this amazing sport as we have supplied them with super reliable communications and a solution built to suit and futureproof their operations. Airspeeder and Alauda have the advantage of our many years’ experience providing comms to motorsport and they appreciate that this is a big plus for them. Also, many comms suppliers get wedded to one comms manufacturer brand, whereas the D2N approach is to think about the application before any brand is discussed. As a result, we have always delivered on every requirement and every promise for this amazing new flying motorsport.”

To find out more about the amazing Airspeeder race series go to: https://airspeeder.com

Picture credits
Airspeeder ultimate performance flying cars using D2N comms solution
Race engineers working on Airspeeder ultimate performance flying cars using D2N comms solution

-Brad

Video of the Day (iPhone 13 Deep Dive — Should YOU Upgrade?)

iPhone 13 Deep Dive — Should YOU Upgrade?

Check out this cool Video from Rene Ritchie. 🙂

-Brad

Decathlon gives away thousands of products to Aussies impacted by lockdown across the country

International sporting goods designer and retailer, Decathlon, has announced it will give away thousands of products to Aussies impacted by lockdown across the country on Thursday 16 September 2021.

The Decathlon Community Initiative is set to become one of the biggest FREE sports giveaway campaigns undertaken by a retailer on a single day in Australia’s history.

On 16 September Decathlon will launch the campaign via its website enabling Aussies to register as a ‘most valuable player’ member and select an item they would like to receive for FREE subject to a small delivery fee.

Decathlon has carefully selected over 30 different types of sporting items that can be used at home while in lockdown. Some of the items include its iconic family fun soft archery set which includes one bow, two suction cup arrows and one target board which normally retails for $129 at full price, a small roll net and ping pong set (includes net, two paddles and two balls) that you can install in under 10 seconds on most dining room tables that retails for $39, a yoga mat that retails for $25, selected basketballs, Nyamba resistance training bands, and much more.

The giveaway will run all day on the 16th of September from 9am until items run out.

“People across the country are suffering at the hands of some of the harshest COVID lockdowns in the world,” Decathlon Australia CEO Olivier Robinet said.

“Mental health issues are on the rise, separation from loved ones is creating emotional anguish, job losses and financial strain are causing extraordinary hardship and suffering, gyms and other exercise centres are closed – people are feeling lost and without hope.

“At Decathlon, our core focus is to make sports accessible to the many – supporting people to live healthy lives connecting and engaging with others in their community. If Aussies in lockdown can’t get out and do the things they love, then we want to give them a sporty item to help them have fun during this difficult time – whether it be a game of table tennis or Finnish skittles, playing ball, doing yoga, or playing a game of soft archery or boules, we have something for everyone.

“Our products are expertly designed to help people keep active and we have picked a range of products that can be used indoors and outdoors around the home to help Aussies get through lockdown – and they are all FREE.”

In line with government COVID requirements and the scale of the campaign, items will be delivered via post.

Aussies simply select the item they want to receive for FREE, make sure they are registered as a ‘most valuable player’ member, provide their contact details, pay a small delivery fee and the item is shipped directly to them.

“Our Decathlon Community Initiative is our way of fulfilling our purpose of helping people across the community when it is needed most; our purpose is at the heart of why every Decathlon team member comes to work every day, and now is an important time for us to live this purpose, locally,” Robinet added.

“We are dedicated to investing in this wonderful country and helping all Australians to experience the benefits of sport no matter their situation. Sport is an important part of life. We plan on being here for many years to come and giving back to the people of Australia who are doing it tough is part of our commitment to being part of the community.”

Since arriving in Australia in 2017, Decathlon has opened five stores, two in Sydney (Tempe and Auburn) and three in Melbourne (Box Hill, Moorabbin and Knox Field), launched partnerships to extend the reach of its click and collect services and continued to invest in new store sites. The brand’s sixth store opens in South Morang, Victoria in November this year. Decathlon is a member warehouse and membership is free. Shoppers simply sign up in-store or online. Anyone can visit Decathlon but they must be a member to purchase products.

The brand is one of the world’s largest sporting goods designers and retailers originating from France. With over 1600 stores across the globe in 50 plus countries and more than 80,000 staff worldwide, Australia is now well and truly part of Decathlon’s growing worldwide presence and has already made a significant impact in the Australian market with its own brand of high-quality products at affordable prices. Terms and conditions for the Decathlon Community Initiative can be found at www.decathlon.com.au.

www.decathlon.com.au/giveaway

-Brad

Channel Nine’s Under Investigation with Liz Hayes uses Epson projectors for unique look EB-1755UNL and EB-L1505UHNL projectors

Channel Nine’s Under Investigation with Liz Hayes uses Epson projectors for unique look
EB-1755UNL and EB-L1505UHNL projectors

SYDNEY, 14 September 2021 – In conceiving the studio setting for Channel Nine’s Under Investigation with Liz Hayes, the show’s Supervising Producer, Gareth Harvey, wanted a unique, realistic and “immersive” environment and for that he chose Epson EB-1755UNL and EB-L1505UHNL projectors.

Harvey explained, “I wanted both an ‘organic’ feel to the set-background and also an immersive environment for the panel discussion. I didn’t want the ‘video’ look of a green screen set and originally thought of using LED panel-wall. I then did a test shoot using projectors and immediately decided they provided the ‘look’ I was after. Discussing with the company that provided the test projector, they spoke very highly of the top-end Epson projectors – so we made contact with Epson Australia. I also wanted the studio monitor and screen to have the same look and so also decided on rear-projection for that element too.”

Harvey’s primary requirement for Under Investigation was to have projectors powerful enough to illuminate a large studio without the projected image being washed out by the studio lighting.

He added, “It was also critical to have ultra-short throw projectors, so that the projectors could be close to the studio backdrop and allow the set and cameras as much space as possible without interfering with the projector beam.”

In total Under Investigation uses two EB-1755UNL projectors fitted with ELPLX02 ultra-short throw lenses for the backdrop and an EB-L1505UHNL projector fitted with an ELPLU03 short throw lens, for the rear projection screen. The results, according to Harvey, are nothing short of spectacular.

He continued, “I am frankly amazed by the performance of the Epson projectors, in the size of image that could be projected versus the very short distance from the studio wall. This allowed us complete freedom of movement and we could easily set props in front of the projectors. The image was also intense enough to be unaffected by studio lighting.”

It isn’t just Harvey who was impressed with the Epson projectors as he explained, “Everyone, including the audience and television executives, is very impressed by the whole studio ‘look’ created by the Epson projectors. There were many comments that this sort of projection hadn’t been used in a show like Under Investigation before and that it really helped immerse the audience in the topic being discussed. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and true to form after our first series aired, there were a number of copycat programmes and advertisements using the same projectors as we had.”

On Under Investigation the production uses the Epson projectors as the set background and on the rear-projection, to feed pre-recorded video to the studio discussion. They “stitch” two 16:9 images together to form a panorama backdrop in the studio and this helps create what Harvey calls, “their unique look.”

Gareth Harvey concluded, “I have been extraordinarily pleased with the results we’ve achieved and with the technical support from Epson, in particular their projector guru Gehan Perera. We have, by all accounts, achieved a distinctive and unique look for the show. It literally looks like no other news program on television – and that is almost entirely due to the Epson EB-1755UNL and projectors EB-L1505UHNL and our projector look.”

For more on Epson’s EB-1755UNL projectors go to:
https://www.epson.com.au/products/projector/EB-L1755UNL.asp

For more on Epson’s EB-L1505UHNL projectors go to:
https://www.epson.com.au/products/projector/EB-L1505UHNL.asp

Picture credits
Epson projectors in use on the set of Under Investigation with Liz Hayes

-Brad