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Broadcast legal Hardware – Cross-post
Hi,
I posted this at Ken Stone, but I think I should also ask here:
I know that, when it comes to making a program broadcast legal, one needs to work with professional scopes, the 3-way CC and the rest of the tools to bring the video into spec.
But what if there is a flash-frame, or a section of the video you missed?I recall reading, if I’m not mistaken, that there is also a hardware solution. You’d run your video through this machine (as if you were standards converting, or TBC, or whatever), and the machine clamps your highs, lows, etc and ensures your video is within spec.
All I know is, it’s a very expensive piece of hardware, and it’s the kind of thing you rent per-hour at a lab or video house.Has anyone heard of such a thing? Any info would be welcome.
Thanks a lot,
Wayne
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7 Replies
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[Wayne K.] “But what if there is a flash-frame, or a section of the video you missed?”
Wayne,
Part of the job is not to miss these things. Its the responsibilty of both the online editor and the client to QC (quality control) everything, and experienced editors should be able to see even a single flash frame. There are hardware devices that can do just about any job you want, but there’s no substitute for experienced and dilligent eyeballs.
DRW
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Yes. There are realtime hardware legalizers that do more than the harsh blanket adjustments that Proc Amps do. Just Google “Video Legalizer” and you will get a good sampling of the available products and pricing. The good ones are not cheap.
You should be as careful as you can when onlining/finishing a program. Real external scopes (and knowing how to read them) are a must. The reality is, when working long hours on a tight deadline, you may miss something small. It happens. Working with clients/producers who do not budget enough time for the finishing process doesnt make it any easier. A legalizer is a nice safety net, if you can afford one.
That being said, I have done many, many shows for cable and network broadcast over the past decade, without using one, and have had very few problems. Even then, basically, they just return the master to you and tell you to fix it. They also tell you where the problem is. Unless your show’s levels are a total mess, its not something you should be overly stressed about.
Some networks are stricter than others. From my experience, the “smaller” ones tend to be stricter than the “big” ones.
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Yes. There are realtime hardware legalizers that do more than the harsh blanket adjustments that Proc Amps do. Just Google “Video Legalizer” and you will get a good sampling of the available products and pricing. The good ones are not cheap.
You should be as careful as you can when onlining/finishing a program. Real external scopes (and knowing how to read them) are a must. The reality is, when working long hours on a tight deadline, you may miss something small. It happens. Working with clients/producers who do not budget enough time for the finishing process doesnt make it any easier. A legalizer is a nice safety net, if you can afford one.
That being said, I have done many, many shows for cable and network broadcast over the past decade, without using one, and have had very few problems. Even then, basically, they just return the master to you and tell you to fix it. They also tell you where the problem is. Unless your show’s levels are a total mess, its not something you should be overly stressed about.
Some networks are stricter than others. From my experience, the “smaller” ones tend to be stricter than the “big” ones.
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Wayne,
A proc amp will also have a predefined clip value for peak white, peak chroma and black levels,
Basically what will occur is any illegal levels over or under a specific IRE or millivolt level will be clipped off. The result will be additional noise or loss of information. If there are minor shots where luminance or chroma levels exceed specification then the proc amp will most clip these shots. I would not worry to much about minor hot peaks in the background (ie small light fixtures or reflections that are in the shot for a fraction of the time) these items the proc amp will have no problem clipping off.
Most major duplication and broadcast facilities have a proc amp in line for material that is being duplicated or broadcast.
However you are required to comply with the specific broadcast specification and requirements and not rely on the proc amp to catch everything. The quality control department will reject programs which have gross errors through out the entire program.
A proc amp cannot and will not fix flash frames that is up to the editor to fix. The simple cure is watch the show twice after all editing is done. Do not just slap the show off to tape once editing is done and hope for the best.
Tony Salgado
FYI- the FCP broadcast filter is the equivalent of a software proc amp.
Tony Salgado
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sometimes you have to pass technical inspections…
PBS is pretty stringent. we rarely pass on the first try.
usually a drop frame, or some yellow or orange that goes above legal spec.
Kai
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Thanks, everbody for your input.
Yours,
Wayne
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Thanks, everbody for your input.
Yours,
Wayne
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