What tape format does your Broadcaster require?

[Mike Maloney]

I’d really enjoy this dialog, too. In our small tv market, we still deliver spots via Beta Sp. However I have learned that the Cox affiliate in the Tulsa market is accepting FCP QT’s via upload. I’ve discussed this with several and there doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer in this market (Northwest Arkansas).

I’m all for uploading unless,but work is typically 30 second commercials, not program length content.
Don’t know if I’d want to send out a hard drive.

Mike Maloney
Beartooth Recording Studios
http://www.beartoothrecording.com

[Myron Lenenski]

We ship film transfers recorded to hard drive all the time. Turner Classic Movies just wants Digital Betacam for now.

[Arnie Schlissel]

Every broadcaster has it’s own specifications of deliverables. You can request this spec from the engineering department or whoever your contact is. You must conform to this spec, or your show will never air.

The spec will vary from broadcaster to broadcaster, even from affiliate to affiliate within a single network. IOW, a Fox affiliate in Denver may have very different deliverables from the Fox affiliate in Boston, both will differ from HGTV or PBS.

That’s all the discussion that really needs to take place.

Arnie
Post production is not an afterthought!
https://www.arniepix.com/

[Myron Lenenski]

So, have you ever shipped a tape to a broadcaster yourself? If so, what tape format?

Ever ship a hard drive? Which codecs?

[Paul Provost]

[Myron Lenenski] “So, have you ever shipped a tape to a broadcaster yourself? If so, what tape format?

beta sp, digibeta, hdcam, hdcamsr, D5.

Ever ship a hard drive? Which codecs?
“
10bit uncompressed 422 SD & HD quicktime.

Paul Provost
http://www.postandbeam.tv

[Myron Lenenski]

Who accepts a Hard drive?

[John Davidson]

abc: digibeta / hdcam / hdcam SR (most of the time they conform inhouse, in those instances they stay in SD)
tlc/discovery: digibeta / hdcam / hdcam SR (1080i 59.94) They upres sd to hd.
Disney: digibeta
fx: digibeta
turner: digibeta
mtv: digibeta

Because HD looks better and our clients are opening up HD as a delivery option, I intend to pick up an HDCam deck and new edit system by the end of the year.

HDCam delivery seems to be a format that works universally. Would everyone agree?

John

John Davidson____ writer | producer | director____https://www.magicfeather.tv

[Walter Biscardi]

HDCAM 29.97

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

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[Stuart Simpson]

BBC takes Digibeta for SD, and HDCAM for HD:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/dq/contents/television.shtml#HDGuide

-Simmie
3 MacPros – Kona 3 & Kona LH
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xbox360, Wii, PSP, PS2
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[Jóhannes Tryggvason]

In the last year the 3 major broadcasters here in Iceland all started accepting digital uploads of commercials, which should have been a good thing but the downside is that they decided on Quicktime DV-PAL files as the delivery format. I have done commercials that looked good uncompressed in editing but after outputting to DV I had to redo the color grade because the reds would smear all over the place.

I try to tell clients that outputting to tape means more quality but they usually just look at the time and money they save by uploading and do that instead 🙁