ControlZone. NAB Barco's innovative visualization solutions for broadcast. New 70" DLP TM projection series with front access

Transcription

1 ControlZone rooms newsletter. Nr NAB Barco's innovative visualization solutions for broadcast New 70" DLP TM projection series with front access Dubai TV Barco's ipresent chosen for studio in Dubai Media City Channel 4 Managed broadcast monitoring

2 Contents Barco news 3 Editorial 7 New - 70" DLP TM projection series with front access 16 Barco's brand new DLP TM projection series 20 Discover Barco's innovative products worldwide Broadcast 4 Perfect visualization solutions for broadcast Cover Story Managed monitoring for Channel 4, UK 8 ipresent - Interactive backdrop solution for content-rich productions 10 Dubai TV chooses Barco for its studio in Dubai Media City 12 istudio - Managed monitoring for broadcast & distribution Channel 4 - one of the world's most distinctive and admired television channels - has chosen Barco's flexible istudio solution for their master control room, multi channel room and playout suite. 13 The Hospital, London - The creative complex with Europe's first high definition studio 14 Managed broadcast monitoring for Channel 4 More info page 14 Traffic and surveillance 17 Networked visualization for traffic & surveillance Command and control 18 Common-Operational-Picture visualization for Homeland Security Process control and utilities 19 Estonian Power Grid 2I

3 Editorial Dear reader, Alain Solomon VP worldwide sales and marketing Barco Control Rooms Operational excellence has been one of the most important critical success factors of the last 30 years industry and allowed the global economy to grow at an impressive pace during that period. Today, within the globalization paradigm, it is becoming even more important. The need for better control of all kind of processes, from energy production, factory automation, traffic management, safety and security services, network management centers, remote military operations control, and, last but not least, to broadcast operation centers and on stage backdrop solutions is becoming crucial. Every field of activity requires specific control functionalities, which range from high quality display features, multiwindow dynamic visualization to centralized management of data and video streams generated at remote locations. The integration of the control solutions to every specific market through API exchange is also becoming a key requirement. This is where Barco adds value. Our strategy is to offer to all quoted specific needs a dedicated solution based on high quality displays and flexible control hardware and software, including customization capabilities through API integration. Our commitment to the global industry and our contribution to the worldwide thrive for operational efficiency is to provide leading edge solutions with no compromise on quality and long term serviceability. This is all the more important as we offer our solutions to the broadcast industry, for which continuity of operations and reliability are critical. Barco has been providing it s wellknown istudio solution based on the HYDRA platform for almost 4 years to almost all major broadcasting corporations in the world and is committed to further enhance its portfolio with innovative display and control solutions. In particular, the introduction of High- Definition TV and the growing need for multi-site control solutions based on streaming video technologies is addressed by our STREAMING VIDEO CARD solution with embedded MPEG2 and MPEG4 decoding. The broadcast applications specific needs are driving our new products design, and you will see in this first issue of the ControlZone newsletter, that we are serious about broadcast. Our good financial results allow us to invest more than 10% of our turnover in R&D, and we are permanently enhancing the capabilities of our actual portfolio while developing new solutions. We are here for the long term, and are committed to protect our customer s investment for many years. Welcome to the Barco Broadcast World at NAB 2005! I3

4 Perfect visualization solutions for broadcast Barco's continuing development of innovative products for broadcast applications Outdoor marquee Some of the world's biggest brands, including Merrill Lynch, Quiksilver and BMW have already discovered the glamour and impact of Barco's outdoor LED displays. KUTV Channel 2, a CBS affiliate, has installed a DLITE 7 outdoor LED video display outside their broadcasting facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. The video display is used to broadcast headline news, advertisements, and trailers for important events. Barco's outdoor LED display product ranges the SLITE, DLITE and OLITE offer a modular outdoor display concept that allows the build-up of almost any shape and size display that is ideal for use at outdoor locations with large viewing distances. The product line is available in 7mm, 10mm, 14mm and 22mm resolution, and offers the perfect solution to generating the perfect picture in all bright environments, even in direct sunlight. Barco's DLITE, SLITE and OLITE products are more than just the best range of outdoor LED displays. Their rugged, dust and water-proof modules are IP65 certified, make the LED display resistant to harsh external elements. Their mechanical design allows ease of servicing, hot-swapping and guarantee a minimum down time and minimum time to repair per display. Every module is equipped with an embedded PC, providing intelligence and processing upgradability. Its integrated concept of image processing and transmission allows for full control over video as well as data sources. (See application 1) TV show studio Barco has a proven track record in the installation of high-profile spectacular LED displays. Whether you require a large screen display or a creative solution for your latest TV show it is sure to be supported by modern technology. You will want to combine historic footage, CGI and live video material close-ups of the performing artists and create a marvelling show for your audience. Every TV show wants to actively encourage live political and economic debate between guests and studio audience. KUTV Channel 2, USA Fuji TV Network, Japan Kylie Minogue, UK ESPN, US 4I Indoor lobby Large-screen displays make your lobby or entrance come to life and do justice to your brand s reputation. Barco s networked LED and LCD solutions are used for targeted communications such as corporate news, visitor information, advertising campaigns or live broadcasts. They allow you to adjust your message to changing conditions or broadcast urgent news flashes at the simple touch of a button you can display dynamic advertising or information in any form: from still photos and text messages to full motion video and current web based formats such as HTML, Flash and Director. Barco s indoor LED display product range - the ILITE MD and SOLARIS LD - delivers images with high brightness and unequalled contrast levels as well as superb color uniformity. With its slim, sleek design, the ILITE MD allows the build up of almost any shape and size display and is ideal for use in smaller indoor locations with restricted viewing distances. The display comes in following resolutions: 3mm, 6mm, 8mm, 10mm and 12mm and can be tailored to your specific needs. Based on the ILITE technology, SOLARIS LD is a pre-configured, plug-and-play indoor LED display solution, that wraps all the desirable LED qualities of bright- ness, dependability, long lifetime and low maintenance into an affordable package. SOLARIS LD is available in three sizes and two resolutions (8 mm and 10 mm). With its elegant design and superior image quality, the SOLARIS LC40, a 40 LCD display is the presentation and public information display of choice for use at corporate headquarters. SOLARIS LC40 is praised for its sharp resolution, long lifetime and for avoiding the burn-in effect that often plagues similar flat-panel displays.

5 Broadcast The display must be big, bright and powerful enough to create an impact with the studio audience and must be flexible enough to create one single image across a number of screens. The product of choice for endless creativity is MIPIX, Barco's brand new modular intelligent LED pixel block, which measures only 4cm by 4cm. A revolution in the LED market, its small size and shape allow for it to be used to create intelligent lighting effects on large-scale backdrops of any form, shape or size, while also offering the possibility of full video content on 3D logos or other free-form shapes. The MIPIX blocks further facilitate the construction of large-scale backdrops by the fact that they can be spaced apart at various distances, making the pixel blocks a cost-effective medium for ultra-large applications. (See applications 8, 12 and 17) TVN 24, Poland Compatible with a wide variety of signal sources, it is capable of showing analog and digital video as well as data content, bringing you the ideal medium to display your message. (See applications 2, 3, 4, 10 and 19) Outdoor marquee 02. Reception area 03. Indoor lobby 04. Hospitality area 05. News studio 06. Meeting room 07. Training room 08. Show theatre 09. Screening room 10. Rest area 11. Sports studio 12. Talk show studio 13. Production control room 14. Video production control room 15. Audio production control room 16. Master control room 17. Stage 18. Interview area 19. Dressing room I5

6 News studio ipresent is a complete backdrop solution for content-rich productions that consists of specifically adapted rear-projection modules combined with the high performance ENCORE show controller. Capable of showing a multitude of video and graphical windows, Barco's ipresent produces smooth transitions from one display wall layout into another. The rearprojection modules support 3200K color temperature to match with the studio lightning and offers wide viewing angles for maximal flexibility of camera positions. The ENCORE show controller is the most advanced video processing and presentation controller, providing source selection, windowing features, seamless switching, video effects and integrated control for professional video presentations. (See applications 5, 8, 11, 12, 17 and 18) For more information about ipresent turn to page Astra, Belgium Actis, UK VTM, Belgium Imagica, Japan 6I 01. Outdoor marquee 02. Reception area 03. Indoor lobby 04. Hospitality area 05. News studio 06. Meeting room 07. Training room 08. Show theatre 09. Screening room 10. Rest area 11. Sports studio 12. Talk show studio 13. Production control room 14. Video production control room 15. Audio production control room 16. Master control room 17. Stage 18. Interview area 19. Dressing room Screening or training room The icon H600, Barco s native HDTV projector, is the ideal solution for screening & training applications in the broadcasting market. It is fully compatible with HDTV (1920 x 1080) video standards, turning it into the ideal visualization solution for AV and broadcast applications. The modular HDTV input architecture enables to connect the icon via RGBHV, DVI component and HDSDI. Additionally, the icon H600 brings native HDTV to the meeting or training environment, offering advanced capabilities to show simultaneously up to 4 analog inserts on the screen. Thanks to the built-in display server, the icon H600 can connect via LAN to any remote server or PC. (See applications 6 and 7) Post production In the last few months, several D-CINE PREMIERE DP100 projectors, incorporating 2k DLP Cinema TM technology from Texas Instruments, have been sold worldwide to high-end post production facilities. It is not just the requirement for color-accurate, high-contrast images - the post production sector demands software control tools to ensure that digital projection can reproduce the full color gamut and feel of the final film

7 Broadcast Broadcast and distribution monitoring room Barco's istudio is currently the most advanced all-in-one solution for managed monitoring. It consists of a high-quality display with rear-screen projection, a graphic controller, and Web-based operating software. One projection module is capable of simultaneously displaying multiple analog and digital video, embedded audio and computer images. Two or more modules can be combined into a huge display wall to monitor hundreds of signals. istudio acts as a single point of control and includes advanced warning capabilities. With istudio, operators are no longer confined to a limited number of monitors. They can now size and move a virtual monitor anywhere on the screen for maximum viewing. No space is wasted for window or monitor borders. This enables display of a higher number of video sources in the same amount of space and with the same number of operators. (See applications 13, 14, 15 and 16) For more information about istudio turn to page 12. New - 70" DLP TM projection series with front access Channel 4, UK print. Barco s D-CINE COMMUNICATOR software provides this added value thanks to the Look-up Table Management feature, enabling direct access and control over industry standard or proprietary Color, Gamma and 3D Look-up tables. Thanks to this feature, the post production community can be confident that the projected images will be accurate, both during the Digital Intermediate grade and the final 35mm print output. (See application 9) The OVERVIEW fdg70-dl and OVERVIEW fdr+70-dl are front accessible rearprojection systems with the cutting edge DLP TM technology. The display wall systems are optimized for use in a 24/7 mission critical environment. A built-in second lamp will make you rely for 100% on the availability of your display wall. Outstanding picture quality, reliability and ease of use are the results. Superior display quality latest high contrast DLP TM technology optimal brightness, contrast, color uniformity and large viewing angles Optical Dimming to reach equal luminance values without contrast loss or color depth on all screens Dynamic Feedback technology to maintain constant luminance over time Reliability and lifetime serviceability dual redundant lamp allows you to rely 100% on your Barco display wall engineered for ease of maintenance dustfree overpressure design access to operation and service adjustments through IR remote control and an On-Screen Display easy lamp & filter replacement from the front while the system runs Barco's Lamp-Lease Program allows you to efficiently control operational costs Flexibility flexible design in a linear or curved setup with extension possibilities lengthwise requires minimal installation depth thanks to front access - can be put against the wall innovative modular built-up for easy & fast installation I7

8 The ENCORE show controller is the most advanced video processing and presentation controller on the market today The ipresent backdrop solution is a combination of specifically designed Barco products that can be configured in a variety of ways, allowing a broadcaster to create a unique audience experience in today s constantly changing on-air studio environment. With today s high demand for differentiation in the competitive broadcast market, ipresent allows a broadcaster to do true branding to its market, while increasing the ability to display dynamic information to the viewing audience in a more effective way. Studies have shown that information presented to audiences where the talent can interact directly with the information, is considered 8I

9 Broadcast ipresent Interactive backdrop solution for content-rich productions Barco s ipresent is a complete studio backdrop solution allowing a dynamic visual experience that can fit into a wide variety of environments: from the largest, most visually demanding backdrop applications to the modest studios looking for a differentiating appearance, and many environments in between. much more accurate and professional than the current method of distributing information. Also, the information is understood with greater detail by the viewer than has been previously achieved. A hidden added value is the little time needed to get accustomed to interacting with the active display area and in most cases this learning period is almost instantaneous. The ipresent solution has multiple elements that can be used independently or as part of a total studio backdrop environment. The simplest being the single, small scale display solutions, such as the Barco OVERVIEW D 50, 67, 70 or 80 inch rear screen display units or the more portable and flexible SOLARIS 40 LCD flat panel display. The SOLARIS offers, along with other features, internal cropping, picture rotation between landscape and portrait modes and picture-in-picture, without costly external equipment. Each of these displays also has the capability of being part of a larger cube wall environment, where the display internally partitions itself to be a part of a larger image, allowing one image to be shown over a much larger display. These large display areas can be created by putting many displays side by side or Barco's SOLARIS LC 40, a 40" LCD display with WXGA resolution, offers superior image quality and extended functionality stacked one on top of the other to create a straight or curved wall, allowing it to be an integral part of the studio look and feel. When the desired effect requires a larger presence on a semi-large to immense display area, usually shot by a wide angle camera, Barco s ilite LED displays can be used in an infinite number of configurations, with various building block sizes and varying pixel pitch resolutions. These displays can be tailored to form an area that is fragmented into sections and/or unified together into one large display area. When the requirement is a large scale production solution, then each of these display solutions can be incorporated with one of Barco s ipresent family of backdrop controllers. The EOS or ARGUS controllers can accommodate smaller applications that require multiple window/sources shown across multiple displays. For extremely flexible, fully dynamic solutions, Barco s ENCORE controller is the ultimate solution. The ENCORE controller allows a client to display preprogrammed multiple source backdrop scenarios with content movement and effects, for on-the-fly insertions on a single large display matrix, across multiple displays, or on display areas of the same or different type of technologies. Barco s ilite LED display solutions, allowing a fully integrated, dynamically controlled studio backdrop can be incorporated in this scenario. I9

10 Dubai TV uses the ipresent backdrop solution as a high-quality alternative for a traditional on-stage video wall At the heart of the global media hub Dubai Media City Dubai TV s newsroom is centered around an impressive multi-stage and multifloor set design and includes studio facilities and state-of-the-art audiovisual and IT technology as well as dynamic news production equipment. The studio includes six different sets for main international news bulletins, international news briefs, sports news, political programs, talk shows and debates, current affairs, local news briefs, dynamic stand-up locations, weather and VIP/guest programs. Barco s high-quality backdrop solution Dubai TV selected Barco to install ipresent, its latest and most sophisticated display wall solution. Barco installed two backdrop walls of 4x2 modules and one of 3x2 modules, each consisting of 50 projection modules with XGA resolution and the 10I

11 Broadcast Subtitle: Dax Regular 16 pt Body: Dax Light 9 pt Dubai TV chooses Barco for its studio in Dubai Media City Dubai TV decided to invest in a brand new TV studio that is setting a new standard in the Middle East not only in size but also with cutting edge high tech equipment. Barco was chosen to provide ipresent, its high quality backdrop display solution, featuring excellent high resolution, excellent on-camera performance, superior flexibility and high interactivity. Three Barco ipresent walls have been installed covering a total surface of 20m 2. latest DLP TM technology. The ipresent backdrop solution consists of specifically adapted rear-projection modules allowing Dubai TV to use the wall as a high-quality alternative for a traditional on-stage video wall. The high resolution rear-projection modules support 3200K color temperature to match with the studio lighting, provide excellent on-camera performance and offer wide viewing angles for optimum flexibility of camera positions. The high quality projection modules based on the latest DLP TM technology incorporate dual lamps with hot stand-by capability resulting in 100% availability. One of the main issues that we have always had with video walls in the past is that the minute a lamp goes out, it s very difficult to calibrate the monitor so you can t retain the same color temperature and video levels as the others, explains Mark Karlen, Broadcast Design International. But the Barco solution installed at the newsroom is a new, sophisticated solution that uses a dual lamp system. The minute one lamp goes out, another instantly lights up in its place and within two to three seconds, the internal software automatically calibrates the brightness level to match the rest of the cubes on the wall. Barco s solution at the newsroom is flexible and can be adapted and grown so that in the future, they will be able to expand. The system enables Dubai TV with a 24 hour news channel, which is their ultimate goal. Dubai TV was committed to provide a state-of-the-art and unrivalled broadcast service for the community. Their mission is to reflect and build upon this recognition through the transformation of their radio and television services into one that is amongst the best in the world. I11

12 control_room_magazine_def_cor.qxd :14 Pagina 12 istudio Managed monitoring solution for broadcast and distribution The istudio monitoring solution provides the capabilities and features needed in today s studio production control rooms. Technical Directors, or TDs, require live and pre-produced sources constantly available and viewable during the entire studio production session. These sources may come from pre-cued video tape sources, live studio camera feeds, and even from several live remote sources from an Electronic News Gathering crew. The istudio offers a studio production crew flexibility with a variable, dynamic layer on their viewing applications, unavailable within the traditional production control room. These control rooms are filled with bulky, power hungry CRT based displays, which come in limited sizes, must fit into a standard equipment rack, and only offer a fixed display location for a specific purpose. The istudio allows a production session to be uniquely customized or configured for each TD and supporting crew member for each daily, periodic or special program requirement. The istudio enhances and adds new features that were not possible in prior designs. The studio control room requires a variety of capabilities which are, in most cases, crucial to an error free studio produced program. Some of these basic requirements include the ability to display a standard definition analog video source concurrently with a digital high definition source, or a PAL source and its converted NTSC cousin. Source monitors of different sizes require the designers of these rooms to make choices based on multiple needs such as: 9 for camera and/or remote feeds, or 20 preview and program displays, along with 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios. In addition, information that is dynamically changing via a routing device such as the master program clock, duration timers, countdown timers, tally indicators, and under monitor source names can be difficult to support. All of these video sources must also be synchronized by a master generated locked reference, allowing for seamless transitions between sources for a professionally produced program. All of this must be done in parallel or unison, with minimal delay, to the live production. The istudio achieves all of this, and much more, by fully supporting all of the above functions and adding many more useful features such as: providing one seamless viewing area, allowing for more than twice the number of sources of the same size, allowing the sources to be increased by percent, while maintaining the same source count. This is accomplished by saving space 12I traditionally used by equipment racks, display mounting hardware, bezels, and front accessible monitor calibration controls, all of which are not real-estate sensitive. In addition, same color temperature between sources is achieved simply by displaying multiple sources across one large high resolution display. Complete control of the viewing area, including on the spot retrieval of previously saved viewing layouts, or on the fly modifications to these layouts, give the control room crew the ability to tailor the viewing environment as needed. These capabilities have allowed the istudio solution to be adopted by major broadcasters and smaller budget broadcasters worldwide for use in their studio production control room environments. Because of the unique features and flexibility of the istudio solution, and due to the recent announcements by major independent monitor manufacturers stating that they are drastically reducing their manufacturing of CRT based monitors, the istudio solution is expected to continue to transform studio production control rooms for many years to come, and will solve new challenges that will develop in the newer, high definition studio production environments.

13 Broadcast The Hospital is a state-of-the-art complex situated in London's dynamic Covent Garden. It is a unique mix of The Hospital, London The creative complex with Europe s first high definition studio facilities for artists and creatives develop new projects across media including television, film, music and more. The facility includes Europe's first high definition television studio as well as cutting edge professional audio recording and mixing studios, a multiuse exhibit and art gallery. At The Hospital it was decided that the conventional monitor-wall route was not the best solution. Prime reasons were that this type of HD monitoring is costly to buy and install and has high running costs, which include routine maintenance needed to keep all screens matched, as well as high power and cooling costs. As a result the major part of the video monitoring requirements for the production gallery have been met with a Barco's istudio solution consisting of five 67-inch Barco SXGA rear projection displays. These are arranged as a group of three and a group of two seamless displays, for the production and engineering requirements. Quality control needs are met with traditional 14 to 24-inch grade 1 CRT monitors. Many feeds, many uses Each of the 67-inch displays is fed from a Barco HYDRA graphics controller input system that is configured, in this instance, to accept ten inputs made up of both SD and HD video, as well as RGB signals. Any or all of these are then displayed together on a single 67- inch screen but with the complete freedom to compose the required size, aspect ratio and positioning of all sources from the web browser-driven control software. Each image carries its own UMD and tally and other items such as clocks, text, audio monitoring, alarms and time code all of which can be included. Paul Daniels, Head of Engineering, explains, In this room we are hosts to different production crews and each has different expectations and experience. At first we were all experimenting setting up the arrangements of sources and displays as they wanted but after a while things settled down. As the settings can all be stored, we can recall anyone s favorite set-up at the touch of a button. It s very dynamic and fits nicely with the tremendous flexibility we have in the whole building. istudio system Barco's istudio comprises high quality displays, HYDRA controller input systems - to combine and size images, UMDs and tally information, and web browser-based control software ensuring ease of use. For HD, up to 30 simultaneous images can be placed on one screen, for SD the number can rise to 60, so high grade monitoring is available for many sources on one screen. The system acts as a single point of control allowing limitless layouts and variations of monitors and event responses. Power consumption (and cooling) are significantly reduced, as low as 150W for a 67-inch screen, and space requirements compared to monitor stacks are minimized - useful in a studio, a big bonus in OBs. Even power and signal cabling runs are considerably reduced. In conclusion istudio offers a highly flexible solution, with the added benefit of lower cost of ownership for today's demanding monitoring sites. I13

14 Managed broadcast monitoring for Channel 4 Channel 4 is one of the world s most distinctive and admired television channels. It transmits across the whole of the UK, except some parts of Wales that are covered by the Welsh language S4C. It is available on all digital platforms (terrestrial, satellite and cable) as well as through conventional analogue transmission. The Master Control Room (MCR) utilized the traditional CRT monitor stack that became less suited to the ever-changing needs and requirements of Channel 4 s expanding portfolio. Due to the rigid nature of a CRT based system where fixed sized screens and static layouts were the norm, it was decided to go for a fully flexible system which minimized installation and the overall install space as well as reducing the need for costly overheads such as air conditioning, power management and engineering services. The MCR was also too small and the process of changing the formats was a lengthy one that involved many electricians and was very time consuming. Fully integrated yet flexible istudio solution After checking the options it quickly transpired that the monitor stack needed to be replaced by a Barco display wall and HYDRA to run the software. The original spec was for 4 OVERVIEW fpr 67-DL projection modules and 4 HYDRAs, however due to the success of this installation in the MCR a total of a further 5 OVERVIEW modules and HYDRAs have been installed in the multi channel room and playout suite making a total of 9 of each to date. Robert Luggar, Project Manager for Channel 4 stated, We needed a flexible system that adapted to the needs of the controllers instantly. Robert continues, The layouts are changed from a 4:3 aspect ratio to a 16:9 with a great deal of frequency and the Barco display allows for this to happen at the touch of a button. 14I

15 Broad Incorporating Barco s Hydra has saved us a lot of time and resources with investments in separate components Advanced warning capabilities As control centers continue to become larger and more complex, a growing number of signals from a variety of sources need to be monitored. Barco s HYDRA gives unique possibilities to control up to 60 analog or digital inputs on one single display simultaneously. HYDRA is operated via a standard web browser and features advanced warnings and alarms. One single PC can control numerous networked units that jointly display hundreds of signals. Robert Luggar stated Incorporating the HYDRA has saved us a lot of time and resources with investments in separate components. To simplify problem analysis and quicker incident correction, Barco's istudio introduces a revolutionary new concept: managed broadcast monitoring. istudio s advanced warning features are of great value to Channel 4. Its graphic controller HYDRA can detect fault conditions on the incoming feeds both video and audio and notify the operator of these errors in a variety of ways. HYDRA then communicates the alarm to network management systems via SNMP traps or XML. HYDRA can monitor an alarm on screen, log it to a file, or allow the operator to confirm it in the alarm list provided by the user interface. Monitoring of VBI info such as closed captioning, V-chip, WSS and XDS is all integrated in the HYDRA controller. I15

16 Barco s brand new DLP TM projection series Barco s new OVERVIEW D projection series integrate cutting edge DLP TM technology into display wall systems from 50 to 80 while maintaining excellent on screen contrast, sharpness and viewing angles. With the innovative design and superior performance, the OVERVIEW D series are optimized for use in a 24/7 mission critical environment. Ergonomics latest high contrast DLP TM technology seamless screens from 50-80" optimal brightness, color uniformity and large viewing angles high on-screen contrast and low screen reflection Fit for purpose dual redundant lamp allows you to rely 100% on your Barco display wall redundant inputs 3200K backdrop solution choice between lower and higher resolution depending on the application fast deployable innovative design 3x color wheel for superior representation of graphics 200W brightness (XGA) Low cost of ownership hotswappable lamp - change lamp without losing image choice between high brightness or long lifetime lamp increased operational efficiency - no need to run for lamp replacement low MTTR - replaceable color wheel quick installation easy maintenance 16I

17 Surveillance & traffic Networked visualization for surveillance and traffic Barco's solution for video monitoring and visualization is also used in other markets such as traffic and surveillance. In traffic and surveillance, the migration towards compressed digital video over IP is currently in full swing. Although not standardized yet, the industry readily adopts such technologies to enable significant short term gains such as longer reach and better interoperability and enhanced features (e.g. analytics, indexed recording, playback, etc). In this environment, there are 2 main challenges from a display and visualization perspective - operational efficiency, ergonomics and performance, and graceful migration from analog to digital. To address these two challenges, enhanced functional capabilities were developed and are now available to enable better collaboration, faster decision making and increased speed and quality of response. In the move to IP, users of digital systems are required to work with PC NCP, UK Better economics The business case further improves because total cost of ownership is lower for a projector versus a stack of monitors in the long run due to significant savings in power (1 projector [@150W] replaces up to 16 monitors [@100W each]) as well as air conditioning. Better performance With PC solutions, the video sources are software decoded which limits the simultaneous number and quality of the video sources that the operator's use. Typically today a high end PC can support 4-6 4CIF (D1) MPEG-4 streams while Barco s solutions can support up to 16 MPEG-4 streams. In this, Barco has provided a high performance hardware based integrated universal decoder solution to enhance performance, save space, reduce equipment (decoders) and lower cabling requirements to save on maintenance and installation efforts. Better migration Furthermore, Barco's visualization platform can also simultaneously accept both analog and digital inputs to allow the user to migrate gracefully from analog to digital systems over time. Better info sharing As all visualization within Barco's solution are digitized, the ability to share the contents of one display system with others (i.e. display system, projector or even desktop) becomes a simple matter of proper software and network configuration. Barco provides the tools to enable such sharing and with this enables control center to share a common operational picture or situational awareness with each other - often across agency and jurisdictional boundaries or simply along the chain of command. Therefore, simple visualization solutions to enhance ergonomics, reduce response time and lower costs of ownership, the visualization platform also allows new collaboration models to improve both the inter-agency operations to provide better quality response (i.e. right resource for right situation - an ambulance, not a police officer) and also to optimize scarce resource utilization (e.g. the single mobile ICU unit available for that county). The Welsh Assembly, UK Better response time based systems where the video sources are visualized on PC monitors. This solution, while sufficient for small operations, does not scale to larger real time users who are the primary adopters of digital technologies. The concerns here are user ergonomics impacting response time and performance as well as total cost of ownership. In the PC based solution, the small size of simultaneous viewable sources and the need to switch or enlarge the views increases user response time. With Barco's larger projector based display solution, this is no longer an issue. I17

18 control_room_magazine_def_cor.qxd :14 Pagina 18 & control Common-Operational-Picture visualization for Homeland Security and Defense Increasing speed and quality of command decisions In the Defense and Homeland Security markets Barco is regarded as the leading expert for Tactical Analysis Centers, 24/7 watch and alert centers, crisis centers and briefing rooms, Integrated Battlespace Centers, Combat Rooms and National Military Command Centers (NMCCs), Military ATC and Air Defense Battlespace Centers. Barco's systems, technology and products create decisive advantages for military, government and industrial customers' communication, information management and battlefield and/or crisis management needs. Barco s networked visualization provides the ability to visualize anything, anywhere at any time As demonstrated in traffic management as well as other areas, crossfunctional collaboration and sharing of information significantly improves the speed and quality of response to incidents, intelligence, and information resulting in better and safer utility of limited resources. One of the main challenges in achieving this is the ability to provide a Common Operational Picture (COP) and appropriate situational awareness to all users. The ideal situation is of course to develop a system that can handle any media and enable the visualization of any situation anywhere at any time. We would like to discuss two cases where networked-based visualization solutions were deployed to achieve maximum flexibility and lower costs, space and deployment time as 18I compared to traditional analog solutions. However, due to security restrictions, specific details and names of both cases have been omitted. Situational awareness across COTS display solutions The first case represents a national disaster management center (single physical location) where decisions are made at the national executive level across all service branches and jurisdictional levels in coordinating the responses to disasters both natural and man-made. In this case, a system was required to monitor the media reporting, input from various open sources (OSINT) and local monitoring systems, input from secured systems and other general informational systems. The media type was main video but also included typical classified and unclassified applications. In this scenario, the choice was made to deploy an all- digital solution. The reasons were primarily flexibility in routing, networking, and growth. The benefits of lowered cabling costs and space - although realized - were considered secondary. The system utilized Barco s networked visualization solutions to provide both the appropriate display solutions from simple boardroom projectors to flat panel displays to large display walls as well as the control software to be able to duplicate, direct any media feed to any display device (including operator PCs) and manipulate their display properties from border colors to layouts. This case represents a revolutionary step forward in managing a Common 0perational Picture as well as being able to customize visualizations for specific situational awareness requirements across different display solutions using standard COTS equipment.

19 control_room_magazine_def_cor.qxd :14 Pagina 19 Public utilities Estonian Power Grid Sharing intelligence across multiple locations The second case represents distributed locations and is more data-centric. Barco deployed a solution to enable a regional command post to be able to exchange information and also send synthesized information from field command to central command and vice versa. In this case, each command post (field and HQ) has a collection of applications that are used to generate a local COP. The desire was twofold. First, it was to be able the display of a variety of different applications simultaneously on one display solution with sufficient resolution and size. Secondly, it was to be able to, verbatim, duplicate what is shown on this display in the different locations to share the various individual command post COPs amongst all field and central commands. The display devices used in each command post here were matrix display wall solutions (display and controller) from Barco that ranged in size and resolution. Each large display wall is screen scraped with Barco s software and the images are then distributed to any other display. This solution allows efficient sharing of situational awareness across multiple disparate locations. Bandwidth usage at peak utility for this system was measured to be between 3-4Mbps only thus enabling it to be communicated over existing secure network facilities. To attempt this with traditional analog technologies would have required new dedicated networks typically proprietary in nature, required much more installation time, effort and equipment and highly specialized audio-visual expertise for service and support. OVERVIEW CDG67-DL using Barco s proprietary APOLLO software for effective content management Effectiveness and flexibility In summary, with networked visualization, the user can now gain significant flexibility in visualization. This enables operators to share operational pictures and develop shared situational awareness to ensure timely decision-making, co-ordinate appropriate responses and save time, money and space in doing so. Barco s networked visualization provides the ability to visualize anything, anywhere at any time provided one has an appropriate network Barco offers the latest large screen visualization tools for several large power grid companies. Barco s visualization solutions on large area s is a must to visualize the hundreds of points common in power grids. Because of the wide geographical span, there is no other visualization tool existing to give the operators in the control room the total overview of these grids with the needed resolution to see details of feeders and transformation. In this field, Barco won major deals like KEGOC (Kazachstan), National Grid (UK) and Estonian National Grid (Estonia). Estonia has 3.4 gigawatts (GW) of electric-generating capacity, providing the country with electricity to meet domestic demand. The majority of this generating capacity comes from Estonia's two oil-shale-fired power plants in the northeast of the country, the 1,610-MW Eesti plant and the 1,390-MW Balti plant. The two power stations, the Narva Power Plants, supply approximately 95% of Estonia's electricity. To secure their electricity quality, Estonian National grid are upgrading their EMS (Energy Management System) and to get all the benefits of this system provided in this case by General Electric, the customer is also investing in the high resolution and real-time visualization tool of Barco. Barco will install a 3x1 and a 5x2 OVERVIEW mdr+67 offering the customer to have the total Estonian grid in one dynamic overview, improving reaction time on disturbances, shortening start up times, enhancing team communications and as such diminishing the occurances of major black outs. With this project, Barco is part of the key projects to connect the new European countries to the rest of Europe and the world. I19

20 Barco has successfully completed control room projects for major broadcast players all over the world Telecinco, Kosmos TV, Dubai TV, NTL, Optus TV, Orbit, Pan Am Sat, Prime Television, Time Warner, Turner, VRT, VTM, France 2, France 3, Euskaltel, Disney Channel, Echo Star, DirecTV, TVN 24, CNN International, Canal Satéllite, Alfacam, ABC-KGO,... and is setting the standard in a number of digitization projects in terrestrial digital broadcasting, e.g. Tokyo (NTV, TBS), Osaka (MBS, KTV, TVO) and Nagoya and many more. Trade shows Experience Barco s innovative control room solutions at the following events worldwide HMI+Interkama 11-15/4/2005 Germany, Hannover NAB 18-21/4/2005 USA, Las Vegas Integrated Systems 27-29/4/2005 China, Shanghai IFSEC 16-19/5/2005 UK, Birmingham ITS Europe 1-3/6/2005 Germany, Hannover Infocomm USA 8-10/6/2005 USA, Las Vegas Broadcast Asia 14-17/6/2005 Singapore IBC 9-13/9/2005 Netherlands, Amsterdam ASIS 12-15/9/2005 USA, Orlando, FL Gitex 25-29/9/2005 UAE, Dubai AUSA 3-5/10/2005 USA, Washington DC ITS World 07-10/11/2005 USA, San Francisco Milipol 22-25/11/2005 France, Paris I/ITSEC 28-1/11/2005 USA, Orlando, FL ControlZone For more info: kirsten.vanhees@barco.com Publisher: Barco Control Rooms Noordlaan 5, 8520 Kuurne Belgium tel. +32 (0) Contributors: Kirsten Vanhees, James Durant, Alain Solomon, Joanne Grigg, Marleen Awouters, Robert Wu, Claude Desmet, Guy Van Wijmeersch Art & design: Nathalie Reynaert Photographs by courtesy of Channel 4 (UK), KUTV Channel 2 (USA), Fuji TV Network (Japan), Kylie Minogue (UK), ESPN (USA), TVN 24 (Poland), Astra (Belgium), Actis (UK), VTM (Belgium), Imagica (Japan), Dubai TV (UAE), The Hospital (UK), VTM (Belgium), NCP (UK), The Welsh Assembly (UK) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher. April 2005 by Barco Ref. no. R