Mergers and acquisitions, kit launches and trials of cutting-edge technology make up this year’s list.
The past 12 months were peppered with mergers as the broadcast equipment sector went deal crazy. Two of the larger acquisitions are included on our list of most-read stories, while articles about the continuing move away from tape to end-to-end, file-based workflows also feature.
New kit from the likes of Sony, Arri, Avid and Quantel piqued readers’ interest, but it was a UK broadcaster’s trials with high resolution formats at a certain South America football tournament that topped our list of most-read stories. Scroll down to find out more.
20) Ofcom approves handover of 700MHz band to mobile firms (November)
Ofcom approved European Commission proposals to hand over valuable frequency used by broadcasters to mobile operators.
19) Avid releases Media Composer price plans (May)
Avid revealed new payment options for its Media Composer suite of tools including subscription licenses from £39 per month.
18) ITN appoints new chief technology officer (February)
After 34 years with the news organisation director of technology Keith Cass retired, with Bevan Gibson announced as his replacement.
17) Belden to acquire Grass Valley (February)
Belden’s acquisition of Grass Valley in a deal worth $220m was one of a raft of deals that dominated the technology sector in 2014.
16) Quantel acquires Snell (March)
A UK broadcast tech giant was formed when Quantel was combined with Snell, leading to the creation of a company with revenues of £100m.
15) BBC to drop single supplier model and invite tech bids (February)
The BBC moved away from a single supplier for its in-house technology as Atos’s 10-year, £2bn technology framework deal came to an end.
14) Quantel takes on EVS in live replay market (July)
Broadcast revealed Quantel’s plan to launch a live studio highlights system that would see the Newbury-based firm square up to live replay specialists EVS.
13) Avid faces Nasdaq delisting (January)
Avid was hit with the threat of being delisted from the Nasdaq after it warned that is was unlikely to meet a deadline set by the stock exchange for the restating of its financial statements. After being struck off the bourse in March it was reinstated in December.
12) DPP compliant file delivery firms revealed (September)
The first group of companies to have developed file delivery tools that had passed the Digital Production Partnership’s Compliance Programme were announced at IBC in Amsterdam.
11) Sony launches 4K PXW-FS7 (September)
Amsterdam was the setting for Sony’s launch of the PXW-FS7, the first 4K XDCam camera to feature a Super35 CMOS sensor.
10) World Cup to deliver extra content for second screen (April)
Broadcasters airing the World Cup were given access to an extra 1,500 hours of content about the football tournament, all of which was for the first time available for delivery to second-screen devices.
9) Blackmagic releases free Fusion VFX software (November)
When Blackmagic Design announced its acquisition of Eyeon at IBC speculation was rife that it would overhaul the pricing structure of the firm’s Fusion software. Two months later, Blackmagic duly obliged with a free version of the compositing, VFX and motion graphics toolset.
8) BBC debuts virtual reality setup for election coverage (May)
The BBC debuted a new virtual reality tracking system for its coverage of the local and European elections, in preparation for next year’s General Election.
7) London Live to use Nikon DSLRs (March)
London Live’s decision to use Nikon DSLRs for newsgathering and in its studios raised a few eyebrows, but the manufacturer said it would give the local TV station, which launched at the end of March, “a full-frame 35mm cinematic effect”.
6) BBC launches file delivery push (July)
The BBC kick-started its latest attempt to build an entirely file-based delivery and archive system just over a year after its Digital Media Initiative (DMI) was scrapped.
5) Arri unveils Amira price and spec (January)
Arri announced pricing details for eagerly-anticipated its documentary-style camera the Amira.
4) Sony launches PXW-X160 camcorder (June)
Sony launched the PXW-X160, the latest addition to the manufacturer’s XDCam range of camcorders.
3) BBC appoints new chief technology officer (July)
The BBC appointed R&D controller Matthew Postgate to the role of chief technology officer following his predecessor’s DMI-related departure.
2) Sony pulls plug on ½-inch VTRs and camcorders (November)
Around the same time that ITV and Channel 4 switched to file-based delivery, Sony called time on tape with the announcement that
it is to stop selling its range of ½-inch tape machines and camcorders in 2016.
1) BBC to trial 4K OB at World Cup (June)
The BBC announced plans to broadcast the World Cup final and two other matches in Ultra HD (4K) to several closed environments as part of its on-going experiments with the high-resolution format.
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