Video Europe, one of Europe’s largest and most active equipment and resource hire
companies, has chosen Leader’s LV5490 4K/HDR multiscreen waveform monitor as
the reference test instrument for its latest outside broadcast and live event production
truck. The LV5490 was supplied by Leader European distribution partner Thameside
TV.
Designed and equipped by Leeds-based system integrator WTS, the new vehicle is the
first in Video Europe’s fleet to feature both 3G-SDI and 12G-SDI infrastructure.
“The truck is specified to cater for two quite distinct markets,” says Video Europe
engineer Richard La Motte. “It is equipped with 3G-SDI capabilities for use with Sony
cameras in a traditional live broadcast mode. 12G-SDI connectivity is also included to
interface with Arri cameras for cinematic projects. We were impressed by the Leader
LV5490 as it provides all the test and measurement tools required for both modes.
Operational and production staff appreciate the straightforward and easy to
understand graphical displays, especially the real-time CIE colour chart and real-time
false colour HDR display. We have the LV5490 installed in a vision engineering position
on the truck. The HD-SDI output is connected to the router so it can be displayed on
any HD-SDI monitor in the vehicle. With our current configuration, the external feed
from the LV5490 is simultaneously displayed in the gallery where the producer and
director can view the overall production.
“Our investment in 12G-SDI product development is now starting to materialise into
real projects, comments Leader’s European Regional Development Manager, Kevin
Salvidge. “Many broadcast channel owners are content to sit back and wait for IP
standards to be finalised but production service providers have to meet the demands
of forward-looking programme-makers. The combination of IP and 12G-SDI provides
the ideal platform for 4K/UHD and HDR production. The LV5490 enables Richard and
his team to operate with full confidence in both 3G-SDI and 12G-SDI.”
“The ability to handle 12G and 3G-SDI simultaneously makes the Leader LV5490 a
very powerful piece of test and measurement equipment,” adds Thameside TV’s
Regional Sales Director Chris Margrave-Gregory. “The LV5490’s compact footprint,
integrated display and ability to drive a large external monitor also makes it ideal for
OB applications.”
Leader’s LV5490 offers 4K, UHD, 3G, HD and SD test and measurement features in a
half-rack-width by 4U portable unit with a full high-definition 9 inch front-panel
monitor. It provides all the facilities required to implement the full potential of high
dynamic range in both HD and UHD.
Signal displays such as video waveform, chroma levels, colour vectors, bar-graphs,
noise, video patterns, quad-3G phase, data tables, camera picture output, colour
chart, multichannel audio levels and surround-sound vectors can be freely integrated
into a combined display. If a specific displayed element requires detailed attention,
this can be selected quickly for viewing at higher resolution or full-screen.
The Leader CINELITE HDR toolset also comes as a standard feature, allowing easy
assessment of relative exposure and overall luminance during production. A focus-
assist option allows highly accurate on-set adjustment of camera focus to match the
ability of 4K and UHD formats to handle very precise image detail.
Supplementing its front-panel display, the LV5490 provides 1920 x 1080 HD DVI and
HD-SDI feeds for connection to external monitors. Simultaneous viewing of up to four
3 gigabit/s SDI inputs is possible, including overlays. The size and location of
individual channels can be adjusted on the display using a USB pointer so the user is
not limited to fixed-size quadrants. Operators can select the size and position of the
measuring area as well as the Y/G/B/R component channel. An alarm can be set to
alert operators if the noise level exceeds a predefined threshold. An integral low-pass
filter allows elements of the high frequency band to be removed at the time of noise
measurement.
