Leader Europe will demonstrate its LV5490 4K waveform monitor and high-dynamic-range suite of production and test tools at the upcoming HPA Tech Retreat. The exhibit will form a key element of the Innovation Zone.
The event makes its UK debut at the Heythrop Park Resort in Enstone, Oxfordshire, July 13-14. It is organized by the Hollywood Professional Association which is based in Los Angeles.
The Heythrop auditorium is being transformed with a 26-foot RealD Ultimate Screen, Sony high brightness dual 3D projection, Dolby Atmos sound, JBL loudspeakers plus amplification from Harmon Kardon and Bell Theatre Services.
Highlights will include behind-the-scenes and knowledge dives into The Jungle Book, Finding Dory, Game of Thrones, Ex Machina and Billy Lynne’s Long Halftime Walk. In the Innovation Zone, leading companies will unveil technologies in a curated environment.
Leader was the first manufacturer to bring a 4K waveform monitor to the market, introducing the LV5490 at NAB at NAB 2013 where it promptly won two industry awards. Ongoing developments including a range of new options have secured the the LV5490’s position as the logical choice for any broadcaster, production studio, outside broadcast company or post house now working in 4K or planning to do so. With the LV5480 variant, customers can start with an HD/SD/sub-SD model, adding 4K and HDR capability when they choose.
The LV5490 supports the full range of standard video production and transmission resolutions from 525 and 625 standard definition up to 3840 x 2160 and 4096 x 2160 4K ultra-high definition. It incorporates a 1920 x 1080 9 inch LCD monitor with a wide viewing angle and high quality colorimetry. This allows simultaneous analysis of up to four video channels. The instrument’s 4K capability is particularly useful to people working with latest generation cameras, whether for digital cinematography or high-end broadcast applications.
Equipped with eight input connectors, the LV5490 accepts up to two 4K signals. In the 4K video format mode, 3G-SDI dual link or quad link is supported. Up to four 3G-SDI dual link 4K video inputs or up to two 3G-SDI quad link 4K video inputs can be selected for display, or two sets of HD-SDI dual link signals. In the SDI mode, up to four signals can be displayed simultaneously. The LV5490 is also equipped to handle video signals via two-sample interleave as well as square division. Two-sample interleave is the approved standard for 4K.
The LV5490 can be operated in a very wide selection of test and measurement roles. These include waveform, vector, picture monitoring, SDI signal status (which looks for cyclic-redundancy-check errors and embedded-audio errors), an event log, data dump and four-channel timing display. Waveform, vector and picture can be viewed simultaneously on the LV5490 screen. Simultaneous display and overlay display of multiple SDI inputs is possible. Size and location of individual channel displays can be adjusted using a USB mouse. The LV5490 can also be controlled remotely using standard KVM tools.
The integral Leader CINELITE feature allows the user to measure the luminance levels at different points in a scene (up to 3 points). CINEZONE uses chroma substitution to indicate luminance levels in a scene and is particularly suited to green screen chroma-key virtual-set alignment.
In addition to its video test and measurement capabilities, the Leader LV5490 incorporates a versatile selection of audio monitoring and analysis tools, which are available with the Digital Audio option. These include 4 x 4 channels of SDI audio de-embedding, lissajous display, surround-sound display and volumetric display. Up to 16 channels of de-embedded SDI audio can be displayed on screen and output as discrete AES3 feeds.
Additional features of the LV5490 include video frame capture, instrumentation screen capture, timecode display, ID display and a 4K pattern generator with embedded audio.
Eye pattern, including jitter waveform display and Dolby decoding, can be ordered as optional facilities along with a CIE 1931/1976 chroma space chart which can display BT.709, DCI (P2) plus BT.2020 (the 4K standard’s full ITU recommended chroma space).
LV5490 operators can adjust the size of up to four displays on the screen to suit specific tasks. This allows easy magnification and inspection of detail on the instrument’s 9 inch 1920 x 1080 LCD screen instead of being limited to fixed size quadrants. The LV5490 also comes with a 1920 x 1080 HD DVI-D and HD-SDI rasterized output for display on a larger monitor.
Fully portable, the LV5490 has a footprint of just 8.77 inches wide by 14.7 inches deep and a height of 7.44 inches (223 x 360 x 189 mm). The instrument weighs only 10.4 pounds (4.72 kg). A rack mounting adapter is available.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More