AutoAspect
Broadcast Pix, who redefined the production switcher to include graphics, clips and monitoring, now becomes the first switcher to include aspect ratio management as standard equipment. New AutoAspect lets 16:9 and 4:3 inputs, clips and graphics be used interchangeably and mixed together in the same production, while maintaining the aspect ratio of each, and can be extended to simultaneously output both sizes.
The Aspect Ratio Challenge
Widescreen productions and video content are becoming more and more
common. TV stations are moving toward widescreen production. Widescreen
DVDs are very common, as are widescreen projectors. Yet conventional
switchers do not have a good way of dealing with widescreen. When
widescreen and traditional (4:3) sources are used together in the same
production, the conventional switcher can only do this by treating the
sources anamorphically. Anamorphic means that images are stretched to
fill up the screen when crossing formats. For example, when producing a
widescreen (16:9) show, a source from a traditional 4:3 camera is
stretched, and the person on that camera winds up looking too fat, as
sown on the left below. And when producing a traditional 4:3 show, any
widescreen cameras will be squeezed resulting in the people looking to
thin, as as shown on the right below:
AutoAspect InputsAutoAspect addresses the many challenges of
dealing with wide-screen production and content. It enables traditional
(4:3) and widescreen (16:9) cameras, clips and graphics to be used in
the same production, while preserving the aspect ratio of each.
Each input on the Slate switcher can be set for one of four AutoAspect
treatments: box, crop, 14:9 or anamorphic (stretched), as shown below.
AutoAspect’s box, crop and 14:9 settings all maintain the original
aspect ratio of the camera. The box setting adds bars in any color
selected. Crop expands the image until the bars are gone, and crops off
the extra video. 14:9 is a great in-between setting, with two thin
bars, and just a little cropping. When a wide screen production is done
right after a full screen one, AutoAspect automatically sets the right
sources now pass through untreated, and treats the others. No other
production switcher includes any aspect ratio management as standard
equipment, and only a few offer some of the features as an expensive
option.
AutoAspect also works on clips and animations within Slate’s built-in,
four-hour uncompressed digital clip store, as well as the graphics in
Slate’s five stores of titles, stills and logos. Each clip or graphic
can be individually set to one of the four aspect settings, enabling
4:3 and 16:9 clips to be used interchangeably in all productions. There
is no need for separate stores for each aspect ratio. AutoAspect also
manages each DVE box, so clips and graphics can be dropped into a
picture-in-picture box without worrying about their aspect ratio. A
clip or graphic’s aspect setting can even be instantly changed on the
fly in the middle of a show.
The clip stores are tightly coupled to the switcher so it's easy for a single operator to add lead-ins, bumpers, or any clips. Any clip or animation can be set to automatically start playing at the instant it is taken to air. No more careful cueing. No need for a second operator to insure your clips start when they are supposed to. Just press the Controls button on the clip PixPad and the clip modifiers appears. Then select Auto-Start. Also, set it to auto-stop when it comes off air, auto rewind, mark-in, mark-out, loop or aspect ratio.
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One person can do the work of three people, serving as the technical director, graphics, and video operators – and one system provides a great array of HD resources. Without Slate, our multi-screen Webcasts wouldn’t be as flexible or creative.