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HomeGearCyanView Makes Remote Camera Control to Simplify Production

CyanView Makes Remote Camera Control to Simplify Production

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Stephane Ducobu and David Bourgeois
Stephane Ducobu and David Bourgeois

In an attempt to serve broadcast vision engineers frustrated by the possible difficulty and inefficiency of trying to get optimum images from mini-cameras, especially in live broadcast, comes CyanView–a new company created specifically to make their work easier. The company has developed a range of tools designed to give vision engineers as much shading control over remote, often mobile, cameras.

“I have always been fascinated by the precision of the work of vision engineers,” said David Bourgeois, founder and CEO of CyanView. “They pay a lot of attention to all the details that make a picture look good.”

“Our system provides a universal and cost-effective solution that will enable productions to easily use any specialty camera they want, without worrying whether it’s feasible or not,” he continued. “We can enable vision engineers to quickly, easily and intuitively deliver images that they can be proud of by totally transforming what’s possible in terms of image quality from any mini-camera.”

At the heart of CyanView’s IP-based Cy-Stem product range is the Cy-RCP, a universal remote control panel reportedly compatible with any camera, that enables the control of multiple cameras. It is ideal for remote production and features physical buttons, rather than a web interface. 

“With today’s mini-cameras, vision engineers experience nothing but frustration,” said Bourgeois. “The cameras are usually far from the quality of typical broadcast cameras–but you still want to get the most out of these mini-cameras, with full control of the image parameters. Most of the time, however, instead of a full-featured RCP, you simply have no control of the camera at all–so you end up using post-processing equipment to correct what was wrong in the first place.”

“Then the next frustration kicks in,” went on Bourgeois, “when you discover that most video processors haven’t been designed to be camera CCUs, but generic colour correctors at most. You still have no RCP, and the settings available through the web interface are not behaving the way a camera does. And, while a vision engineer will usually shade no more than four cameras, the need to engage audiences and the falling price of mini-cameras means that often ten or more are being deployed–and they all need to be controlled.”

“But that’s not all,” said Bourgeois. “When the vision engineers join the crew before the event starts, they might notice that the focus isn’t perfect or the framing has to be altered. That becomes the start of a half hour of semi-blind adjustments, where the vision engineer tries to guide someone over a talkie to adjust the iris and focus and correct the framing. The end result is often an image that the vision engineer is dissatisfied with, and much wasted time.” 

“CyanView’s Cy-Stem family eliminates all those inefficiencies and frustrations,” concluded Bourgeois, “leading to happier vision engineers and better productions.”

The Cy-RCP is supported by the Cy-CI0 which from a simple RJ45 connection enables control of cameras, lenses and other accessories via RS232, RS422,  RS485 and LANC serial protocols. Power is provided via PoE+.

The Cy-GWY gateway features the open Ember+ control protocol, and provides an interface to a VSM (Virtual Studio Manager) and the Lawo V-pro8 video processor. WAN capability enables remote production, update and support.

The Cy-VP4 video processor supports four 3G HD (50/60) cameras or a single 4K (25/50/60) camera, together with SDI in/out and HDMI out for monitoring.  The implementation of 3D LUTs (look-up tables) enables multi-matrix colour correction.

CyanView’s product range has reportedly undergone extensive pre-launch testing in real world scenarios. In April, it supported the production of the Ninja Warrior TV game show. The range was also extensively involved in the most recent series of French TV game show Fort Boyard, where 22 CyanView-supported minicams were key to the success of the program. The Cy-RCP was integrated with AMP VISUAL TV’s HF system to control all the onboard cameras at the Le Mans 24h motor race.

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