As SD phases out and HD becomes a commodity, more and more 4K channels emerging and 8K broadcasts already starting in Japan. Will the race ever end for broadcasters, and are any technology investments future-proof?

Montreal-based production and rental house Video MTL and its Toronto location, Dazmo Camera, are the first to put the new FUJINON UA107x8.4 (UA107x) lens into rental rotation in North America. Just introduced at NAB last April, the UA107x is the longest and widest 4K lens ever created for Ultra HD (UHD) broadcast applications. While Video MTL and Dazmo own several Cabrio PL lenses, their purchase of two 107x’s and one UA22x8 portable zoom is the company’s first optics selection for next-generation 2/3-inch UHD cameras.

Montreal-based entertainment company Cirque du Soleil, which currently has more than 15 major shows running worldwide, recently opened its first musical theater production on Broadway, at the Lyric Theater. Paramour, a story set during the Golden Age of Hollywood about a woman who must choose between love and art, features a cast of over three dozen acrobats, musicians and singing actors that are exclusively equipped with Lectrosonics’ SSM Digital Hybrid Wireless micro belt pack transmitters.

RTS equipped six IMSP (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Productions) trucks, two NEP (North Eastern Production) vehicles, and several smaller video and RF hub trucks in the communications compound to live broadcast the recent 100th Indy 500. All race-day communications relating to the actual production (camera cues, commercial breaks, specific camera shots, commentator comments) were supported on an RTS ADAM intercom.

The Department of Media Arts of the University of North Texas’ College of Arts and Sciences recently purchased 30 Panasonic AG-DVX200 4K large-sensor 4/3” handheld camcorders that will be used in classes including narrative, news, documentary and entertainment acquisition techniques, as well as for news production at the university’s cable television station. The Department also bought a VariCam LT 4K cinema camcorder for advanced narrative film classes.

TVU Networks has announced a new service that it says will transmit live video at a minimum speed of 2Mbps over cellular networks from anywhere as long as there is a cell connection. This service, TVU Cellular Assurance Network (CAN), is integrated with TVU’s Inverse StatMux Plus (IS+) algorithm and requires no additional hardware.

The IP Live Studio in Sony’s Digital Motion Picture Centre Europe is getting a little help from Leader, as the test and measurement technology provider announced it supplied its LV5490 4k/HD/SD waveform monitor to assist with IP-based live productions.

Cine Gear announces the recipients of the 2016 New Technologies Awards as judged by a team of impartial experts at the 2016 Expo event. The esteemed panel reviewed and evaluated nearly 100 entries to determine this year’s honorees.

Sound Devices, LLC, announces that Firmware Version 3.10 for its 6-Series line of mixer/recorders (688, 664, and 633) now offer wireless remote transport control, metadata editing and other enhanced workflow functionality via mobile devices with touchscreen interfaces. With this new release, made possible through partnerships with Timecode Systems and PureBlend Software, as well as Ambient® Recording and Lockit Network GmbH, users now have the ability to display and manage metadata for takes recorded on 6-Series mixers.

ATEME has confirmed that TF1 and M6, private national French television stations, selected ATEME to encode in 4K-UHD HEVC (H.265) eight of the football matches of a major European tournament. ATEME provided a complete video headend, which includes its encoder TITAN Live 4K, as well as all necessary resources that are required for a high-quality and fully secured service. The 4K-encoded matches will be available for Orange fibre customers via the New Livebox on any compatible TV.