News about and from Abekas
05 Aug 2008
AirCleaner® Profanity Delay performing at Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games
Regional Chinese broadcasters rely on solid performance of AirCleaner profanity delay system to ensure confidence during live broadcasts
MENLO PARK, California — August 5, 2008 — Abekas has delivered a total of twenty-four AirCleaner® HD/SD digital video/audio profanity delay systems to China for use by a variety of regional Chinese broadcasters, including Hebei-TV, Jiangsu-TV, Heilongjiang TV, Anshan TV, Guizhou TV and Jinan TV. These regional broadcasting companies have deployed one or more AirCleaners in their production studios and master control rooms for use during live broadcast of the 2008 Summer Games. AirCleaner has two HD/SD SDI inputs and outputs with eight channels of digital audio on each; this can be AES or embedded. AirCleaner uses solid-state RAM for delay memory and comes in two models. Model-1 offers maximum delay time of 68 seconds in SD and 12 seconds in HD. Model-2 offers 34 seconds in SD and 6 seconds in HD. For video, the operator has the choice of an auxiliary safe source, internally generated matte, or the use of a built-in effects engine which allows for the creation of a defocused image to cover up a visual obscenity. For audio, the operator has the choice of an auxiliary input, Audio Jumble, or mute to mask an audio breach. Audio and video delay can be adjusted independently, allowing audio/video sync errors to be corrected. Abekas, Incorporated (www.abekas.com) is a privately-held company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Abekas designs, manufactures, sells, and supports a complete line of digital video/audio delay devices, disk recorders, digital special effects and editing tools for use in the worldwide professional television marketplace — encompassing the production, post production, broadcasting and computer video markets.
“AirCleaner has very flexible operations, contains powerful and unique masking features, and has the highest video and audio quality.” was the response from Mr. Gu Jianguo, the Technical Center Director at Jiangsu TV; when asked about his reasons for selecting AirCleaner as their profanity delay system of choice. Jiangsu TV has deployed a total of sixteen AirCleaner profanity delay systems, installing four in live studios and twelve in master control rooms.
At the push of a button, AirCleaner eliminates offensive visual content with a gradual real-time defocus operation using a built-in visual effects engine. A separate button masks audio profanities by “jumbling” the audio—seamlessly changing a person’s spoken words into what appears to be an unintelligible foreign language which no one understands. Both masking operations are much less jarring for the television audience when compared with competing delay systems which can only abruptly change to a “safe” visual, and which blurt a harsh “beep tone” when concealing offensive spoken content.
Mr. Liu Lixin, Assistant Director of the Technical Department at Guizhou TV, remarked: “AirCleaner provides extra safety during live broadcasts, and it’s very reliable and simple to operate.” when asked for his reasons for purchasing four of the AirCleaner profanity delay systems. Guizhou TV employ these AirCleaner systems in four separate master control rooms.
AirCleaner is unique in that it can be configured as a single- or dual-user system. In dual-user mode, the machine is configured as two delays connected in series, and is operated by two people—each with their own masking control panel. This is a very valuable feature—it’s like having two separate delay units when a broadcaster needs extra protection during high-profile live broadcasts.
AirCleaner profanity delay systems are in use around the globe, deployed in a variety of live broadcasting environments with the primary purpose of concealing offensive visuals and spoken content which may unexpectedly arise during a live televised event.
About the Product
One of AirCleaner’s unique features allows it to be configured as a single delay line being used by one operator or as two discreet delay lines connected in series and controlled by two operators. Another advanced feature of the AirCleaner is that the operators can also program their aural and visual reaction times for added security. When the operator hears or sees a profanity and pushes the button to conceal it, the “reaction time” backs up the point of concealment by the reaction time, making sure nothing unwanted gets on the air.
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