Today's media landscape is characterized by a rapidly expanding volume of content; new opportunities and accompanying demand for wider distribution and syndication, which bring with them the need for easier and more efficient mechanisms to deliver media between content providers, contributors, aggregators, affiliates, and distribution partners.

TV graphics and channel branding has become fundamental as broadcasters strive to enhance their on-air look, differentiate their brand, and ultimately attract more viewers and strengthen ROI. As there is a growing need for display of more and more information quickly, character generators (CGs) are taking a prominent role in today's TV production. Be it broadcast areas of live sports or news presentations, the requirement for broadcast graphics has increased, which has paved the way for modern CGs, that can generate high-resolution, animated graphics on the go.

Today's media landscape is characterized by a rapidly expanding volume of content; new opportunities and accompanying demand for wider distribution and syndication, which bring the need for easier and more efficient mechanisms to deliver media between content providers, contributors, aggregators, affiliates, and distribution partners. Television graphics have come a long way since the closing titles were created using a caption roller in front of a camera. Lower thirds were just a black-and-white card placed on a stand in front of a camera. The black-and-white characters could be filled with a color matte on the production switcher, and an edge might be added to improve visibility.

While traditional CGs were based on flat 2D graphics, CGs, today offer a richer 3D display that can support the playback of video clips, integrate live video sources, and be able to embed audio. Whether one is doing the news, the weather or have on-screen messages to share, CGs are just what one needs to bring his message. The television CGs come in many varieties.

Hardware Character Generators

Hardware CGs are used in TV studios and video-editing suites. Desktop publishing like interface can be used to generate static and moving texts or graphics that the device then encodes into high-quality video signals, such as digital SDI or analog component video, high definition or even RGB video. In addition, they also provide a key signal that the compositing vision mixer can use in an alpha channel to determine which areas of the CG videos are translucent.

Software Character Generators

Software CGs run on standard off-the-shelf hardware, and are often integrated into video editing software such as nonlinear video editing applications. Some stand-alone products are available. However, for applications that do not even attempt to offer text generation on their own, as high-end video editing software often does, or whose internal CG effects are not flexible and powerful enough. Some software CGs can be used in live production with special software and computer video interface cards. In this case, they are equivalent to hardware generators.

Powerful 3D Graphics

The world of television graphics has been transformed with 3D creations, virtual sets, and data-driven templates. Today, there are two main families of graphics products - one stems from the CG and the other from computer graphics and developments like the virtual studio. The CG has evolved as processing power increases year-on-year. The original products used custom hardware to create effects in real time.

Last year, much of the attention of broadcasters was to find ways to improve the efficiency of their operation and to take cost out of the business. With graphics creation being a craft, and inherently labor-intensive, it presents a specific area of interest.

3D models, along with their geometry, lighting, textures, and animations, are created in modeling software, including Maya, 3DSMax, and Cinema 4D, and are imported into the system. In a similar manner, Photoshop files are imported on a layer basis so that each Photoshop layer automatically becomes a layer in the CG solution.

Before looking more closely at how 3D TV channel-branding graphics can be played out and controlled using modules, it is worth reviewing the core functionality of the latest generation of high-performance graphics modules. A single-card channel-branding processor can now insert multiple layers of 3GB/HD/SD graphics, including animations, stills, and automated character generation. It can also offer temperature insertion, video/audio mixing, and multichannel audio playout for automated voice-overs and stings. This shift to a card-based format can reduce space and power requirements considerably, sometimes by as much as 70 percent, and it also contributes to significant cost efficiencies. Importantly, these benefits are achieved without affecting essential manual control and system integration capabilities, which must be just as effective as those of stand-alone graphics devices.

Stereoscopic 3D graphics, with attention-grabbing or subtle perspective effects, can be inserted with a single processor card, using a combination of internally stored graphics and external graphics sources. Some of the leading broadcasters are preparing for stereoscopic broadcasting, so 3D graphic applications must be enhanced to support the new format. It is evident that card-based channel-branding processors have come a long way, and they are now serious contenders for most types of channel branding, including the latest developments in 3DTV graphics. Right now, 3DTV branding is in its formative stage, and many of the associated workflows and control processes are still evolving.

SaaS or graphics in the cloud

Broadcast news operations have long relied on news agencies to supply the video and text for breaking news. A recent service offers graphics as a service. By operating the graphics as a hosted service, groups can easily share graphics and resources across all stations in the group. The service can be accessed from anywhere via a Web browser, so a reporter can access the system from the field.

Just as news journalists are now expected to cut their own stories, a majority of graphics can be placed in a prepared template by journalists. Journalists can build charts without recourse to an artist. In the event where more complex graphics are needed, the application can be used to order graphics and even to track the progress, which is essential in a fast-moving news scenario.

Graphics or SaaS gives small and midsized broadcasters access to the same level of resources as a network, but at a fraction of the cost. Just as image libraries or news agencies give broadcasters access to stories they cannot justify sending a crew to cover, the service provides high-quality graphics to enhance a story.

As broadcasters move to multiplatform delivery, the demand for graphics will only increase. Web sites, video on demand, and mobile TV all call for more graphics in more formats. As directors demand more 3D effects, and broadcasters migrate to stereoscopic coverage, the demands on the platforms will only increase.

Although artists are always at the heart of graphics creation, broadcasters must always look for smarter ways to leverage their special skills to enhance programming and to promote their brand. The combination of real-time 3D platforms and data-driven templates has transformed what can be achieved, all without breaking broadcasters' budgets.

This article is based on research conducted by Broadcast & Cablesat in November, 2011