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How Well Does High VHF Work for DTV?
by Doug Lung, 4.09.2008
This month I’ll tackle a topic I’ve been thinking about for some time—what will happen on Feb. 18, 2009, when viewers used to receiving their favorite DTV station on UHF with its 1,000 kW ERP find it’s changed to a VHF channel at much lower power?
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Running SPLAT On Windows
by Doug Lung, 2.06.2008
Until recently, the only way TV engineers could obtain an accurate terrain-sensitive plot of a station’s coverage was to buy an expensive program or pay a consultant to create the map. Using the open source SPLAT program, any engineer willing to spend a little extra effort collecting accurate data can create coverage maps that are much more accurate.
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Free and Not-So-Free Maps, Part 1
by Doug Lung, 11.07.2007
Accurate elevation maps are essential when calculating microwave paths over rugged terrain or the impact of mountains, hills and even buildings when predicting TV coverage.
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Panasonic AG-HVX200 P2 HD Camcorder
by Geoff Poister, 4.24.2006
Panasonic stirred up the waters at last year's NAB by releasing the AG-HVX200, a revolutionary, handheld HD camcorder that records on P2 memory cards. It is important to look at this camera now because it's bound to create a ripple effect of innovative offerings at NAB2006.
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Canon XL H1 HDV Camcorder
by Carl Mrozek, 4.18.2006
For the past two years, the word on the street was that Canon, a founding member of the HDV consortium, had an HDV pro camcorder in the works. Two NABs came and went with no sign.
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Adobe Anchors Newsroom at KLRT
by Allen Finne, 3.28.2005
The big in newsrooms is that technology is revolutionizing how television professionals prepare local news.
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Discreet Streamlines the Creative Group
by Joe Castellano, 11.24.2004
Creative Group is a full-service editorial/design facility that also houses three surround sound mixing rooms. We specialize in graphic design and editorial for on-air promotions, title treatments, commercial and in-house productions and our primary clients are networks, cable companies and advertising agencies.
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Media 100 Works in Real Time for Ozarks Public TV
by Steve Wynn, 11.24.2004
Ozarks Public Television (OPT) provides PBS programming and instructional television services to 559,000 households in Southwest Missouri and the adjoining three-state area, broadcasting about 168 hours of programming per week. KOZK's studios and offices are housed on the Southwest Missouri State University (SMSU) campus in Springfield, and transmissions also originate from our satellite station, KOZJ-TV in Joplin.
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State of the Edit Report: What’s Ahead for 2008
by Jay Ankeney, 4.14.2008
The second annual State of the Edit Report asked edit system manufacturers who are exhibiting at NAB to comment on where editing is today, and where post production is headed in general.
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What Editors Want in 2008
by Jay Ankeney, 2.20.2008
Every year our annual Editor Roundup asks digicutters in various facets of our craft where they would like post-production technology to go and what would make their editing life more creative. As usual, this year’s harvest reaped a bountiful crop.
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Post-Production Codecs
by Jay Ankeney, 12.05.2007
One of the greatest gifts editors received during the year past is a second compression codec designed specifically for post production. By bringing out ProRes 422 as part of its Final Cut Studio 2 software suite, Apple has presented us with their own ability to squeeze uncompressed HD down to SD file sizes, three years after Avid introduced DNxHD in 2004.
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PSIP, V-Chip and Other Acronyms
by Jerry Whitaker, 11.07.2007
Since the first version of the PSIP standard was published in 1997, compliance reflected good engineering practice on the part of television stations, since the standard offers benefits for both viewers and broadcasters. PSIP is, in fact, critical to proper operation of the DTV system.
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Work Begins on Mobile-Handheld DTV Standard
by Jerry Whitaker, 7.11.2007
Designated ATSC-M/H, the standard will be backward-compatible, allowing existing DTV services to operate in the same RF channel, without adverse impact on existing receiving equipment.
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Strategic Plan to Guide Future Work on DTV
by Jerry Whitaker, 5.02.2007
The ATSC has developed a comprehensive plan for future work of the organization, reflecting the evolution of technology over the next two to five years.
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Producing Audio With A Center Channel
by Dave Moulton, 3.26.2008
This month I’d like to spend a little more time discussing the center channel, concentrating on some of the production issues we have to deal with.
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Good News, or Things Do Occasionally Get Better!
by Dave Moulton, 1.09.2008
I thought that this would be a good time to share with you what I found when I used my new facilities to do a follow-up assessment of broadcast quality related to a column I wrote in the May 2, 2007, issue of TV Technology.
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Auction Opens Mobile Broadband Horizons
4.14.2008
Will Workman is a former editor of telco industry publications Cable World and MediaView. He is now working on his PhD in mass communications. He can be reached care of TV Technology.
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Comcast Caught in a Free-Speech Firestorm
by Will Workman, 11.21.2007
It employs technology that detects when you’ve been using the phone a ton. Then, masquerading as your phone, it sends a busy signal to those calling you. You wouldn’t like that very much, would you?
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Colorful Language for Video Editors
by Walter Schoenknecht, 3.26.2008
The last several years have seen a revolution in color-correction techniques, one in which the electron team—us video folks—have merged paths with the photon team—the film guys.
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There’s No Place Like (A) Home
by Walter Schoenknecht, 12.05.2007
Control freaks! From top to bottom—from the feather-brained writer to the sociopathic engineer—the entire production team is a collection of control freaks, terrified of leaving the rarified air of the studio, office, or maintenance shop for parts unknown.
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Up for Adoption
by Walter Schoenknecht, 9.05.2007
I can’t believe how shocked I was when I watched that episode of “The Sopranos.”
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A New Year's Resolution
by Andy Ciddor, 1.09.2008
My New Year's resolution is to stand up to the bullies who insist that television is just a cheap inferior-quality way of making film.
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1 + 1 + 1 Doesn’t Always Equal Zero
by Andy Ciddor, 11.07.2007
After struggling with the more complex mathematical aspects of the topic, I finally came to appreciate the beauty and simplicity of three phase wye-connected power distribution.
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The High Performance Serial Bus Architecture
by Karl Paulsen, 4.09.2008
The emphasis on high-definition production, distribution and play-out is presenting another set of evolutionary challenges to the video server marketplace.
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Basics of the Fibre Channel Standard
by Karl Paulsen, 12.05.2007
The standard of choice for many of the high-performance video media storage platforms is the Fibre Channel (FC), which is more than just switching or a type disk drive interface. FC is a vast set of applications with a depth not unlike those of SCSI, SATA (serial ATA), and other storage device and network technologies.
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Rearranged Screens—Big Deals and Small Gleams
by Gary Arlen, 1.23.2008
The U.S. retail market is already heavily skewed toward LCDs, which represented about 77 percent of flat-panel TV set sales (by units) during 2007, versus about 23 percent for plasma monitors. That skew in part reflects the lower prices (and smaller sizes) of LCD displays.
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‘Second Life’ Or ‘Get a Life’?
by Gary Arlen, 11.21.2007
Is it the kiss of death when primetime shows deal with avant-garde themes? Does network TV validation have the same effect on cutting edge concepts as the Sports Illustrated cover “curse” puts on teams and athletes—a prelude to failure?
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Demystifying AES3 Digital Audio
by Mary C. Gruszka, 2.20.2008
We casually speak of digital audio, often referring to it as AES audio, perhaps AES3 (for the number of the AES standard), or by an older term AES/EBU. But what exactly is this AES3 signal?
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The Sound of Love in ‘One Six Right’
Part 2
by Mary C. Gruszka, 12.19.2007
“You can make a love story about anything, and in this case it’s a long piece of pavement in the middle of the San Fernando Valley in southern California that has the name ‘One Six Right.’ And for me the way to do that was to take the viewer flying.”
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Sound Design for ‘One Six Right’ Part 1
by Mary C. Gruszka, 11.21.2007
While Audio by Design usually examines issues relating to audio systems design and engineering, this month we’re going to look at another aspect of design—sound design—for the high-definition documentary feature “One Six Right,” by Producer/Director Brian J. Terwilliger.
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Unmasking the Threat of Adjacent Channels
by Charles W. Rhodes, 4.02.2008
They found that signals of this form produce what amounts to co-channel interference into channel N. Take my word for it, they would also have found the same in channel N+3K.
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More Interference Due To Signal of Triplets
by Charles W. Rhodes, 2.20.2008
Had the FCC been able to anticipate this problem of receiver-generated IM3 (noise) in “vacant channels,” perhaps it could have established minimum performance standards for consumer DTV receivers.
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Troubles With Triplets Foreseen
by Charles W. Rhodes, 2.06.2008
Last month, this column covered DTV-DTV interference from one and two undesired signals. In this issue, we will address the matter of triplets of undesired DTV signals.
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Embracing Change in the New World of IT
by Michael J. Sutton, 1.23.2008
The ability to embrace change is now mandatory in our business. Change is upon us, and we must be agile in the ability to adjust quickly and accurately.
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Smart Management Amid Changing Times
by John Footen, 0.00.2007
“May you live in interesting times” is said to be an ancient Chinese curse. Well, if that is the case, then we are surely cursed in this era of television. Change is all around us: in our technology and in our business.
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The MPAA Makes A Big Mistake
by Frank Beacham, 3.26.2008
This is a story about a big mistake. It’s also about numerous educational institutions in this country too afraid to confront their suspicions. In both cases, it represents a very sad state of affairs.
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When TV Cameras Bite Back
by Frank Beacham, 1.09.2008
Over the past decade, those of us who live in big cities have seen a remarkable cultural change enabled by the combination of the video camera and computer networks. This change is being sold in the name of public safety—another tool against terrorism. I’m not so sure it’s not a new form of tyranny.
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Find a Way to Use ‘White Space’ Spectrum
by Frank Beacham, 10.17.2007
Spectrum “white space” is an incredibly valuable public resource that could provide wireless broadband access for as little as $10 a month. For that reason alone we must find a way to work out any technical flaws that might block its quick deployment for unlicensed use.
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The FCC’s Push For Localism
by Harlan Neugeboren, 4.09.2008
The FCC originally granted licenses to broadcasters to serve the public interest. The question is, whose definition are they going to listen to?
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Training the Next Generation of Journalists
by Harlan Neugeboren, 10.03.2007
“Then let’s put them in a ‘newsroom of the future,’” he said, “where they’ll take their fundamental values and skills and produce content for every conceivable platform possible.”
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Internet TV: Coming to A Screen Near You...
by Harlan Neugeboren, 4.11.2007
Although my column is about newsroom technology, I have written the last few articles about other forms of distribution to reinforce a point I made a few articles ago.
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The Lowdown on Top Down
by Craig Johnston, 1.23.2008
In fact, carrying out a top-down, companywide directive can be one of the most difficult tasks for a manager.
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Keep Both HD and SD Viewers Happy
by Craig Johnston, 10.17.2007
News Flash: People are going to be watching TV with low-resolution display devices for a long time into the future.
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Four Kinds of People
by Craig Johnston, 8.22.2007
Human resource business psychologists seem to be making a good living coming up with this matrix and that, each of which define the differences between certain groupings of employees.
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A Look at AC-3 Enhancements
by Tim Carroll, 1.19.2005
This month, I'll take a look at an enhanced version of AC-3 (Dolby Digital), the coding standard developed primarily to support the new enhanced version of the ATSC digital television standard.
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Of Dolby, DVRs and Distant Signals
by Tim Carroll, 9.22.2004
I am happy to report that in August, Dolby Laboratories was informed that the company had won a technical Emmy award for its LM100 Broadcast Loudness Meter. This is a definite sign that the rest of the world is noticing that there is a real problem here, and that the first step toward solving it is being able to measure it.
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Learning About 5.1 From Grade No. 9
by Tim Carroll, 8.18.2004
This fall season also brings with it the promise of 5.1-channel audio from all the major terrestrial television networks. This month, we will do a quick, high-level review of each network's capabilities thus far
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Evaluating Next-Gen Camcorders
IPTV compares XDCAM HD to HDCAM
by Bill Hayes, 7.25.2007
I have been watching the rollout of XDCAM with great interest for the last few years as a logical next step for our move into non-tape based production.
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BXF Revealed as Missing Link
Interface standard could marry traffic and master control
by Bill Hayes, 6.13.2007
I have been involved in automation projects since I first began working in broadcasting.
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Dolby Volume And DialNorm
New loudness control technology for consumer devices debuts at CES
by Bill Hayes, 2.07.2007
While attending the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I stopped by the Dolby booth to see what was new.
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When NTSC is Shut off, BTSC Will be, too
by Randy Hoffner, 4.09.2008
BTSC brought us television stereo and other sound services, and in the process, it spelled the end of the big TV set with the tiny little loudspeaker.
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2007: The Year of New Media
by Randy Hoffner, 2.06.2008
Technological developments are materializing very quickly in recent years, and the pace of development is, in fact, increasing. It was not so many years ago, well into the age of digital audio and video recording, that the broadcast television networks operated large plants with massive analog infrastructures.
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Could It Be the End Of TV News?
by Frank Beacham, 4.14.2008
One of the great mysteries to me in these final months of the DTV transition is why call letter television stations continue to allow their news departments to operate in such an abysmal way.
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The Expensive Afterlife of Digital Movies
by Frank Beacham, 1.23.2008
Surprise, surprise! Now after the shift to digital filmmaking is almost complete, we discover that archiving film for the future is more expensive than expected.
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Next Generation TV? We Ain’t Ready Yet
by Mario Orazio, 2.20.2008
It’s pretty serious, all right, but you need to take another look at the calendar. There ain’t one single broadcaster required to start transmitting digitally next February. Every full-power U.S. broadcaster was required to be transmitting digitally as of May 2003, most of them a year before that, and a few as long ago as May 1999.
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The Road to Hi-Def News
Station news departments take market approach
by Claudia Kienzle, 5.01.2008
While many of the news leaders in the top markets have transitioned to HD local news, most small to mid-market stations have not.
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PSIP: Not Enough Time
Broadcasters ask FCC to extend deadline
by Ken Freed, 5.01.2008
Saying the FCC’s deadline is impossible to meet, NAB, MSTV and Harris together have petitioned the commission to push back the deadline one year.
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Cable Returns to New Orleans
‘Project Canoe,’ SDV, tru2way to highlight annual NCTA confab
by Gary Arlen, 5.01.2008
Big changes will also surround Motorola, the industry’s largest equipment supplier, which is in the early stages of a corporate break-up.
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P2P File Sharing
by Wes Simpson, 5.01.2008
Peer-to-Peer file sharing is an exciting technology for delivering big content files to users who are distributed around a network.
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Multicasting Over IP Networks
by Wes Simpson, 3.26.2008
Multicasting is a powerful tool for IP networking—it allows a single source to deliver programming to multiple destinations simultaneously.
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Alternatives to TCP
by Wes Simpson, 1.09.2008
In this column, we’ll take a look at some of the new technologies that are available to supplement or replace TCP in order to better support transfers of large media files over IP networks.
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