Technology Corner
Randy Hoffner is manager of technology and strategic planning at ABC, New York, N.Y. The views expressed in his column are his own, and not necessarily those of ABC.
The Evolution of Videotape Formats, Part 2
by Randy Hoffner, 11.03.2008
This wrapping pattern requires tape that is much thinner and more flexible than 2-inch tape. It is so thin and flexible that as it travels through the transport, it is subject to stretching and flexing which effectively changes More...
Videotape is Not Dead, Either
by Randy Hoffner, 10.01.2008
You have previously read in this column that despite several memorial services, film is not dead as a capture medium for television programming. In fact, after some flirtation with 24 fps video, we are back to the situation in More...
Is Broadcast Television Losing Its Mojo?
by Randy Hoffner, 06.11.2008
The broadcast station business suddenly seems to be less of a financial sure thing than it used to be. More...
When NTSC is Shut off, BTSC Will be, too
by Randy Hoffner, 04.09.2008
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. More...
2007: The Year of New Media
by Randy Hoffner, 02.06.2008
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 More...
Will the End of NTSC Be the End of 59.94?
by Randy Hoffner, 01.09.2008
Where did this strange parameter come from, anyway, and why do we need it? More...
White Space Devices: Threat to Broadcast TV?
by Randy Hoffner, 12.05.2007
We have recently heard many references to “white spaces,” but in this case, white spaces refer to the segments of the broadcast television spectrum in a given geographic area that are not occupied by television signals: the More...
SFN TV Broadcasting in The United States?
by Randy Hoffner, 10.03.2007
Many readers might remember the enthusiastic support of some for the adoption of coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, also known as COFDM, as the DTV transmission mechanism in the United States. More...
Successor to the Compact Disc?
by Randy Hoffner, 08.08.2007
The CD was revolutionary, of course, because it is a digital audio recording. Although digital audio recorders had previously been used professionally, the CD was the first digital medium available to the general public. More...
Free, Wireless Television Makes a Resurgence
by Randy Hoffner, 06.13.2007
We continue to see rapid changes in the way television may be delivered to viewers, and some of the research on what interests viewers in this respect is revealing—even surprising. More...
Tech Advancements: Friend or Foe?
by Randy Hoffner, 04.11.2007
Any reader who has been in the television broadcasting business for awhile is very much aware of the meaning of the expression, "The only constant here is change." More...
Remembering TV Stereo Pioneer Ron Estes
by Randy Hoffner, 12.06.2006
I was shocked and saddened to learn of the recent passing of a good friend and a pioneer of television stereo, Ron Estes. More...
Robotically Controlled Super Prism Displays
by Randy Hoffner, 10.04.2006
Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have developed a new experimental advanced display technology that, to say the least, differs significantly from currently used technologies. More...
Developments in LCD Backlights
by Randy Hoffner, 07.12.2006
The cathode ray tube that until recent years served as the principal television and video display device generates its own light. More...