Latest articles by CRAIG BIRKMAIER
Change is imminent
Here we are in another presidential election year, and change is in the wind, not to mention on the tips of the tongues of every candidate. It should
Acrimonious constraints
Acronyms are a form of compression. They are the staple of standards organizations, video manufacturers and industry trade publications like Broadcast
The second time around
In his book, Defining Vision: The Battle for the Future of Television, reporter Joel Brinkley tells how the drive for advanced television has its roots
Beyond HD
Does anyone out there still have a dot matrix printer? It seems they have gone the way of the horse-and-buggy and round tube TVs, a term that the consumer
Piracy or innovation?
As I prepared to travel to Las Vegas for my 30th consecutive NAB, it occurred to me that this might be a good time to test the waters and download a few
Unconditional access
The control of intellectual property lies at the heart of the shift from an industrial-based to an information-based global society. Right now, a handful
The Automat way
As a boy growing up in the Long Island suburbs of New York City, there were many things I looked forward to when I would accompany my parents on a shopping
Mobile TV
While HDTV acquisition and production took center stage at the middle and high ends of the marketplace, the importance of delivering content to mobile
More timely than news
Do you remember the good old days when television news began covering real-time and near real-time news events? I was in high school when I watched the
Convergence
Experts and analysts across a broad spectrum of industries have been exploring the convergence of television, computing and telecommunications for several
Mastering DTV viewers
The DTV transition is now 10 years old. In the first half of 1997, the FCC adopted the ATSC standard for DTV broadcasting and established the rules for
Decoupling
I spend a fair amount of time interacting with industry experts on e-mail forums. Recently, one forum, the DVDList, has been abuzz about what most members
CPR redefined
Remember the NBC series Sanford and Son, which enjoyed a highly successful run in the mid '70s? Actor and comedian Redd Foxx played the role of Fred G.
Viewers: The new program directors
With DVDs, NVOD, VOD and Personal Video Recorders (PVRs), the viewers are becoming the program directors, watching what they want, when they want, with no regard for continuity
Squeeze harder
More than 25 companies demonstrated products in support of H.264 at NAB. Many of these products also support the VC-1 codec from Microsoft. These products
Close to the edge
Emerging digital technologies present broadcasters with all kinds of disruptions to what was once an easy-to-make-money business model
The outer limits of fair use
It is still unclear whether consumer piracy is a real problem, especially for television programs
The broadcast protection racket
In our culture, the expected response is that the commodity in question is offered without an expectation of payment from the consumer
Who's watching you?
Do you know who watches the programming delivered by your station? If you are reaching for the latest ratings book so you can cite the number of viewers
Transmission gridlock
There is a school of thought that suggests that it is in the best interest of the electorate to vote for a divided government. That is, to elect the president
A multiple choice media future
Broadcasters eagerly begin transmitting multiple channels, which means new sales opportunities. Birkmaier shows what other stations are doing and what technology is needed
