Latest articles by JOHN LUFF
Making money with news
Explore the issues news broadcasters face and the difficult decisions they must make to keep their operations profitable.
HDTV equipment
Learn about the advances that HDTV equipment has experienced in the past decade.
Routing switchers
One might think that nothing new in routing can be created, but manufacturers have been hard at work creating new and powerful products for infrastructure
Centralcasting solutions
An automation system that removes as much human intervention as possible is key.
DTV peripheral equipment
Only two items for DTV origination would be outside this scope — the transmitter and the encoder.
HD and SD scopes
From the general-purpose oscilloscope, manufacturers have adapted a specialized version, the “waveform monitor,” to simplify its use for video and TV — and now, for digital TV.
MPEG coding systems
MPEG unleashed an industry that has improved the quality and reduced the cost of transmission, and has become the basis of the digital terrestrial television system worldwide.
Camera mounting equipment: In a supporting role
The broadcast engineer of today spends his time worrying about software, video servers, DTV and the continual upgrade of the facilities he manages. His
MPEG encoding systems
There are plenty of misconceptions about compressed video. If you look back in the recent history of our industry much misinformation exists. Twenty years
Advances in news technology
Follow the important advances in the technology that broadcasters use in the field and in the newsroom.
Video servers
In some segments, the widespread usage of servers has displaced older technology virtually completely.
Newsroom automation
Three classes of newsroom tools have developed that might all be considered automation of one sort or another: production automation, newsroom workflow automation and a hybrid in-between
Centralized broadcasting
Modern technology has facilitated the possibility in many potential models for centralized broadcasting, including remote control, distributed broadcasting and centralized business operations.
Routing switchers
This year's NAB offered some interesting new products from several routing switcher manufacturers. It is hard to say that anything in this mature business
Production switchers
The coolest-looking item in any broadcast or large video facility is the production switcher. John Luff reviews the technology under the panels of these 100-button behemoths
Lens technology
Lens technology may be the first of several enabling technologies that led to the development of television.
The centralcast model
Centralized operations are not always the most successful and economically viable because either the labor saved is not sufficient or the interconnection cost is too high.
