Latest articles by JOHN LUFF
Can you hear me now?
This is supposed to be a communications business. We build visual and audio communications with our viewers. Everything behind the scenes is done to get
Display technology
Some of us remember Conrac monitors in broadcast stations being the crme de la crme. Conrac still manufactures CRTs for broadcast use (4:3 only), but
File-based workflow, Part I
We are officially in a file-based world. That is not a shock; we have been moving that way for years. Now even cameras are spoken of as recording files,
Monitoring and control
Complexity is an insidious and invisible enemy in any human endeavor. What makes modern media facilities interesting is in no small measure that we have
Remote monitoring
A cable company says your signal is horrible and that is why it looks like a 1950s station when its customers tune in. What do you do? It is tempting
File-Based Workflow
We are officially in a file-based world. That is not a shock; we have been moving that way for years. Now even cameras are spoken of as recording files,
Video storage technology
John Watkinson spoke at a SMPTE conference in New York a number of years ago. The conference featured many papers on the topic Computers and Television:
Streaming video
Streams and files are two key concepts that are inextricably intertwined with the technology we use in production and delivery of content. Files are defined
Satellite services and systems, part 1
Satellites first were used in television for short-duration transatlantic interconnection. Short could mean a few minutes, but at the time it was a technological
Satellite services and systems, part 2
Last month's column began with a short reference to the first transatlantic satellite transmission over Telstar (1965). Of course, the more interesting
Camera crossover
Cameras can be thought of as optical analog-to-digital (A/D) converters these days. Photons respond in the lens as waves, and the sensor converts photons
Content repurposing
We often have to remind ourselves that the purpose of broadcast engineering is to create compelling content that informs and entertains viewers in ways
Camera optics
The sweep of technology fascinates me. In the 45 years I have spent in the business, I've seen incredible change in almost every aspect of the industry.
A recording conundrum
The history of video recording has a remarkably short timeline, at least in the commercial sense. The first generally available solution was the Ampex
Video processing
As in many areas of technology, we are entering a time of particularly strong change in how video is processed. It is transparent that analog processing
Video compression
Reality in our industry is all in the presentation of approximations of reality. The essence of video and audio compression is the selective discarding
Intercoms
What could be more fundamental than communications in an industry where individuals collaborate to create compelling content? But don't make the assumption
Energy-efficient lighting
One thing about television: It is first and foremost an analog medium, even in its digital representation. Now that I have your attention, or ire, let
Racks and accessories
It would be easy to assume that the least important technology in a broadcast facility is the piece that only serves to keep equipment from falling to
Wire in broadcast
Wire is one thing every media facility has, and it usually has several different kinds. Fifty years ago, RG59 coax was all a broadcaster needed. Monochrome
New storage options
Eons ago, when cameras had scanning electron beams and electronic recording of sound was in its infancy, television was essentially a live medium. The
