Tom Butts
Editor-in-Chief
tbutts@nbmedia.com Drones are literally everywhere these days, except in the skies, at least, not legally. But that’s beginning to change as early adopters and other advocates push for exemptions and faster action from federal regulators.

Although drones (or whatever they’re called these days—unmanned aerial vehicles or “systems”) have been used regularly by the military, their use in the United States is still restricted by the Federal Aviation Administration. The regulator—which had been mandated by Congress to create rules for the commercial and private use of UASs by the end of this year—has indicated that they may not be ready until 2017.

This isn’t sitting well with the companies that manufacture the systems or its potential users, some of whom appeared before a congressional subcommittee last month to push for accelerated timeline for adoption of drone regulations. “There is no denying it, the commercial drone market is here and growing faster than ever,” Jesse Kallman, the head of business development and regulatory affairs for San Francisco-based AirWare, a drone and services developer, told the legislators. Kallman warned that delayed regulations are forcing many vendors to move to other countries where the rules for covering the use of the flying wonders are already in place. The hearing even included a drone demonstration that was the “buzz” of Capitol Hill for much of the week.

The FAA is understandably concerned about safety, but technology has a way of ameliorating such concerns. One such technology discussed at the hearing, called “geofencing,” helps control the use of a drone if it loses the communications link between the “pilot” and device. “It keeps a vehicle within certain altitude and geographic regions, and contingency management systems… enable the vehicle to safely land when an issue such as loss of communications arises,” Kallman told the subcommittee.

Then there are also concerns about privacy rights; however, many of those can be addressed with current rules. As Mike Cavender, executive director of the Radio Television Digital News Association, told me several years ago when I wrote about the subject, the rules should be similar to any other that applies when the right to privacy is involved. “What’s your motivation for obtaining the information?” he mused. “Ultimately this is an editorial question and it doesn’t matter whether you’re using a camera in a briefcase, a lapel pin or a drone.”

Members and staff of a congressional subcommittee watch on as a drone is demonstrated at a recent hearing on Capitol Hill. With the FAA under pressure, states are taking the matter into their own hands, with some considering banning the devices for hunting; other groups—including a recent inter-faith gathering at Princeton University—have debated the moral implications of the use of drones in warfare. Last month, a drone carrying several pounds of methamphetamine crashed in a parking lot in a California border town; and a small drone was found on the grounds of the White House. These were reminders of the technology’s double-edged nature.

For media, the use of drones could have a huge impact—on budgets, scope of coverage and improved safety. We’ve already discussed the potential of using drones for such daily tasks as traffic reports, but what about tower inspections or other uses for managing facilities or land? When it comes to emergencies, broadcasters are already, in some ways, considered “first responders” (or, less contentiously, “first informers”); the use of drones could greatly enhance how emergency crews—and the public—gather crucial information. It’s this potential that led to last month’s announcement of a joint public-private partnership between Virginia Tech and some of the country’s largest media companies to test drone use in ENG environments (see “Media Groups to Test Drones With Virginia Tech.”)

When it comes to entertainment, drones are a no-brainer. Last fall, the FAA approved six drone companies to provide commercial services for motion picture and television companies. The FAA’s decision prompted ESPN to petition for approval—which it got just days before the event—to use drones to cover the extreme sports action at last month’s Winter X-Games, the first time the devices have been used at a live sporting event in the United States. As for amateur drone projects, a quick search on YouTube yields more than 825,000 videos.

The interest in drones doesn’t appear likely to wane anytime soon. TV Technology recently posted a link to a YouTube video of a technician changing a light bulb on top of a 1,500-foot TV tower. The producers employed a drone to provide striking new perspectives on the job of a tower climber; it was one of the most popular stories on our site, and the YouTube original had more than 1.8 million hits at last check. It also caught the attention of the FAA, which notified the company involved— Prairie Aerial of Sioux Falls, S.D.— to “cease operations.”

While the use of drones is severely restricted in this country, you can obtain a UAS, for as little as $50 to as much as $3,000; perhaps you even received one as a Christmas present. For those who do break the rules, the FAA is watching and will not hesitate to crack down. For more information on current drone rules, visit https://www.faa.gov/uas/

In the meantime, we’ll be watching as developments unfold, both in the halls of Washington and the skies above.

As part of an ongoing campaign between the RTDNA and the NAB to gain a limited exemption for newsgathering purposes, the RTDNA is seeking examples from the news media on how drones could have been used in a certain situations. If you have an example you want to share, send it to Mike Cavender atmikec@rtdna.org.

Advertising is the lifeblood of commercial television—without it, the medium wouldn’t exist. Think about your favorite programs through the years—“Seinfeld,” “I Love Lucy,” “Miami Vice”—none of them would have existed without the money generated by commercial sponsorship.

And yet, as long as there have been commercials on television, people have tried to invent ways to avoid having to watch them. The remote control was probably among the first devices to lead the assault on television ads, giving viewers the ability to easily switch channels from the comfort of their couch. Then along came the VCR, which made it even easier to avoid the commercial scourge (although these concerns were overshadowed by even bigger issues such as copyright). Commercial skipping became more sophisticated with the introduction of DVRs in the late 90’s, with software advanced enough to eliminate commercials altogether from recorded programs.

By now, you’ve probably heard of EchoStar’s new Hopper DVR, which could mark a new chapter in the war against TV commercials. Simply put, Hopper includes an “Auto Hop” feature that edits out commercial breaks for those subscribing to DISH’s Primetime Anywhere service that provides on-demand programming from the four major broadcast networks (curiously, this feature is not mentioned on its Website promoting the box). The service doesn’t work on live television (yet).

“Viewers love to skip commercials,” said Vivek Khemka, vice president of DISH Product Management in announcing product rollout earlier this month. “With the Auto Hop capability of the Hopper, watching your favorite shows commercial-free is easier than ever before.”

Broadcasters are predictably up in arms over the new service. “It’s clear that in the fight for TV revenue, the gloves have finally come off,” James L. McQuivey, a vice president and analyst for Forrester Research told the New York Times. “The fact that Dish would be willing to anger some of its most important content partners just goes to show how desperate these times we live in really are.”

Last year, EchoStar spent about $350 million on advertising, mostly on television ads, according to ad-tracking firm Kantar Media. DISH Chief Executive Joe Clayton recently told the Wall Street Journal that the company plans to spend “two to three times” as much advertising dollars as it has in the past to promote the new Hopper DVR. Of course, one of the most effective ways to promote this service is—yup—via a primetime TV commercial. Fox and NBC have already stated that they will refuse to air ads for the service; don’t be surprised if the other two follow suit. Broadcasters have several other aces up their collective sleeves to fight this new service, including playing hardball when negotiations for carriage fees come up for renewal.

Hopper is just the latest in the battle over TV commercials and it won’t be the last. Every now and then, a technology will come along that threatens the current business model and the media strikes back through a combination of financial—and sometimes technical— resources. Predictions that Hopper will “change the commercial TV landscape” are a bit premature.

LAS VEGAS NAB logged another 90K+ attendees at the industry's largest annual gathering. Despite its name, the show continues to evolve into a content and media creation show in which broadcasters are one part of an expanding media landscape. Our writers weigh in with their thoughts…

BILL HAYES DIGITAL JOURNAL
There seemed to be guarded optimism about what was happening in the industry. It appeared to me to be a show more about the business moving forward and less about selling sizzle. That is not to say there weren't any surprises, both pleasant and not so pleasant. The number one pleasant surprise for me came from Blackmagic Design and the introduction of their Cinema Camera.

I heard a number of people talking about 2012 being the year Mobile DTV either takes off or goes away. I am not sure that I see it quite that "all or nothing," but I do agree that products for receiving the service need to become more widely distributed. I think there is no doubt that the technology works but that it has challenges both in indoor reception and in the VHF band.

It was interesting to see a few manufacturers showing off their auto-stereoscopic 3D video displays. There is still a push from within the industry to keep 3D development moving forward but I am not certain that the consumer marketplace is all that enamored with the technology.

STEVE KRANT CORRESPONDENT
The buzz phrases du jour around North Hall's automation aisles were "Business Process Management" and "Service Oriented Architecture." The automation category is regrouping; to the larger multifaceted vendor, automation's one component of their asset monetization workflow; in the opposite corner, sometimes from the same source, an abundance of "do-it-all" channel-in-a-box appliances. Caught in the middle: a few automation-only survivors banking on their experience and good name to keep from being kicked off the island.

The bigger question is NAB itself. The proliferation of vertical market subcategories underscores the inescapable: Broadcasters are a shrinking slice of the attendance pie. As a trade show, NAB's becoming a content technology expo with little connection to broadcast, assuming that term's relevant in 5-10 years.

KARL PAULSEN STORAGE TECHNOLOGY
As evidenced by the abundance of solutions embracing file-based workflows, storage now appears to be just another commodity. Manufacturers now integrate their own and third-party components into an "end-to-end" solution. Branding showed big changes, adding asset management and real-time rendering to reduce the time and complexities of interstitial production.

IT-based playout is replacing traditional master control models. Integrated solutions combining ingest, automation, file management and playout are replacing dedicated video servers. Archive is a "must have" as file sizes continue to grow.

SBE and SMPTE continue to help educate our successors. Saturday's sessions supported the IT-transition for newcomers yet were broad enough for those seasoned engineers wanting to understand what they need to know going forward.

GEOFF POISTER CORRESPONDENT
Everyone enters the annual NAB Show looking through a certain lens of interest. Mine is mostly cameras and content, and things appear to be following a somewhat predictable trajectory.

For cameras, this was the year we went from 3D to 4K with unexpected new players entering the scene, such as Blackmagic Design. Sony, Canon, Panasonic and JVC are leading the pack, but what does this mean? Not many people need 4K at the moment, but, it may signal the next wave of HD, which will spur a whole new round of equipment retrofitting, from acquisition to consumer flat screens. Constantly creating a level of production that is currently out of reach is, after all, what keeps the industry moving.

NED SOLTZ CORRESPONDENT
NAB may not have had the quantity of new product introductions we've seen in prior years, but the path forward is clear. Solid-state workflows are now a given and it seems like 1920x1080 is so 2011. I see a trend toward 4K and greater workflows for both cinematic as well as broadcast scenarios. With digital projection becoming more prevalent in theaters and with previews of consumer 4K projector technology, content creators will have an increasing number of beyond-HD options. Even those of us who deliver 1920x1080 will be able to benefit from the added quality of a downrezed 4K file.

Beyond-HD cameras have appeared from the show-stopping Blackmagic Design camera to Canon to the traditional Sony, Panasonic and JVC brands. We are seeing additional devices to acquire greater-than-HD along with fast data pipelines such as Thunderbolt. Maybe fewer products this year, but a lot more pixels.

Tom Butts is Editor-in-Chief of TV Technology.

By now we all know that the profit margin for HDTVs, particularly for the largest consumer electronics manufacturers, has fallen off the cliff; witness Sony's announcement last month that it was laying off 10,000 employees in an attempt to turn around its TV business, to which it is still committed.

But nobody doubts the public's appetite for television. Surveys consistently show HDTVs at the top of the list for future consumer purchases. According to a recent survey from ABI Research on future electronic purchases, 25 percent of consumers said they planned on purchasing a new set within the next several months.

But there was another item on that wish list of consumer electronics that deserved notice, if nothing else, but for the incredible speed in which it has ingratiated itself into the digital media marketplace: the tablet, which was fourth, after smartphones, gaming consoles and Blu-ray players. Scarcely two years after the introduction of the iPad, the tablet looks like it could displace the DVD as the fastest-growing consumer electronics device of all time. (According to IDC, about 68.7 million tablets shipped worldwide last year, with approximately 106.1 million units expected to ship in 2012.)

For now, the tablet is not about to replace the HDTV, but rather serve as a supplement, or "second screen" as pundits prefer to call it. Last month, Viacom released a study "Tapping into Tabletomics" that surveyed more than 2,500 people ages 8–54 about the characteristics of their tablet use. Tablets are now the second-most used device for full-length TV show viewing, at 15 percent, replacing computers and smartphones.

Some of the other results are not too surprising: The most aggressive tablet users who consume video on their device are also heavy Netflix/OTTP customers, as well as broadband subscribers. The majority like to use the tablets to multitask while watching programs on their HDTV sets; young adults 18–24 are the heaviest consumers of video and gaming on their tablets; 85 percent of tablet use is for personal reasons vs. business.

And then there's social networking, of which the tablet is prime territory. Viacom noted that in their survey, many respondents use tablets for a complementary experience via apps like MTV's "WatchWith" or VH1's "Co-Star," designed as add-ons, rather than distractions to the TV screen. "Our audiences are some of the most deeply engaged and active across social platforms," said a Viacom exec.

Despite the growing popularity of the devices, the HDTV set still has a bright future, as the industry looks to next-generation 4K and OLED. After all, it seems quite ironic that the tablet (of which Viacom's survey said is used 77 percent of the time alone), is seen as a "social" media platform, when in reality, that giant HDTV screen in your living room is really the most "social" screen of all.

A recent article in the Washington Post about viewers' changing TV habits perhaps summed it up best: "It's still a great experience to sit with friends in front of the TV with takeout and just hang out together. That doesn't change."

James E. O'Neal is Technology Editor of TV Technology.

Shortly before press time word reached me that Charles E. Anderson was seriously ill following some recent surgery, and is currently in hospice care.

Now if you don't know who Charlie Anderson is, you should. He made his mark on the industry as part of the six-person team that, 56 years ago this month, gave us the world's first successful videotape recorder.

In an age where video recording is ubiquitous, few have an appreciation of how difficult it once was. I'll save you the full history, but—in short—several groups set out to perfect a system for saving video to magnetic tape, but only one succeeded. That was the Ampex team on which Charlie was a key player.

Charlie Anderson. Photo courtesy Tom Stoffel Ampex's early VTR project had been on-again/off-again for a couple of years due to budget constraints, but in late 1954 a green light was finally given to team leader Charles Ginsburg to move ahead. Anderson joined the group then and was assigned the task of improving the recorder's S/N performance. The initial approach involved an amplitude-modulated signal system. Charlie realized that even with heavy AGC, there would still be problems in handling widely different signal levels from the segmented head recording approach. He suggested frequency modulation.

This initially met with some amount of resistance, as what he proposed was a "voodoo" FM system with the carrier frequency only slightly removed from the upper modulating frequencies. The video head frequency response limitations also meant that the upper sidebands would not be recorded.

After several months Charlie finally won out (he revealed to me in a 2006 interview that he "pestered" Ginsburg until he got his way), and was allowed to build the odd-ball FM system. He showed it for the first time in early February 1955, and results were so good that AM was never mentioned again.

Fast forward another year and Ginsburg's team was handed a mandate to demo their machine at the upcoming NARTB (now NAB) Show. Charlie was given the job of making the bailing wire prototype look presentable enough to show to broadcasters. His created the "Mark IV," which was revealed to the world on the morning of April 14, 1956. It was also Charlie who was assigned the task of "covertly"—the bulky machine was initially concealed by a curtain—recording and playing back a short speech hinting of a technological breakthrough delivered by William Lodge, CBS's vice president of television engineering.

Charlie recalled that he hit the playback button on cue, but there was no immediate response from the crowd. He initially thought something had gone wrong, but then as the audience realized what they were witnessing, pandemonium broke out. In Charlie's words:

"The curtain was opened and people swarmed around the machine; we were knee deep in people."

The cheering and applause continued for 10 minutes or more.

Charlie stayed with Ampex for 30 years. Even after his 1984 retirement, he remained in broadcasting, later becoming a part of the engineering staff at Reno's KNPB.

He and other team members were honored in 2005 with the presentation of the National Television Academy's first Lifetime Technology and Engineering Emmy award.

There were some giants in the industry back then, and the now 87-year-old Anderson was one of them.

We all owe Charlie and the rest of Ampex team a lot. We certainly wish him well and pray for a speedy recovery.

Tom Butts is Editor-in-Chief of TV Technology.

Do you remember your first NAB Show? Regardless of how many notches you have on your convention belt, you probably remember it as a raucous, overwhelming mix of technology, policy, marketing and late nights. Kevin Gage described his first NAB Show as "like a kid in a candy shop," technically speaking.

That was many moons ago and now, as the NAB's new (and first) chief technology officer, Gage is even more excited to return to the show as an executive with the association.

I recently had a chance to talk with Gage about his new duties with NAB and his thoughts about where the broadcast industry is heading. Gage has spent more than two decades in the entertainment and media industry, developing digital platforms in television and music. While at Warner Bros. Studios, he helped launch the WB Network and helped developed interactive standards for interactive TV across multiple industries. He also helped develop the DVD specification and production facilities at Warner and was responsible for online TV strategies at NBC Universal.

Since coming onboard, Gage has spent much of his time canvassing the broadcast industry and taking stock of where we're heading. "I was really in 'sponge' mode when I came on, to really understand what the drivers and challenges are in this industry, from a technical, market and political standpoint," he said. "I'm having a lot of fun. Our ability to get out [our content] out to the consumer is as strong as anybody."

While Gage doesn't try to predict the future, he is trying to assess where the various players are heading in a multiplatform, multidistribution media universe. "I don't think it's any different than anybody else providing content into the marketplace," he said. "We're really trying to define that 'secret sauce' as to what works in a multichannel environment."

New broadcast services and initiatives like Mobile DTV and next generation ATSC standards development are just a few of the items on Kevin's to-do list. He describes ATSC 2.0 as an "evolutionary step" from the current standard but 3.0 as a "wipe the slate clean, blue sky" approach that looks at the future of broadcast without any constraints from current standards. "[ATSC] 3.0 is looking at—without anything holding you back—what could happen in the future," he said. Likewise with Mobile DTV, he says the "pieces are falling into place," noting the 70 percent increase in deployments over the past year as well as the recent branding and distribution deals that will help make Mobile DTV a "compelling user experience."

On his schedule for the NAB Show is a keynote address at the Broadcast Engineering Conference where he will discuss progress on the association's NAB Labs initiative. In addition to a physical lab and showcase housed at NAB headquarters in Washington, Gage says the lab will work to develop domestic and international and cross industry partnerships. "Ultimately it's going to be education and evangelism of what broadcast is doing today and where it's going tomorrow," he said. NAB Labs is also sponsoring the International Research Park, at the show, which will include the first U.S. demonstration of a 200-inch, glasses-free 3D projection system from the Japanese research lab, National Institute for Information and Communication Technology (NICT).

Last year, just prior to his appointment as CTO, Gage returned to the NAB Show after having taken a few years off from attending and says he found it "incredibly exciting." He's even more enthusiastic about this year's show. "We're really starting to ramp up the sessions that we're putting together," he said. "There's going to be a lot of new information coming out—not the same old same old—it's about innovation and the future."