SMPTE HDTV boot camp to be held in Washington, D.C.

The Washington, D.C. chapter of the Society of Motion Picture and Television engineers (SMPTE), in cooperation with the Washington Executive Broadcast Engineers (WEBE) is urging the industry to be prepared for the end of analog broadcast television (February 17, 2009). The groups have announced the dates for a two-day HDTV boot camp training seminar in Washington, D.C., on September 19-20 at the facilities of station WUSA-TV. Employees from local and regional broadcast stations, post houses, federal agencies, other organizations and free-lancers are encouraged to attend.

The boot camp covers many of the elements of the DTV Express road show held in the late 90s. The course will be led by James Snyder of Communications Engineering Inc. Snyder was formerly part of the Harris/PBS DTV Express team. The seminar will also include presentations from leading technologists on new developments as well as hands-on demonstrations of HDTV equipment including test and measurement systems.

All participants will receive a comprehensive workbook and reference guide as well as electronic versions including additional course and reference materials. SMPTE is offering several sponsorships to defray costs.

WUSA is located at 4100 Wisconsin Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. For program details and advanced registration, visit www.smpte.org.