The analog cutoff is now less than one year away, and with that change will come new reception issues for terrestrial broadcast viewers. Although the FCC has sought to replicate analog service in its digital channel allocation plan, most broadcasters will have a digital channel assignment different from their analog one. Inherently, this means that the RF field conditions at the viewer's location
The transition to DTV really started when satellite transmissions were encoded as digital signals, and with analog satellite service mostly gone, the transition to all-digital satellite signals is almost complete. Setting up an analog downlink was similar to tuning in an over-the-air analog TV signal; you moved the antenna until you saw a picture. But just as this does not work for DTV, it also does not work with digital satellite signals. This series of newsletters will show you what's going on with today's satellites and how to find the one you want.
Now that computers interact and control just about every aspect of the modern TV studio and transmitter, it's vitally important that todayÂ’s engineer have the knowledge and skills to keep them running. And because hardly any computer works alone, the networks that connect them are just as important in keeping a station on the air. Understanding how a network functions and what to consider when putting one together or expanding an existing one are now one of the basic knowledge requirements of a broadcast engineer.
The software, which provides interoperability between XDCAM HD and Final Cut Pro, is available for free from the company's Web site.
With mobile television set to become the next killer application in many markets, it's important to understand just what it takes to broadcast this new service. Implementing ATSC M/H requires changes all the way from the creation of the transport stream though the transmitter to the antenna.
NEP Supershooters had three production units on site in Los Angeles for ABC’s live SD/HD broadcast of the 76th Annual Academy Awards.
The implications are huge for a mass-market smart phone with a built-in three-megapixel camera that shoots both still and 30 frame-per-second video.
Coexistence of various coding standards, and the requirement for multiple resolutions and frame rates for new emerging applications, will drive the need for efficient, high-density transcoding.
In today's "anything goes" market, the challenge for freelancers is to pick the right camera that will facilitate the most amount of work.
The elephant in the room is clearly the ailing economy and how the inevitable chain reaction has now affected the broadcast industry. It's no secret that the economy has indirectly affected a broadcaster's capital purchase plans. Every day we hear of more and more layoffs in the broadcast industry. The low attendance at the 2009 NAB Show is yet another indicator of the economy's effect on our industry.