21 April 2005
Mr. David Johnson has joined Wohler Technologies as Chief Operating
Officer. A San Francisco native, Mr. Johnson has held senior management
positions with several high-technology companies including Maxtor,
Iomega, and Amdahl.
At NAB 2005, Wohler Technologies announced the release of a complete high quality audio/video monitoring system concentrated in a space-saving 2 RU by Wohler Technologies. The VAMP2-S8MDA offers premium quality 8 channel Analog, AES/EBU, HD-SDI/ SD-SDI digital multi-channel audio monitoring & conversion with professional level metering.
Wohler also introduced a uniquely designed full broadcast quality HD test signal generator that has all the functionality for most HD standards and several other user friendly features. The Penpal-HD is ideal for checking signal path integrity or to determine system performance and calibration.
Another new Wohler Technologies product is the series of high resolution HD-SDI LCD video monitors. The HR-3270W and HR-T170W feature as many pixels as you will find in most modern HD plasmas, but in 7 LCD. The high resolution HD-SDI LCD video monitors are ideal for mobile trucks, news and transmission control rooms, duplication and post production applications. The two series of high resolution LCD video monitors give you the benefit from the crystal clear picture and high resolution from the all digital signal features. The HR-3270W has 16:9 aspect ratio, fits in the standard 3U rack space, with 2 HD-SDI Inputs with reclocked HD-SDI outputs, 2 outputs for your computer monitor in the original input resolution. The HR-T170W conveniently fits in the standard Tektronix half tub form factor alongside your scope or other HD monitoring equipment. The 1 HD-SDI input with reclocked HD-SDI output.
Wohler Technologies also showcased a sunlight viewable LCD Video Monitor LCD monitor, the Daylite Series, which gives exceptionally, clear picture quality in all sunlight conditions.
21 April 2005
VOA Director David Jackson has announced that every day between midnight until 7 a.m., Washington time, the Voice’s new state of the art multimedia newsroom will be closed. The news will be contracted out to a team of eight editors and writers (reportedly Americans, British and Australians) in Hong Kong, Peoples Republic of China. Some sources project cost savings at about $300,000 annually, in a VOA budget of approximately $168 million.
The VOA Office of External Affairs commented:
Simply put, VOA is taking steps to expand its presence in East Asia, an
increasingly important part of the world for us. In the months ahead,
VOA will hire a half dozen or so new writers in Hong Kong and move
writers currently on Washington’s overnight newsroom shift to other
shifts in Washington.
We believe that the move will position VOA to offer better and
faster-reacting coverage of news from Hong Kong, and the rest of East
Asia. The move will also include adding internet staff in Hong Kong who
will enable VOA to update its web presence 24 hours a day, something
that is sorely needed.
No jobs will be eliminated. Members of the current overnight shift will
be moved to day and evening shifts in Washington. Three editors and five
writers will be hired as contractors in Hong Kong to handle the
news operation in our bureau there.
Stories produced in Hong Kong will be edited by full-time VOA staff
editors currently based there and also overseen and vetted by their
counterparts who will remain on the midnight shift in Washington. So the
news room here is not exactly going dark. Final editorial responsibility
will remain in those overnight editors in Washington.
The overnight shift in Washington has long been the least popular among
employees, and vacancies have been difficult to fill. The unpopular
hours also have been a recruitment obstacle. People are reluctant to
come here once told about the prospect of having to put in overnight
hours.
Hong Kong’s day of course coincides with Washington’s overnight hours,
and the city has a skilled local English-speaking workforce of
journalists who can be hired to write and edit the same news stories now
produced in the Washington newsroom, following the same high
journalistic standards that have long distinguished VOA broadcasts
around the world.
VOA has had foreign stringers throughout the world for many years, just as have most other major international news organizations. So there is nothing new there. Also, VOA has had a bureau in Hong Kong for many years, as have many other international news organizations.
There is already in place total communications and computer connectivity between VOA’s Washington headquarters and its Hong Kong bureau. Since we already have a bureau in Hong Kong, no new office space will have to
be acquired.
The Hong Kong move and resulting savings will allow VOA to add two
people to the Hong Kong staff to edit the English-language Web site
during U.S. overnight hours. This will be an effective and efficient way
to keep our Web site up to date seven days a week.
At current Hong Kong rates for local hires (no benefits or other perks
required), the staff would cost about $380,000 per year. Although this
shift will result in a small savings, that is not the main point of the
move. It is rather to extend and enhance our presence in Asia, assure
quality coverage during Washington’s overnight hours, and achieve true
24-hour web coverage. We think the move makes sense, and we also think
that now is a good time to make it.
21 April 2005
On Thursday 5 May, which is the 60th anniversary of liberation at the end of World War II, the Dutch service of Radio Netherlands will be recreating the historic broadcast of Radio Oranje that announced the end of German occupation. The programme will be broadcast at 1415 UTC on shortwave in Europe, and worldwide via satellite and Internet.
Radio Oranje was set up in London shortly after the German occupation of the Netherlands, and broadcast daily until shortly after liberation. The broadcasts were designed as a counter to the censored Dutch press, and to give Dutch people hope.
On 5 May 1945 at 8.15 pm Dutch time, Radio Oranje broadcast a special 30-minute freedom programme which included an address by Prime Minister Gerbrandy. The audio of 19 minutes of this historic broadcast remain in the archive. The other 11 minutes have been lost. But Peter Veenendaal, head of the Dutch service of Radio Netherlands, explains that “since we have the full transcripts of all the Radio Oranje broadcasts we’re in a position to make an accurate reconstruction of the original transmission. Sixty years of freedom seemed an appropriate occasion to do that.”
The news summary will be read in the style that was normal in 1945. Breaks in musical fragments will be replaced by original recordings from that time. The famous poem De Achttien Dooden [The Eighteen Dead] that was read by a Radio Oranje announcer in the original transmission, will be played from a later recording made in 1946. By using specialised production techniques, the substitute pieces are seamlessly mixed with the original material.
21 April 2005
Harris Corporation announced on 21 April that TV Azteca, S.A. de C.V., one of the two largest producers of Spanish language television programming in the world, has signed a purchase agreement with Harris Corporation’s Broadcast Communications Division for digital television transmitters, and high-definition encoding equipment for HDTV. The equipment will bring HDTV to nine cities in México and will be launched in two phases through mid-2006.
The new equipment places TV Azteca at the forefront of digital transmission capabilities in Latin America and will allow for HDTV transmission in México City, Guadalajara and Monterrey by the third quarter of this year. The services are in accordance with a rollout plan detailed by TV Azteca in August 2004. Phase Two of the national rollout will bring HDTV services to six additional cities (Matamoros, Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Juarez, Mexicali and Tijuana) through the first half of 2006.
The initial TV Azteca order includes six Harris DiamondCD(R) DHD8P1 transmitters operating at 1.8 kW. DiamondCD transmitters have been among the most popular transmitters employed for the U.S. digital TV rollout, with more than 300 deployed in the U.S. at power levels from 1.8 kW to 35 kW. TV Azteca can readily expand the DHD8P1 for additional power output by adding power amplifiers and power supplies. The DiamondCD DHD8P1 transmitter includes the Apex(TM) advanced digital TV exciter, with over 400 installations since its introduction in 2002.
“Harris Corporation is pleased to continue its strategic relationship with TV Azteca as it starts deployment of digital television. Harris has established a broad base of content delivery solutions from its leadership position in U.S. digital television, and we are honored to be selected to extend these market-proven solutions to México as TV Azteca commences its commercial deployment of digital television,” said Dale Mowry, vice president and general manager of Television Broadcast Systems for Harris Broadcast Communications.
Harris’ turnkey solution will allow viewers with HDTV sets to receive picture resolution six times sharper than standard definition analog sets. TV Azteca viewers without HDTV sets will continue to receive their television programming through analog transmission approaches.
21 April 2005
At this years NAB, Quantel unveiled a number of innovations and developments for its market-leading sQ server-based production systems. These include extending the range of servers to offer both larger and smaller models, zoning for multi-server management, self-automation with the new QRecord and QPlay built-in applications, and a new highlights facility for sports packaging.
The sQ server range has always been scalable; the range has been further extended. There is a new bigger sQ server announced for larger installations, and a new smaller model introduced for greater flexibility. These new servers incorporate all the unique Quantel sQ technologies (Frame Magic, ISA Integrated Server Architecture, Delta Editing, Resolution Transparency, etc) but in a more flexible package. They are also fully HD-upgradeable, offering broadcasters total peace of mind way into the future.
Zoning is a breakthrough development from Quantel that enables broadcasters to create intelligent relationships between different production areas in multi-server systems. Using Quantels Zoning technology, the broadcaster can decide what information held on the server system can be shared between areas and what needs to be kept private (for example, the news production teams for two different channels). Its the kind of operational flexibility that todays broadcasters crave.
Practically every server-based broadcast system is controlled by sophisticated, feature rich third party management applications. Quantels new Self Automation facility for sQ is designed to complement this by providing one-press, instant record and playout with QRecord and QPlay, and is also powerful enough to be able to stand in its own right in smaller installations. QRecord and QPlay have been developed by popular demand with many users who are interested in increasing the resilience of their installations, or reducing the entry cost.
The final new development for sQ is super-fast turnaround Highlights facility, designed very much with sports broadcasting in mind. Using the new Highlights facility, any incoming material can be quickly selected, topped, tailed, assembled, given the slo-mo treatment if required and then played out to air, all without the operator leaving their seat.
21 April 2005
GlobeCast announced on 18 April the launch of WING its global IP-based Content Management Platform that forms the backbone of a global content management network to support delivery of the emerging array of non-linear media. Spearheading the launch of this platform was a live demonstration at NAB 2005 of WING Content Exchange for Contribution, the platforms powerful IP-based video exchange and collaboration tool to facilitate professional video sharing and laptop newsgathering from any wired or wireless connection.
Separately, GlobeCast announced that Frances leading broadcaster, Francetelevisions, is conducting beta testing of WING Content Exchange for Contribution. WING Content Exchange for Contribution provides communities of nomadic, freelance and field staff producers with access to a range of collaboration tools and value added services all under one secure platform. The WING platform provides independence for in the field staff and allows any authorized member of a team to contribute video footage from any connection as easily as sending an email in a format that is just as user friendly.
To use WING-enabled applications, members use a personal identification key, or Dongle, to log in to the platforms ultra-secure VPN channel from any Windows-based PC or laptop using any type of connection. Once connected, WING provides users with a range of functionalities. WING Content Exchange for Contribution bundles several services that include:
WING File a point-to-multipoint content exchange service using file transfer and partly based on email protocols
<> WING Live a real-time video streaming service
WING Chat text based chatting service
WING Visio a videoconference comms channel service used to facilitate field-to-studio coordination during WING Live broadcasts
The purpose of WING is to revolutionize content management by using the omnipresence of broadband connections. The result is a platform that reduces the cost, logistics and infrastructure associated with more traditional solutions, while adding a layer of interactive collaboration to the process so that remote teams, bureaus and headquarters can stay connected at every step all under the highest security. With the launch of WING, GlobeCast is not only acknowledging the movement of the broadcast industry towards IP-based remote content management, but is responding with a tool that moves this process forward bundling an array of services into a single, secure, user-friendly platform that was designed specifically for broadcast and corporate applications.
