The editors at Broadcast Engineering have been busy this summer working with some of our expert writers and authors on several new eBooks. Each of these training resources is written by a knowledgeable engineer or videographer. These authors have worked in broadcast and production environments, so they understand your problems and the issues you face. No matter your level of expertise, these eBooks are designed to cover a range of informational needs.
Over the last month, several new eBooks have been released and they are crammed with important and useful information to help you be a better engineer or operator.
Expand your skills, work on certification, or just get an inside track for that next promotion.
Here is a brief review of current titles.
This exciting and in-depth training resource is the newest title in our book store.
Whether your background is in video production, broadcast television or network playout, “Digital Video Fundamentals” will become your key reference manual. Practical and real-world applications and examples help you understand digital fundamentals and how to properly operate those solutions in your environment.
In today's fast-paced production and broadcast environments, engineers, technicians, operators and technical managers may handle hundreds of signals in multiple formats, all destined for a wide variety of playout platforms and audiences. To deliver on the digital promise, these professionals often must make lightning-quick decisions about image quality. This means engineers, technicians and operators must thoroughly understand today's digital platforms as well as broadcast and signal standards and how to test and measure their performance.
This 89-page eBook provides the tools these professionals need through a careful discussion and tutorial on technology, standards and practices.
Written by two of the digital industry's top consultants, Aldo Cugnini and Alan Cavallerano, Digital Video Fundamentals assembles in one place the information that makes today's production and broadcast systems possible. From analog-to-digital conversion, from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4/AVC to ATSC compliance testing, you will gain important knowledge in an easy-to-understand and encompassing format.
A Broadcaster's Guide To Camera & Lens Technology
“A broadcaster’s guide to camera and lens technology” is a highly practical and reference-oriented tutorial by long-time video expert, trainer and writer Steve Mullen, Ph.D. This tutorial is designed to help ENG videographers, commercial video producers and video engineers capture better video by understanding the lens and electronics inside their cameras. This eBook provides both new and veteran shooters an in-depth understanding of the technology that lies between the camera lens and the recording medium and how to maximize a camera’s performance
While today’s cameras and lenses can provide high-quality imagery, even the most expensive camera will underperform without a trained operator. This almost 50-page tutorial is designed to help those who want to improve the quality of their imagery by consistently capturing career-enhancing, high-quality video.
This eBook focuses on the key aspects of camera and lens technology that most affect the quality of captured video. Understanding the performance capabilities of a camera and lens, and where to make the always necessary tradeoffs, will help broadcasters and videographers get their best shots. From focal length to MTF to camera sensors and the causes of judder, Mullen explains how these and many other factors affect video quality — and how to best manage them.
The author brings his many years of experience as a professional videographer and instructor to bear so readers can gain practical knowledge and tips that can be applied daily in their jobs.
Video Compression, Editing and Displays
“Video compression, editing and displays” is an in-depth tutorial on MPEG compression technology, editing MPEG content and evaluating color video monitors written by long-time video expert, trainer and writer Steve Mullen, Ph. D.
This 63-page tutorial provides both new and experienced ENG videographers, technicians and engineers with an in-depth understanding of compression, editing MPEG and the proper setup of color monitors — all key to creating high-quality content for today’s demanding audiences.
In this eBook, Mullen provides an easy to understand tutorial on these systems, which are used in much of today’s digital equipment. Armed with this information, those working in production, broadcast, cable and satellite facilities will better understand how MPEG works and will be able to work effectively to maximize the quality of the content they create.
Broadcast RF systems: Installation & Maintenance tips
When it comes to DTV antennas, towers, transmission lines and maintaining RF systems, few can match the expertise of Broadcast Engineering writer and consulting engineer Don Markley. Don spent almost 40 years providing consulting services to his base of worldwide clients, building some of the largest and most complex TV antenna and broadcast systems ever designed.
Don also spent some of that time writing for Broadcast Engineering magazine. Over 25 years, Don Markley merged his expertise about broadcast RF systems with his gift of communication and provided Broadcast Engineering readers with hundreds of columns on television RF system installation and maintenance.
Whether readers needed to know about tuning transmission lines, predicting coverage patterns or troubleshooting, Don’s columns were touch-point tutorials. Don performed these tasks in his daily life as a consultant, so it was easy for him to teach others to do so. “Been there, done that” describes Don Markley’s teaching style.
Engineers face a bewildering array of technological challenges today. As signals increase in quality, moving from SD to HD and beyond, the underlying networks require higher speed connectivity, wider bandwidth and more secure connections. Many of the old and reliable solutions are incompatible or too expensive to implement.
And while those problems grew, a new type of solution, often simply called IP, entered our media environments claiming to offer answers. However, many broadcast and production engineers and technicians find this technology unfamiliar and perhaps even threatening. Today's video professionals may have less experience in this new world where everything is just data.
To keep your career on track, you need to know how modern IP solutions can be applied effectively in today's video and audio control and production rooms. Professionals need to be asking themselves: What exactly is IP technology? How does it work? How can these new solutions be effectively applied in my facility? And the bottom line question: Where does IP work - and where is it not "ready for prime-time"? You need to know the answer to such issues before your boss asks, "Why won't our business IT system work for video?" This five-chapter series of tutorials will improve your IP skills and enable you to best apply the technology in your own environment.
This twenty-seven page eBook by consultant, Brad Gilmer, is comprised of five-chapters that will help readers better understand the basics of IP terminology along with its technology and application in media environments. The goal of the eBook is to help build a base for further training on IP and its increasing application in the media, post production and broadcast spaces.
Spark your career to the next level. You can view a list of currently available titles, here.
