These are the most read articles for 2008 from Broadcast Engineering.
January
Warner Bros. decision to drop HD-DVD support could spell the end for format
Jan 7, 2008 3:56 PM
Warner Bros. Entertainment said Jan. 4 it would discontinue releasing titles on HD-DVD format discs in May....
Jan 4, 2008 10:26 AM
The term interconnect in the case of digital video refers to all the components in the path of the digital signal. Within the modern digital studio, numerous types of signals are interconnected, routed and processed; some are analog, but today, an increasing number are digital. Potential problems easily can be encountered when wiring a digital plant, but there are ways to identify and avoid them....
CNN clarifies complex caucus cavalcade with new ‘Magic Wall’
Jan 4, 2008 12:27 PM
CNN last night relied on a new multipoint touch-screen technology to make sense of the Iowa caucus for viewers....
Februrary
Feb 3, 2008 8:12 PM
There are many different types of video and audio files in use today within the modern broadcast plant. Some of the more common file types take various forms when transported with their associated data....
DTV coverage won’t live up to promises, new study says
Feb 12, 2008 5:16 PM
A study released today from research firm Centris finds little continuous signal coverage 35mi from towers in three major U.S. cities....
Equipment vendors score for HD Super Bowl telecast
Feb 8, 2008 8:29 AM
Most of that credit goes to mobile production company Game Creek, based in Hudson, NH....
March
FCC allows DIRECTV and Dish to downconvert broadcast HD
Mar 24, 2008 8:22 AM
Satellite operators convinced the commission that they needed several years to prepare for a full HD carriage requirement....
Mar 1, 2008 12:00 PM, ALDO CUGNINI
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...
Mar 1, 2008 12:04 PM
In today’s sophisticated digital broadcast chain, maintaining the quality of the received sound and picture has become more challenging than ever. As new receiving devices come into use, the variety and sophistication of the decoders expands, and with this the possibility of decode errors caused by encoding, or even the elementary files themselves, quickly rises. New testing methods are required to monitor and test the variety of signals, their paths and files in use today....
April
Layoffs sweep TV networks and their affiliates
Apr 7, 2008 8:39 AM
The industry is experiencing unprecedented staff reductions in light of falling revenues and decreased stock prices....
Microsoft WSD prototype shuts down
Apr 1, 2008 8:39 AM
The prototype submitted for second-round WSD testing shut down last week and has been removed from the current round of testing....
New study foresees DTV reception difficulties
Apr 11, 2008 2:21 PM
According to research firm Centris, 9.2 million U.S. households could experience DTV reception problems....
May
NBC inadvertently uses broadcast flag to limit recording
May 26, 2008 8:00 AM
Microsoft acknowledged that its Windows Media Center system can block users from recording television broadcasts....
May 16, 2008 11:49 AM
As storage technology advances and more data is stored, we expect these systems to protect our data, and engineers must understand the limits of these systems. ...
May 2, 2008 9:45 AM
Today’s sophisticated digital equipment requires more than a pull-and-replace attitude if a broadcaster plans to stay on the air. A deeper understanding of all the systems is required to stay competitive...
June
As analog shutdown nears, antenna reality emerges
Jun 9, 2008 8:00 AM
Due to many conditions, it may be impossible to receive DTV signals even with an outdoor antenna....
Will DTV kill over-the-air television?
Jun 19, 2008 1:31 PM
During a presentation at Promax/BDA yesterday, a Centris researcher contended the DTV transition will have the unintended consequence of reducing the number of OTA households nationwide to as little as 4 million....
Jun 15, 2008 12:00 PM
Understanding digital audio, including how it is structured, installed and used, is essential to building and maintaining a modern TV plant. ...
July
Television industry faces dark times
Jul 14, 2008 9:11 AM
Shares of most major media companies have been declining in recent months...
Jul 20, 2008 8:00 AM
As the amount of digital video grows, so does the need to store it for future use. Some of today’s small-format videotape is not designed for years of storage, and the need to quickly access available media makes shelf storage impractical. Now, new technologies are providing innovative ways to store and retrieve digital assets...
Average TV viewing age is now 50, no longer target demo
Jul 7, 2008 9:38 AM
The broadcast television networks’ median age is the oldest ever...
August
Aug 3, 2008 8:00 AM
The transport stream used to carry multiple video and audio signals is a complex set of identifiers, tables and auxiliary data that presents a new challenge to the broadcast engineer. Examining and understanding its many components can be difficult; this tutorial will act as a guide through the transport stream wilderness and provide a better understanding of this critical part of the broadcast chain...
NBC broadcasts Olympics under difficult conditions
Aug 8, 2008 12:12 PM
The world will be watching as the network showcases a range of new broadcast technology....
FCC prohibits wireless mics in 700MHz band after DTV transition
Aug 25, 2008 3:14 PM
The commission wants to ban the manufacture, sale or shipment of devices that operate as low-power auxiliary stations after the transition is complete....
September
Viewer antenna woes in Wilmington don’t surprise researcher
Sep 11, 2008 11:56 AM
Reports that antennas were the No. 1 source of DTV reception problems in Wilmington, NC, this week didn’t surprise the Centris researcher who has been warning of DTV antenna trouble nationwide for months...
Sep 8, 2008 8:00 AM
Transport stream monitoring is as important as monitoring the transmitter, but it is seldom done. This is in part due to the complexity of the signal and the cost of the special stream monitoring equipment required...
Google’s Page says white space tests were rigged
Sep 26, 2008 1:34 PM
Washingtonpost.com reported that Google co-founder Larry Page told lawmakers this week that white space testing has been rigged. ...
October
Oct 5, 2008 8:00 AM
The cathode ray tube has been an integral part of television since the beginning, but soon it will be obsolete. Today’s display monitors come with a wide array of technologies and capabilities. But with these new technologies come new questions: What are the new display technologies and what new standards are there for judging video images? Not too long ago, the only display was the CRT; but with so many display choices now, it’s difficult to know which to choose...
New industry proposal would kill over-the-air television
Oct 27, 2008 2:02 PM
The New America Foundation advocates wireless broadband access...
Credit crunch impacts TV broadcasting
Oct 6, 2008 1:31 PM
The country’s economic woes could affect broadcasters’ operations and jobs...
November
CNN election night 'hologram' breaks newsgathering ground
Nov 7, 2008 11:11 AM
The news network employed an elaborate green-screen set, 35 HD cameras and sophisticated compositing technology to present a ‘hologram’ of a correspondent stationed in Chicago’s Grant Park inside the CNN Election Center in New York City....
FCC unanimously approves white space use
Nov 5, 2008 1:35 PM, By Phil Kurz
The commission voted Nov. 4 in favor of rules opening TV spectrum to consumer devices and expressed confidence in its engineers’ conclusions that harmful interference to TV signals and wireless mic transmissions can be avoided...
NFL to attempt live 3-D production
Nov 28, 2008 9:03 AM, By Michael Grotticelli
At San Diego’s QUALCOMM Stadium, eight cameras will be positioned to capture the live action in full 3-D...
December
House passes bill authorizing short-term continuation of analog TV
Dec 16, 2008 11:11 AM
The U.S. House of Representatives Dec. 10 passed a bill permitting the nation’s broadcasters to continue certain analog transmission for 30 days following the February 2009 DTV transition...
FCC’s Martin pushes free Internet, with a catch
Dec 8, 2008 8:54 AM
The commissioner’s plan is to auction spectrum with a mandate to set aside part of it for free Internet use...
WUSA to adopt one-person ‘multimedia journalist’ model for newsgathering
Dec 19, 2008 8:14 AM
The change means journalists will begin shooting and editing their own stories while camera operators will take on the added responsibility of reporting and editing...
