Previously at Chapter 67

SBE67 — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:00:25 +0000

At the March meeting on the 29th
Chapter Officer Elections were held and Charlie Taylor presented the complete line of Solutions from Digital Broadcast Inc
A few of their many products include: MediaFire and NewsBank MCR and News Automation, MediaVault “Cube” for LTO or Blue-ray based fast Archiving, MediaView for continuous recording and verification of off-air feeds and SafetyNet an On-site or Off-site Total Disaster Recovery System.
For more information about Digital Broadcast Click Here
* * * * * Members participated in the Chapter Officer Elections. Chairman Tom Schuessler and Secretary Joe Carter were re-elected, Bill Ryan is Treasurer and the Vice-Chairman position remains temporarily open.

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The February Chapter 67 meeting was held on the 23rd
Doug Thompson from Linear-TV gave us an update on their Products
We were back at Crystal’s Pizza – 930 West Airport Freeway in Irving for Dinner at 6 and Meeting at 7pm.
Our thanks to Doug Thompson of Linear Industries Inc. and
Dan Sessler who was also on hand from RF Specialties of Texas.

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On January 26th, for our regular 1st meeting of the Year
we toured the Continental plant in Dallas.
Thanks to Mike Troje for dinner, a short presentation and Q & A with Continental’s field service technicians Richard Garrett and John Hutson on common support issues and the plant tour with the latest HD Radio Products and some of Continental’s big, high power rigs under construction and test.

————- In 2011 ————————-

Bill Wise passed away on December 27th.
Bill was a co-worker and friend to many of us in the DFW area and will be missed. At a memorial party on Saturday January 7, 2012, at The Ranch House in The Colony, friends and colleagues gathered to celebrate the endless memories of Bill.
Allen Manning has supplied a brief bio of Bill – to read it Click Here

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On December 15th: SBE Members, Spouses and Dates enjoyed
A Gala Christmas Dinner at Dunston’s Steakhouse
Thanks to our Year-Round friends
RF Specialties and GBC-Giesler Broadcast
Your Suppliers with answers!
Nautel the Best in AM/FM Transmitters and Your Audio Processor of Choice Orban

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On December 1st
Our regular combined November/December Chapter 67 Meeting featured Joe Talbot, Product Manager from Telos Systems
with an informative presentation on
VoIP Phones for Radio Stations
Telos and Buck Waters from Broadcasters General Store provided Dinner at 6pm at Crystal’s Pizza 930 West Airport Freeway, in Irving, TX

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On Saturday, October 29th, 2011 Chapter 67 presented
The Nationally Acclaimed 8-VSB Measurement Seminar
Featuring Gary Sgrignoli DTV Transmission Engineer with Meintel, Sgrignoli & Wallace. Attendees from all over Texas and several other states attended a full day of quality instruction and education and received In-Depth Seminar Notes and Reference Material contained in a 750 Page Handbook were provided to all.
This outstanding seminar presenting the ATSC’s digital television (DTV) vestigial sideband (VSB) transmission system fundamental concepts & measurement methodologies for broadcasters, consultants, Broadcast, Consumer and Test Equipment manufacturers, translator/LPTV operators and cable operators. and designed to develop an understanding of 8-VSB transmission system basics as well as measurement techniques in the laboratory, at a transmitter site, and at remote field test sites. Practical test equipment information Use Features & other performance requirements were covered as well as new information on mobile/handheld DTV devices and Distributed Transmission.
NOTE: Attendance at this seminar earned one SBE credit towards re-certification.

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On September 29th, Chapter 67 presented a Live Streaming Event.
“Digital Media Compression, Streaming, and Workflows”
A great presentation by Chapter 67 Secretary Joe Carter, CBNT and Julian Rodriguez, MA from UTA. To download slides in PDF form Click Here

A special thanks to ProAudio.com for providing live streaming using the NewTek Tricaster TCXD-850 Extreme, the all-in-one solution for simultaneously switching, recording, projecting and streaming up to 8 channels of HD video. ProAudio.com, formerly Crouse-Kimzey Company, is NewTek’s elite dealer in north Texas and an SBE associate member and supporter.
The presentation ran live on the internet starting at 7pm from KDTX Studios, 2823 W. Irving Boulevard in Irving.

As an added feature Katy Templeton-Holmes from Harmon International/Studer whose huge demo/training truck was on site at KDTX as part of their “Texas Tour” for the Studer Broadcast Academy and open for viewing after the meeting. Studer is holding a full open house and offering training classes on the 29th and 30th.

Digital Media dominates the world of audio and video today. Never before has audio and video been so easy to transfer, access, and customize. It is important that everyone working in broadcasting be familiar with the newest way to handle media and how to get it to the audience using compression and streaming technology.
The realm of media encoding and streaming is complex, but using it does not have to be difficult.
This presentation provided an excellent overview of how encoding works, how it is transferred inside a production facility, and how it is then served to an audience on the internet.
Starting with the nuts and bolts of streaming media. Key points included containers vs. codecs, common types of codecs, buffering, sync, data rates, compression ratios and bandwidth considerations. Audio and video examples were shown to the attendees in house and on the stream to demonstrate the qualitative properties of encoded media.
The second part focused on the incorporation of compression, streaming, and workflows in university curriculums, and the challenges faced by faculty, staff, and students adopting multimedia standards to reach a worldwide audience.

Joseph W. Carter, CBNT is the Manager of Technical Operations and Engineer at the University of Texas at Arlington Department of Communication and anchor/reporter at WBAP. Joe has a diverse background in broadcasting and digital media. His specialty is media encoding, IP delivery and the study of today’s merging IT-AV workflows. Joe has given presentations on the emergence of Internet radio stations and how they will carry radio into the 21st century.
Julian M. Rodriguez, MA is an experienced videographer and journalist, specializing in electronic news, TV technology and current media issues. He is a lecturer at the University of Texas at Arlington Department of Communication. He teaches Video Production, TV Reporting and Modern Issues in Telecommunications and specializes in digital media formats, capturing and publishing. He has given many presentations on the use of ‘new’ media and its implications on the industry.

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On September 2, 2011 – Free Videoinsight Seminar, a Tour of the new Cowboys Stadium Broadcast Center and SBE ReCertification Credit – From Tektronix and Burst
Solutions to Today’s Video Delivery and Quality Challenges!
Scott Howard from Tektronix presented innovative test solutions and current tips on tackling today’s video challenges.
Demonstration and Presentation Topics covered by Scott included: 3D TV, Loudness and the CALM Act, MPEG & Video Quality, Closed Captioning, Ancillary Testing and Analysis.
After the presentations there was an insiders tour of the Cowboy’s Broadcast Facility and attendance to the Tek VideoInsight Seminar counts towards 1 credit of category H of the Society of Broadcast Engineers recertification program.

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THE AUGUST CHAPTER 67 MEETING WAS ON, AUGUST 25TH, 2011
Aaron Casey from Tubbesing Sales in Dallas presented
All you want to know about UPS Systems
Specializing in the latest technology in UPS systems – large units for Transmitter sites to small units for studios, Tubbesing Sales Corporation is a Dallas based firm focusing on critical power and cooling equipment and services for data centers, hospitals and other critical sites. With the APC Experience Center on site, clients can simulate real rack power and heat loads an evaluate the required power and cooling systems.Aaron Casey has been a Consulting Engineer for data centers, hospitals and factories as well as a systems engineer for APC supporting major Data Center clients. He is responsible for the professional service division along with key accounts at TSC.
The meeting started with dinner provided by Tubbesing at 6 and Aaron’s presentation at 7pm at Crystal’s Pizza 930 West Airport Freeway, in Irving. TX

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The July Chapter 67 meeting was on Thursday, July 28th, 2011
Brad Harrison from Wheatstone covered Wheatstone’s latest Radio and TV Audio Technology
Including the new Dimension One Console, the ALP-1000 TV Audio Loudness Processor and Wheatstone’s IP and Bridged TDM Networking
Wheatstone provided dinner at 6pm and the Meeting at 7pm at Crystal’s Pizza 930 West Airport Freeway, at the SE corner of 183 and MacArthur Boulevard – next to Office Depot, in Irving./strong>

Our thanks to Sony for a great June 2011 meeting with a thorough treatment of the concepts of 3D Video Production
Chris Soltesz, Sony’s camera SSE, Keith Vidger, Business Development Manager and Sony Acount Manager for the area Randy Brigham presented as a full house watched the team cover the history and current applications of 3D followed by a great tutorial on Creating 3D images. Then, with Sony’s 3D cameras, monitors and processing equipment set-up in house, we put on our glasses and watched a live demonstration of the actual 3D Camera Rig operation and image manpulation in real-time, learned about typical system workflow, common errors and mistakes and the techniques used by the Stereographer to produce modern 3D images for Film and TV.

Thanks to Jeff Ballow from Highway Marketing for an informative meeting in May.
Jeff gave us a brief history of Shure and shared the latest features of Shure’s Wireless Microphone line – good info for wireless users

The April meeting at Crystal’s featured a presentation for Radio, TV, Weather and all other Emergency Operations Centers with Bill Robertson from Digital Alert Systems
Bill provided solid information of the EAS/CAP transition, compared and contrasted the theories surrounding the move to CAP and recent announcements from the industry including the elements from the EAS Panel held at the 2011 NAB.
Some links to additional EAS Resources: – The SBE National Website EAS Information section offers FAQ and many EAS links – Texas Association of Broadcasters site has The North Central Texas EAS Plan as well as Complete Texas State EAS Information and The CAP Cookbook is here .

The March Chapter 67 Meeting was on the 31st at 7pm. Mike Simon – ATSC member and Advanced Technologies Manager at Rohde & Schwarz presented Mobile TV: A Practical Look
SMPTE joined us at Belo Headquarters in Dallas as Mike reviewed how Mobile M/H works, talked about development of ATSC – (M/H) from inception to implementation with a short description of some obstacles and solutions and focused on “how it works” and what you need to know to keep it working. And, Tom Jordan demonstrated the new R&S ATSC (M/H) Analyzer with a live look at some actual signal components received from existing on-air Mobile transmitters.
Here are some links to additional Reference Material
- Click here to go to the Rhode & Schwarz Mobile page.
- Belo ’s Tech VP Craig Harper is overseeing the group’s rollout of mobile DTV. Read the article at TV NewsCheck.
- The February issue of Broadcast Engineering magazine has a cover story on Optimizing Transmit Antennas for mobile.
- At the NAB’s FastRoad Project read the Broadcast Antenna for Handset Report . Researchers are working on tri-band embedded antenna designs capable of servicing mobile DTV and FM radio reception in mobile and handheld devices.
- Many resources are available at The Open Mobile Video Coalition

On February 24th, we saw new Chapter Officers elected, the latest developments in DTV and HD Radio and a lively discussion of the new C.A.L.M. Act.
The meeting highlighted the Nautel line of AM/FM transmission equipment for Radio plus Linear DTV products – including Mobile DTV and SFN and an unadvertised special – David Gerety from Junger-Audio led a discussion about Radio and TV Loudness as defined by the recently signed C.A.L.M. Act and it’s wide reaching implications for all broadcast Radio and TV.
The meeting at Crystal’s Pizza, 930 W Airport Freeway (183) in Irving was presented by Dan Sessler and Wray Reed of RF Specialties of Texas
Dan presented one of Nautel’s latest developments in HD Radio – Nautel’s Asymmetrical Sideband Modulation system called PowerBoost. Nautel recieved a Radio Magazine NAB 2010 Cool Stuff award for Asymmetrical Sideband technology allowing broadcasters to increase IBOC injection levels by up to 30% without the need to upgrade or replace the transmitter. We also saw AUI (Advanced User Interface) – a GUI-based transmitter control, monitoring and alarming system over IP AND the Wray talked about the VS Series – the latest in low-power FM transmitters featuring an Exciter with a unique Backup Programming solution for a loss of STL situation.
Linear TV is a leader in the rapidly growing field of Low Power DTV Transmission with advanced technology for SFN (Single Frequency Networks) , Mobile DTV, Exciters, Encoders, Test & Monitoring, linear and Non-linear error correction, translators and boosters.

Our first meeting in 2011 was on January 27th at KERA-TV and KXT-FM. Chuck Walior, VP of Technologies at Aldis Systems, Inc / Broadcast and Media Solutions was our speaker. Chuck introduced us to Aldis and their Systems Integration philosophy and discussed the “when and why” of using and selecting an integrator, maintaining control of a project, budgets, real project costs and support. This year Chuck and his team are finishing some additional work in TV and the group of 38 was treated to a tour of the new SSL TV audio system, MCRs our of and the new KXT-FM Radio Wheatstone Audio installation.
Five of the 7 KERA Directors of Engineering from 1975 to 2011 attended the event.

————- In 2010 ————————-

For the December 2010 Meeting – Jay Terleski and Bob Clunn from Array Solutions walked us through a complete demo of both the PowerAim 120 Vector Impedance Analyzer for Broadcast Engineers and the VNA 2180 Vector Network Analyzer on December 2nd.

Our September 2010 meeting was on the 30th
Thanks to John Bisset from Radio World’s long running Workbench column and SBE Educator of the Year for showing us how how IP can improve your life! And as a bonus, a presentation from the Workbench column. Our thanks to Proaudio.com and Tieline for the food and education.

The August Chapter 67 Meeting was held on August 26, 2010
Thanks to Morgan Martin from Junger-Audio for an informative presentation on the latest audio rules changes and proceedures to comply.

The July 2010 Meeting was back at Crystals Pizza on the 29th
Thanks to Bill Robertson from Digital Alert Systems for a lively discussion of EAS and the new CAPS implementation. Bill covered new rules going into effect this quarter.

In June of 2010, the Chapter 67 Meeting was held on Monday June 21 at MPS Studios
Co-Sponsored with SMPTE Larry Bloomfield Presented Taste of NAB 2010 Roadshow . Food was provided by Dan Sessler at RF Specialties of Texas and Warren Bottorff from Dielectric. The Big Show at 6:30P saw Drawings and Door Prizes from the Roadshow Sponsors – Grab Bags, Gift Certificates, etc

The May 2010 Chapter 67 Meeting was held on Thursday, May 27th
Thanks to Daniel Loeffler, North American Business Development at MAYAH Communications for an informative presentation audio IP/RTP broadcast basics along with SIP servers and other protocols.

Special Notice April 28, 2010
Services for former SBE Chapter 67 Chairman and SBE National Board Member Sandy Sandberg were held at Restland Memorial Chapel on Wednesday, April 28th

At the April 29th 2010 Meeting.
The topic was Audio over IP (AoIP) presented by Mike Uhl from Telos Systems and Co-Sponsored by Gary Tibbot of Broadcaster’s General Store.Mike demonstrated the new IP Codecs from Telos, Audio Processing technology for Transmission and Streaming and an AoIP Based Console system. Telos developed the first DSP-based Broadcast Telephone systems and the Zephyr ISDN Codecs. Mike is well known in the area from his time at PR&E in the 70’s. Gary Tibbot joined BGS in 2002 and many of us know him from the early 90’s at Allied.

At the March 2010 Chapter 67 meeting Thursday, March 25th
Engineering Director, Leslie Kveton gave us a tour of Citadel Media Network Operations Center. Thanks to Leslie for an interesting, inside Technical look at this major Network Hub. The meeting was well attended and included a side trip with Kent Kramer to Reach Media’s facility next door for many who stayed late.

The February 2010 Meeting was on the 25th
Thanks to Mark Helms and Stephanie Glockzin of ProAudio.com for an interesting history of Crouse-Kimsey and a demo the NewTek TriCaster – a complete TV/Radio field production system that is affordable, portable and small enough to fit into a backpack. It provides all the tools required to simultaneously record, stream, and project programs on the fly. An Ennes Workshop was announced for September 25th at UTA.

The First Meeting of 2010 on January 25th Meeting was a tutorial on Loudness
Presented by Linear Acoustics, we travelled from the first attempts at measuring and controlling Loudness on the radio to the present technology in use in Digital Radio and TV.

————- In 2009 ————————-

The 2009 November/December meeting Featured Kevin King from Nevion USA
Our thanks to Kevin King, Regional Sales Manager forNevion USA, who presented Nevion’s ASI Multiplexing, Network Monitoring/Surveillance for ASI/SDI and HD and the VikinX Routing system.

In October of 2009, our meeting was held on Thursday, the 29th
Thanks to Craig Vaughn from infraredteam LLC for an infrared boot camp intended to educate and increase our interest in thermal imaging.

The September 2009 Chapter 67 Meeting was held on Thursday, September 24TH
Thanks to Doug Thompson, representing Linear Industries, Inc. for hosting an educational presentation on cost effective TV transmission solutions and 8VSB measurements.

The August Chapter 67 meeting was held on August 27TH 2009
Our thanks to Ann Arnold, President of TAB – Texas State EAS Chair and head of the State Executive Steering Committee for EAS for the latest on new EAS Systems, Procedures and Compliance. She provided some good insight into the efforts by TAB and others to move EAS forward Nationally and in Texas.

The SBE Chapter 67 July Meeting was held on Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thanks to Ellis Terry from Nautel – for a lively discussion of advances in AM and FM Solid State Digital Transmitters designed to help meet the Engineering challenges ahead in HD Radio.