Month: July 2012

Orlando Ennes Workshop on Fri, October 5 includes lightning protection, SNMP tutorial, trends in TV infrastructure

Posted by

0

 The schedule and topics are coming together for the Orlando Ennes Workshop in Walt Disney World® on October 5.  Confirmed topics include Here Comes Ethernet® with Steve Lampen from Belden.  This session will shed light on how IEEE, which owns the Ethernet standard, has been working on a re-write of the Ethernet standard called 802.1BA AVB, and the AVB is for audio and video bridging.  Brad Plant from Ross Video will discuss audio watermarking for audience measurement, followed by the Engineer’s Guide to the process of automating control of news productions and explains the many benefits for adopting automated production control technology in your facility. Dave Brender at the Copper Development Association will talk about the elements of a building’s wiring and grounding systems (including lightning protection) that pertain to power quality at communications facilities and improve up-time. His presentation sites actual experiences at broadcast facilities where grounding and lightning protection were of paramount importance in maintaining system availability.

Ennes Workshop, held May 2012 in El Paso

Tony Peterle presents a tutorial on SNMP, which includes an explanation of how SNMP works – the structure and types of SNMP messages, how they are transported over the network, and how they can be used to monitor and control remote equipment. He will also explore in-depth SNMP communications with at least two different target devices – one a well-known transmitter line, and at least one other device from outside the broadcast world (SNMP is found in many devices such as UPS systems, HVAC systems, IT systems, etc).

Norbert Miles, who attended the El Paso Ennes Workshop, said, ” The Ennes Workshop plays a very important part and key element and tool for keeping up with today’s technological advances in the broadcasting industry.” Well said!

Click here for more information and to register.

Vote in the SBE election

Posted by

0

SBE ElectionThe 2012 SBE Officers and Board of Directors Election is currently underway. An email containing a unique link to online voting has been sent to voting members voting electronically. Paper ballots are being mailed today to members who opted out of electronic voting.

View the list of SBE director and officer candidates here.

If you do not receive an email with voting instructions or a paper ballot by August 1, please email Scott Jones or Hannah Trowbridge or contact them by phone at (317) 846-9000.

Voting closes August 28 at 4:30 p.m. EDT. At the time the voting closes all electronic and paper ballots are due in the SBE National Office by 4:30 p.m. The results will be known on August 28 when all the ballots are counted by the official board of tellers.

Those elected will be inducted into office on October 24 during the SBE National Meeting, which will be held in Denver, Colorado in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Audio/Video Expo (AVX) and the Engineer’s Boot Camp.

New SBE University Course, Simple Network Management Protocol – special member pricing until Sept 1

Posted by

0

The newest course on SBE University explains how the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) works, including the structure and types of SNMP messages, how they are transported over the network, and how they can be used to monitor and control remote equipment.

Even though SNMP is still rather new to most broadcast engineers, it is an established protocol that has been in wide use across the IT community for decades. Robust and relatively simple to use, it can be a powerful part of a facility control plan at many different kinds of sites, and for broadcasters of any conceivable size. Early adopters of this technology are finding it invaluable for site-to-site communication and control, and the pool of broadcast equipment that supports the SNMP protocol is growing at a brisk pace.

Just as standards like HTTP, AES, MP3, and IBOC were once little known or understood in the broadcast community, SNMP is at the threshold of wide-scale adoption and acceptance. Engineers who make the effort to learn about this capability now will reap the benefits in the (near) future. The intelligence of the facility control software is currently the key. Software that can generate SNMP GET and SET commands, integrate those results smoothly with data gathered through traditional I/O channels, and generate alarms or automatically take action, is the software that will drive the next generation of facility control products and solutions for all of us.

The course was written for SBE by Tony Peterle, CSRE. Peterle is technical support manager for Worldcast Systems. In the span of his career, he has held chief engineer positions in Honolulu, Kansas City, and Wichita. After attaining his commercial pilot’s license, he spent several years as a traffic reporter in Kansas City, Honolulu and Seattle. In his current position, Tony enjoys helping customers solve problems, traveling, contributing to the design of new products, and participating in NAB and SBE events.

Members of the SBE can enjoy a special rate of $65 for the course until September 1. That’s $20 off the already discounted price of $85.  The cost for non-members is $105. Visit our website for more information and to register.

Are you ready for the CALM Act? Check out this article and seminar to help you prepare

Posted by

0

I ran across an article from TV Technology from last month on A Systems Approach to Implementing the CALM Act, written by Mary Gruszka. Some key points are outlined to help stations be in compliance with these rules by December 13, including establishing a company standard, and understanding where the various types of content come from and how to ensure they meet your company’s standard.

With this important deadline just around the corner, the SBE and ATSC have put together a day-long seminar geared toward helping you plan and implement your solution.  The Audio Loudness Management Seminar Series takes place in Chicago on August 23, in Los Angeles on September 27, and in Atlanta on November 13.

Station engineers, broadcast executives, cable operators, satellite TV providers, the content creation community, and other professionals affected by this act will have the opportunity to hear about important updates in DTV audio loudness standards.  Topics include the FCC rules and updated information on the CALM Act, practical solutions for implementation, loudness measurement and monitoring technology, receiver processing and equipment solutions, and an in-depth tutorial on ATSC’s Recommended Practice A/85.  Those contributing to this seminar include Jerry Whitaker, ATSC; Jim Starzynski, NBC Universal; Pat Waddell, Harmonic Inc.; Steve Lyman, Dolby Labs; and Steve Silva, Fox.

If anyone has any comments or helpful articles about the CALM Act, feel free to post them here by clicking on the bubble at the upper-right hand side of this post.

Kimberly Kissel
SBE Education Director

Need a technical presenter for your next meeting or conference? SBE has a select group of presenters ready to go!

Posted by

0

SBE Technical Presenters Group Member Wayne Pecena, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB, CBNT

The SBE continually strives to improve its education program, offering its members everything from on-demand courses, live and on-demand webinars, live workshops, leadership training, and our latest venture of offering presenters who can speak on broadcast specific topics almost anywhere in the country. State broadcast associations, SBE chapters and other broadcast groups have already benefited from requesting a presenter from the SBE Technical Presenters Group.  Current topics include chief operator responsibilities, understanding the FCC self-inspection checklist, and networking technology.  If you are interested in requesting a presenter or applying to become a presenter of the Group, send me an email.

– Kimberly Kissel, SBE Education Director