Yesterday was full of driving and learning. The learning was interesting and fun, the driving was, lets just say it was 200 miles worth.

I last attended an SBE Ennes workshop two years ago, it too was held at KVIE studio in Sacramento, California, its about 100 miles from my home in the Bay Area. As always they had a wide range of topics, just like last time, with three repeat presenters (Skip Erickson, David Davies & Steve Lampen) but they all covered different topics this time.

Here is a run down of what went on in the television and joint sessions (some sessions are split for radio).

David Davies talked about how towers fail and how you can prevent it.

David Davies of Consolidated Engineering,Inc talked about tower failures and how to prevent them. He’s had plenty of experience on this topic and knows what to look for. Working at Sutro Tower these are not things I need to worry about but I find fascinating none the less. His examples show you just how much there is to do when you are responsible for a tower or even just renting space on a tower, as it’s your station that goes off the air if it falls.

Skip Erickson told us what we need to know about being CALM

Skip Erickson works for Harris Corporation and this time around he told us all about the CALM act and loudness control (last time he talk about Disaster Recovery you can see it by clicking here). Skip talked about the problems with the CALM act and how it would impact broadcasters but also how he sees it being extended to both radio and cable in the future,I guess nobody likes commercials screaming at them.

Brad from Ross told us about 3D issues in live productions

Next was Brad Plant from Ross Video talking about the OpenGear standard and how it’s grown as well as how much you can monitor and control with it’s Dashboard software. Ross has extended the capabilities of Dashboard to allow many other types of devices to be controlled by it. What I found most fascinating was when his talked turned to 3D and the problems faced when live events are broadcast in 3D. The issue of just where graphics are placed in 3D space and how to control depth so viewers are not jarred by shifting convergent points from different cameras will be difficult to solve.

What you can do with a Wi-Fi Analyzer

Another very interesting and relevant topic was covered by Joe Stack from DSI RF Systems, Inc, where he talked about using Wi-Fi, G3 and G4 networks to get live shots back to the studio. This isn’t new but the idea of having a system that can use any or all of these network access points is. An important subject was quality and bandwidth, he proposed a system where you could just dial in the quality you wanted depending on the amount of bandwidth available. Instead of making many different adjustments to bit rate, frame rate, GOP and so on, you have them preset to get the best possible picture from whereever you are and the network available. Very interesting.

Ed Casaccia showed us what we can get for our money

Ed Casaccia from Grass Valley had just flown in from the Middle East the night before to make this presentation for us and he did a great job. His topic was news editing automation systems and how to get what you need and not necessarily  what you think you want. Ed talked about storage requirements and how to to maximize your budget to get the most storage whether it’s shared or not (not shared saves a lot of money but shared can help reduce head counts). He talked about insisting on a dream system you can’t afford and getting a system you can afford and gets the job done. Ed was very practical and experienced.

Interference on a Grandfathered ENG channel in Chicago

Dane Erickson from Hammett & Edison is a local legend, he is one of the smartest persons most of us know and his knowledge of FCC rules is phenomenal. Dane was here to warn us about making sure your BAS (Broadcast Auxiliary Service) information was correct in the FCC database. It seems the FCC is poised to open up the BAS 7 and 13 GHz band to broadband providers, against the wishes of SBE and Dane himself. When they do, if your information is not correct (i.e. exact location, elevation, size and type of dish) you will not be protected from interference, since the database is all they are going to look at. So check your records and make sure your info is correct in the FCC database! He and eibass.org (IEBASS is an organization started by Dane and others to protect BAS) has asked the FCC to add another field to the FCC database for Pending Renewal of Licenses, since BAS is tied to your main licence if it’s held up for renewal so is your BAS and looking at the database it would show that your BAS has expired! As an example he showed that because of the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction all CBS station have had a hold on their license renewals. So when looking at their BAS license it looks like they have expired, even though they are still in effect because the renewals were filed in a timely manor.

Another thing he warned about is the coming loss of TV channels 52 through 32, Dane believes its in the cards.

Tony showed us how cel networks and Wi-Fi can get the picture on the air

SNMP is coming and is here, Tony Peterle of WorldCast Systems presented us with a quick overview of SNMP and how it’s used today in broadcasting and more importantly how we can use it. He showed us how SNMP works with addressing, Agents, Clients, OIDs and such. I really feel I learned a great deal just from his presentation.

Here Steve talks about different types of Snake cable

Last on the line up was Steve Lampen from Belden and once again Steve gives a very entertaining demonstration of how little we all know about the wire and cable we use everyday. Its good to get a refresher now and then that makes us aware of the vast array of wires types out there and the different ways they can be used. And Steve always brings examples of the many types of cables Beldon makes so you can see and feel whats available. I always enjoy Steve’s presentations.

So over all it was a great way to spend my Saturday, meeting some old friends and learning new things. I did miss my son’s playoff game but they did win, 24 to 17, GO BRONCOS.

[UPDATE Sunday, the Broncos won their championship!)

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