content + technology march april 2011 issue

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Media Production Management Delivery

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VOLUME 3 > ISSUE 5Also see C+T in PDF at www.content-technology.com CONTENTS

Editors Welcome

2 Editors Welcome

Recruiting/Staff Management Recruiting/Staff Management

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Also on the Site: Whitepapers News and product

information from 27 C+T blog sites

Events to calendar

2011 Deadlines

Visit www.content-technology.com

May/June 2011 Vol 8 Issue 3Editorial/Advertising Bookings April 22nd, 2011Ad Material April 29th, 2011 July/August 2011 Vol 8 Issue 4Editorial/Advertising Bookings June 27th, 2011Ad Material July 1, 2011 Stptember/October 2011 Vol 8 Issue 5Editorial/Advertising Bookings August 12th, 2011Ad Material August 19th, 2011 November/December 2011 Vol 8 Issue 6Editorial/Advertising Bookings October 21st, 2011Ad Material October 28th, 2011

For more information, visit www.content-technology.com or call +61-(0)2-9332 2221 or +61-(0)414 671 811. Email: [email protected] Sales enquiries: [email protected] or call +61-(0)410 880 557

Catch up on the behind the scenes action at NAB 2011 and much more with C+Ts Online Video at our brand new C+T web site.

Putting it All in Perspective

By Phil Sandberg

WHILE THE EFFECTS of the catastrophic events in Japan have become clearer since March 11, there will undoubtedly be unforeseen repercussions affecting both the Japanese and global communities that will have to be dealt with as time goes on. The same can be said, to a lesser extent, of the recent flooding throughout Australia and the earthquake disaster in Christchurch, New Zealand.

One of the issues raised by the compounded Japanese earthquake-tsunami-radiation catastrophe is the reliance of the broadcast industry upon Japanese manufacturing capacity. Unhelpful reports from the U.S. suggest shortages and panic buying have begun when it comes to recordable media as a result of a cessation of operations at Sonys tsunami-affected Sendai plant and interruptions at Sony and other manufacturers facilities due to power shortages.

However, the word from manufacturers locally is DONT PANIC. There are sufficient stocks available and, given a wider-spread adoption of reusable solid-state media than in the U.S., the situation is unlikely to impact local production to the same degree.

Perhaps C+Ts overseas trade media counterparts should concentrate less on attracting visitors to their websites and spare a thought for the more than 20,000 people who have lost their lives as well as the many homeless for whom SR tape is the least of their worries. They might also like to reflect on the plight of Christchurchs CTV which lost 17 of its 20 staff, including its founder and managing director (see story page 4) in that earthquake. A bit of perspective, please.

NAB 2011Perspective is something one should always employ at this time of year when it comes to the annual U.S. National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas and not just because of its location.

Years gone by have witnessed numerous next-big-things that were going to change the face of

traditional media and the business models of content creators. Mobile TV, digital asset management, 3D, digital signage, social media networks, China, the Red Camera, the list goes on. All these things were meant to provide lucrative new revenue streams for producers and broadcasters alike except they havent. At least, not in the way they were supposed to.

Like flame-obsessed moths, many have scrambled to take advantage of these new areas of opportunity with associations springing up around them (mostly in the U.S.) to provide a conduit for education and networking. Mostly, though, it has been the people running the organisations who have benefited by being hired for a better job than they started with.

Then there is the undeniable fact that there is always some new, game changing company ready to come along and reshape the industry forever. Sometimes, like Google/Youtube, they do. Mostly, they dont. So, what lessons should one bear in mind when traversing the labyrinthine halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center?

1) Ask yourself, how can this new solution or trend fit into my existing business or help it evolve?

2) Is this something which will have legs outside of its home market? Not all geographies are equal and just because you share a language with someone doesnt mean youre reading from the same page.

3) Everything costs more and takes longer than everyone thinks, so factor it in.

Lastly, attend the Annual NAB Aussie /Kiwi night on Saturday April 9. Theres nothing like peers and beers to really put things in perspective.


Thanks for Reading

Phil SandbergEditor/Publisher


Job Opportunity Sales & Marketing ManagerBroadcastpapers Pty Ltd, the publisher of Content+Technology magazine is seeking expressions of interest for the full-time position of Sales & Marketing Manager. The successful applicant will be an entrepreneurial self-starter with advertising sales experience preferably across print, online and events who is also capable of generating creative marketing options for our clients.

The successful applicant would also be jointly responsible for promoting the companys activities across online forums, search engines and social media networks. Experience in the broadcast-film technology sector would be an advantage, but is not essential. Remuneration would consist of base salary plus commission. Interested parties please email your CVs to [email protected]

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4 News

For the latest news, visit www.content-technology.comNeWS{ + people

DISASTER STRIKES CTV CHRISTCHURCH

SONY, PANASONIC RALLY TO AID JAPAN QUAKE VICTIMSWith the full extent of Japans earthquake/tsunami/nuclear tragedy on March 11 yet to be revealed, word has emerged from companies in the affected regions as to the impact the events have had on their staff and operations.According to a statement, operations at several Sony sites and facilities have been affected by the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami, and the company has been monitoring the status of each of these sites on an on-going basis, while also considering the most effective recovery measures. Sony has also responded to widespread power outages by voluntarily suspending operations at several sites. According to Sony, No significant injuries have been reported to employees working at any of these sites when the earthquake or tsunami occurred.Despite this, Sony Corporation Sendai Technology Center (Tagajyo, Miyagi) has ceased operation due to earthquake damage. In addition, manufacturing operations have been

suspended at the following affected production sites: SonyChemical&Information

Device Corporation - Tagajyo Plant (Miyagi Prefecture, Magnetic Tapes, Blu-ray Discs), Tome Plant, Nakada/Toyosato Sites (Miyagi Prefecture Optical devices, IC cards)

SonyShiroishiSemiconductorInc.(Miyagi Prefecture - Semiconductor Lasers)

SonyEnergyDevicesCorporation,Koriyama Plant (Fukushima Prefecture - Lithium Ion Secondary Batteries)

SonyEnergyDevicesCorporation,Motomiya Plant (Fukushima Prefecture - Lithium Ion Secondary Batteries)

SonyManufacturingSystemsCorporation, Kuki Plant (Saitama Prefecture - Surface mounting equipment)

SonyDADCJapanInc.,IbarakiFacility (Ibaraki Prefecture - CDs, DVDs).

Despite the damage and disruption, Sony has been proactive in contributing to relief efforts with the donation of 300 million

Japanese yen [AUD$36 million] to aid recovery efforts in affected communities. Additionally, a disaster relief fund will collect donations across the Sony Group from employees worldwide and matched by the company. The company will also donate 30,000 Sony radios to assist the relief of earthquake victims, while the Sony Group will prepare further product donations going forward, taking into account the local needs.The Tohoku region is historically important for Sony, with a high concentration of manufacturing sites, and many employees and their families have also been affected by the devastating events.

In times like these, we are reminded of how important and fragile we are and of the positive impact we can have - both as individuals and, collectively, as a Company - to assist those in need, said Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President, Sony Corporation. We will continue to make the utmost effort to help the swift recovery of the affected communities in the region.For its part, Panasonic Corporation has also stepped up to aid relief efforts by also donating 300 million yen and necessary supplies, including 10 thousand radios, 10 thousand lamps and 50 thousand batteries.Due to the large electricity shortages, Panasonic Group is also calling out to save electricity and will start by turning off outdoor signage and refraining from using electricity at all applicable facilities.In a statement, the company said, Panasonic Group and its employees express deep condolences for victims of the earthquake and sincerely hope for swift recovery of the people and areas affected by the disaster.

Donations to the Japan relief efforts can be made through the Red Cross online (www.redcross.org.au), via credit card by phoning 1800 811 700, or at any Commonwealth Bank.

One of the inherent problems with modern news coverage is the imperative to move onto the next breaking event such as the Japan crisis, often ignoring the ongoing impact of other recent events like the floods in Australia or the Christchurch earthquake. It is the latter which has hit the New Zealand TV industry particularly hard with the destruction and loss of life at regional broadcaster Canterbury Television (CTV).The building that housed the operations of Canterbury Television was destroyed in the earthquake of February 22, 2011. Community-based, CTV produced more than 20 hours of local programming every week as well as carrying programming from Deutsche Welle, Bloomberg Television, CCTV-9, Voice of America and Al Jazeera. Its signal went out from the Sugarloaf Television transmitter on the Port Hills, near Christchurch and was also carried through TelstraClearsDigitalTVservicetoChristchurch,Wellington&Kapiti.According to its web site, the independently-owned television station with its staff of over 20 media professionals, saw itself as the industry standard for other regional stations operating in New Zealand.As well as significant loss of life at a language school housed within the building, 17 of CTVs staff were killed, including Managing Director Murray

Wood, a 57-year-old father of six, who was with CTV for almost eight years. He was described as a legend, community inspiration and fantastic father, as well as a real enthusiast for the industry. Mike Yardley, host of CTV current affairs program Newsmakers had just finished his shift at local radio station NewsTalkZB when the quake struck.In his blog on NewsTalkZBs web site, he wrote For the past 10 years, the regional television channel has been a trusty employer for me, broadcasting my weekly current affairs program. My heart has been torn by the unwieldy weight of grief, as I reflect on 17 much-loved workmates who I will never share a TV studio with again. Seventeen passionate, resolute workmates who believed in regional television and made it work.CTV has been the career launch-pad for dozens and dozens of TV journalists, who now appear on our nightly network news programs. CTV was the longest-running television channel in New Zealand, and although it will never be the same, it will rise again to serve our region. It must.The relief effort in Christchurch continues. Donations can also be made through the Red Cross online (www.redcross.org.au), via credit card by phoning 1800 811 700, or at any Commonwealth Bank.

>> >> Downtown pre-quake Sendai.

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News 7 6 News


CONVERGENCE REVIEW COMMITTEE CHAIR ANNOUNCEDThe Australian Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has announced that Mr Glen Boreham will chair the Convergence Review Committee.The Convergence Review, announced on 14 December 2010, will involve a comprehensive examination of Australias communications and media regulation. Mr Boreham is a former Managing Director of IBM Australia, and has substantial experience working with government, having served as the inaugural Chair of the Screen Australia Board since June 2008 and as a member of the Governments Information Technology Industry Innovation Council since 2009.Mr Boreham joins Mr Malcolm Long as members of the three-person Review Committee. The final member will be announced shortly.Mr Long also brings considerable experience to the Committee. For 10 years he was a part time member of the Australian Communications and Media Authority and before that the Australian Broadcasting Authority. He has also been a director of the Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group, a global communications infrastructure provider, and Pan TV Limited, which produced the World Movies subscription TV channel. Mr Long has previously held senior positions with the Australian Film Television and Radio School and the London-based International Institute of Communications.The final Terms of Reference for the Convergence Review can be viewed at www.dbcde.gov.au/convergence

FOX STUDIOS AUSTRALIA ENTERS LIGHTING RENTALS MARKET Australias largest film studio, Fox Studios Australia is moving into the lighting rental business with an announcement that it plans to purchase the entire Australian lighting equipment inventory of Panalux, Panavisions lighting division based in New South Wales and Queensland. The move follows a decision by Panavision to concentrate its activities on camera and crane rentals.The purchase of such a significant amount of lighting equipment sees Fox Studios Australia now become Australias only complete one stop shop film studio, closely resembling Foxs US studio model and moving away from the dry hire model.Fox Studios Australia CEO Nancy Romano said, Purchasing and thus keeping, the lighting equipment that has serviced our industry so well over the last 12 years on Australian shores was the primary driver behind our decision. By adding the lighting equipment operation to our studio, it will be easier and more convenient for local and international productions to source lighting equipment whilst shooting on the Fox lot in Sydney, or in any other location in Australia and New Zealand.Visit www.foxstudiosaustralia.com

NEW OFFICES FOR AVW BROADCASTAVW Broadcast has moved to new facilities in St Leonards, Sydney. AVW now has increased warehouse and workshop facilities to support its expansion in the Broadcast markets. According to Murray Hunt, AVWs Managing Director, AVWs concentration on supply and support for the Broadcast and RF customers called for enlarged facilities to support greater stock holdings and product inspections.The new address is 38A, 8 Herbert Street, St Leonards, NSW 2064, Australia. Tel: (+61 2) 8213 0200. Fax: (+61 2) 9966 9551.Visit www.avwbroadcast.com.

SENCORE DOWN UNDER WITH ONAIRSencore has signed OnAir Solutions to represent its full line of signal transmission products in Australia. OnAir Solutions will be the exclusive reseller of Sencore video monitoring and signal delivery products to the Australian broadcast, cable, satellite, and IPTV marketplace. Australia represents an exciting, untapped opportunity for Sencore, and OnAir Solutions is an ideal partner to help us build a market presence there, says Tony Oehlerking, Sencore GM of International Business Development. Australian broadcasters are grappling with challenges for which many of our products are tailor-made, such as transcoding from MPEG4 to MPEG2 and OnAir Solutions has a strong track record of establishing a base for new products that uniquely satisfy specific requirements. Visit www.onair.com.au and www.Sencore.com

VISIONARY SOLUTIONS POWERS IPTV FOR FIJI Visionary Solutions has announced that MAI TV has successfully deployed its encoders to stream programming for the new 24-hour Web channel, MAI TV LIVE. MAI TV, which relies exclusively on IPTV technology to power its broadcasts, is one of two free-to-air networks in Fiji, and the company has created the online channel primarily to serve the thousands of Fijians living overseas. The system installed by MAI TV includes Visionary Solutions Media Processing Platform blade/chassis system and the VSiCaster streaming system, developed in partnership with streaming service provider NetroMedia. The flexible and cost-effective platforms provide MAI TV encoding options for edge acquisition and distribution of digital content they receive from programmers around the world. MAI TV LIVE will initially be programmed as a direct mirror of the programming shown over the air. However, the network plans to eventually create programming specifically for the online audience. The MAI TV installation also includes Visionary Solutions equipment for the processing of its over-the-air broadcasts. Visit www.maitv.com.fj, www.vsicam.com and www.NetroMedia.com

FSM KICKS OFF 2011 WITH FEATURE FILMSSydney post production company FSM has dived into 2011 with a strong feature film focus, including the national cinema release of Griff the Invisible in March and the announcement of its involvement with the soon-to-be-shot, multi-million dollar movie Goddess.com.FSM completed all visual effects, titles and colour grading for Griff the InvisibleScheduled to begin shooting in April, Goddess.com is a musical romantic comedy directed by Mark Lamprell and produced by Richard Keddie and Andrena Finlay.FSM is heavily involved in workflow tests, VFX, DI and the full post production pathway for the multi-million dollar film. Visit www.fsm.com.au

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Christopher Mapp, Managing Director of Omnilab Media has announced the appointment of Sunita Gloster as the companys new General Manager, Media Services Sydney.Gloster will focus on identifying new opportunities in the advertising and entertainment markets for Omnilab Media at a time of significant growth and achievement for the company. In addition, Gloster will develop and oversee the strategic direction for Omnilab Media [Media Services] Sydney brands comprising:VFXandpostfacilityTheLabSydney

Editingsuites,IslandFilms;andPostproductionandsounddesigncompany, CornerpostGloster most recently worked as Managing Director at advertising agency bellamyhayden. Gloster returns to Australia after having worked 11 years overseas, including as founding partner

at London agency Hurrell Moseley Dawson Grimmer;ChiefOperatingOfficerforM&CSaatchiEurope;andWorldwideBusinessDevelopment Director at Lowe. Gloster launched her career with stints at The Campaign Palace, Whybin TBWA and Y+R Adelaide.Visit www.omnilab.com

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HARRIS PROMOTES KHODEIR, HEWITTHarris Corporation has promoted Joe Khodeir to the role of vice president, marketing and solutions, Asia-Pacific, for its Broadcast Communications business.Joe will manage the product marketing, solutions and emerging business teams, reporting to Richard Scott, senior vice president, global sales and service.HewillcontinuetomanagetheMedia&Workflowsoftwaresystemsbusiness across the Asia-Pacific region as he did in his previous role as vice president of sales for Australia and New Zealand.Joe will also be responsible for generating business opportunities to sell the Harris ONE integrated broadcast solution across the Asia-Pacific region. This solutions-based approach has seen considerable worldwide success for Harris in the broadcast sector, particularly in Australia under Joes leadership. Prior to joining Harris Corporations Software Systems business unit (formerly Encoda Systems, Inc.) in January 2001, Joe had extensive regional media experience as Asia-Pacific chief operating officer for Lintas, the advertising agency network and wholly-owned subsidiary of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc.Meanwhile, Richard Hewitt has been named sales manager for the Harris Broadcast Communications business in Australia and New Zealand. In this role Richard will be responsible for selling the breadth of Harris Broadcasts Workflow, Infrastructure and Networking (WIN) and Media product portfolios, as well as managing the local sales and operations for the business. Richard will report to Stephen Wong, vice president sales and service, Asia Pacific, Harris Broadcast Communications. Prior to joining Harris, Richard worked for Crosfield Electronics, Dixons Group and Honeywell in the U.K. Richard holds an honours degree in electronic engineering from the University of Hertfordshire, U.K. Visit http://www.harris.com.

MCGROUTHER HEADS DAMSMART FILM SERVICESAustralian audiovisual digitisation agency, DAMsmart, has announced that Dave McGrouther is joining the team to head up its Film Services Division.Dave is well known in the industry as one of Australias leading film preservation experts. Having spent 14 years at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA), most recently in an executive role as Film Curator, Dave brings with him extensive knowledge of archiving, preservation, conservation and repair techniques for all film formats.Daves appointment further strengthens DAMsmarts specialist audiovisual digitisation and preservation services. The growth of DAMsmarts technical team underscores their commitment to developing their digitisation business in Australia and their expansion into Asian markets.Visit http://www.damsmart.com.au

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+ peopleNeWS


8 News


PREECE TO MANAGE ROSS VIDEO SALES ANZ

CURTIS TAKES POLICY & REGULATORY AT ASTRAThe Australian subscription television industry body, ASTRA, has announced the appointment of Simon Curtis to a one year contract position as Manager, Policy&RegulatoryAffairs.Simon joins the organisation with an extensive background in public policy and regulatory affairs having worked most recently on digital television policy for The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. Simon has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of NSW and began his career in government as Policy Officer with the then Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, having previously been Senior Research Officer at the Communications Law Centre, UNSW.In his new role, Simon will work to influence policy and regulatory strategy for the subscription television industry and work with industry bodies and external groups, supporting the needs of ASTRA members.Visit www.astra.org.au

BURTON CEO FOR CUTTING EDGE

Fuel VFX has announced that Christopher Horvath and Johannes Saam have joined its team.Chris Horvath has worked mostly in technical design and direction, software and pipeline development and in supervisory roles for leading visual effects companies including ILM and Weta. His film credits include Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, King Kong and Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King.At Fuel, Chris is currently overseeing the redevelopment of the companys pipeline and technical infrastructure. As part of this, Chris is migrating Fuel from a Windows based company to Linux and is concurrently leading the CG team through the companys

sequences for Captain America: The First Avenger.As a Technical Director, Johannes Saams feature film credits include Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Gahoole, The Spirit, Australia, The Ruins and development work for Mad Max 4: Fury Road.Johannes is one of the pioneers of the Deep Image compositing technology which allows artists to composite their shots in the 3D space, rather than on flat 2D planes. Johannes brings this experience to Fuel where he is working on pipeline and tool development for the companys slate of projects, as well as in FX shot production for Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.Visit www.fuelvfx.com

HORVATH, SAAM JOIN FUEL VFX

Asian sports broadcaster, ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has appointed Colin Sherriff to the role as Vice President of Operations and Technology.Sherriff leads the biggest department within the ESPN STAR Sports network, heading teams responsible for Engineering, Transmission, Studio Operations, Satellite Operations, Editing, Commercial Traffic, Facilities as well as Media Content Operations.Sherriff will report directly to Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports, who welcomed his appointment.

Sherriff joins ESPN STAR Sports from Television Systems Limited (UAE) where he was the General Manager and was responsible for setting up TSLs Middle East operations. Sheriff

returns to ESPN STAR Sports from his earlier stint at ESS from 1997 to 2001 when he was the Director of Engineering. Colin started his career with Television New Zealand and has worked with STAR (Hong Kong), Taj TV (Dubai), Al Jazeera Int. (Qatar) and SONY Professional Solutions (UAE).Visit www.espnstar.com

Spencer Preece has joined Ross Videos Team Asia as the new Regional Sales Manager, Australia and New Zealand. Spencer has almost 20 years of sales experience in the Production and Broadcast industry gaining invaluable experience across a wide section of areas including live production, operations and system integration. Prior to Ross, Spencer worked for Sony and Global Television in Australia and Granada Media in the United Kingdom.Visit www.rossvideo.com

Cutting Edge has announced the appointment of Michael Burton as the companys new chief executive officer (CEO).Burton started with Cutting Edge as the companys CTO, and later held the joint positions of Managing Director and Head of Outside Broadcast and Reality TV. Burton is a key driving force at Cutting Edge, having overseen the provision of services to blockbuster television productions such as Endemol Southern Stars Big Brother Australia, Granada Televisions Im a CelebrityGet Me Out Of Here, Fox Sports Cricket and Network Tens AFL broadcasting. In his new role, Burton aims to further enhance Cutting Edges world-class creative excellence across all services, including post-production, visual effects, broadcast and digital media.Our clients need a broader range of services and products than ever before. At Cutting Edge we have everything in place. With some of the worlds best creative people

and technology, we can help our clients through every stage of the production process, said Michael Burton, CEO of Cutting Edge. From creation through to delivery, were focused on giving the most value to our clients. Whether its through asset management and digital delivery efficiencies, or through a new range of services across the digital media space.Visit www.cuttingedge.com.au

ESPN STAR SPORTS CALLS SHERRIFF

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10 Taking Stock

Taking Stock

taking STOCK MOVES IN THE BUSINESS OF CONTENT+TECHNOLOGY

NEED the FEED >> www.content-technology.com/mediabusiness

Production Resource Group (PRG) Acquires Bytecraft

Disruptive TENdenciesThe TEN Network has a history of technical and business innovation that really hit its stride when the commercial broadcaster moved its Sydney operations to the present location in Pyrmont.

From its pioneering adoption of digital infrastructure and file-based workflows to the niche-carving launch of the ONE sports channel, TEN has sought to embrace new technologies and efficiencies while targeting viewers underserved by its commercial counterparts at Seven and Nine the most recent example of this was the boost given to local news and current affairs.

Importantly, the Networks digital channels, especially ONE, have strengthened the Freeview proposition that viewers dont need subscription TV when they can get what they need free-to-air.

This is all now in doubt after the buy-up of TEN shares by Lachlan Murdoch, James Packer and Gina Rinehart and their subsequent ascension to the board.

These moves were followed by the announcement of a strategic review of TEN operations and the termination of Grant Blackleys contract as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, leaving Lachlan Murdoch as Acting CEO.

This would all be standard boardroom shenanigans if it werent for what followed.

Ten Network Holdings Limited went on to announce the appointment of James Warburton (who had served as Chief Sales and Digital Officer of Seven Media Group since 2008) as Chief Executive Officer of the Company except he might not start as early as the TEN board anticipated.

It seems someone forgot to do their homework with regard to the contractual obligations Mr Warburton has with the Seven Media Group, and while Seven has deemed these obligations, and potential competitive threats, important enough to initiate court action, Mr Warburton appears less concerned. That

is, if the contents of an affidavit by Sevens Group General Manager of Human Resources, Samantha Liston, are anything to go by.

While the expectation at TEN was that Mr Warburton would commence his tenure on 14 July 2011, Ms Liston contends that date is the earliest that he could terminate his contract, meaning he would not be free to take up another position until October 14. Ms Liston also contends that Mr Warburton was offered the position of CEO of the Seven Media Group just prior to his accepting the TEN offer.

All of which will prolong Lachlan Murdochs period as caretaker CEO.

THE SPECULATION: NEWS CORP TAKEOVER?Of the chatter doing the rounds over the manoeuvres at TEN, some have raised the spectre of a backdoor takeover by interests aligned to News Corporation, which would see TENs digital channels replaced by Foxtel offerings specifically Sky News and Fox Sports.

It is no secret the Foxtel camp sees new, niche free-to-air channels as a threat to its offering, especially ABCNEWS24 and, to a lesser extent, the ONE Sports Channel.

Sky News has also long had its eye on the ABC-held contract for operation of the federally-funded Australia Television international service.

Both ABC operations have, of late, taken a battering from News Limited publications while Foxtel CEO, Kim Williams, has called for the ABC to be treated the same as its commercial counterparts under the upcoming Federal Convergence Review.

There is little doubt, however, that any move to replicate subscription channels over TEN spectrum, or use them as teasers to encourage subscription uptake, would come under the scrutiny of the

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. There is also the matter of media plurality, which

is sure to raise its head, as it has done recently in the UK over News Corps proposed merger with BSkyB.

In that case, the UK Government accepted undertakings from News Corporation it would spin-off Sky News as an independent public limited company with the shares in that company distributed amongst the existing shareholders of BSkyB in line with their shareholdings.

To ensure editorial independence and integrity in news reporting, the company would have a board made up of a majority of independent directors, including an independent chair, and a corporate governance and editorial committee made up of independent directors (who would have no other News Corporation interests).

News Corporation would not be allowed to increase its shareholding in the new company without permission from the Secretary of State for 10 years.

The company would have a 10-year carriage agreement and a seven-year renewable brand licensing agreement.

Of course, the situation in Australia is different with there being no merger in the offing and the various channels already being independent entities, but the plurality concern is unlikely to go unvoiced.

For its part, and despite receiving court documents from Seven, TEN says it looks forward to Mr Warburton commencing with Ten as Chief Executive Officer, as previously announced, on 14 July 2011.

Ten considers that it has acted properly and in a way that is consistent with Mr Warburtons employment obligations and will be defending any proceedings accordingly.

As the matter is currently before the courts, Ten will not make any further comment.

The unfolding continues.

Production Resource Group, L.L.C. (PRG), a leading global supplier of entertainment and event technology solutions headquartered in New York, has announced that it will acquire the business and assets of Australian-based Bytecraft Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Staging Connections Group Limited.

PRG supplies entertainment and event technology to a wide range of markets and has more than 36

offices in North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

PRG chairman and CEO Jeremiah Jere Harris and Bytecraft Managing Director Stephen Found jointly announced the acquisition, which will be completed by the end of March. Stephen Found will continue in a leadership role with the company.

Founded in 1984, with offices in Melbourne,

Sydney, and Adelaide, Bytecraft Entertainment has a long history of technical excellence. The company specialises in supplying lighting, drapery, and Superscreen LED systems for large-scale events, as well as theatre, television, theme parks, gaming venues and large outdoor sporting events.Visit www.prg.com and www.bytecraftentertainment.com

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12 Taking Stock

Taking Stock

IN THE PREVIOUS ARTICLE in the last editionofContent&Technology,wediscussedhowto prepare your application for a job, with some insight into the employer and their expectations when advertising the job.

In this edition we will discuss how to prepare for an interview, along with some very handy tried and true methods that attract the attention of the interviewer.

COMMON TERMINOLOGYFirstly, there is some common terminology used in recruitment, so understanding these ideas will help you to compartmentalise the process.

Applicants are those who apply to a job, but after consideration they may become Candidates.

After interviewing there maybe up to three Short-listed Candidates after which a Referee Report is tabled and the Appointee is awarded the position of ., confirmed by a Letter of Offer and/or Contract of Employment, depending upon company policy.

Although there is more to recruitment, these are the basic milestones.

NOTES FOR THE CANDIDATEResume LayoutDont use a generic covering letter for all positions you apply. Highlight all the points from the advertisement, or Job Description, then, indulge yourself with legitimate references to the position you are applying.

Page 1 of the resume is the summary page listing Dates, Positions and previous Employers, one per line.

This is the reference page for the reader.Page 2 contains the latest or current position. All

other positions follow thereafter. Rule of thumb is that the last five years will contain

more information than the preceding years, so the information starts to decrease as page numbers increase.

EMAILED RESUMES If you would like, you could use logos of previous employers and hyperlink them to their website. This provides the reader easy access to the companys line of business.

If you intend to present a show reel, park it on a remote server and link it back to your resume.

If you have a website with your resume parked on it, do not use it as your initial application, as it will

Media Staff & Strategy by Karl Jansson*

From Applicant to Candidate - ll

Read the Blog Online at www.broadcastjobz.info

indicate a generic response to the position, and not a purpose-built application.

Without exception, the attached resume file should contain your name(#) as part of the file name.

Some current Internet software is blocking resume.doc generic files, so tag it as:

Your Name.Position.Resume.doc. By placing the position title and possibly the company name, it indicates a more personal approach to your application. It will stand out to others with a generic file name.

Think of your resume as luggage tag on a journey, so dont lose it.

Before emailing, inspect it for visible omitted or inserted changes from the WORD feature and before sending it, open it to ensure that it is THE document you are sending.

Keep any graphics to a minimum file size. Finally, and most importantly, keep the pages of

your resume to within 10 pages. The recipient of your resume has no doubt read Gone with the Wind already.

PRIOR TO THE INTERVIEWUpon forwarding your application, listen to the outgoing messages on your mobile and home answer machine, and ask yourself, are these appropriate messages from a job seeker? They are your first impressions prior to an interview.

Take to the interview (for your reference) a written list of all your relevant experience and a list of questions that you believe need to be answered.

Also take written references or documents that will support any claim you believe is important. Present them if the time is appropriate.

Always read again your research notes on the company as well recent news items and arrive no sooner than five minutes before the appointment . with your mobile phone switched Off.

NOTES FOR THE EMPLOYERHandle all received applicant information with the same duty of care as internal confidential company information.

Government Privacy legislation laws (globally) recognises the trust placed on you as the custodian of documents deemed as Resumes or CVs. The storage and management of such information and disposal of it warrants no less than a company policy around it.

It should also cover an applicants request to

remove such data, by hard and soft copy, and the process governing it.

Although regional laws may vary, you are duty bound to secure their approval prior to forwarding their details to any third party or even divisions within your organisation.

If you engage a third party to recruit for you, ensure that they are accredited under a code of conduct established by organisations such as the RCSA in Australia. They are your representatives in the market and carry your reputation with them.

THE INTERVIEW (EMPLOYER)Establish a Standard interview environment, and de-stress it before starting.

If all candidates are interviewed under the same standard, then their individual responses are better gauged.

To achieve this: State the anticipated length of the interview upon

greeting the candidate. This will confirm a time frame in regards to their ability to attend other appointments.

Re-assure them that their information is held in confidence, particularly if they are employed by a competitor, supplier or client.

Brief the candidate on the structure of the interview. i.e. Ill give you an outline of then well go on to ..

If jackets are not necessary, provide the candidate the option to be more comfortable.

Provide a jug of fresh water and offer it upon arrival. Be sure that the number of drinking glasses with the jug is representative of only the interviewer/s and interviewee.

If glass numbers represent a greater number, it may be assumed that there is a succession of interviews behind them, and may change the dynamics from the interviewees perspective.

Ensure distractions and interruptions are eliminated. Hold all unnecessary calls and switch off your mobile in front of the candidate allowing him/her to do similar.

In the next edition we will cover interview techniques for the interviewer as well for the candidate on how best to manage and accentuate your confidence in an interview.

If you would like additional information with regard to the above content, contact Darren Judd at [email protected] www.BroadcastJobz.tv is a `dedicated industry JobSite.

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14 Taking Stock

Taking Stock

Thomson Video Networks Goes to French Investment FundTechnicolor (Euronext Paris: TCH; NYSE: TCH) has received a fully documented binding offer from the FCDE for the acquisition of the Grass Valley Head-end business, operating under the Thomson Video Networks brand. The FCDE (Fonds de Consolidation et de Dveloppement des Entreprises) is an investment fund financed by the FSI (Fonds Stratgique dInvestissement) and major banks and insurance companies operating in France.

The announcement follows the sale of the Grass Valley Broadcast business to Francisco Partners and the sale of the Transmission business to PARTER Capital Group.

The Head-end activity provides a portfolio of video compression and content processing solutions. With 525 employees operating in 15 countries, this activity recorded revenues of about 61 million euros in 2009. In 2009, before restructuring, the Head-end activity accounted for

16% of the total Grass Valley perimeter revenues and 20% of its operating loss.

Meanwhile, Technicolor has decided to not to proceed with the disposal of its PRN (Premier Retail Networks) digital signage business stating that offers received from potential buyers of PRN (Premier Retail Networks) did not provide satisfactory conditions for the Group. Taking into consideration a number of factors, including PRNs business achievements in 2010, the improvement in the advertising market in general, and the place based media market specifically, as seen over the past quarters, the Group believes greater value can be created by developing the PRN business.

Technicolors Board of Directors also met recently to review the Groups 2010 (unaudited) results.

The results, in summary, include: Q42010revenuesof1,155 million, up 21.4%

vs. Q4 2009, with improved trends across all activities

H22010revenuesof2,075 million, up 16.9% vs. H2 2009

H22010AdjustedEBITDA1of363 million, or 17.5% of revenues, an increase of 1.2 points vs. H2 2009

H22010GroupFreeCashFlow2of16 million after funding of growth-related capex and working capital

FY2010revenuesof3,574 million, down 1.2% vs. FY 2009

FY 2010 Adjusted EBITDA of 505 million, or 14.1% of revenues, up 0.3 point vs. 2009

FY 2010 net result of (69) million, including items related to the completion of the debt restructuring and of the disposal program, as well as impairments

Netdebtasperconsolidatedfinancialstatementsof 993 million at 31 December 2010, down 283 million vs. 30 June 2010

Visit www.technicolor.com

Cosair Solutions Acquires Lako ProAustralian distributors Corsair Solutions and Lako Pacific have announced that Corsair Solutions has acquired the Lako Pro business unit from Lako Pacific Pty Ltd.

Lako Pro markets and distributes audio and video products that cater to industry professionals, offering professional video streaming and broadcasting solutions to the Pro AV, Broadcast, Corporate, Government, Education and Communication markets. Its comprehensive high-end product range includes recognised industry brands Viewcast, TV One, and Pioneer Electronics. Products represented include video scalers, switchers, video capture cards, streaming devices and commercial video players.

Corsair Solutions, established in 2009 and based in Melbourne, Australia is an importer and distributor of professional video products from Grass Valley, Atomos, Logickeyboard, Dulce Systems, XLNT Idea, Qsan and builds custom duplicator systems under the Corsair Duplicators brand.

The acquisition of Lako Pro means that Lako Pacifics Business Development Manager, Brad Morton, will be joining Corsair Solutions as Sales Director. The acquisition also extends the reach of Corsair Solutions current product lines, as well as providing a renewed focus for the sales and marketing of products from Lako Pros portfolio.

It is a win-win situation said Mark Lampard, Managing Director of Corsair Solutions, Brad has a wealth of experience in the professional video industry which will be an enormous boost to our sales, marketing and channel development capabilities.

Current Australian customers of TV One, Viewcast and Pioneer Pro Video should contact Corsair Solutions for any sales and technical support enquiries.Call 1300 562 779 or email [email protected]

Oz ISP Judgement Removes Illegal Download LiabilityAustralian Broadband provider iiNet has welcomed an Australian Federal Court decision to dismiss an appeal lodgedbyRoadshowFilms&otherswhichwould have seen the ISP liable for illegal downloads undertaken by its customers.

Michael Malone, CEO of iiNet, said that the Internet Service Provider has never supported unauthorised sharing or file downloading.

Todays judgment again demonstrates that the allegations against us have been proven to be unfounded, Mr Malone said. We urge the Australian film industry to address the growing demand for studio content to be delivered in a timely and cost effective manner to consumers and we remain eager to work with them to make this material available legitimately.

He said there was growing evidence that content partnerships and agreements between ISPs, legal websites and copyright holders was doing more to reduce piracy and showcase copyright holders materials.

While fighting iiNet in the courts, many of these movie studios have signed content deals with us through our television service, fetchtv.

The success of fetchtv was a clear and successful demonstration of the benefits of these partnerships and Australians strong desire to access affordable legitimate content.

Content agreements signed by iiNet include Xbox, NineMSN, TiVO, Bloomberg, the Sydney Film Festival, Village Roadshow Films and others.Visit www.iinet.net.au

Indonesias SCMA in Expansion Talks PT Surya Citra Media Tbk (IDX: SCMA), together with its holding company PT Elang Mahkota Teknologi Tbk (IDX: EMTK), has announced that they are considering plans to expand their media business and have entered into discussions with PT Indosiar Karya

Media Tbk (IDX: IDKM), the holding company of PT Indosiar Visual Mandiri (Indosiar).The Boards of Directors of SCMA and EMTK obtained preliminary approval from their Board of

Commissioners, to engage in the discussions with IDKM to determine how the companies might best combine their media businesses with due consideration to the various applicable laws and regulations.

The Boards of Directors of SCMA and EMTK lodged disclosure reports on 21 February 2011, with the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and Capital Market Supervisory Board (Bapepam-LK) in compliance with the Bapepam Regulation No. X.K.1 on Disclosure of Information that has to be immediately announced to the public.

The companies say they shall conduct due diligence and appoint capital market professionals to support the due diligence process and provide assistance in determining the most appropriate structure for the business combination. Further announcements will be made to the public as the discussions progress.Visit www.scm.co.id

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16 Standards

Polling in Palestine

technicalSTANDARDS

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The DVB Group has announced that on February 17 at the 67th Meeting of the Steering Board, the DVB-3DTV specification was approved. The specification will be submitted to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) for formal standardisation. BlueBook A154 Frame Compatible Plano-Stereoscopic 3DTV, (DVB-3DTV) has been published and is available for downloading from the DVB website.

The Commercial Requirements for the DVB-3DTV specification were agreed in July 2010 after consultation with key industry groups. The Commercial Modules Sub-Group on 3DTV was chaired by David Wood (EBU) and the Technical Module (TM-3DTV) was chaired by David Daniels (BSkyB).

The specification defines the delivery system for frame compatible plano-stereoscopic 3DTV services, enabling service providers to utilise their existing HDTV infrastructures to deliver 3DTV services that are compatible with 3DTV capable displays already in the market. This system covers both use cases of a set-top box delivering 3DTV services to a 3DTV capable display device via an HDMI connection, and a 3DTV capable display device receiving 3DTV services directly via a built-in tuner and decoder.

Plano-stereoscopic imaging systems deliver two images (left and right) that are arranged to be seen simultaneously, or near simultaneously, by the left and right eyes. Viewers perceive increased depth in the picture, which becomes more like the natural binocular viewing experience. Since 2010 many 3DTV capable consumer products have been launched in the market.

The DVB-3DTV specification is also accompanied by the Subtitling Systems specification (EN 300 743), which provides a mechanism that allows subtitles and other onscreen graphics to be best positioned so that they can be viewed correctly in the stereoscopic picture. There are also amendments to the Service Information specification (EN 300 468) and to the specification of audio and video coding over the MPEG-2 Transport Stream (TS 101 154).

I would like to extend my thanks to all the Members that participated in both the Commercial and Technical Modules to bring to fruition the DVB-3DTV specification in such a short period of time. DVB standards provide one of the keys to commercial success and stability for the industry and the consumer, commented Peter Siebert, Executive Director, DVB.Visit www.dvb.org

APPROVAL FOR DVB 3D SPEC

Riedel Communications has become a promoting member of the AVnu Alliance.

The AVnu Alliance is an industry forum dedicated to the advancement of professional-quality audio/video networking by promoting the adoption of the IEEE 802.1 Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) standards over various networking link-layers.

We have always understood our products as open platforms for integrating standard protocols such as AES, MADI, SIP and now, AVB. Especially MediorNet as an open platform backbone technology with bandwidth capacities, suitable for numerous 3G video signals, will be helping to expand AVB network installations beyond their current possibilities, said Henning Kaltheuner, Product Manager at Riedel Communications. We are looking forward to actively participating in the AVnu Alliance for providing an in-depth integration of AVB systems into our MediorNet backbone product, Kaltheuner continued.

We welcome Riedel Communications to the AVnu Alliance, stated Lee Minich, AVnu Alliance Marketing Work Group Chairman and president of Lab X Technologies, and look forward to further realising our shared vision for interoperable AV networking via Audio Video Bridging (AVB) technologies. Visit www.riedel.net

RIEDEL JOINS AVNU ALLIANCE

The 95th Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) meeting held in Daegu, Korea, during January 2011 saw the standards body take on the challenges of new digital platforms as well as update its traditional encoding schemes.

In recognition of the growing importance that the Internet plays in the generation and consumption of video content, MPEG intends to develop a new video compression standard in line with the expected usage models of the Internet. The new standard is intended to achieve substantially better compression performance than that offered by MPEG-2 and possibly comparable to that offered by the AVC Baseline Profile. MPEG will issue a call for proposals on video compression technology at the end of its upcoming meeting in March 2011 that is expected to lead to a standard falling under ISO/IEC Type-1 licensing, i.e. intended to be royalty free.

Meanwhile, in its latest step towards creating a standard for efficient and interoperable designs of visual search applications, MPEG has issued a draft Call for Proposals at its 95th meeting. Like

MPEG TACKLES ROYALTY-FREE CODING, 3D, SEARCH AND MPEG-2 UPDATES

a barcode reader, but using regular images instead of barcodes, visual search enables the retrieval of related information from databases for tourists, simplified shopping, mobile augmented reality etc.

Specifically, the call seeks technologies that deliver robust matching of images of objects, such as landmarks and text-based documents, that may be partially occluded or captured from various vantage points, and with different camera parameters, or lighting conditions. The underlying component technologies that are expected to be addressed by the standard include the format of the visual descriptors, and parts of the descriptor extraction process needed to ensure interoperability.

MPEG also targeted a new phase of 3D video coding standards with a Draft Call for Proposals on 3D Video Coding Technology issued at its 95th meeting. This call invites technology submissions providing efficient compression of 3D video and high quality view reconstruction that goes beyond the capabilities of existing standards. MPEG has already delivered 3D compression formats to the market, including MVC and frame-compatible stereoscopic

formats, which are being deployed by industry for packaged media and broadcast services. However, the market needs are expected to evolve and new types of 3D displays and services will be offered. The next-generation of 3D standards will define the 3D data format and associated compression technology to facilitate the generation of multiview output to enable both advanced stereoscopic display processing and improved support for auto-stereoscopic displays.

MPEG is continuously improving the popular MPEG-2 Transport Stream (TS) standard (ISO/IEC 13818-1). At its 95th meeting, MPEG finalised a new amendment to support recently developed video coding standards, Advanced Video Coding (AVC) and Multiview Video Coding (MVC), in MPEG-2 TS. This amendment extends the AVC video descriptor to signal the presence of a frame packing arrangement in an associated supplemental enhancement information message for the underlying AVC video stream component. Visit www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/hot_news.

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18 NAB Preview

Conference Preview

Speaking again on broadband and spectrum, US Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski.

The Broadband Played On

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TWELVE MONTHS ON from the last NABSHOW and it is spectrum that remains the burning issue for U.S. broadcasters.

Following last years launch of the Federal Communications Commissions National Broadband Plan, pressure has only increased on the RF band with the Federal Government trying to strike a balance between an increased push for more broadband access and the needs of the traditional users of the spectrum.

At the recent Mobile Future Forum in Washington, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, citing a U.S. broadband adoption rate of 67% compared to 90% for South Korea, said, If we want to lead the world in the 21st century, we must put broadband at the top of our agenda. Otherwise, we risk letting the broadband revolution pass us on by. Our competitors arent standing still. Our challenges are growing, not diminishing. The clock is ticking.

Broadband can become a core driver of our economy and our global competitiveness, a core accelerator for job growth.

Unlike Australia and other territories where the focus in establishing a National Broadband Network has meant rolling out substantial fibre runs, the U.S. has identified mobile broadband as a key component of its national strategy.

As well as stressing a need for reform of Federal funding geared towards outdated telephone services and the introduction of incentives for broadband build-out and adoption, Genachowski said, We must unleash spectrum and the opportunity of mobile broadband.Spectrumisourinvisibleinfrastructure;itsthe oxygen that sustains our mobile communications.

To some, it was a surprise that the Broadband Plan included major sections on mobile broadband. At the time, many assumed that broadband was what you got when you connected your computer to the modem plugged into your wall.

And no doubt, extremely fast Internet of the sort that relies on wired networks is extremely important. Many business and research institutions require super-fast connections at speeds of hundreds of megabits per second and more. Which is why we set, for example, a goal in the National Broadband Plan of getting 1 gigabit per second broadband connections to anchor institutions in every community in the country, along with goals designed to make the U.S. the largest market in the world for very high-speed broadband, and to drive universal broadband connectivity.

imagined a year ago, because even 3G wireless services can deliver speeds capable of handling a dramatically wide array of consumer applications, from entertainment, to education, to health care.

And 4G services coming our way can provide even greater speeds and lower latency on a mobile platform.

Of course, mobile broadband requires spectrum and, according to the FCC Chairman, Demand for spectrum is rapidly outstripping supply. The networks we have today wont be able to handle consumer and business needs.

To ease this situation, the FCC has already restrictions on the use of certain spectrum bands and freed up white spaces spectrum . The regulator is

also encouraging dynamic spectrum sharing and the deployment of more efficient transmission and reception technology.

But these steps will only get us part of the way to where we need to go, adds the FCC Chairman, which brings me to one of the biggest policy innovations of the National Broadband Plan voluntary incentive auctions a new tool that weve asked Congress to supply.

Under the proposal, Congress would give the FCC the authority to run two-sided spectrum auctions. We would auction spectrum for wireless broadband services, and the spectrum in the auction would be voluntarily contributed by current licensees like TV broadcasters or mobile satellite operators, who would in return receive a portion of the proceeds of the auction.

We know that some broadcasters have concerns about the channel realignment that would follow a reallocation of broadcast spectrum. We understand those concerns and will do our very best to address them. Our plan would seek to minimise the number of stations affected, and it calls for fully reimbursing broadcasters costs for such moves.

Were also committed to limiting any loss of service to over-the-air television viewers. In fact, we anticipate that the consumer impact of realignment will be quite small, as any shift in broadcaster frequencies will merely require that over-the-air viewers rescan their televisions or converter boxes.

The simple truth the overarching context for the few easily addressable questions that have been raised about incentive auctions -- is that the enormous benefits to consumers and to our economy of incentive auctions overwhelm the potential costs.

If we dont act, we wont have enough spectrum for mobile broadband, that will have real consequences for consumers, who will face declining service, including dropped calls and Internet connections, slow downloads and high prices.

That will have real consequences for innovators looking to build new companies and services on the mobile platform, including life saving health applications, education programs to train our 21st Century workforce, and energy services designed to help save our planet.

Julius Genachowski will deliver a keynote speech during the 2011 NAB Show at the FCC Chairmans Breakfast on Tuesday, April 12.

We must put broadband at the top of our agenda.

But, the Broadband Plan also placed unprecedented emphasis on mobile broadband, because few sectors of our economy offer greater opportunities for economic growth and improvements to our quality of life.

The hunger for mobility is even greater than many

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20 NAB Preview

NAB Preview

LESLIE MOONVES, GORDON SMITH TO DISCUSS INDUSTRY AT NABNAB Show organisers have announced that CBS Corporation President and CEO Leslie Moonves will participate in a question-and-answer session with NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith on April 12 at the NAB Show in Las Vegas.

The session will also include a State of the Broadcast Industry address by Smith.

Topics that will be discussed include broadcastings remarkable resilience in the face of new competition, growth opportunities for local and network television on new digital devices, and government efforts to reclaim additional television spectrum.

Moonves oversees all operations of CBS Corporation.Moonves was promoted to Chairman and CEO of CBS in 2003, and prior to that, was President and Chief

Executive Officer, CBS Television, a position he was elevated to in April 1998. He joined CBS in July 1995 as President, CBS Entertainment. Visit www.nabshow.com

DCS 2011 LUMINARIES: YOGI BEAR 3D DIRECTOR, SONY, ASC LEADERSHIPSMPTE has announced that Hollywood director Eric Brevig, known for his recent 3D work on Yogi Bear, Sony Pictures Technologies President Chris Cookson, and Hollywood director and cinematographer and chairman of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) technology committee Curtis Clark will be among the technology and thought leaders participating at DCS 2011, which takes place on 9-10 April 2011 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Spanning cinema, broadcast, and broadband, DCS 2011 which is co-produced by SMPTE and NAB is a premier industry technology event, drawing leading motion-imaging technologists, researchers, scientists, practitioners, manufacturers, and strategic thinkers. This years gathering is themed Advances in Images and Sound: 3D, 4K, and Beyond.

Register: www.smpte.org/events/DCS2011/SMPTE has also announced the dates and Call for

Papers for its Second International Stereoscopic 3D Conference. To be held 21-22 June 2010 in New York City, this years event follows last years successful inaugural conference, and will be the only scientific gathering to focus solely on the critical technologies needed for widespread and sustained 3D adoption.

The SMPTE 2011 Annual Technical Conference and Exposition will take place 2527 October in Hollywood.Visit www.smpte.org

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD FOR EDDIE FRITTSThe National Association of Broadcasters has announced that Eddie Fritts will receive the NAB Distinguished Service Award during the 2011 NAB Show. Fritts, who served as NAB President for 23 years, will be presented the award during the opening keynote session on April 11 in Las Vegas.

For more than two decades Eddie Fritts carried the banner for free and local broadcasting on Capitol Hill with integrity and distinction, says NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith. Eddie helped put NAB on the map as an advocacy force in Washington, and his accomplishments on behalf of radio and television stations and the listeners and viewers that we serve will be felt for decades to come. Im honored to follow in his footsteps as head of NAB, and we are thrilled to present him with the prestigious Distinguished Service Award.

NAB Joint Board Chairman Steve Newberry called Fritts a relentless champion for over-the-air broadcasting. His bipartisan bridge-building on Capitol Hill and string of legislative victories stand as a testament to Eddies skills.Visit www.nabshow.com

DU TREIL, KELLER TO RECEIVE NAB AWARDSThe National Association of Broadcasters has announced that radio engineering expert L. Robert du Treil of du Treil, Lundin & Rackley (DLR), andThomas B. Keller, renowned television technology innovator, have been named the 2011 recipients of the NAB Engineering Achievement Award. They will be honored with the award at the NAB Show Technology Luncheon on Wednesday, April 13 in the Las Vegas Hilton.

Du Treil, this years Radio Engineering Achievement Award winner, has over 50 years of experience in all aspects of radio and TV engineering.

He is currently a consultant of du Treil, Lundin & Rackley, where he previously served as ownerand president. With a reputation as a creative and insightful engineer, du Treil is best known for his contributions to international discussions on mediumwave (AM) directional antenna technology in the early 1980s.

Thomas B Keller, in addition to his consulting work, has published a number of papers and articles.

The NAB Technology Luncheon will also feature an address by three-time national bestselling author, celebrated lecturer and technologist Steven Berlin Johnson. Visit www.nabshow.com www.nab.org

MPEGIF MASTER CLASS GETTING AHEAD OF THE GAMEThe MPEG Industry Forum (MPEGIF), the worlds largest advocacy group for standards based digital television technologies, is presenting its latest MPEGIF Master Class titled Getting Ahead of the Game, to be held at NAB 2011 on Monday, April 11 between 1:00pm and 5:00pm in the Las Vegas Convention Centre.

This most recent edition of the long running, successful Master Class series well known from NAB, IBC and CES in previous years will bring together industry experts and leaders engaged in next generation digital television, multimedia and video entertainment.

Over the years, the MPEG Industry Forum has worked aggressively to bring clarity to the industrys vision of the future and to advocate the adoption of standards that accelerate that clarity.

The 2011 Master Class at NAB is focused around two areas: Will Broadband be the delivery mechanism of future television, and What makes commercial sense in the future. Visit www.mpegif.org/exhibitions/NAB2011/Index.php To register: www.nabshow.com/2011/registration/default.asp www.mpegif.org

KEVIN SUTTER, SONS OF ANARCHY TEAM REV UP FOR PANEL AT NABKurt Sutter, creator, writer and executive producer of FXs number one show Sons of Anarchy, and members of his production team will participate in the 2011 NAB Show in a session titled Sons of Anarchy: Grit and Texture in Small Town America.

Sutter, with the shows director of photography, Paul Maibaum, and production designer, Anthony Medina, will share their creative vision and the techniques.

Entertainment Weeklys Lynette Rice will moderate the conversation, which will be held in the NAB Shows Content Theater, located in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, on Tuesday, April 12 at 3:15 PM.

Sons of Anarchy is an adrenalised drama with darkly comedic undertones that explores the desires of a notorious outlaw motorcycle club (MC) to protect their livelihood. With a seven-day shooting schedule and a lean production budget, Sutter and his team are required to think not only outside the box, but outside the wallet, as well.Visit www.nabshow.com www.nab.org

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22 NAB Preview

NAB Preview

NAB Rages with Testosterone TV

NABSHOW Really is the PITSBuilding on the success of the 2010 NAB Show Post Pit (People Integrating Technologies and Solutions), additional targeted areas will debut at this years show. Pit areas are designed to build community and offer an interactive, educational experience featuring sessions presented by the industry, for the industry.

New for 2011 is the Broadband Pit where creators and distributors can come together to discuss whats next, and how to manage and monetise it. Hear from visionaries, early adopters and entrepreneurs who are revolutionising content delivery at every turn.

The Broadband Pit is located at SU10502. Monday April 11 at the Broadband Pit will focus on the transformation of the media landscape as broadband extends, augments and competes with traditional media platforms. In quick-hitting conversations and thoughtful Panels, speakers will evaluate technologies, distribution systems and business models that are evolving at lightspeed, from IP-friendly TVs to interactive, cord-cutting and mobility to the search for the next billion media consumers.

Sessions are produced in partnership with VideoNuze, World Teleport Association, Interactive Television Alliance and Society of Satellite Professionals International.

Meanwhile, the Post Pit will bring the tips of

the editing suite to the middle of the action. This destination is for rock star users and creators of the most savvy and dynamic post-production software available. Gurus will be on hand, and on stage, to share their hot and exclusive tips.

The Post Pit is located at SL12205. The Media Data Governance Users Group will be featured on Tuesday April 12 in the Post Pit. Media systems are quickly evolving from the creation and delivery of content into a far-reaching management ecosystem for media assets. At the core is how file based architectures need to support growing content and the associated metadata. Storytelling now comes from all kinds of assets, delivered anytime, anywhere and anyhow. This program focuses on current challenges and future trends facing any media company, executive or manager handling the explosion of media assets.

The Hollywood Post Alliance will be featured on Wednesday April 13. The Post Pit will feature the recipients of the HPA Judges Award for Creativity and Innovation, the HPA Award for Engineering Excellence and the Best of Tech Retreat, HPAs highly- respected technology conference. Learn what some of the most innovative minds in the industry are thinking and doing in post. There will also be a full immersion crash course in the absolute latest, greatest and

smartest in post. Sessions are produced in partnership with FXGuide, Las Vegas Supermeet, Hollywood Post Alliance and Media Data Governance Users Group.

For those with Golden Ears, the Pro Audio Pit is the place to be an interactive experience that showcases a variety of industry applications including, but not limited to, the classroom, boardroom, house of worship and broadcast/production/post facility. Two stages will feature live music, the complete pro audio recording process, and more.

The Pro Audio Pit is located at C159. Seminars will focus on relevant, practical education for engineers, musicians, designers, consultants, contractors and volunteers. Learn the fundamentals of audio, such as developments in wireless microphones, loudspeaker selection, acoustical considerations, digital audio protocols, front-of-house mixing, monitoring and more.

Finally, the Radio Pit will help your station master digital technologies. Here youll learn how the best and brightest are integrating social media, the Web, video, streaming media and more. Sessions are produced in partnership with Broadcaster Traffic Consortium, HD Radio, IMDA, K95.5 and Radio DNS.Visit www.nabshow.com

Alerting Broadcasters to EmergenciesDigital Alert Systems (DAS), a division of Monroe Electronics and developer of next-generation Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) and Emergency Alert Systems (EAS), has announced that Bill Robertson, the companys business development manager, will be a panellist for the session Next-Generation EAS: The Final Stretch at the 2011 NAB Show as part of the Broadcast Engineering Conference.

Scheduled for 9 a.m. on April 13 in room S226, the panel session will address the FCCs new rules and refinements for EAS, as well as the obligations and opportunities presented to broadcasters by the

adoption of CAP by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

FEMAs push toward a new Integrated Public Alert and Warning System and the FCCs focus on establishing the next generation of EAS are bringing numerous changes to the rules broadcasters must accommodate in delivering emergency communications, said Robertson. I look forward to joining fellow experts at the NAB Show to discuss the latest developments in EAS and what these changes will mean for broadcast stations and groups.

Robertson both speaks on and writes about

emerging requirements related to EAS. His most recent technical paper, Lemons Into Lemonade: Leveraging EAS/CAP Into Your Revenue Stream, provides information on how newly required next-generation EAS/CAP systems can add value to a station by streamlining operations, supplying additional information to communicate to listeners/viewers, and offering opportunities to change what traditionally has been a cost centre into a potential revenue source. The paper will be available in the 2011 Broadcast Engineering Conference Proceedings book and at the DAS 2011 NAB Show booth (C2952).

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