It’s been about 25 years since Steve Church first visited Chapter 36 with his amazing new Telos auto-nulling DSP hybrid. It was one of those mind-bending moments that can change the way you look at everything thereafter.

Telos returns to San Diego for our July 15 meeting. Mike Uhl will talk about voice over IP technology using the public internet for high-quality two-way communication. Featuring the latest codecs from Fraunhofer and automatically adjustable codec designs from Telos, the Zephyr IP is said to provide a reliable connection. This allows broadcasters and other program providers to achieve ISDN quality without the installation issues and costs associated with ISDN service.

Join us at TV Magic for a 12 noon lunch, followed by a brief business agenda and the main presentation, to end by 1:30 PM so that you can return to work.

Larry Bloomfield brings his annual Taste of the NAB road show to TV Magic in San Diego Wednesday, June 3. It all starts at 11:30 AM, with a paid lunch. Then Larry says a few words about the products making their way across the country. There are numerous door prizes as well: gift certificates, shirts, software, and blank media. You’ll be entered to win grand prizes at the end of the tour as well, including test equipment, a copy of the NAB Engineering Handbook, and a $1,000 gift certificate.

Based on your feedback, this year we’ll conclude the main program at 1:30PM so that you may return to work, but you are welcome to meet with factory representatives and check out the demonstrations.

Expect to see and hear about:

• AJA video converters and amplifiers
• Axcera transmitters
• Dielectric antennas and systems
• Ensemble
• Omneon
• ESE time products and accessories
• Blackmagic Design
• Wheatstone
• JVC Pro
• Linear Industries
• Trilithic EAS Systems
• Henry Engineering
• Playbox Technologies
• Plura Broadcast

Last year’s Taste of the NAB was a big success and we all learned a few things. Join us Thursday, June 5. Members and guests welcome. TV Magic is at 8112 Engineer Road in Kearny Mesa. No reservations required.

TV Magic will be hosting the May 20th SBE meeting at the San Diego office.  Ian Caldwell with Algolith will discuss technologies of noise reduction, including Mosquito Noise Reduction and Dynamic Noise Reduction. Lunch starts at noon, the meeting will run from 12:30PM to 1:30PM. TV Magic is located at 8112 Engineer Road, San Diego. If you have any questions, contact Eva at 858-650-3155.

Algolith solutions include a series of FPGA-based image processing and enhancement cards designed to meet the exacting needs of broadcast, cable, satellite, and IPTV providers. Ian will discuss, various approaches and technologies of noise reduction, including Mosquito Noise Reduction, Dynamic Noise Reduction, Block Artifact Reduction, Multiple Type Noise Reduction, Motion Adaptive De-Interlacer, Anti-Aliasing Processor and others. He will also give an overview of “Open Gear” technology for broadcasters.

One of the most common complaints about modern television is that the video doesn’t always fill the screen. Viewers who buy expensive flat-screen monitors often feel it’s very important that all the real estate is filled with active video, even when that means distorting the image geometry.

There’s help for viewers who want to see more screen filling. The Active Format Descriptor (AFD) is a metadata technology slowly finding its way into the broadcast chain.

Steve Holmes, Senior Applications Engineer with Tektronix, will discuss AFD packet monitoring and advanced metadata analysis through the appropriate flag system and data packets at our March 19 meeting at TV Magic, 8112 Engineer Road, in Kearny Mesa.

Note that this is a Thursday meeting. We’ll start with a free lunch at noon, short chapter meeting at 12:30, then the presentation. You should be able to leave for work by 1:30 PM. Guests are always welcome.

If you could see heat circulating around your equipment or server rooms, you’d find at least a few places where hot air is not gracefully returning to the air conditioner, or where you are pulling in already heated air into your equipment. Avoiding these situations takes some planning, and those who have already pondered the movement of heat waves have some great, simple ideas. For example, did you know you should just stack up hot servers right on top of each other rather than provide air gaps between them?

For our February meeting, Bob Schluter of Middle Atlantic Products discusses effective ways to control the temperature inside equipment racks, critical to the proper functioning and survival of the circuits operating within them. He can help you understand and calculate when to vent a rack using natural convection and when to use forced air (fans). Additionally, he will cover some basic power distribution topics, including AC magnetic fields and their effects on signal wiring as well as ground myths. Bob is a bit of a celebrity and a unique guy as both engineer and president.

Join us Wednesday, February 18, at noon at TV Magic, 8112 Engineer Road in Kearny Mesa, San Diego. T-shirts for the first 40 attendees and pizza lunch will be provided by Middle Atlantic Products. Lecture starts at about 12:30, and you should be on the road by 1:30 PM. Guests welcome. Hey, even if you worked on the digital transition, take a break and join us.

About Bob Schluter, President & Chief Engineer, Middle Atlantic Products

A multiple patent-holder, Bob Schluter has been active in the Professional Audio, Video and Data industries in various capacities since 1976. From his early involvement in electronic equipment design and recording studios throughout his 30 years as President and Chief Engineer at Middle Atlantic, Bob has been intimately involved in integrating and installing audio, video and data systems. Constantly in touch with evolving technologies, Bob is currently designing next generation thermal systems and power distribution products.