Category Archives: Meetings

August 2008 Meeting – Arbitron PPM

The People Meter is coming to San Diego, and the good people at Arbitron would like you to understand how it works. Join the SBE Wednesday, August 20 at noon at Clear Channel Communications, for lunch and a talk. The PPM is up and going in Philly and Houston.
Sam Brown of Arbitron says:

The Arbitron Portable People Meter™ system uses a passive audience measurement device—about the size of a small cell phone—to track media exposure. Carried throughout the day by randomly selected survey participants, the PPM™ device can track when and where they listen to radio as well as how they interact with other forms of media and entertainment. The PPM detects inaudible codes embedded in the 1kHz to 3kHz portion of broadcast audio. It is also equipped with a motion sensor, a patented quality control feature unique to the system, which allows Arbitron to confirm the compliance of the PPM survey participants every day. At the end of each day, the survey participant places the meter in a docking station that extracts the codes and sends the data to Arbitron.

One of the first important steps in bringing PPM to San Diego is informing the engineers in the market about PPM encoding. For this, an SBE meeting is an ideal forum. Our presentation includes a demo of the system, examples of the equipment, Q&A, etc. which should make for an informative and entertaining meeting. Arbitron PPM SBE meetings have been well-received in other markets where we have introduced this exciting technology. We look forward to meeting you soon.

We start at noon with a lunch provided by Arbitron, followed by a presentation on the workings of the PPM system.  Should be out by 1:20 PM. Clear Channel is at 9660 Granite Ridge Drive. We have some door prizes from SCMS, including some nice headphones and a microphone. As always, members and guests are welcome to attend.

July 2008 Meeting – Surround Sound

The July 16 SBE meeting appears to be a real blockbuster. We’ll take a look at 5.1 surround audio and how it affects a broadcast facility.

  • Why the transition to DTV and 5.1?
  • What problems does this present to a broadcast facility?
  • Format compatibility
  • Metadata, including Dialnorm, digital rights management, downmixing etc.
  • Metering and monitoring for 5.1
  • Solutions: Facility implementation, production strategies, routing, embedding within SDI

Solid State Logic, Wohler Technologies and Dolby Laboratories™ will each have representatives. Between the three manufacturers, and with consultation from outside parties such as Roger Charlesworth of Charlesworth Media, we will address the above topics. Each manufacturer will present on their area of expertise, and SSL will be the main host of the presentations. No product oriented presentations, but on the individual request of an attendee, we can schedule more personal meetings and presentations in the future.

We anticipate one hour for the event, with each topic being given approximately 5-10 minutes for presentation and then we would like to have a Q&A session for the chapter to be able to quiz the professionals and ask questions for areas of specific interest or concern to them. We will also pull together a documented version of the presentation for distribution amongst the attendees.

We recommend the meeting for both radio and TV engineers interested in staying current with surround technologies.

Members and guests, join us July 16 at noon at TV Magic, 8112 Engineer Road in Kearny Mesa.

May 2008 Meeting – Taste of the NAB

Exhibitors this year:

  • Omneon media servers
  • Leader Instruments test gear
  • Blackmagic Design edit system media I/O cards
  • ESE timekeeping and interface products
  • AJA video interface and terminal equipment
  • Telecast fiberoptic transmission equipment
  • InPhase Technologies holographic storage
  • Network Electronics fiber, terminal, and compression gear
  • Henry Engineering interface devices
  • Telecast fiber systems
  • Clark wire and cable
  • DSC Labs test charts
  • SMPTE standards publishing
  • Verbatim blank media
  • ADS Tech video capture devices
  • Key Digital computer cables
  • Canon lenses

Plan to eat a free lunch provided by Canon. Lucky engineers will walk away with one of multiple door prizes donated by the roadshow sponsors. Larry’s giving away polo shirts, DVI cables, capture devices, CD media, gift certificates, and standards CDs, and other goods at the show.

Those attending will also be entered into a national drawing for prizes that include a Fluke multimeter, Burst Electronics digital video switcher, Coaxial Dynamics RF wattmeter, a copy of VidCAD software, a Radiosophy HD table radio, and a genuine Chuck Pharis Indian Head TV test pattern.

Members and guests welcome to TV Magic, 8112 Engineer Road, May 22 at noon.

May 2008 Meeting – Dinner with Harris

Sandy Berenics of BROADCAST CONNECTION, a Channel Partner of HARRIS CORP., will co-host this month’s SBE meeting with Al Jason and Paul Barzizza, both of Harris.

The lunch meeting will be held at The Butcher Shop Steakhouse, 5255 Kearny Villa Rd, in Kearny Mesa, Wednesday, May 14th at Noon. Please contact Sandy at 858-565-4699 or email sandy@broadcastconnection.com if you would like to attend.

Harris brings its Netwave console for a hands-on demo. They will also discuss the Heritage transmitter line as well as the new Harris ZX5000 radio transmitter introduced at NAB.

Paul Barzizza will make a presentation on the new Harris INFOCASTER Digital Signage Solutions, also introduced in April. The Harris Digital Signage solutions feature an extended range of InfoCaster products and services that can be implemented and scaled to provide advanced creation, management, scheduling, distribution and tracking.

All Harris products are available for purchase through Channel Partners, including Broadcast Connection.

January 2008 – WireCAD Drawing Software

Documenting your broadcast facility may seem like a chore better put off till next week when you have more time, but you and I know it’s as important as collision insurance or fixing the boss’s laptop. When an emergency happens and you need to trace a signal path, you’re going to save some time if you have good docs.

If you resolve to better document in 2008, we’ve got a presentation for you.  WireCAD is coming to town. If you’ve ever tried climbing the steep learning curve of a conventional computer-aided design software package, you can appreciate WireCAD and its specialization in the broadcast, A/V, and computer networking industries. Find out how you can create rack elevations and wiring diagrams from equipment and wire lists, or vice versa.

WireCAD buys us lunch at TV Magic, Friday, January 11, 2008 at noon. TV Magic is at 8112 Engineer Road in Kearny Mesa. Members and guests welcome.

WireCAD will conduct a drawing, giving away the key for a WireCAD XLT package for a year of use. Bring your business card to drop in the hat to win.