17th Annual Ennes Workshop at the NAB Show

Brought to you by the Society of Broadcast Engineers and PBS

Saturday, April 14, 2012
South Hall - Las Vegas Convention Center

Moderator – Fred Baumgartner

To register, visit the NAB Website (full conference registration required)

8 - 8:55 a.m. and 9:05 - 9:50 a.m.

The Broadcast Engineer in an IT World: What Do I Need to Know and How Do I Learn IT?

The modern broadcast engineer is immersed in the world of Information Technology-- like it or not. In addition to the traditional broadcast engineering roles as an expert in audio, video, and RF technologies; how does the broadcast engineer add the complexities of the IT world to his or her knowledge base? How does a manager evaluate the knowledge and skills of current or a potential new hire? This presentation will indentify the knowledge and skills likely to be required in an IP networked broadcast environment, examine methodologies and approaches to gain the necessary knowledge and skills, and prepare the manager to perform informed assessments. Knowledge sets of IP Networking, AOIP, VOIP, file based workflow, system administration, security protection, and data center architecture will be focused on in a “Learn the Terminology” approach. Techniques to achieve the desired knowledge and skills will be presented for the novice to skilled broadcast engineer. This knowledge and skill can be used to enhance your career, boost the knowledge of your staff, and perform informed evaluation of potential new staff members.

Bio:
Wayne M. Pecena, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB, CBNT is the Director of Engineering at Educational Broadcast Services in the Office of Information Technology at Texas A&M University. In this position he is responsible for technology implementation and operation of the Enterprise Video and Data Network serving the Texas A&M University System and Texas A&M Public Broadcast stations. Wayne has over 35 years of broadcast engineering and telecommunications experience and holds BS and MS degrees from Texas A&M University. In addition, Wayne holds Amateur Radio Operator License N1WP and is a Private Pilot.

8:55 - 9:05 a.m.

Opening Remarks - John Poray, CAE, Executive Director, Society of Broadcast Engineers
     

9:50 - 10:15 a.m.

The Tube Sound—Fact or Fiction?

The latest trend in audio is actually a very old trend. The evolution of high-end audio from vacuum tubes to solid state to integrated circuits to digital technologies is coming full circle as the vacuum tube amplifier stages a comeback for audiophile applications. This presentation revisits the attributes of vacuum tubes for audio applications and seeks to answer the question—are vacuum tube amplifiers better or just different? The related issue of source material—in particular vinyl records—will also be examined in the presenter’s quest to bring back “appointment listening.”

Bio:
Jerry Whitaker is Vice President for Standards Development at the Advanced Television Systems Committee. Mr. Whitaker supports the work of the ATSC Technology Groups and assists in the development of ATSC Standards and related documents. He currently serves as Secretary of the Technology and Standards Group and Secretary of the Technology Group on Next Generation Television, and is closely involved in work relating to educational programs.

Mr. Whitaker is a Fellow the Society of Broadcast Engineers and a Fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. He has served as a Board member and Vice President of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.

Mr. Whitaker is the author and editor of more than 30-books on technical topics, including: The Standard Handbook of Video and Television Engineering, 4th ed.; NAB Engineering Handbook, 9th ed., DTV Handbook, 3rd ed., and The Electronics Handbook, 2nd ed.. His latest book is the McGraw-Hill title, “TAB Guide to Vacuum Tube Audio.” Prior to joining the ATSC, Mr. Whitaker headed the publishing company Technical Press, based in Morgan Hill, Calif.

Mr. Whitaker was previously Editor, Editorial Director, and Associate Publisher of Broadcast Engineering magazine and Video Systems magazine.

10:15 - 11:15 a.m.

Broadcasting and the Cloud

The state of the Information Technology art is turning to cloud services, cloud computing, and various services where the broadcast IT infrastructure is extended into the cloud. There are plenty of advantages, and plenty of disadvantages, and not every process lends itself to cloud architecture. This tutorial is designed to explore the relationship between broadcast functions and the cloud. The cost/benefits analysis is as important as the technical underpinnings and workflow adjustments in this teamed presentation. Cost models, designs, tradeoffs, and rules of thumb for making decisions about what should and should not be moved into the cloud for radio and TV are the objective of this educational hour, which concludes with several real-world case studies.

Bio: Stan Moote
A highly respected industry veteran, Mr. Moote began his television career in 1977, as a plant engineer for CFTO-TV in Toronto, Canada. Mr. Moote was involved in the original SMPTE Digital Video Standards Committee meetings creating CCIR-601 and continues by coordinating activities within Harris Broadcast for standards groups. Through his domain knowledge working with video and audio, Mr. Moote holds several patents and focuses workflow solutions, new technology and interoperability at Harris.

Bio: Richard Folio
Rich leads strategy formation, business development, and execution activities focused on bringing Harris Cyber Integrated Solutions support to the vertical markets addressed by the broader Harris Corporation. He works across the healthcare, energy, and broadcast vertical markets to introduce the Trusted Enterprise Cloud and other Cyber Integrated Solutions offerings to Harris clients.

Rich joined Harris in 1985. Over the past 26-years, he has held a variety of leadership positions within the strategic management and engineering organizations. His career at Harris has included the assignment as Chief Architect and the Research & Development Director responsible for a significant portion of the Harris product and technology portfolio. Additionally, Rich has numerous publications, patents and awards both inside and outside of Harris.

Bio: Al Kovalic
Al is a Technical Strategist with Avid. Previously, he was with HP and also served as the CTO of Pinnacle Systems. He is an active speaker, educator and authored the 2009 book Video Systems in an IT Environment – The Basics of Networked Media and File-Based Workflows (www.theAVITbook.com). Al has an MSEE degree from the University of California at Berkeley and holds 18-US and foreign patents. He is a member of the AMWA Board of Directors. Al is active in SMPTE Standards and is a contributor to the FIMS specifications. He is a SMPTE Fellow and recipient of the SMPTE David Sarnoff Gold Medal.

11:15 - 11:35 a.m.

IBM Case Study: Broadcast Management Cloud for Fuji TV

IBM, Fuji TV and Nishin Nihon Computer collaborate to provide Broadcast Management Cloud services to Fuji TV's affiliate stations. A total of 28 affiliates stations are participating in the Fuji Network Systems. The solution will provide broadcast management applications to the affiliates as a "Software as a Service" to this community. Applications include Broadcast Scheduling, Sales Management, and Metadata Management as core application services. Additionally, Mail and Collaboration services will be provided, The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan increased the importance to provide a robust and reliable disaster recovery plan for broadcasting. The solution incorporates IBM Managed Back Up Cloud services for this purpose.

Bio:
Katsushi Yamashita is widely known as a technical leader throughout IBM . To recognize his technical achievements, he has been appointed as a Distinguished Engineer by IBM in 2007.　Katsushi Yamashita earned recognition as an IBM Distinguished Engineer based on many years of technical excellence, culminating in his leadership of technical strategy for IBM’s Networking Service. Since joining IBM in 1987, his work has spanned from database application development to Java-based distributed applications and networking solutions. His technical leadership has resulted in the business transformation of Network Service Japan from hardware seller to a high value solution provider. His major contributions include leading projects for JFE Steel, Sony Global Solutions, and Fuji Television. He is continuing to lead in the implementation of crucial IP communications and networking virtualization solutions. While he is best known for his expertise on networking, especially for application-related networking, he also shows his technical skills and insight by writing columns in the most authoritative journals in the IT industry.　Since 2007, Yamashita has led the technical strategy of IT infrastructure service business such as deployment of “Service Product” and IT Infrastructure Consulting. In 2010, he has been appointed as a Chief Technology Officer of Cloud Computing Japan by Technical Leadership Executive IBM Japan.

11:35 - 11:55 a.m.

Chyron Cloud Case Study

Broadcasters across the world are looking toward the cloud to improve profitability, enable collaboration and maintain best practices. These are the driving factors behind the growing adoption of cloud–based services by our industry. Axis World Graphics is a leader in bringing the Software as a Service (SaaS) model to the professional media market by allowing users to create high quality templatized graphics in a very efficient manner. This tutorial illustrates how broadcasters of any size can take advantage of cloud–based graphic services to reduce CapEx, share broadcast quality content between geographically disparate locations and enforce branding rules across a large enterprise.
   

Bio:
Greg Lennon has nearly 25 years of experience in the broadcast television industry working as both a vendor and content producer. Originally a graphic designer and CG operator, Greg worked extensively in live sports broadcasting for nearly 20 years before joining Chyron in 2004. He has been instrumental in Chyron’s evolution into a service-oriented company following the acquisition of Axis Graphics in 2008. As Product Manager, Hosted Services, Greg oversees the development and implementation of Chyron’s SaaS (Software as a Service) products. He launched Channel Box, Chyron’s real-time channel branding product, in 2006 and has been involved in most aspects of Chyron’s workflow solutions. Greg has a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

11:55 a.m.-12:10 p.m. 

Cloud Q&A

12:10 - 1:00 p.m. 

Lunch Break

1:00 - 1:25 p.m.

Standards Update

Standards, in particular SMPTE technical standards, define much of how the broadcasting arts are accomplished. Mr. Symes will give us a brief tour through the standards, new standards, and those in the process of becoming standards.

Bio:
Peter Symes gained his Bachelor of Science degree with honors in 1967 and began his career in television in the engineering department of the British Broadcasting Corporation. He worked in product management for Philips and Central Dynamics before joining Grass Valley. From 1983 to 2007 he held a number of positions with responsibilities that include strategic planning, intellectual property, and technological liaison. He represented Grass Valley in many organizations including the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) where he served two terms as Engineering Vice President and one as Financial Vice President. In July 2007 he left Grass Valley to join SMPTE staff as Director of Standards & Engineering.

Symes holds patents and is the joint recipient of Emmy awards for the architecture of the digital picture processor. He is a Senior Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEEE), and a Fellow of SMPTE.

He has written and presented numerous papers at industry conferences, and is the author of Video Compression (1998), Video Compression Demystified (2001), and Digital Video Compression (2003), all published by McGraw Hill. He has also contributed to other books, including Understanding Digital Cinema (Focal Press, 2004) and two editions of the NAB Engineering Handbook.

1:25 - 1:55 p.m.

Evolved Multimedia Broadcast / Multicast Service; Tutorial

This presentation discusses Long Term Evolution (LTE) Evolved Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (eMBMS) and the potential relationship to current and future broadcast television systems.

Bio:
G. Kent Walker is a Vice President of Technology with Qualcomm Inc. in San Diego, California.
In his current role, Mr. Walker provides technical leadership for the eMBMS project in Corporate
Research and Development. Previous technical leadership positions at Qualcomm have included
MediaFLO, and Digital Cinema projects.

Mr. Walker has numerous granted and pending patents in the areas of digital communications,
digital audio, and image compression and transmission. Products developed under his leadership
include analog and digital video satellite receivers, digital microwave radios, audio signal processors, digital satellite modems, video scrambling, access control, and digital cinema equipment.

Prior to Qualcomm, Walker has been with General Instrument, M/A-COM Linkabit, Scientific Atlanta, and Harris Corporation(s) and is a member of SMPTE, AES, and IEEE. Walker earned his BEE and MSEE degrees and Certificate in Acoustical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology.

1:55 - 3:25 p.m.

IPTV; Tutorial

PBS exists to aggregate, groom and distribute on behalf of its member stations. In the 70’s and 80’s this was reasonably simple. Program acquisition required contract management, rights assurances, scheduling, screening, library management and technical quality control BUT the final delivery was simply a play-to-air from a two-inch tape. Today the process steps are basically the same but each must be performed for up to 17 different delivery mechanisms. Each mechanism has its own set of technical requirements as well as usage rights, scheduling needs and inventory controls. PBS meets these divergent requirements with the same size operating staff as the 1980’s. According to Nielsen’s Q2 2011 report on cross-platform consumption, nearly half of people in the U.S. watch video online. Young adults age 18 to 24 watch the most online video, averaging 7 hours and 28 minutes a month. However, even older Americans tune in online — those 65 and older watch an average of 2 hours and 35 minutes. In this workshop three of the key architects of the software-hardware solutions will take a deep dive into the technology solutions they bought, invented or built to make it possible.

About PBS
PBS, with its nearly 360 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches 124 million people through television and 20 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS’ premier children’s TV programming and its website, pbskids.org, are parents’ and teachers’ most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the Internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile devices.

Bio:
Eric Wolf is PBS’ Executive for Technology Strategy. As part of the CTO’s office, Eric spends much of his time looking at the intersection of media, technology, public policy, and the future. Prior to PBS, Eric spent 9 years with AOL building and launching products used by tens of millions of people around the globe. Earlier in his career Eric held technology and organizational leadership roles in a number of political organizations and high technology companies.

Bio:
Wendy Allen has been in the Broadcast industry since 1994. She has worked at a number of companies including, CNN, Turner Studios, Mississippi State Television, Concept House, New Ideas and DRIL (Digital Research and Imaging Laboratory Mississippi State) . Her skills extend into areas of Broadcast Operations, Post production, Animation, and Graphic Design. Since coming to PBS Wendy has played the leading role in the operational and system design and development of the Media Operations Center. The MOC facilitates ingest and the preparation of all media for PBS distribution, including Broadcast, Online, VOD, Syndication and other multi-platform end points. Wendy also has played a key role in automating process and workflow through a number of software applications including ScheduAll, BizTalk and BroadView. Wendy also oversees the Media Library in Crystal City and the Remote Tape Storage which host over 120,000 tapes. Wendy’s education includes a Master’s in Architecture: Electronic Visualization, and an undergraduate degree in Marketing.

Bio:
Steve Scheel has been at PBS for more than 25 years…starting when program content was delivered on two inch tape and helping foster the technology changes that took the Network from analog to digital and from tape to digital files. Steve is the “Answer Man” for PBS Programming Staff, Program Producers and the Media Center Staff.

3:25 - 4:25 p.m.

Broadcast Workflow / Content Flow 2012

The core of successful Broadcast Engineering is dealing optimally with the workflow. It seems each year that the number of options, complexity, and demands placed upon the broadcast workflow increases. From advances like SOA, FIMS, Saas, PaaS, and the increasing options of virtualization and off-site operations, it seems like as soon as a workflow and its related content flow are implemented, there is reasonable cause to change it again. Where are we on the evolutionary path of IT based workflows, and what do we do next?

The presentation covers a review of the major broadcast workflow building blocks and analyzes their IT-based technology readiness, maturity, and applicability. Advances in workflow and architectural approaches and what advantages and disadvantages they bring to the industry will also be analyzed.

Bio:
John Footen is an acknowledged industry expert in such areas as Business Process Management, Service-Oriented Architecture, and the Cloud, all of which have a major impact on today’s broadcast television and professional media systems. As head of Cognizant’s broadcast consulting practice, Footen is responsible for business and technology consulting throughout the broadcast industry. Footen is a sought-after speaker and expert writer on software architecture and workflow issues. He serves as co-chair of the Framework for Interoperable Media Services (FIMS) joint taskforce of the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Footen is a SMPTE member and chairs the 34CS Media Systems Control and Services technology committee. He has been responsible for managing many large and complex media solutions projects for many types of media enterprises. He has extensive international experience; having lived and worked in North America, Asia, and EMEA. Footen holds degrees in computer science and film & television from New York University. He is also the co-author of “The Service-Oriented Media Enterprise: SOA, BPM, and Web Services in Professional Media Systems,” published by Focal Press.

Bio:
Benjamin Ropke, a Senior Project Manager within Cognizant Technology Solution’s Media Asset Management practice, is a well-regarded, creative and versatile technologist with over 12 years of experience in Media and Entertainment. Within his role at Cognizant, Ropke oversees the evaluation, development, implementation, integration, and support for enterprise and production media asset management systems and workflow applications for major broadcasters throughout North and Latin America. Among his many accomplishments, Ropke has led development and implementation efforts for news digital archive platforms, MAM systems for film and episodic digital masters, BPM/SOA platforms for video production and distribution workflows, 24x7 support operations for on-air broadcast systems, Network Operations Center (NOC) technical migrations, software development for full HD sports simulcasting, and many other broadcast IT systems initiatives. Prior to his role at Cognizant, Ropke held various positions in Broadcast Operations, On-Air Systems, and Digital Asset Management at NBC Universal. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science, Suma Cum Laude, from Syracuse University.

4:25 - 4:55 p.m.

ATSC’s Future of TV

The Advanced Television Systems Committee established in 2010 a planning team to begin an investigation toward the development of a new broadcast system. This new system may eventually be a successor to the current A/53 standard.

The planning team was charged with exploring potential technologies to be used to define a new or future terrestrial broadcast digital television standard, and that standard need not be constrained to be backwards compatible with ATSC or ATSC 2.0 devices. In addition, the planning team was asked to assess the range of services that could be delivered and to consider potential timeframes. The planning team conducted two symposia (October 2010 and February 2011) and collected other information. Topics presented at the symposia included new modulation technologies, more efficient use of bandwidth, more effective transmit and receive antenna systems, new audio and video codecs, hybridcasting, and new applications of television services. The Planning Team concluded its work in September 2011 and published its findings in October 2011.

As a result of the successful conclusion of the Planning Team, a new Technology and Standards Group 3 (TG3) was created by the ATSC to develop new standards and practices for ATSC 3.0. This presentation will be a summary of the findings and the work to date of the new TG3.

Bio:
James Kutzner is Senior Director of Advanced Technology at PBS where he manages engineering and technical projects within PBS. Kutzner is a member of the ATSC Board and chaired the ATSC Planning Team on the Next Generation of Broadcast Television. He is now chairing the successor group of the ATSC Technology and Standards Group 3 on ATSC 3.0. He is co-chair of SMPTE 32NF, the Technology Committee for Network Facilities and Architecture. He is also Vice Chair of the Open Mobile Video Coalition’s Technical Advisory Group. He holds a Masters degree in Engineering Management from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Minnesota. He is a Fellow of SMPTE and a member of the IEEE.

Organizers:
Frederick M. Baumgartner, CPBE, CBNT
SBE Education Committee, Ennes Foundation
Harris Broadcast -- Communications Division
303-325-7988 (Home/Office/Cell)
29555 County Road 9
Elizabeth, Colorado 80107
kg0ki@arrl.net

Bio: Fred Baumgartner, CPBE, is a fellow in the Society of Broadcast Engineers, and a trustee of the Ennes Foundation. Fred works on Emerging Business Opportunities and Managed Services for Harris Broadcast. Fred was Director of Broadcast Engineering for Qualcomm’s MediaFLO project, and before that, he directed Leitch’s (now Harris) Systems Engineering group. Up to that time, he served as Director of Engineering for the Comcast Media Center in Denver, its Director of New Product Development through the center’s AT&T ownership and Director of Broadcast Satellite Operations during its TCI ownership era. Before joining the satellite and cable origination world, he held the position of Engineering Manager at KDVR-TV and KFCT-TV, Denver, WTTV-TV, WTTK-TV, Indianapolis, KHOW AM & FM, Denver; WIBA AM & FM, Madison, Wisconsin, and Operations Manager at KWGN-TV, Denver; and others beginning with the overnight gig and a newly minted FCC 1st Class license at WBIZ AM & FM, Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 1972. Fred was also heavily involved with the development of EAS, and has authored several hundred articles on Radio and TV engineering.

Please contact the organizers directly for more information.