Using Video in a Theatrical Application

A Reader Asks

“I’m debating using projections or a series of stacked televisions for an upcoming theatrical production.  I’m picturing a tower of televisions of multiple sizes on either side of the stage. The images on the televisions would be the same.  Nothing fancy like an image traveling down from the top to the bottom or one image being stretched over multiple televisions.
 
Initial thoughts: They are all daisy chained together and hooked to a single DVD or VCR.  But, how do you control them if there are periods where they wouldn’t be used?”

What you are describing is a pretty common setup. I would not recommend simply turning your video monitors on and off because some televisions will reset to a default state if they are disconnected from power and that default state might not be what you want it to wake-up in. What you need is a vertical interval video switch and a black burst generator. These devices will send black video to mute the screen when not in use. You also may want to mute the sound too. A solution for this would be a vertical interval “Audio Follow Video” switch. All “vertical interval” means is that it will switch your video seamlessly without a big break-up (glitch) on the screens.  
 
As far as interconnection, when you are sending the same source signal to all the video monitors it is seldom a good idea to “Daisy-Chain” an audio or video signal, especially when it comes from a relatively weak source device like a consumer DVD or VCR. I strongly recommend a device called a Video Distribution Amplifier. You also would need an Audio Distribution Amplifier if you are going to send the same audio to all the television monitors.  
 
I know you said you had a single source but if you wanted to send a different signal to all the monitors or do fancy images that would go from a different picture on every screen to a big blow up of a single image using all the screens there is a solution for that too. You could get software driven system that would do this automatically for you. They are expensive but rentable at a fairly reasonable cost if you are a one and done kind of user. -33-

Television Reception Calculator

Want to find out the signal reception strength of TV stations that serve your area? Check out the calculator on the FCC’s Website:

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/

Enter your Zip Code or address and get the TV stations and signal strengths that can be received at your location. This takes both distance and topography into consideration and is great for procuring and aiming the correct antenna for your locale. Linked to Google Maps you can actually target your house or location using the satellite maps and dragging the teardrop to your exact area. -33-

TV Converter Box Coupon Applications Available

Article Updated January 2, 2008

Happy New Year. Your federal government has a late holiday gift for you. If you follow Televising The Revolution you already know the FCC has set February 19, 2009 as the date when analog television will end its broadcast day and begin to broadcast in digital.

GET YOUR COUPONS HERE

Beginning January 1st, 2008, American consumers will be able to log in to http://www.dtv2009.gov/ and request up to two coupons worth $40 each to assist in purchasing new digital-to-analog converter boxes. Alternately you can call 1-888-DTV2009 to apply over the telephone. Printed applications will also be available at post offices and at public libraries, in English, Spanish, and other languages.

THE CHECK COUPON IS IN THE MAIL

Once you apply be patient because the coupons won’t be sent out until mid-February of this year. Starting February 18, 2008, the government will send coupons via The US Postal Service in the form of a gift card consumers can use at electronics retailers that sell the set-top converter boxes . Currently the selection of converter boxes on the market is slim but that should improve as more manufacturers jump on the bandwagon over the next several months. As of this writing the converter boxes are retailing for $60. to $70.

BACKED BY UNCLE SAM

The coupon program itself is administered by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). It is backed by $1.5 billion appropriated by Congress and established in Title III of the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 (PDF)

TELL THEM WHAT THEY’VE WON

What will this “converter box” do for you? Not much more than the basics. According the NTIA proposal the converter box shall:

• appropriately processes all Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) radio frequency (RF) signals provided to the antenna-only input and then provides output signals in standard definition video for display on a National Television Systems Committee (NTSC) television receiver/monitor;
• delivers NTSC composite video and stereo audio to drive NTSC monitors;
• delivers Channel 3 or 4 switchable NTSC RF output for television receivers;
• complies with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements for Closed Captioned, Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the required parental controls;
• operable by and includes a remote control; and
• tunes to all television channels 2-69.

The government is not in the entertainment business. By providing a basic digital to analog converter it wants to make sure it is only paying for the bare minimum to supply people who are using analog receivers with a viable alternative to continue to receive free television from over the airwaves.

THERE’S MORE 

For more information, or to sign up for coupons, you can call 1-888-DTV-2009 or visit http://www.dtv2009.gov/. -33-

Lithium Ion Battery Air Travel Restrictions

If you are one of the many air travelers who carry spare lithium laptop, cell phone, camera and other electronic equipment batteries with you when traveling by air, take note: The government has some new rules which go into effect on New Year’s Day, 2008.

 

There are new regulations going into effect on January 1, 2008 if you travel by air with lithium batteries. Everyone would be well served by checking with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website BEFORE they travel. 

 

The SafeTravel.Dot.Gov website has additional information that may be helpful.

 

This information is subject to changes by the Federal Government. Check back with the above links often for the most up to date information. -33-

 

EDITOR’S NOTE - 12-30-07 at 2100H - Minor revisions to clarify article.

 

Video Archiving

A READER ASKS 

What can I do to obsolete proof my video archives? Most of them are on Beta SP®. Do I need to go to a Duplication House to have copies made?

  Just a few quick thoughts:

• There is no real “obsolete proof” archival format.

• Beta SP® is still a very active format used by broadcasters, industry, education, media professionals and some hobbyists around the world.
• You do not need to go to a duplication house to have your Beta SP® materials dubbed (copied). Will the format be here 20-, 40- or 60-years from now is anyone’s guess.
• Most any television station, cable company, corporate facility, editing house or even your local event (wedding/party) videographers have the equipment to do this for you. The format is rather ubiquitous.

FORMAT HOP

If you are looking for long-term storage of your program materials your best bet is to format hop as new formats develop. Beta SP® (A Trademark of Sony) is an analog format. An important issue with analog is that it does not copy into multiple generations well, although Beta SP® is one of the better formats for multi-generation duplication because signal quality holds up through several copies.

GO DIGITAL

You should consider converting your program materials to a digital format (this is called “Digitizing”). To do this you would have your Beta SP® original digitized and placed on a DVD as a MPEG file. This is not a complicated process. You can simply go to your favorite electronics store, purchase a DVD player/recorder and connect it to a Betacam® VTR and you are on your way. 

Once it is in a digital format it can maintain the visual and audio quality of the original software. This means that you can make copies of copies with little to no loss in quality.

BE READY TO JUMP SHIP 

Format hopping comes in when you begin to see DVDs and MPEG formats slipping in popularity. Always go with the latest stable format to duplicate your materials. It is a lot of follow-up but well worth the effort to protect today’s program materials for generations to come. This is a big problem for still photographers. Many question if archived images taken today will be able to be opened for viewing 50, 75, 100… years from now. -33-