July 2007

The Best (Linear) Editing Software Ever

The news that David Krall will step down as President of AVID at the end of July has rekindled the Apple/AVID debate.

Reminds me of the time my editor friend and I beta tested the PC-based version of a major company's version of their mini-computer based edit software. (Hint: It rhymed with "Mace".) We came up with a list of 30 features the software needed to have in order to be editor-friendly (for example: being able to enter two 'outs' and one 'in' for an insert edit.) Well the company implemented most of our suggestions, but kept the clunkier interface from their mini-computer version. Needless to say that it went over like a lead balloon (even though it was the most editor friendly thing out there at the time.) Even the company that my friend and I worked for bought someone else's product.

Who Invented All-Electronic TV ?

The debate continues. From NewTeeVee: "The Disillusionment of Philo Farnsworth."

For another perspective on the debate that has raged on for almost eighty years, see the website devoted to Hungarian inventor Kalman Tihanyi. (Note that Tihanyi filed Hungarian patent application T 3768 on March 20, 1926, nine months before Farnsworth's first filing.)

Behind The Curve

I used to be ahead of the curve.(My shop probably had the first non Post House AVID in NYC in December 1989.)

You know you're behind the curve when the stuff you're researching becomes the gist of an article in Time Magazine: "Hacking Toward Happinees." It's no fun being over 50 in a time where technology comes at you faster and faster.

Why Formats Matter

Jim Feeley writes in the July '07 issue of Studio Monthly "Why Formats Don't Matter". One hundred percent of what Jim Says is true. But if you're a camerman/DP wondering what HD format to buy to continue servicing your current clients, it sure the heck does. Want to shoot for Discovery HD Theater? Well that cool Brand J HDV camera with great glass and the 1/3" chips ain't gonna make it.

Return of the TV Repairman

In the June 2007 issue of Television Broadcast, check out Neal Weinstock's article "Imagine Your TV Has Winrot". (Sorry, no online version yet, you'll need an 'ink on paper' copy.)

But for a bleaker picture, read "Heyday long gone for TV repairman" in the Canton. OH Repository.

Pretty As A Peacock

I hope no one outside the media biz read this...

Variety broke the story of how NBC is combining its long-form, Dateline, NBC News Productions and NBC Media units into Peacock Productions. Says the article: "Peacock Prods. will apply NBC News' journalistic standards when clients ask for them. Or, in the case of... (one show produced by NBC News Productions)... news standards aren't necessarily applied." Wow, Ed Murrow & Fred Friendly must be writhing in their graves! No wonder people, especially in the blogsphere, don't trust the MSM (mainstream media).

Until recently, if one of the Net News orgs wanted to violate its "journalistic standards", they would farm the show out to their "arms length" production company: Lincoln Square, EyeTwo or Media Productions. After all - in this brave new media world - who cares if the Next Food Network Star embelished his resume a little bit - no one put a second Eye on it.

But now it's looking like it's the client's choice to have journalistic standards a la carte, not the Networks choice. Gee, anything can be bought for a price these days, even the cachet of NBC News.

Danza and Boeing and Bernstein, oh my !

Well we're 55 minutes into "A Capitol Fourth" and there have been no HD-related screw-ups yet, unlike last year. (Although there is that inevitable MPEG encode/decode delay between the analog and HD feeds.)

INFOCOMM 2007

I hate just posting links to other people's blogs. But I've been time-challanged recently, so please excuse this cop-out.

Here's a link to Pete Putnam's entry on INFOCOMM 2007.