And few things illustrate that more than the continuing confusion created by the various aspect ratios that video can be displayed in these days.

SD, HD, 4:3, 16:9, letterbox, anamorphic, wide-screen . . . all terms that you hear mixed together.

My good buddy and tech guru Chris Vazquez wrote an excellent article on this site two years ago about SD anamorphic , and it continues to be one of the most-read articles on my website, but questions still abound, especially when it comes to DVD authoring.

So let’s try to further clarify.

Some review:

4:3 means standard old-standard television viewing.

16:9 is wide screen.

SD is standard definition and is natively 4:3

HD is high definition and is natively 16:9

Now, let’s proceed, and feel free to read this slowly.  (Hey, I have to do that still with this topic, and I work with it every day!)

What options do you have if you are editing in HD 16:9 and want to lay out the finished sequence on to a SD tape, that is limited by its nature to automatically being 4:3? (e.g. BetacamSP or Digital Betacam)

You cannot maintain the HD quality of the signal, but you can keep the option open to be able to playback the video from the SD tape, in full 16:9 on a wide screen monitor.

That’s what anamorphic downconversion does.  Go back and check out the figures in Chris’ blog post.  It effect, anamorphic “squeezes in from both sides,” the 16:9 picture, like an accordion, to fit in to a 4:3 frame.

So when talking with you salesperson, you want to be sure you clearly discuss anamorphic options.

This is especially true when you are making an authored DVD project that involves using both SD and HD sources.

Let’s say you want to make a demo reel highlighting various categories, and you want to include a number of videos, some HD and some SD, in each category.  The authoring specialist needs to establish each category to playback one way, either 4:3 or 16:9 anamorphic.  (Remember, standard DVDs are automatically SD, not HD.)

Let’s say you had three HDCAM sources, two 4:3 digibeta sources, and one letterboxed Betacam source.

Well, if the category sequence is set up to playback anamorphic for wide-screen dislay, then the HDCAM clips will indeed play back in full 16:9, the two 4:3 clips will play back 4:3 in the center of the wide screen with black pillars on each side, and the 4:3 letterboxed source will play letterboxed inside a 16:9 screen, with black not only on the left and right, but also above and below.

Ugh.  that latter playback is probably not ideal.  The solution might be to see if an original HD version or a SD ananmorphic version of that clips exists.  If not, well, an aesthetic judgement needs to be made.

So taking a step back, there’s a corollary point to be made.  When transferring HD programs to SD tapes and DVDs at the end of a project, rather than doing so as a fiexed letterboxed version, you might want to strongly consider transferring those as anamorphic.  That way, as you can see above, you preserve your choices for later usage.

OK, let’s face it.  This matter will eventually become moot in the future as we gravitate toward using 16:9 HD exclusively.   But we remain in the midst of great transition.   And as long as we utilize SD footage and its inherent 4:3 aspect ratio, we will have to deal with this.

But never fear, count on me and my Video Labs sales and production colleagues to help you navigate through this.  That’s what we’re here for.

Contact me at dcryan7@videolabs.net or 240-268-3504.

And follow me on Twitter for more media news & info and special discounts.

If you found this article of interest, you may be interested in my quick-read blog post about our Blu-ray duplication capabilities.

Our videotape services department is still busy all the time. 

So this is a reminder that when sending us or anyone a source or master video tape, it’s just good practice to be in the habit of setting any record tab to “safe” so as to prevent any accidental recording over.

(Sure, we’re professionals, but hey, why take any chances with your media.) 

Such “record inhibit” tabs vary between tape formats.  On most broadcast formats like BetacamSP, dBeta and HDCAM, it’s a red tab on the underside that gets pushed in. (see photo above) . . .

And on other formats, like DVcam or DVCpro, it can be a slide button:

And hey, don’t forget those old vhs tapes you have at home with your priceless family memories.

Just break off the little tab (see photo at left) to prevent accidental erasure of those.

But there is at least one archive format that is different.  It’s the Hi8 video format that was popular in the 1990′s.  Sure enough, the tabs on those tapes have to be slid closed, resulting in the red tab being exposed, in order to be made “safe.”  (see photo below)

As my sales colleague Dave Tierney dtierney@videolabs.net said, “Just another reason why that format was a flop.”  Yeah, what was Sony thinking? 

Oh well . . . regardless of the format, we got you covered here at VideoLabs  www.VideoLabs.net  Contact us for all of your media replication and related multimedia needs.

My info is dryan@videolabs.net,  and I now have a new direct phone line: 240-268-3504  

I invite you to browse these categories of other related quick-read tape-related blogs on this site: 

video production: http://tinyurl.com/ygmmrzt  

video duplication: http://tinyurl.com/ylskb8e 

post-production: http://tinyurl.com/yzwltx2

And follow me on Twitter for exclusive short-term steep discounts: www.Twitter.com/DRMediaSolution

I always welcome your comments.

Recuerda que hablo espanol tambien.

Or perhaps you have played in a rock band, you’ve realized first hand the value of a good drummer.

Or maybe you’ve worked on your car.  You are likely well aware of the importance of the timing belt.

In any of those cases,  if you lose the “sync,” things start falling apart.

Same in video . . .

Ever been in an edit session and have a transition effect between two images jump around or change color?

Or perhaps you have you experienced the frustration of trying to make a dub from one source to another but the picture keeps rolling?

Or how about trying to output a show from a Final Cut Pro or Avid session and you can’t make a proper edit to start the layback?

What is likely happening in those situations is a lack of sync between the devices involved.

As you probably know, NTSC video signal typically runs at 30 frames a second. (ok, it actually 29.97, but let’s keep this simple for now.)  But just because two signals run at the same steady frame rate doesn’t mean that they can mix smoothly together.

My good friend and engineering expert Chris Vazquez likens it to one of those 4 x 400 meter sprint races one sees on the Olympics.  Runners have to be “in sync” for the handoff to go smoothly.

So likewise, to have a smooth transition between two or more video devices, such as in a dissolve between two cameras covering a live event, with a character generator added on top, the signals of each device have to be on the same clock.  In other words, they are “genlocked.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genlock

What is commonly used for video reference in professional setups is an external sync generator.  It is set to put out a black signal that feeds to all the devices in the facility or particular setup.  That black signal, often referred to as ”house reference” becomes the master drummer. (further good info on this subject: http://tinyurl.com/yz9n8pp)

These range from the large sync generators for a facility

to the rack size for a small production company:

to a small one for an edit suite or field setup:

As explained in this well-written web article http://tinyurl.com/ykgcu8m “Genlock performs four main functions: vertical, horizontal, frame, and color synchronization. These features are all normal parts of a standard composite video signal, which allows a TV or monitor to display an image properly.”

Now you might be thinking that you know of situations where there was no reference put into a record tape machine.

And you would be correct.  Some higher end devices do have internal sync generators, and if that is not the case, most devices will adjust to the sync of the incoming video signal if nothing else is available.  But these are not ideal remedies since that type of sync is certainly not “system wide.”

There are devices that have “frame sync generators,” devices that act like a drill sargeant that force all incoming signals, no matter what clock they are on, to get forcibly reconstituted to a particular clock.  That may sound ideal, but there are disadvantages to the use of such devices, one being the possible introduction of a delay to a signal.

Still, frame syncs are popular in switchers used in remote live situations (like the battlefield or a remote location) where having problems with sync is just not an acceptable situation.

But returning to the main point, most professional video setups and facilities will utilize a black burst sync generator as their house reference.

Ah, but you are thinking, what about SD and HD?

Good question.  Yes, even though both are on 30 fps, remember from above that there are elements other than time that need to be kept in sync, such as color.  The SD signal and HD signal carry color information differently.  And since high end HD decks often provide internal downconversion (HD to SD) or upconversion (SD to HD) features, you’ll understand why on such machines there are usually inputs for both SD and HD sync.

I welcome your comments below.

If you enjoyed this article, you may want to check out some of the perenially-popular tech articles written by Chris Vazquez for this site, like, “Is the Generation Loss In Digital Betacam?” http://tinyurl.com/6yd6gn

Contact me, David Ryan, for your media replication and related multimedia needs.  301-217-0000 x104 or dryan@videolabs.net I follow Thomas Friedman’s “world is flat” model http://tinyurl.com/yhxfrkt, and I work with clients worldwide.  I would enjoy having the opportunity to be of service to you.

See what clients say: http://tinyurl.com/44uw9j

Follow me on Twitter for exclusive short term discounts and other items: www.Twitter.com/DRMediasolution

All excellent questions, and I thought I’d share some of my answers with you.

First, let me restate that one of our main services here at Video Labs www.VideoLabs.net is indeed standards conversion. 

Here is my quick-read blog about our high-end SD converter, the Alchemist Ph.C: http://tinyurl.com/6egswq

However, except for vhs, we do not do SECAM.  In my 3+ years here at Video Labs, I have yet to fulfill an order for SECAM.

For the very few SECAM inquiries I have received, it has turned out that they could also handle PAL, so we have provided that.  (Many SECAM countries have mandated PAL compatibility.  And I have even sent PAL delvierables to France - the home of SECAM.)

DVD videos do indeed need to follow the standards formats whether they are played in a set top box or computer.  Now, there is the situation, for example in Europe, where most viewers have “modern” tv sets (they are not actually true converters, but they make it work somehow within the circuitry) that can handle NTSC DVDs.   However, the reverse is not the case.  In other words, we in the US cannot play PAL DVDs in our set top boxes or our computer DVD players.

There are exceptions (and plug-ins, etc.) when it comes to DVD player software in computers, but for the most part,  the DVD software included in a computer is set for the standard of the country the computer is sold in.

Now when someone says QuickTime files, they can mean either uncompressed QTs of the above SD videos or compressed files (i.e. web files?) 

Uncompressed QT files must follow the standards of broadcast video since their main purpose is to act as a “transport” of the program – for example getting a program from an editing system to a dub house.

But for compressed files for the web, it’s a different story.  The various players (Windows Media, Flash, QT etc.) adjust playback to whatever the frame rate of the compressed file is, thereby in essence making television standards moot in this realm.

Video Labs can also provide HD mastering to tape and duplication.  FYI, we also do HD captioning: http://tinyurl.com/6bpxje, and we can do standards conversion of HD within our Final Cut Pro in conjunction with our Kona card (i.e. we do not have an HD Alchemist Ph.C, but we get it done just the same). 

From there we can output to PAL HDCAM or PAL DVCpro HD tape (fyi, our DVCproHD deck is the EX format).

OK, that’s some tidbits to pass along for now.  More later.

P.S. You may want to bookmark this link to a list of countries and their related broadcast standard: http://www.sivideo.com/9stand.htm

Your comments are welcomed below.

Interested in marketing via social media?  Check out my article about that:  http://tinyurl.com/q6uxfh

Follow me on Twitter www.Twitter.com/DRMediaSolution for short term deep discounts in media replication and related multimedia services.  (A veces tambien en espanol)

Well, our Video Labs engineer, Rodney Hammond, and I both set off to research that.  Rodney talked to Sony, and I searched the web.  Our conclusion: we are convinced that the answer is that the HDV format does not support closed-captioning.

But you may ask, “Well, wait minute, miniDV can carry that info, why not HDV?”

Ah, remember that miniDV is an SD format and carries the closed-captioned info in line 21 of the vertical interval.  HDV is a high-def format, and as the above-mentioned blog explains, in the HD realm, captions are carried in a metadata stream.  And as you may know, although HDV is a fine format, it is not as robust as its uptown relative, HDCAM.

Also, it makes sense if you think of it from Sony’s point of view.  If you were trying to get broadcasters to use your high-end HDCAM format as a  standard, would you also allow to have available as a substitute a much less expensive cousin?  No disrespect meant toward Sony — hey, it’s just smart business. 

And maybe there is a technical limitation as well as to why HDV doesn’t support closed captions.  Please let me know dryan@videolabs.net or comment below if you have info regarding that.

And let’s take that another step further.  As I’ve said to all I meet, PLEASE  let me know if you have any contrary information to any tech info I may relay.  There’s no room for ego in today’s fast-changing media environment.

Contact me at dryan@videolabs.net or 301-217-0000 x104

Also follow me on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/DRMediaSolution

You may also be interested in reading my blog about captions and subtitles for DVDs: http://tinyurl.com/5vgp9m

We here at Video Labs www.VideoLabs.net have now added HD closed-captioning to our menu of services.

Standard EIA-608 (EIA = Electronics Industries Association) is the techical name given to the format that we have all come to associate with closed-captioning over the years.  You know, those white block letters within a black box.  

 If you work in television, you may also know that the 608 captioning information is carried in the vetical interval part of the video signal, on line 21 to be exact.  (You can see the white line data if you have the ability to underscan the monitor screen.)

But there is no Line 21 in digital television (of which HDTV is part of).  Instead, captions are put into a data stream with the digtal signal.  And that data set is called EIA-708 captions.

708 captions offer various fonts, letter colors and a range of option for backgrounds among other features.  But in reality, today’s 708 captions are basically upconverted 608 captions limited to the 32 characters per line standard of 608. 

Now a digital TV user may be able to utilize some of the 708 advantages with that upconverted 608 signal, but as you can imagine, there is a lot more to 708 digital captioning heading our way down the road than exists now.

And you may have heard that there are some hurdles still to work out some HDTV users to access the 708 captions.  Unlike SD connections between cable boxes, DVD players and television sets, it appears that the HDMI connectors used in homes between a cable or satellite HD decoder box and a HDTV do not pass through the 708 data set.  So that means that the captions have to be decoded before the HDMI connector — in otherwords, by the cable or satellite decoder box.  Unfortunately, as of yet, trying to make that adjustment within a decoder box has not been very user-friendly.  The FCC is aware of this. http://tinyurl.com/5kjj2a  . . . and like everything else, all will surely get worked out eventually.

But in the mean time, you are likely saying, “That’s all very fine and good David, but all I know is that I have an HD program that has to get closed-captioned!”

Don’t worry, just give me a call:  301-217-0000 x104 or e-mail me at dryan@videolabs.net  We’ll get it done for you.  (One disclaimer: while we can playback and record 720 HD tapes, presently Video Labs cannot caption HD programs that originate as 720 and need to end up as 720 closed-captioned.  Call me nonetheless and let’s see if we can offer you some options to that.)

I welcome you comments below.  Thanks – David

Need SpoTTrac encoding?  Check out this: http://tinyurl.com/6yq8zo

It is a tracking signal developed by Nielsen that can be embedded into spots, public service annoucements and video news releases.

Each product is given its own uniquely indentifiable tracking information.

Like closed captioning, this tracking signal is embedded in the vertical interval portion of the video signal. http://tinyurl.com/599o3h

Nielsen has electronic monitoring stations around the country that can detect the encoded data and can thereby accurately report back to producers, advertising agencies and their clients as  to how much airplay their product is receiving.

Now Nielsen has upped its tracking capability by offering an enhanced version of Sigma called SpoTTrac.  http://tinyurl.com/65c2hp

In addition to encoding tracking data into the video signal,  SpoTTrac provides the added capability to encode that data into the audio signal.

That allows for more accurate (i.e. redundant) and robust tracking capabilities.

Video Labs has added SpoTTrac encoding to our capabilities: http://tinyurl.com/5jhjx7

UPDATE as of Feb 2010:  In subsequent discussions with Nielsen tech experts, we have learned that the transistion to digital broadcast has made the former Sigma encoding aspect of video now obsolete. 

In otherwords, the digital transmission is stripping off the vertical interval information where the Sigma encoding was located.

So we are currently in a period where Nielsen tracking is relying almost exclusively on the audio “watermarking.”

We have also learned some more tech details.  

One is that the success of the  audio watermarking is reliant on the audio of a program being on both the left & right tracks.

We’ve also learned that the audio signal must have enough amplitude (volume) and frequency response for the algorithm of the SpoTTrac to  have enough material to work with in deciding where to “hide” the watermark. 

That’s correct — the audio watermark data is blended within the audio spectrum in a variable way so that is can be masked by the existing program sound.

So the converse is true . . . if the sound of the program to be SpoTTrac’d is silent or has been heavily equalized, then the watermarking process will not work.

Pretty sophisticated that algorithm, no?

Contact me dryan@videolabs.net  (301-217-0000 x104) if you are interested in having SpoTTrac added to your spots, PSAs or VNRs.

As always, I welcome your comments below.

Interested in learning more about the challenges of putting captions and subtitling on DVDs?  I invite your to read my blog on that: http://tinyurl.com/5vgp9m

Here’s also a blog about our HD captioning services:  http://tinyurl.com/6bpxje

You may be interested to know that we also provide SX and IMX format duplication as well:  http://tinyurl.com/6rkc38    http://tinyurl.com/5hp4h8

Follow me on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/drmediasolution for short-term deep discounts.

Look at the many steps that footage typically goes through before getting to air or distribution.

And these steps are often further sub-divided or expanded. 

For example, portions of the video during the editing might be sent off to the graphics department for added effects work — with the resultant composited footage then brought back into the editing.

And after a program is finally edited, the sound is often stripped off and sent to an audio mixing facility for “sweetening.”  Then that new mix is brought back into the edit system and conformed to the picture before the program is laid off to the edited master tape.

You might ask, does maintaining unity gain really matter in this digital age?  You might be thinking, what with all the computers being used throughout, can’t one just adjust levels digitally as needed at any point along the way?

The problem with that thinking is that making radical adjustments at any stage in the pathway can introduce “noise” in either the video or audio.  Plus, you can correct only so far. 

Here is an everyday example of what I am talking about.  You may have tested the limits yourself when working on an underexposed digital photo in Photoshop or similar graphic program.  Sure, the computer software allows you a lot of correction ability that was unimaginable just a few years ago.  But chances are, if the photo is seriously underexposed or “out of whack” color-wise, you will be limited as to how much correction you can apply.  Despite your best efforts, chances are you will not be able to get the image to look very good.

Now, let’s look again at the production/post-production path chart – and think of every step as a point where the picture “gets taken” by your camera – an opportunity to affect the signal . . .
 
See the importance of maintaining consistency – or unity gain?

And the same goes for audio.

So how does one maintain consistency throughout the production and post-production chain?  How do we know what the intended or proper Picture and Audio levels are at any point in the production/post production process?   How do we know what is real?

The two basic metrics used to confirm proper levels are SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) bars for video, and 1K hertz tone for audio.  Check out this link for more details on those: http://tinyurl.com/59xckj

That is why it is standard procedure to lay down at least 30-secs of bars and tone at the beginning of every tape shot in the field and on every edit master and subsequent dub master.  Bars & Tone provide an industry reference.  When you release your videotape for broadcast or duplication, the 30 seconds of Bars & Tone at the beginning of your tape insures all of your hard work will be reproduced accurately.

For those dealing directly with the technical aspects of production and post-production, there are other intricacies to keep in mind when calibrating equipment in the signal path to bars and tone.  For video, there is component video http://tinyurl.com/pgvyh, SDI (serial digital interface) http://tinyurl.com/2u4wvp and of course the burgeoning High Definition field http://tinyurl.com/6c7d8j  &  http://tinyurl.com/5s6y8h

Also, remember to check the calibration of your “reference set-up equipment.”  About once a month check the calibration of your color monitor, waveform/Vector scope and the Audio Meter.

For audio there is the variable of whether the meter you are using is a VU (volume units) or PPM (Peak Program Meter).  Read more about that here: http://tinyurl.com/6xzp3d

And there is also the realm of digital audio to consider.  Formats such as AES http://tinyurl.com/676et3  and Dolby 5.1 “surround sound” http://tinyurl.com/onwte

One last note about audio meters and tone.  If the audio meter is “summed Mono” (Left & Right channels combined), the meter will read 3 dB hot when playing tone on both audio channels at the same time.  Always play the audio channels one at a time to confirm proper Tone level on a “Mono Meter”.

Suffice it to say that unity gain is important to always keep in mind whether you work in a large production facility or an indie production boutique.  Almost every broadcast and cable network insists on a strict quality control review of programs being considered for air.

If unity gain has not been carefully maintained throughout the production control, I can almost guarantee you that issues will arise that will result in the program being rejected.  And as a producer or technician, that is something you do not want to hear.

So, avoid that frustration (and added expense).  Watch your levels closely throughout the production and post-production process.  Insist on unity gain throughout.

Your comments are encouraged below.

Feel free to contact Chris Vazquez at chris.designsmith@verizon.net or 301-953-1427.

Other articles you might be interested in:

Is there generation loss in digibeta?  Check out Chris’ article: http://tinyurl.com/6yd6gn

Curious about setting up your editing timeline correctly?  Check out David’s blog: http://tinyurl.com/5mbl8u

Need CD, DVD or tape duplication?  Contact David Ryan at dryan@videolabs.net or 301-217-0000 x104

They are the three main broadcast standards in the world, and the broadcast telelvision signals of a particular country are one of the three (some countries do have two). 

For a complete list of the standards in the world, check out http://www.sivideo.com/9stand.htm

We here in the USA are NTSC, while most of Europe is PAL.  France and a number of countries in Asia are SECAM.  

PAL and SECAM are quite similar, and since the requests for our making SECAM dubs is very rare here at Video Labs, I’ll confine my comments in this article to NTSC vs. PAL.

In Standard Definition video, the color and brightness information is carried via analog information, in otherwords, by fluctuations of voltage.  In the HD world, that information is determined digitally, in other words, by fluctuations of good ‘ole digital 0′s and 1′s.

But one difference between PAL and NTSC is the same in both standard definition and high definition television –frame rate.

And those frame rate differences go back to the differences in electrical cycles in the world.  For example, the electricity here in the USA is 60 cycles/sec.  And if you have traveled to Europe, you know that you cannot plug in your electrical device from here without a converter.  That’s because the electricity there is 50 cycles/sec.

You can see then why there are 60 frames of video per second in the USA’s NTSC televison signal and 50 frames per second in the PAL system. 

So, getting those good ‘ole British TV shows to play here in the US, and ours to play over there, requires a conversion process — otherwise known as ”standards conversion.”

We here at Video Labs have a various equipment to convert programs recorded in one standard to the other. 

A main challenge in standards conversion is combating ”judder.”  Think of it as a combination of the words “jitter” and “shudder.”  You probably have seen the artificat sometime when watching a program from Europe played here in the States.  It is most noticeable when there is a horizontal movement or the camera pans.  I personally have noticed it being most pronounced in scenes where people are crossing the street and the camera pans.  The result is an awkward gait in the folks.

Video Labs is one of the few places around that has the Snell & Wilcox Alchemist Ph.C, which is the recognized leading device in minimizing “judder.”

The secret is in the “Ph.C,” which stands for phase correlation.  It uses an algorithm process to best deal with the frame conversions.  Check out this link for more: (once there, hit Ctrl + F and enter “phase correlation”) http://tinyurl.com/cyutd

Now, full disclosure here — the Alchemist Ph.C we have is for Standard Definition only.  For converting HD tapes, we have both HDCAM and DVCproHD decks that can playback and record both 60i and 50i (remember from above, 60 = NTSC and 50 = PAL . . . the “i” refers to “interlaced” vs. “progressive” — but that’s another article).  We use our Final Cut Pro with its Kona card as a “conversion interface,” if you will, in that process.

I’ve just touched the surface of standards conversion, but be assured, the Video Labs team and I can get you where you need to be if you have project requiring that service.  Just give me a call at 301-217-0000 x104 or write me at dryan@videolabs.net

Curious about standard definition “anamorphic”? Read Chris Vazquez’ article: http://tinyurl.com/59jtfd

Those who know me are aware that I have been diligently working on a life-long goal to become fluent in Spanish. I’ve been taking classes, conversing with my very patient Latino friends and listening to the several Spanish radio stations in our area while I drive. I’d say that I am about 75% fluent at the present time. (I know, pretty pitiful when you consider how some people in the world know three or four languages by the time they are young adults . . . oh well, at least I am trying).

Anyway, turns out this call was from a South American production television production company that needed to get their latest documentary program to DC for a private viewing later that evening.

The production company, as is Video Labs, is an affiliate of the Telestream network. http://www.telestream.net/

Telestream is a California-based company that started in 1998 with the goal of delivering video via internet protocol.

They offer proprietary solutions to achieve that goal. In 1999 they marketed ClipMail Pro. A large entertainment company or small production company, a post house or a media replication firm like Video Labs can buy one of Telestream’s encoding/decoding units and join their network. And once an affiliate, one can search for the name and location of other affiliates around the world.

Fortunately my Spanish — (and their patience) — was sufficient to work out the details of this particular inquiry, and about ten hours later we had received their half-hour program at full resolution, had made DVD copies and were rush-couriering them to downtown DC.

(left) ClipMail menu

Were there options other than Telestream for this particular order?

Well, of course there is satellite. But as a veteran producer and director of satellite videoconferences myself, I know it is not inexpensive, if even possible, to acquire last-minute time for an international satellite feed. Plus, transmitting over regular satellite is not secure. Unless encrypted (not your everyday task) a satellite transponder can be viewed by numerous downlink sites. When transmitting via Telestream, it is an IP connection just between the sites involved. In this particular instance, their program had not been broadcast yet, so they wanted to keep this last-minute “preview” in DC truly private.

That is just one example of how we have used our Telestream “box” at Video Labs. You can imagine how this has been a very popular service with several of our advertising and politcal ad agency clients who need to get quick approvals of spots.

One of the positive features of the Telestream system is that it allows us to transmit and receive at a variety of compression levels. The program for the above example needed to be sent in full-screen high quality video, and it took about four hours to encode, transmit and recieive the program. For other projects, a lo-rez picture is sufficient, which can involve a lot less turnaround time. A lo-rez strategy might be employed for sending a first draft rough cut, or perhaps to assist with a voiceover narration or music mixing session. It could also be employed when working with a transcription or captioning vendor.

The bottom line is this. If you need to get your media from here to there, and overnight delivery just isn’t soon enough, consider using our Telestream system. Give me a call, 301-217-0000 x104, and let’s talk through your options. Or e-mail me at dryan@videolabs.net I am confident we can provide your with a cost-effective solution.

Got any Telestream anecdotes to share? Would love to hear them. Write in the comments space below. Thanks – David