june 2010 newsletter

At times I feel as if I am living in two eras. I make it my aim to keep up on the latest technologies and as I look at new developments I am constantly amazed at the the pace of change and tools (toys?) we are using now that were not possible only a few years ago.

At the same time I find comfort in being able to operate equipment from a past era that still works very well. Yes, old technology such as this can take a good deal of loving care to keep it going, but it's a bit like restoring an classic car compared to the latest computer controlled high end machine. The former is fairly basic usually only requiring skill and the tracking down of the right parts. The later is often a throw away item and very quickly superseded by something better.

Paul Perry

More on Facebook, Website and Blogs etc.

If you have been watching my comments on business development during this year you will remember mention of an update to my website, a blog to be added and last month announcing my presence on Facebook.

This has been part of a longish review of future opportunities and in the course of much learning about the new era of doing business online. While looking at these changes to come it has become necessary, as I learn more, to change some original plans . For example, as I became more familiar with Facebook I realised it operates pretty much like a blog and so have decided not to add a separate blog to my website just yet. In the near future I will continue this newsletter, be present on Facebook and also Twitter in time.

In the course of updating my website I will also be adding a steady stream of short articles on subjects relevant to old media and technology as well as newer technology and these will often expand on subjects touched on here. After all that there will be one more exciting addition which for the present must remain under the wraps.

Speaking of the Pace of Technology Change

While writing the introduction at the top I was reminded of a video shoot I assisted on in 2002. It was to cover a series of meetings during 1 day and I was asked to video what is called in the trade, B roll shots. One camera would be videoing main happenings on the stage and I would be videoing cutaway shots and general incidentals.

During the day we talked of how this might be edited. It was a very early era for editing on a home type computer and none of us had access to such facilities. The project did not get edited then for a number of reasons and 3 years later when I did have computer editing facilities I was asked if I would look at the original tapes. The biggest problem was that the digital camera tapes had been copied to VHS and the originals were no longer available. But the project did get completed and all the way through I kept thinking of the irony of not only being able to edit the program, which 3 years before was thought not feasible, but I was also recovering the camera video from a less than optimal source.

Now we can routinely edit high definition broadcast video on a home computer and before long I am sure will be able to handle 3D video as well.

Now this is what I call a Home Media Centre

The home media centre is not a new idea, in 1963 Ampex made one in a timber cabinet 9 feet long weighing 900 pounds. Included was a black and white reel to reel video recorder with its own TV tuner and record timer, a video camera, colour television and a complete audio system with AM/FM radio, stereo amplifier with speakers, reel to reel recorder and record player.

It cost US$30,000, but came with a personalised plaque and an Ampex service engineer to install it.

Early Television

Although early experiments were conducted in television displays and recording in the late 1800s it was the 1930s before the first serious television broadcasts were begun in London. The second world war meant the cessation of broadcasts in Britain, but after the war took off quickly in the few years following.

Most early shows were either broadcast live or recorded on film from a special video monitor with the film image then viewed by a video camera for broadcasting. In 1956 the first video recording system was introduced by Ampex Corp, the quality of which was described to me by one video producer, possibly a little unkindly, as being about as good as a home VHS video tape recording.

The early 1950s saw the introduction of colour in the USA. Australia had to wait though until the mid 1970s for colour.

Apple Pads

You may have heard all the noise about the new Apple iPad, sort of like a mini/undersized and very basic computer come display unit. If you already have one you are generally known as an early adopter. But if you are like me you will more likely watch and wait for a bit. And in this case it may well be justified because the word in the industry is that many more similar and much better devices will be released within the next year or so.

One of the big difficulties with the iPad for some is Apples total unwillingness to allow it to play any Flash video. And when you consider that a very large proportion of video on the Internet is Flash, think YouTube, then that does constitute a problem.

Humour

" You can judge your age by the amount of pain you feel when you come in contact with a new idea." Pulitzer prize winner - Pearl S Buck.

The reason a child has a middle name is so they know when they are in trouble!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions and comments on this newsletter and suggestions of what you would like me to cover in future issues.