by Dimitry Mikhaylov, Vice President, Fair Lawn Television
We in Fair Lawn were just dreaming to switch our old analog plant to digital. In fact, the digital upgrade didn’t begin until 2019 when our old Leightronix server was suddenly dead, and we got a chance to replace all our outdated equipment at once. As late as 2019 seems, there are some surprising advantages to coming late to a new technology. Digital workflow was a mature, robust system that was adopted by broadcasters at every level, and we had the advantage of learning from all those who were on the bleeding edge of adoption.
The town management authorized a modest budget to accomplish our conversion, but as a small PEG channel we surely couldn’t afford the same equipment as the broadcast stations around the country. We knew that we needed to work with someone who truly understood the marketplace, someone who could design a facility that would do what we needed to do within our budget. We began talking to Varto and Yervant at Varto Technologies about our needs and it soon became apparent they understood both the technical requirements and the financial constraints that faced our project.
Council Meeting Coverage
Our analog control room was in the basement of our Municipal building, but the meetings we needed to cover were on the second floor. This immediately presented a challenge. How could we get the video and audio we needed from the council chamber back to our control room without pulling multiple cables. Varto introduced us to the concept of using NDI technology. It would allow us to send all the video and the control signals to and from the three cameras in the council chamber to the control room on just one Cat 6a cable.
PTZ Camera
We purchased three PTZ Optics cameras for the council chamber and the Cat 6 cable allowed us to run power and pan-tilt-zoom control remotely from the control room over the same cable. To ensure reliable signal flow, Varto designed a standalone IT network to carry the Video over IP signals without relying on the existing network within the building. Once the signals reached the control room, they were converted to SDI and routed to a Black Magic 12X12 Router Switch and sent to a Tricaster Mini with an outboard control surface and Skaarhaj controller that is the heart of our studio. We added a 50-inch Samsung LCD Monitor as a multiviewer that allows us to monitor the feeds from the cameras and the preview and program feed from the Tricaster.
Switcher Control in Control Room
We were faced with a difficult decision regarding the nature of the audio feeds from the council chamber. We could have run them digitally over the IP network, but that would have cost a fair amount of money and required us to purchase a new audio board. We already had a single analog line that carried the mixed signal from the PA system in the council chamber to the control room so we decided just to use what was already there. We ran that feed into a Shure 6-port portable mixer and then into the Tricaster. This audio mixer was the only device we were able to use from our previous control room. Although our audio is still analog, the IP network that Varto installed will allow us to deliver digital audio to the control room in the future.
We also purchased a LiveU 2000 server in anticipation of the day when we will do remote productions in other places around the town. We experimented with the LiveU cell phone app, but we have not purchased a professional transmitter yet.
Fair Lawn TV Slide
Now that we could produce a complete show with our new equipment, and we needed a new server to schedule live and pre-recorded programming and to run our community billboard. This was one of the most difficult decision we had to make. After carefully reviewing the marketplace, we decided on a Cablecast VIO server. As you know, there are many servers on the market and they all will allow you to program your station and send a signal to your cable provider. It became a matter of which system was easiest to program for our staff. The Cablecast interface was intuitive and the billboard was easy to program. In addition, while the pandemic hadn’t started yet, we were able to program both the station and the bulletin board remotely. Of course, this feature proved invaluable during the pandemic. While we liked the TelVue system a lot, the Cablecast server also turned out to be a bit cheaper than the other options. Their billboard software seemed to be a bit more advanced and the additional bulletin board services such as weather, news and traffic were included in their price. The other suppliers required additional payments for these services.
Ironically, now that we can make beautiful, digitally created HD pictures for the channel, we have to downgrade the signal with a Black Magic converter to a 16X9 SD signal to supply to our Altice cable provider. Luckily, we don’t have to downgrade the signal for our Verizon FIOS feed anymore. Hopefully we will be able to provide Altice with an HD signal too in the very near future.
Two additional points: Thanks to the team from Varto Technologies – the entire job, from the cabling to powering up the equipment, was completed in just 5 days. Of course, with all this new equipment, we needed training, and again Yervant provided us with necessary training until we were up to speed on the operation of all the new gear.
In addition to our linear cable channel, we now stream our council meetings live to Facebook once or twice a month, and we also now produce and stream a daily Russian Language program. In the future we hope to purchase a Cablecast Streaming server that will allow us to stream all the programming on the channel 24 hours a day.
Luckily, the entire job was completed before the COVID pandemic and with the new equipment, we can run almost our entire operation remotely. Physical presence at the station was needed only during live or zoom council meetings and for daily streaming.
While the upgrade was long overdue, we now have a digital facility that makes beautiful HD pictures at a price that we could afford. The installation was done professionally. All wiring was neat and the connections in our council chambers were all made with decorative wall plates for an aesthetically pleasing finish. Upgrading a facility is always a challenge, but with the help of the team from Varto Technologies, the process was painless, and the results were just what we needed at a price we could afford.
Editing to me brings any story to life; the music, the pacing, the selection of shots…everything helps the viewer connect to the subject on a visceral level.
When I was asked by Rich Desimone to present at the conference this year, I was both excited and honored. Since the last time I presented a few years ago, I had the opportunity to expand my knowledge of the craft in producing longer form features for ESPN (my employer) that truly challenged me. The topic I would be discussing in the panel would be ‘Editing Techniques in Story Telling’. I could not think of a more important and appropriate topic for the two main features included in the panel – El Paso Strong and 17 Hours: The Chris Nikic Story.
El Paso soccer team
El Paso Strong told the story of a youth soccer team that lived through one of the worst mass shootings in American history. The feature documented the team for an entire year and showed how their sense of family and togetherness helped to guide them.
Chris Nikic running in Ironman Triathlon
17 Hours: The Chris Nikic Story told the power of human spirit. Chris Nikic from Florida attempted to become the first person with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman Triathlon. Both of these features under the ESPN’s SC Featured series utilize music, pacing, natural sound and shot selection to effectively tell these stories.
To effectively give a full perspective of the editing techniques utilized, I reached out to two people who worked on the features in different roles – Diego Martini, ESPN Lead Post Production Editor who crafted El Paso Strong, and Paul Moessl who composed the music for 17 Hours: The Chris Nikic Story. Diego would speak on pacing, shot selection and the use of natural sound while Paul would talk about the process of creating original music. For the latter, I felt this was a process that some may be unfamiliar with (myself included until recently) and could be beneficial as well.
The week leading into the Expo, I discussed with Geoffrey Belinfante (who helped to moderate the panel) on the overall structure of the presentation. Geoffrey correctly pointed out that it was also important to give a viewer a sense of how you helped to find/pitch the idea and start with the production. The panel was scheduled to be an hour and I created a Power Point presentation to ensure that we covered everything while leaving room for questions.
Chris Nikic swimming
We started by discussing how the pieces came to production, and then transitioned to the importance of music and the process of its composition for the Chris Nikic Feature. To illustrate this, I took a 1-minute segment and showed the audience the feature with/without music. This was important for two reasons. First, it showcased the importance of music. Second, it gave Paul time to talk about his process of crafting music.
After all, when Paul starts his process we give him the raw piece without instrumentals so he’s able to work from there. Paul was able to explain the full process including our initial discussions, well before I even send him the raw element. It’s important to give a composer sources of inspiration, providing examples and sample instrumentation.
Next, we transitioned to the importance of natural sound and pacing. Never was this more important than in El Paso Strong. In the segment I showed, the team was honored during a professional soccer game in El Paso. The fireworks set off during the national anthem caused severe distress in the group. The natural sound of the fireworks and team in distress helped to illustrate that these tragedies can have long lasting impacts.
Memorial at El Passo shooting
Once we finished the main presentation portion of the panel, it was time for questions. I think one of the many benefits of the expo is the experience that every attendee brings. As we went through the presentation, there were important follow up questions including detailing the timeline of production, the pitching process and how the features were received. I thought the answers provided much needed discussions on the production process. As we wrapped up right at the hour mark, I was very taken with the reception from everyone.
I would like to thank Rich Desimone, Geoffrey Belinfante and JAG for their efforts to organize such a successful conference and giving me the opportunity to share my experience.
About the Author: Joshua Vorensky is an Emmy-Award Winning Associate Producer with ESPN. He has worked on features from the NFL to Golf to the Special Olympics. His feature – El Paso Strong is nominated for a Sports Emmy this year. Josh got his start at MEtv in Metuchen, New Jersey when he was in high school and graduated from Ithaca College in 2011.***His opinions for this article are his own***Photos courtesy of ESPN
The video of this session is now available on the JAG website in the Members Only section.
I hate to admit it, but I’ve been in this business for almost 50 years. During that time, I have attended numerous trade show and conferences as both a potential client and as an exhibitor. Because of my experience at trade shows, I was genuinely concerned when JAG decided to stage this year’s Eastern Video Expo virtually. Of course, during the pandemic, I attended other virtual trades shows and numerous workshops on a variety of topics, but, in the few years I have been associated with JAG, I have come to really look forward to meeting with all my colleagues at the show. That said, I must confess, I was pleasantly surprised at how informative, and in some cases entertaining this year’s virtual conference proved to be.
One of the things I have learned over the years is that you never stop learning in this business. Whether it’s hearing about the latest technology or discussing how to better tell a story, there’s always something new to absorb. From the perspective of a person who has been creating some form of communications my entire professional life, I found the workshops that dealt with storytelling, interviewing techniques, editing and lighting fascinating and informative. I know I’m probably not the best person to address those workshops since I hosted several of them, but I really did learn something from the impressive list of professionals that participated in the panels. It’s always good to hear how others find their ideas, pitch them and then go about organizing the production. No two stories are ever the same, and no two executions ever go as expected. Knowing how to identify the important parts of your story, and being able to pivot if something doesn’t go as planned, are truly important when you are creating documentary programming.
It’s also important to understand different organizational techniques, and the methods people use to collaborate with a creative team. Clearly, collaboration has changed because of Covid 19 and will probably continue to change as technology evolves. No longer are you expected to get on an airplane to pitch a show; no longer do you have to be in the same room or even the same state as your editor; and no longer do you have to attend large recording sessions as the composer works with your footage. While I might miss those elements of the “creative” process, these are the realities of creating media in the post pandemic 21st century and it’s truly helpful to hear about them from those who create award winning programming. Of course, learning how to better light an interview seems like something I’ve been working on my entire professional life!
Although I personally may be partial to the workshops that dealt with the creation of compelling programming, there were certainly other elements to the Eastern Video Expo that were informative. As we all face the coming need to closed caption, it was valuable to learn about the options available to help us serve the hearing-impaired community. I also continue to be impressed by the changes that companies like TelVue and Cablecast make in their products to make our jobs as program directors and station managers easier. In addition, it continues to amaze me how integrators like Varto Technologies use these new tools to make our productions look better and reach more people through new streaming technologies. I also was able to learn more about social media marketing and analytics, something that mystifies old farts like me. Finally, it’s important to hear about the new methods of over-the-top distribution that are available to our channels. These tools will surely become more significant to PEG channels in the ever-changing media landscape.
Compared to others, I am relatively new to the world of PEG and Community media. I am always fascinated by the way things in Washington affect the way we operate. In my previous life, all I had to worry about was getting a program done, making it to length, delivering it on time, staying within the budget, and making it great. Now there’s a whole world in DC which I need to understand so I can evaluate what effect it will have on our business. I always find it interesting to hear about the things our legislators find important. The lawyers and directors of the various organizations that represent us always seem to have an interesting perspective on what we need to do to advance the things that are important to our JAG members. The Eastern Video Expo always seems to give them a forum to keep us up to date on what’s going on, and our legislator of the year, Congressman Donald Payne reminded us all of the important work we do.
Finally, our virtual conference wasn’t just informative, but it was entertaining as well. Simon Mandal made a potential dull keynote speech fun and informative. His performance on the virtual red carpet and at the JAG awards made the evening enjoyable even if you didn’t win. Did I miss seeing everyone in person? You bet, but did I find the virtual Eastern Video Expo informative and entertaining—absolutely, and I didn’t even have to get dressed and drive to a hotel to prove that you can still teach an old dog new tricks.
by Doug Seidel, Social Media Manager, External Relations Committee
3..2..1..Launch. The brand new JAGonline.org is live! You should notice some changes right away when you visit the website. If you were familiar with the site before you should have no trouble finding what you need, the main navigation has stayed the same. A huge difference is that things are a bit more organized. Since the site has been around for a while, we had a good amount of information and now it is just archived so it looks cleaner. We also were able to add some plug ins that make the site look more modern – notice the difference in the old and new directions pages.
Old and New Directions Pages on JAGonline.org
Take some time and look over the site. Big changes to our member lists and executive board members page. The articles also look better with the update, so you can have a better reading experience while visiting the site. I am sure you will agree that the site looks much better and information is easier to find.
NEW CONTENT ON WEBSITE- We have now posted 24 programs from the Eastern Video Expo events to the members only section of our website. To view the video content links below, you need a members only password.
Lighting isn’t for exposure – it’s for communication: Dave Landau, Cinematographer, lighting directorSponsored by DeSisti
Storytelling from Concept to Completion: Joe Lavine, Emmy award winning director/producerand Ouisie Shapiro, Emmy award-winningwriter/producer
Interviewing Techniques: Budd Mishkin, Broadcast Journalist andWilliam Weinbaum, digital journalist and producer ESPN
Marketing with Social Media: Sabrina Teekah, Producer & Host of“Now or Never” and Cyd Katz,Founder/CEO New Jersey Isn’t Boring
Editing Techniques in Storytelling: Joshua Vorensky, Emmy-Award WinningAssociate Producer with ESPNPaul Moessl, Film and TV Composer and Diego Martini, Emmy Award Winning Editor at ESPN
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Here’s my big confession: I do not like technology. I don’t trust it, I don’t enjoy it, and I generally believe that things work better without it. But I am running a PEG organization…..so I naturally deal with it.
Things were going just swimmingly at C-NET prior to March of 2020. Our tiny staff and crew of Penn State interns were traveling around the County with cameras, microphones and an array of other equipment to cover the meetings of sixteen different entities — Seven municipalities, two school districts, the County government, a regional Council of Governments, three regional Authorities, the local Library and Penn State. We produced over 500 programs in 2019.
Then, of course, everything changed. And for many months, it was a matter of producing the best programs we could utilizing Zoom. “Can you hear me now?”, “Please mute yourself” and “Your cat is in the way” became the phrases of our life.
Wide shot of a State College Borough Council meeting. The Mondopod is set up at the far end of the Council dais so that Council members can see virtual participants. Audio is provided to C-NET and amplified through the Borough’s installed audio system
And now, everything has changed again. Elected officials and members of the public have decided that they like attending meetings on their couch in their pajamas, and so what now? The dreaded HYBRID meetings. For the last three months or so, C-NET has been tasked with helping various government and regional organizations figure out how to allow elected officials, board representatives and the public to participate in meetings both physically in a meeting room and virtually.
Shot of the Mondopad at a State College Borough Council meeting. The bottom right view on the mondopad is the view of the meeting room provided to virtual
This means, of course, that everyone must be able to see and hear each other AND C-NET needs to obtain audio and video from both the room and the virtual platform. This would be a reasonable challenge if all sixteen meeting rooms had the same audio systems, etc., but they do not. Some of the rooms in which we work include installed mounted cameras and audio systems with reliable wireless internet. Other meeting rooms have no installed technology at all.
The result has been a myriad of different solutions. For meetings in the State College Borough Council Chambers, we are live switching between a Zoom feed and the mounted cameras in the room. The in-person participants are seeing the Zoom feed on the mondopad and hearing the audio through the Borough’s audio system.
A ”Meeting Owl” sits on a small table with a laptop at the Halfmoon Township Board of Supervisors meeting. The Own provides a microphone and 360 degree camera for remote participants.
We are using a Meeting Owl in several of the meeting rooms in which we work. This relatively inexpensive (less than $1,000) device uses a 360 degree camera and microphone to provide a view of the room and audio to and from the people in the meeting room and the Zoom participants. The Owl works particularly well in smaller meeting rooms.
Shot of the Zoom feed at the Halfmoon Township Board of Supervisors meeting using an Owl. The top view is the view from the 360 degree camera of the Owl.
A third configuration includes a lap-top camera and a high-quality exterior microphone to provide video and audio to Zoom participants, while the Zoom video is projected onto a screen in the room. In this case, C-NET live switches between the Zoom feed and our single camera. This has proved to be the most problematic of the various solutions.
A laptop and microphone placed on a small table in from of the Board table. The laptop feed is projected onto a screen in the room. The room’s installed audio system provides audio to the in-person participants. The exterior microphone provides audio to the virtual participants.
Another interesting outcome of the pandemic is that the public’s tolerance for a single camera panning between speakers is lessening. Virtual meeting platforms allow the speaker to be instantly highlighted on the screen, and we are finding that the public expects this to be the case with in-person production as well. To assist with this challenge, C-NET has recently purchased a Rushworks VDESK Compact PTZ Production and Streaming System as an affordable way to turn more meetings into multi-camera productions. More switching…..less panning.
I want to give a shout-out at this point for the annual JAG Eastern Video Expo. It was, of course, unfortunate that the Expo was cancelled in 2020 and had to be virtual in 2021, but the challenges brought about by the pandemic are precisely why this type of collaborative group conference is so valuable. For the most part, PEG stations have small staffs and modest budgets, and reinventing the wheel takes time and money. Talking to others who are facing the same challenges and issues helps everyone. We network, we learn, and we form relationships that will help us down the road. I’m very much looking forward to the next Expo!
C-NET is fortunate to have the financial support of the sixteen organizations that we serve. And we are committed to finding and designing solutions to meet the changing needs of their staffs and the public. Hybrid meetings and changes in the public’s expectations are here to stay. So while I don’t like technology, I am fortunate that the rest of the wonderful C-NET staff is talented, creative and willing to go the extra mile for our community.
C-Net Logo
C-NET is Centre County’s Government and Education Access Television Network. C-NET administers two channels, CGTV (channel 7) and CETV (channel 98) on the Comcast and Windstream Cable Systems. All of C-NET’s locally produced programming is available to view on-line, on-demand at cnet1.org. C-NET’s programming ranges from public meetings to high school sports, concerts, and local festivals. A C-NET member agency must sponsor each program that airs on the channels. There are currently 16 members: Bellefonte Area School District, Bellefonte Borough, Centre County Government, Centre Region Council of Governments, the Centre Region Parks and Recreation Authority, College Township, Ferguson Township, Halfmoon Township, Harris Township, Patton Township, Penn State University, Schlow Centre Region Library, State College Area School District, State College Borough, the State College Borough Water Authority, and the University Area Joint Authority.
by Ken Fellman, Of Council, Helmer, Conley and Kasselman, PA
Ken Fellman
As Americans have spent a significant amount of time on the internet during the pandemic, the federal government has created several programs addressing broadband deployment. Here, we address two major Congressional initiatives that provide significant funding to expand broadband networks. On March 11th, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan (ARP), which allocates funding to state, county, and municipal governments, and establishes that state and local governments receiving this funding may use it “to make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure.” As of this writing (August 12, 2021), the House will be considering the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by the Senate, which establishes a $42,450,000,000 grant program to states who in turn award subgrants to local governments and other entities for broadband and other infrastructure projects.
On May 11th, the Treasury Department released interim regulations describing the allowable use of ARP funds. These regulations define “broadband infrastructure” as infrastructure designed to provide service to unserved or underserved households and businesses that reliably meets or exceeds symmetrical 100 Mbps speeds. [1] The regulations also define “unserved and underserved households or businesses” as one or more households or businesses that are not currently served by a wireline connection that reliably delivers at least 25 Mbps download speed and 3 Mbps upload speed. Thus, local governments may use ARP funding to provide broadband infrastructure to households that do not currently receive reliable service of at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds, so long as that broadband infrastructure is designed to reliably support symmetrical 100 Mbps speeds.
These regulations also provide flexibility to local governments: “Understanding that States, territories, localities, and Tribal governments have a wide range of varied broadband infrastructure needs, [these regulations] provide award recipients with flexibility to identify the specific locations within their communities to be served and to otherwise design the project.” The Treasury Department notes that local governments have the discretion to determine whether 25/3 Mbps service is being “reliably delivered” in an area, and the discretion to determine whether ARP funds may be expended on improving broadband infrastructure in that area.
To receive ARP funding, counties and metropolitan cities (municipalities with a population of 50,000 or more) must request money directly from the Treasury Department; smaller cities (which the ARP calls “non-entitlement units of local government” or “NEUs”) receive ARP funding from their state. To apply for funding, local governments must have a valid DUNS number as well as an active registration with the federal government’s System for Award Management (SAM) database. According to the Division of Local Government Services of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (the “Division”), funds for NEUs are distributed through the State Treasury. These local governments must execute an Award Terms and Conditions Agreement and submit a Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Distribution Request and Certification Form to the Division to request payment. Unlike ARP funding to state and local governments, the Infrastructure Act (assuming the House approves it without major changes) will create a grant program run by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for broadband projects. NTIA will award grants to states who will then award subgrants to local governments and other political subdivisions for broadband projects. 10% of this grant money is set aside for high-cost areas based on the proportion of unserved locations in high-cost areas in the state compared to those in all states, with the remaining amount allocated to states based on the proportion of unserved areas in the state relative to the unserved areas in all states. [2] The Act defines “unserved location” as a broadband-serviceable location that either has no access to broadband service or lacks access to 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload service. States may award subgrants for a variety of reasons, including unserved and underserved areas, connecting eligible community anchor institutions like public housing authorities and healthcare providers, and for broadband project planning and data mapping.
[1] In areas where it is not practicable to build out networks that meet these speeds for reasons such as excessive cost or geography or topography of the area, the network must meet or exceed 100 Mbps download speed and between 20 Mbps and 100 Mbps upload speed and be scalable to 100 Mbps symmetrical.
[2] States must apply for funding; if a state fails to apply, a political subdivision or consortium of political subdivisions of the state may apply instead.
I am sure you all might have memories of this during some point in your life when you asked the Magic 8-Ball, “What Does The Future Hold?”. Did you get the answer? Did it leave you with “Ask Again Later”? Well, I am here to tell you it doesn’t take the Magic 8-Ball to get a glimpse into the future of access television, it just takes JAG along with some of our guest panelists from our conference sessions. In this article I am going to explore briefly with you some of the topics we discussed at our conference, allow you to watch these again (or for the first time) and see what valuable information you can gather from it
Outlook Good
In the session “The Future of PEG Access: Where Do We Go From Here”, I was fortunate enough to participate with three other people from around the country on this panel. J. Robertson from Hawaii, George McCollough from PrincetonTV and Mike Wassenaar of the ACM. We talked about how the COVID Crisis affected our operations, the various things stations did to remain relevant, how we emerged from the pandemic and what we learned from this situation that will carry us into the future.
You May Rely On It
Our discussions take you down the different paths that stations and municipalities went down during the crisis, along with how we emerged as well. Learn about how these stations all faced their own challenges, the ingenuity to evolve from those challenges and how they positioned themselves during this crisis. You will learn how stations adapted and positioned themselves as the source for updated information on both a local and state level as well. We also tackle the future hybrid meeting and its position in our operations. This round table discussion is something that you are going to want to watch again and again, and us it as a tool for your operations. This session is informative not only on a technology side, but extremely helpful on the management and operations side. This session can be found in the Members Only Section of the JAG Website under recorded webinars.
Signs Point To Yes
In another session that I was lucky to be a part of was “How Technology Will Shape The Future of PEG Stations”. This panel was comprised of forward-thinking individuals who not only represent manufacturers who support our industry, but these same people understand our operations, the communities in which we serve and our industry as a whole. Jesse Lerman of Telvue, Randy Visser of Cablecast and Rush Beesley of Rushworks gathered together to discuss every aspect of PEG operations and technology. As a group we tackle everything from live broadcasts, IPTV, OTT and other streaming platforms and social media. With the great strides connectivity, shared resources, remote access and more are all discussed. I urge you to watch this session again and again, use it as a resource guide and tool for your operations and a blue print on how your station might move forward. I have no doubt at the very least you will find an idea that you could bring forward to your station and municipality now and others you can use to plan out your station operations down the road. This session is one hour long and jam-packed with tremendous information and insight. This session can be found in the Members Only Section of the JAG Website under recorded webinars.
It Is Decidedly So
JAG is releasing another group of videos from our conference this month. There are six new videos posted. Besides the two I mentioned that deal with looking at the future of community access, one addresses Broadband and the other three are user groups by TelVue, Cablecast and Varto (Tricaster). There are many new videos on JAG’s website in the Members Only section for you to view. This requires a password and on September 1 the password will change. Contact Linda Besink, Treasurer at lbesink@gmail.com if you have any problems.
As I started this article, I will end the same way. It does not take a Magic 8-Ball to figure out the future of PEG Access, it takes JAG and the great compliment of members, users, manufacturers, and people in the industry we have positioned to be part of our sessions, webinars and discussions during meetings. Take advantage of this!
by Dustin Dumas, Station Manager, South Orange Maplewood Television
Dustin Dumas
The 2021 Eastern Video Expo conference was designed to bring the media community together to learn and share and this year it was virtual. As the station manager for South Orange Maplewood Television, I was looking forward to attending to learn and share ideas of best practices as well as see what the vendors offered for our small station and, of course, attend the JAG Awards!
The Expo did not disappoint and despite not being able to meet the other attendees in person, the virtual aspect did not hinder learning and connecting with the community.
Technical
From a technical aspect, the Expo was well-run. The main room and the breakout rooms were easy to access and the chat function within those rooms allowed for participants to engage with speakers and ask questions. Engaging was one of the biggest concerns I had when considering attending this virtual conference. I wanted to be able to fully participate and not just listen to speakers disseminating information to me. Due to the technology, there was minimal lag with speakers and audience questions were addressed in a timely manner since there was a dedicated person taking questions for the speakers. This was a good move as I have attended other online conferences where the speaker has had to both field and answer questions and this had not been done very smoothly. The technical organization of this aspect of the Expo made it much more interesting to attend virtually and be better able to engage with the speakers.
Affinity Lunch: Social Media
I was fortunate to be asked to co-host the Social Media Affinity Lunch and speak on social media and how it is best used to engage your audience. This was a great example of sharing knowledge as well as learning from attendees. The information shared was useful to attendees just starting with social media as well as those who were knowledgeable about social media. The combination of different levels of social media experience allowed everyone to participate. For example, one attendee was just venturing into social media and had specific questions on getting started. The open roundtable discussion allowed for several people to share their experiences with different platforms instead of just the two co-hosts. This type of interaction among the group was helpful in enabling everyone to learn.
JAG Awards
Given that the entire expo was virtual this year, I was curious as to how the JAG Awards would be presented. The awards presentation turned out to be upbeat and fun. While the awards were being presented in each category, it was nice to have each winner be able to give a short speech in real time. Although we were not physically in the same room, the use of Zoom helped create an awards ceremony that was both lively and fun for everyone involved. The addition of the red carpet event allowed everyone to show a little bit of flair of how they would walk the carpet. The red carpet was entertaining and creative since some took the traditional path of walking the red carpet while others chose to celebrate the red carpet in other ways from their offices. Given the limitations of having a virtual awards show, the JAG Awards turned out great!
The 2021 Eastern Video Expo conference covered many topics this year, more than I have space to cover in this column, but suffice it to say that this year’s expo was a good way to share ideas, learn and network with others in the industry. I learned many things that I will be able to take back to my home station and share with our producers and, in general, help create better programming.
While I look forward to meeting again in person, the virtual aspect of the conference did not deter attendees from being able to learn and, in fact, allowed me to attend more panels since it only involved me Zooming into another room.
by Doug Seidel, Social Media Manager, External Relations Committee
Doug Seidel
I have been busy updating our JAGonline.org website, this is going to be a big improvement. I won’t spoil all of the surprises but you will notice the change when you see it. This update will fix some issues like the slideshow on the homepage, and improve the formatting of things like the logos for our organizational members. Things will fit better on the pages and links to other pages will be easier to find. I am pretty excited about this update (especially because it will make my life easier to update the site) and hope to share the site with you all sometime in September! In the meantime if there is anything you want to see improved on the website, or if you have updated information about your content on the website (i.e. station address, contact e-mail) send that information to dseidel@piscatawaynj.org so we can make this site even better.
By Jesse Lerman, President and CEO, TelVue Corporation
Jesse Lerman
With accessibility gaining momentum both as a core mission and a compliance requirement, Closed Captioning is top of mind for Community Media broadcasters, and modern technology has made captioning affordable. As you move towards making your channels and programming accessible, what are the technology and workflow tradeoffs to consider?
Before reviewing some of the workflow considerations, let’s look at the two main types of captioning technologies available. Human captioning, where humans are scheduled to listen to the program audio and type out the captions, or Artificial Intelligence (AI) captioning, where audio is processed by computer programs and speech is automatically transcribed – also known as Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) or Speech-to-Text (STT). Human captioning is highly accurate, but resource intensive and comes with a hefty price tag. AI captioning is automatic, highly scalable, with 80-90s % accuracy, and orders of magnitude more affordable.
For AI-based captioning solutions, the algorithms may run on dedicated hardware on-premise, or in the cloud. Cloud Speech-to-Text services have gone mainstream with major cloud computing providers including Google, IBM, Amazon, and Microsoft all offering services, as well as specialty providers. For both human and cloud-based AI captioning, it is common to stream audio and text over the Internet between the station and the cloud for processing. Audio and text are both low bandwidth, so this can easily be done reliably and with minimal latency.
TelVue LIVE cc with HyperCaster
Hardware captioning solutions can be quite expensive, with very high start-up capital expense in the $50k range. They also typically require caption encoders, which can easily cost an additional $4k to $6k per channel.
There is a growing trend in broadcast towards all-in-one systems, that simplify workflow, reduce complex integration points between varied systems, save money, extra rack space and power, and make support easier with one point of contact. Integrating captioning directly with playout and automation helps save money by eliminating the need for dedicated captioning hardware and traditional captioning encoders. Such integrated systems can provide hooks for using both AI captioning engines and human captioning. While AI captioning is so much more affordable and continues to get better, there may be times where specific events require the accuracy of human captioning.
For both human and AI captioning, quality audio with minimum background noise, and clear dialog without too many simultaneous speakers are all important for accuracy. AI captioning supports advanced features such as Custom Language Models to improve accuracy that allows configuring a list of commonly spoken names, words, and phrases so the automatic captioning knows what to expect. For example, a list of Council Member names for meetings.
Eliminating the need to manage caption events, scheduling, configuration, and file processing across multiple applications and systems.
Set-and-forget rules for which channels, live programming, or content is captioned, with which settings including program-specific Custom Language Models.
Automatically generating captions for videos right from your existing content interface.
Automatically marrying live captions with corresponding recordings for replays.
Displaying captions in native channel confidence monitors.
Highlighting which events will be captioned, and which content has captions.
Publishing captions along with videos for streaming, mobile, OTT, sharing and archiving.
Tight integration also allows for cost savings when combined with AI captioning engines and usage-based pricing by captioning unique programming only. Offline files and live events are processed once, saving the captions for replays. If you take replays and CBB out of the equation, you will likely find that your yearly usage-based caption cost will be extremely affordable. Grants and Sponsors for captioning can further offset costs.
AI captioning can also be used to solve more nuanced caption workflow challenges, such as Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) in which case there may be two separate audio tracks that both need captioning in different languages, or using AI language Translation services to present captioning in multiple languages. For live events on Cable, that could mean CC1 in English, and CC2 in Spanish, even if there is only one English-only audio track. For streaming & OTT, that could be any of 100+ languages you select that are important to your community.
Selecting Closed Captions
Captioning your programming opens up additional benefits beyond accessibility. Once you have captions available, the caption transcript text can be useful as searchable metadata. Viewers of your on-demand programming can search the captions to find specific topics of interest in your meetings and programming, and drill right to that part of the video. Some AI captioning also supports Speaker Diarization that automatically detects and tags each individual speaker, potentially useful for meetings and transcripts.
Searching the captions
TelVue recently launched SmartCaption™ LIVE to make captioning for Community Media broadcasters easy and affordable. SmartCaption integrates directly with the TelVue HyperCaster, no additional equipment required, providing the many all-in-one benefits. SmartCaption also supports a standalone server for simple integration with other playout systems, offering many of the same workflow and automation advantages. In both cases, usage-based pricing leveraging modern, AI-based captioning helps you control your costs and makes multi-language captioning ultra-affordable for live and offline captioning supporting both broadcast and streaming/OTT workflows.
Captions generated with SmartCaption are also compatible with TelVue CloudCast that displays captions in the web player, mobile (iOS & Android), and OTT apps (Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV). The CloudCast web player and mobile apps support Caption Transcript Search to make your meetings searchable, and captions can be translated to over 100 languages to allow viewers to select their language of choice. Captions can be embedded in broadcast files as standard CEA-608/708 in Connect for JAG Media Exchange sharing. SmartCaption also offers a powerful, cloud-based caption editor when quickly touching-up existing captions is required.
Now is a great time to start captioning your programming for accessibility and to better serve everyone in your community. The pricing for captioning is finally PEG-friendly, there are numerous options available, and the technology is ready for prime-time.
News & Events
Posted: September 15, 2021 by Doug Seidel
Fair Lawn Spotlight: Transition from Analog to Digital
by Dimitry Mikhaylov, Vice President, Fair Lawn Television
We in Fair Lawn were just dreaming to switch our old analog plant to digital. In fact, the digital upgrade didn’t begin until 2019 when our old Leightronix server was suddenly dead, and we got a chance to replace all our outdated equipment at once. As late as 2019 seems, there are some surprising advantages to coming late to a new technology. Digital workflow was a mature, robust system that was adopted by broadcasters at every level, and we had the advantage of learning from all those who were on the bleeding edge of adoption.
The town management authorized a modest budget to accomplish our conversion, but as a small PEG channel we surely couldn’t afford the same equipment as the broadcast stations around the country. We knew that we needed to work with someone who truly understood the marketplace, someone who could design a facility that would do what we needed to do within our budget. We began talking to Varto and Yervant at Varto Technologies about our needs and it soon became apparent they understood both the technical requirements and the financial constraints that faced our project.
Our analog control room was in the basement of our Municipal building, but the meetings we needed to cover were on the second floor. This immediately presented a challenge. How could we get the video and audio we needed from the council chamber back to our control room without pulling multiple cables. Varto introduced us to the concept of using NDI technology. It would allow us to send all the video and the control signals to and from the three cameras in the council chamber to the control room on just one Cat 6a cable.
We purchased three PTZ Optics cameras for the council chamber and the Cat 6 cable allowed us to run power and pan-tilt-zoom control remotely from the control room over the same cable. To ensure reliable signal flow, Varto designed a standalone IT network to carry the Video over IP signals without relying on the existing network within the building. Once the signals reached the control room, they were converted to SDI and routed to a Black Magic 12X12 Router Switch and sent to a Tricaster Mini with an outboard control surface and Skaarhaj controller that is the heart of our studio. We added a 50-inch Samsung LCD Monitor as a multiviewer that allows us to monitor the feeds from the cameras and the preview and program feed from the Tricaster.
We were faced with a difficult decision regarding the nature of the audio feeds from the council chamber. We could have run them digitally over the IP network, but that would have cost a fair amount of money and required us to purchase a new audio board. We already had a single analog line that carried the mixed signal from the PA system in the council chamber to the control room so we decided just to use what was already there. We ran that feed into a Shure 6-port portable mixer and then into the Tricaster. This audio mixer was the only device we were able to use from our previous control room. Although our audio is still analog, the IP network that Varto installed will allow us to deliver digital audio to the control room in the future.
We also purchased a LiveU 2000 server in anticipation of the day when we will do remote productions in other places around the town. We experimented with the LiveU cell phone app, but we have not purchased a professional transmitter yet.
Now that we could produce a complete show with our new equipment, and we needed a new server to schedule live and pre-recorded programming and to run our community billboard. This was one of the most difficult decision we had to make. After carefully reviewing the marketplace, we decided on a Cablecast VIO server. As you know, there are many servers on the market and they all will allow you to program your station and send a signal to your cable provider. It became a matter of which system was easiest to program for our staff. The Cablecast interface was intuitive and the billboard was easy to program. In addition, while the pandemic hadn’t started yet, we were able to program both the station and the bulletin board remotely. Of course, this feature proved invaluable during the pandemic. While we liked the TelVue system a lot, the Cablecast server also turned out to be a bit cheaper than the other options. Their billboard software seemed to be a bit more advanced and the additional bulletin board services such as weather, news and traffic were included in their price. The other suppliers required additional payments for these services.
Ironically, now that we can make beautiful, digitally created HD pictures for the channel, we have to downgrade the signal with a Black Magic converter to a 16X9 SD signal to supply to our Altice cable provider. Luckily, we don’t have to downgrade the signal for our Verizon FIOS feed anymore. Hopefully we will be able to provide Altice with an HD signal too in the very near future.
Two additional points: Thanks to the team from Varto Technologies – the entire job, from the cabling to powering up the equipment, was completed in just 5 days. Of course, with all this new equipment, we needed training, and again Yervant provided us with necessary training until we were up to speed on the operation of all the new gear.
In addition to our linear cable channel, we now stream our council meetings live to Facebook once or twice a month, and we also now produce and stream a daily Russian Language program. In the future we hope to purchase a Cablecast Streaming server that will allow us to stream all the programming on the channel 24 hours a day.
Luckily, the entire job was completed before the COVID pandemic and with the new equipment, we can run almost our entire operation remotely. Physical presence at the station was needed only during live or zoom council meetings and for daily streaming.
While the upgrade was long overdue, we now have a digital facility that makes beautiful HD pictures at a price that we could afford. The installation was done professionally. All wiring was neat and the connections in our council chambers were all made with decorative wall plates for an aesthetically pleasing finish. Upgrading a facility is always a challenge, but with the help of the team from Varto Technologies, the process was painless, and the results were just what we needed at a price we could afford.
Posted: September 15, 2021 by Doug Seidel
Editing Techniques in Story Telling: A look into the presentation at the 2021 Eastern Video Expo
by Joshua Vorensky, Associate Producer with ESPN
Editing to me brings any story to life; the music, the pacing, the selection of shots…everything helps the viewer connect to the subject on a visceral level.
When I was asked by Rich Desimone to present at the conference this year, I was both excited and honored. Since the last time I presented a few years ago, I had the opportunity to expand my knowledge of the craft in producing longer form features for ESPN (my employer) that truly challenged me. The topic I would be discussing in the panel would be ‘Editing Techniques in Story Telling’. I could not think of a more important and appropriate topic for the two main features included in the panel – El Paso Strong and 17 Hours: The Chris Nikic Story.
El Paso Strong told the story of a youth soccer team that lived through one of the worst mass shootings in American history. The feature documented the team for an entire year and showed how their sense of family and togetherness helped to guide them.
17 Hours: The Chris Nikic Story told the power of human spirit. Chris Nikic from Florida attempted to become the first person with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman Triathlon. Both of these features under the ESPN’s SC Featured series utilize music, pacing, natural sound and shot selection to effectively tell these stories.
To effectively give a full perspective of the editing techniques utilized, I reached out to two people who worked on the features in different roles – Diego Martini, ESPN Lead Post Production Editor who crafted El Paso Strong, and Paul Moessl who composed the music for 17 Hours: The Chris Nikic Story. Diego would speak on pacing, shot selection and the use of natural sound while Paul would talk about the process of creating original music. For the latter, I felt this was a process that some may be unfamiliar with (myself included until recently) and could be beneficial as well.
The week leading into the Expo, I discussed with Geoffrey Belinfante (who helped to moderate the panel) on the overall structure of the presentation. Geoffrey correctly pointed out that it was also important to give a viewer a sense of how you helped to find/pitch the idea and start with the production. The panel was scheduled to be an hour and I created a Power Point presentation to ensure that we covered everything while leaving room for questions.
We started by discussing how the pieces came to production, and then transitioned to the importance of music and the process of its composition for the Chris Nikic Feature. To illustrate this, I took a 1-minute segment and showed the audience the feature with/without music. This was important for two reasons. First, it showcased the importance of music. Second, it gave Paul time to talk about his process of crafting music.
After all, when Paul starts his process we give him the raw piece without instrumentals so he’s able to work from there. Paul was able to explain the full process including our initial discussions, well before I even send him the raw element. It’s important to give a composer sources of inspiration, providing examples and sample instrumentation.
Next, we transitioned to the importance of natural sound and pacing. Never was this more important than in El Paso Strong. In the segment I showed, the team was honored during a professional soccer game in El Paso. The fireworks set off during the national anthem caused severe distress in the group. The natural sound of the fireworks and team in distress helped to illustrate that these tragedies can have long lasting impacts.
Once we finished the main presentation portion of the panel, it was time for questions. I think one of the many benefits of the expo is the experience that every attendee brings. As we went through the presentation, there were important follow up questions including detailing the timeline of production, the pitching process and how the features were received. I thought the answers provided much needed discussions on the production process. As we wrapped up right at the hour mark, I was very taken with the reception from everyone.
I would like to thank Rich Desimone, Geoffrey Belinfante and JAG for their efforts to organize such a successful conference and giving me the opportunity to share my experience.
About the Author: Joshua Vorensky is an Emmy-Award Winning Associate Producer with ESPN. He has worked on features from the NFL to Golf to the Special Olympics. His feature – El Paso Strong is nominated for a Sports Emmy this year. Josh got his start at MEtv in Metuchen, New Jersey when he was in high school and graduated from Ithaca College in 2011.***His opinions for this article are his own***Photos courtesy of ESPN
The video of this session is now available on the JAG website in the Members Only section.
Posted: September 15, 2021 by Doug Seidel
Conference Review: You Never Stop Learning in This Business The Eastern Video Expo: A Personal Reflection
by Geoffrey Bellefonte, Cable Committee, Summit TV
I hate to admit it, but I’ve been in this business for almost 50 years. During that time, I have attended numerous trade show and conferences as both a potential client and as an exhibitor. Because of my experience at trade shows, I was genuinely concerned when JAG decided to stage this year’s Eastern Video Expo virtually. Of course, during the pandemic, I attended other virtual trades shows and numerous workshops on a variety of topics, but, in the few years I have been associated with JAG, I have come to really look forward to meeting with all my colleagues at the show. That said, I must confess, I was pleasantly surprised at how informative, and in some cases entertaining this year’s virtual conference proved to be.
One of the things I have learned over the years is that you never stop learning in this business. Whether it’s hearing about the latest technology or discussing how to better tell a story, there’s always something new to absorb. From the perspective of a person who has been creating some form of communications my entire professional life, I found the workshops that dealt with storytelling, interviewing techniques, editing and lighting fascinating and informative. I know I’m probably not the best person to address those workshops since I hosted several of them, but I really did learn something from the impressive list of professionals that participated in the panels. It’s always good to hear how others find their ideas, pitch them and then go about organizing the production. No two stories are ever the same, and no two executions ever go as expected. Knowing how to identify the important parts of your story, and being able to pivot if something doesn’t go as planned, are truly important when you are creating documentary programming.
It’s also important to understand different organizational techniques, and the methods people use to collaborate with a creative team. Clearly, collaboration has changed because of Covid 19 and will probably continue to change as technology evolves. No longer are you expected to get on an airplane to pitch a show; no longer do you have to be in the same room or even the same state as your editor; and no longer do you have to attend large recording sessions as the composer works with your footage. While I might miss those elements of the “creative” process, these are the realities of creating media in the post pandemic 21st century and it’s truly helpful to hear about them from those who create award winning programming. Of course, learning how to better light an interview seems like something I’ve been working on my entire professional life!
Although I personally may be partial to the workshops that dealt with the creation of compelling programming, there were certainly other elements to the Eastern Video Expo that were informative. As we all face the coming need to closed caption, it was valuable to learn about the options available to help us serve the hearing-impaired community. I also continue to be impressed by the changes that companies like TelVue and Cablecast make in their products to make our jobs as program directors and station managers easier. In addition, it continues to amaze me how integrators like Varto Technologies use these new tools to make our productions look better and reach more people through new streaming technologies. I also was able to learn more about social media marketing and analytics, something that mystifies old farts like me. Finally, it’s important to hear about the new methods of over-the-top distribution that are available to our channels. These tools will surely become more significant to PEG channels in the ever-changing media landscape.
Compared to others, I am relatively new to the world of PEG and Community media. I am always fascinated by the way things in Washington affect the way we operate. In my previous life, all I had to worry about was getting a program done, making it to length, delivering it on time, staying within the budget, and making it great. Now there’s a whole world in DC which I need to understand so I can evaluate what effect it will have on our business. I always find it interesting to hear about the things our legislators find important. The lawyers and directors of the various organizations that represent us always seem to have an interesting perspective on what we need to do to advance the things that are important to our JAG members. The Eastern Video Expo always seems to give them a forum to keep us up to date on what’s going on, and our legislator of the year, Congressman Donald Payne reminded us all of the important work we do.
Finally, our virtual conference wasn’t just informative, but it was entertaining as well. Simon Mandal made a potential dull keynote speech fun and informative. His performance on the virtual red carpet and at the JAG awards made the evening enjoyable even if you didn’t win. Did I miss seeing everyone in person? You bet, but did I find the virtual Eastern Video Expo informative and entertaining—absolutely, and I didn’t even have to get dressed and drive to a hotel to prove that you can still teach an old dog new tricks.
Posted: September 15, 2021 by Doug Seidel
Social Media Stats: September 2021 Based on Last 30 Days
by Doug Seidel, Social Media Manager, External Relations Committee
3..2..1..Launch. The brand new JAGonline.org is live! You should notice some changes right away when you visit the website. If you were familiar with the site before you should have no trouble finding what you need, the main navigation has stayed the same. A huge difference is that things are a bit more organized. Since the site has been around for a while, we had a good amount of information and now it is just archived so it looks cleaner. We also were able to add some plug ins that make the site look more modern – notice the difference in the old and new directions pages.
Take some time and look over the site. Big changes to our member lists and executive board members page. The articles also look better with the update, so you can have a better reading experience while visiting the site. I am sure you will agree that the site looks much better and information is easier to find.
Jersey Access Group
facebook.com/pegtv linkedin.com/company/jersey-access-group instagram.com/jersey_access_group
EASTERN VIDEO EXPO
facebook.com/Easternvideoexpo instagram.com/easternvideox/
Do not forget to check out our YouTube channel Have something you want on our YouTube channel? Send a link to dseidel@piscatawaynj.org for review.
New Content: Mayor’s Summer Concert: The Infernos – WoodbridgeTV Aging Insights 119 – NJAAW
NEW CONTENT ON WEBSITE- We have now posted 24 programs from the Eastern Video Expo events to the members only section of our website. To view the video content links below, you need a members only password.
Emaillbesink@gmail.com for the password.
Lighting isn’t for exposure – it’s for communication: Dave Landau, Cinematographer, lighting director Sponsored by DeSisti
Storytelling from Concept to Completion: Joe Lavine, Emmy award winning director/producer and Ouisie Shapiro, Emmy award-winning writer/producer
Interviewing Techniques: Budd Mishkin, Broadcast Journalist and William Weinbaum, digital journalist and producer ESPN
Marketing with Social Media: Sabrina Teekah, Producer & Host of “Now or Never” and Cyd Katz, Founder/CEO New Jersey Isn’t Boring
Editing Techniques in Storytelling: Joshua Vorensky, Emmy-Award Winning Associate Producer with ESPN Paul Moessl, Film and TV Composer and Diego Martini, Emmy Award Winning Editor at ESPN
Share the value of Jag’s newsletter with your elected officials, cable committee, station volunteers, associates, and
Share the value of Jag’s newsletter with your elected officials, cable committee, station volunteers, associates, and friends. Send this invitation: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/B7EMU1R/JAGnewsletter
Posted: August 31, 2021 by Doug Seidel
Member Spotlight: The New Post-Pandemic Normal Or You Want Us to Do What??
by Cindy Hahn, Executive Director, C-NET
Here’s my big confession: I do not like technology. I don’t trust it, I don’t enjoy it, and I generally believe that things work better without it. But I am running a PEG organization…..so I naturally deal with it.
Things were going just swimmingly at C-NET prior to March of 2020. Our tiny staff and crew of Penn State interns were traveling around the County with cameras, microphones and an array of other equipment to cover the meetings of sixteen different entities — Seven municipalities, two school districts, the County government, a regional Council of Governments, three regional Authorities, the local Library and Penn State. We produced over 500 programs in 2019.
Then, of course, everything changed. And for many months, it was a matter of producing the best programs we could utilizing Zoom. “Can you hear me now?”, “Please mute yourself” and “Your cat is in the way” became the phrases of our life.
And now, everything has changed again. Elected officials and members of the public have decided that they like attending meetings on their couch in their pajamas, and so what now? The dreaded HYBRID meetings. For the last three months or so, C-NET has been tasked with helping various government and regional organizations figure out how to allow elected officials, board representatives and the public to participate in meetings both physically in a meeting room and virtually.
This means, of course, that everyone must be able to see and hear each other AND C-NET needs to obtain audio and video from both the room and the virtual platform. This would be a reasonable challenge if all sixteen meeting rooms had the same audio systems, etc., but they do not. Some of the rooms in which we work include installed mounted cameras and audio systems with reliable wireless internet. Other meeting rooms have no installed technology at all.
The result has been a myriad of different solutions. For meetings in the State College Borough Council Chambers, we are live switching between a Zoom feed and the mounted cameras in the room. The in-person participants are seeing the Zoom feed on the mondopad and hearing the audio through the Borough’s audio system.
We are using a Meeting Owl in several of the meeting rooms in which we work. This relatively inexpensive (less than $1,000) device uses a 360 degree camera and microphone to provide a view of the room and audio to and from the people in the meeting room and the Zoom participants. The Owl works particularly well in smaller meeting rooms.
A third configuration includes a lap-top camera and a high-quality exterior microphone to provide video and audio to Zoom participants, while the Zoom video is projected onto a screen in the room. In this case, C-NET live switches between the Zoom feed and our single camera. This has proved to be the most problematic of the various solutions.
Another interesting outcome of the pandemic is that the public’s tolerance for a single camera panning between speakers is lessening. Virtual meeting platforms allow the speaker to be instantly highlighted on the screen, and we are finding that the public expects this to be the case with in-person production as well. To assist with this challenge, C-NET has recently purchased a Rushworks VDESK Compact PTZ Production and Streaming System as an affordable way to turn more meetings into multi-camera productions. More switching…..less panning.
I want to give a shout-out at this point for the annual JAG Eastern Video Expo. It was, of course, unfortunate that the Expo was cancelled in 2020 and had to be virtual in 2021, but the challenges brought about by the pandemic are precisely why this type of collaborative group conference is so valuable. For the most part, PEG stations have small staffs and modest budgets, and reinventing the wheel takes time and money. Talking to others who are facing the same challenges and issues helps everyone. We network, we learn, and we form relationships that will help us down the road. I’m very much looking forward to the next Expo!
C-NET is fortunate to have the financial support of the sixteen organizations that we serve. And we are committed to finding and designing solutions to meet the changing needs of their staffs and the public. Hybrid meetings and changes in the public’s expectations are here to stay. So while I don’t like technology, I am fortunate that the rest of the wonderful C-NET staff is talented, creative and willing to go the extra mile for our community.
C-NET is Centre County’s Government and Education Access Television Network. C-NET administers two channels, CGTV (channel 7) and CETV (channel 98) on the Comcast and Windstream Cable Systems. All of C-NET’s locally produced programming is available to view on-line, on-demand at cnet1.org. C-NET’s programming ranges from public meetings to high school sports, concerts, and local festivals. A C-NET member agency must sponsor each program that airs on the channels. There are currently 16 members: Bellefonte Area School District, Bellefonte Borough, Centre County Government, Centre Region Council of Governments, the Centre Region Parks and Recreation Authority, College Township, Ferguson Township, Halfmoon Township, Harris Township, Patton Township, Penn State University, Schlow Centre Region Library, State College Area School District, State College Borough, the State College Borough Water Authority, and the University Area Joint Authority.
Posted: August 31, 2021 by Doug Seidel
Understanding Broadband Grants
by Ken Fellman, Of Council, Helmer, Conley and Kasselman, PA
As Americans have spent a significant amount of time on the internet during the pandemic, the federal government has created several programs addressing broadband deployment. Here, we address two major Congressional initiatives that provide significant funding to expand broadband networks. On March 11th, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan (ARP), which allocates funding to state, county, and municipal governments, and establishes that state and local governments receiving this funding may use it “to make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure.” As of this writing (August 12, 2021), the House will be considering the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by the Senate, which establishes a $42,450,000,000 grant program to states who in turn award subgrants to local governments and other entities for broadband and other infrastructure projects.
On May 11th, the Treasury Department released interim regulations describing the allowable use of ARP funds. These regulations define “broadband infrastructure” as infrastructure designed to provide service to unserved or underserved households and businesses that reliably meets or exceeds symmetrical 100 Mbps speeds. [1] The regulations also define “unserved and underserved households or businesses” as one or more households or businesses that are not currently served by a wireline connection that reliably delivers at least 25 Mbps download speed and 3 Mbps upload speed. Thus, local governments may use ARP funding to provide broadband infrastructure to households that do not currently receive reliable service of at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds, so long as that broadband infrastructure is designed to reliably support symmetrical 100 Mbps speeds.
These regulations also provide flexibility to local governments: “Understanding that States, territories, localities, and Tribal governments have a wide range of varied broadband infrastructure needs, [these regulations] provide award recipients with flexibility to identify the specific locations within their communities to be served and to otherwise design the project.” The Treasury Department notes that local governments have the discretion to determine whether 25/3 Mbps service is being “reliably delivered” in an area, and the discretion to determine whether ARP funds may be expended on improving broadband infrastructure in that area.
To receive ARP funding, counties and metropolitan cities (municipalities with a population of 50,000 or more) must request money directly from the Treasury Department; smaller cities (which the ARP calls “non-entitlement units of local government” or “NEUs”) receive ARP funding from their state. To apply for funding, local governments must have a valid DUNS number as well as an active registration with the federal government’s System for Award Management (SAM) database. According to the Division of Local Government Services of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (the “Division”), funds for NEUs are distributed through the State Treasury. These local governments must execute an Award Terms and Conditions Agreement and submit a Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Distribution Request and Certification Form to the Division to request payment. Unlike ARP funding to state and local governments, the Infrastructure Act (assuming the House approves it without major changes) will create a grant program run by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for broadband projects. NTIA will award grants to states who will then award subgrants to local governments and other political subdivisions for broadband projects. 10% of this grant money is set aside for high-cost areas based on the proportion of unserved locations in high-cost areas in the state compared to those in all states, with the remaining amount allocated to states based on the proportion of unserved areas in the state relative to the unserved areas in all states. [2] The Act defines “unserved location” as a broadband-serviceable location that either has no access to broadband service or lacks access to 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload service. States may award subgrants for a variety of reasons, including unserved and underserved areas, connecting eligible community anchor institutions like public housing authorities and healthcare providers, and for broadband project planning and data mapping.
[1] In areas where it is not practicable to build out networks that meet these speeds for reasons such as excessive cost or geography or topography of the area, the network must meet or exceed 100 Mbps download speed and between 20 Mbps and 100 Mbps upload speed and be scalable to 100 Mbps symmetrical.
[2] States must apply for funding; if a state fails to apply, a political subdivision or consortium of political subdivisions of the state may apply instead.
Posted: August 26, 2021 by Doug Seidel
Conference Review: 2021
by Dustin Dumas, Station Manager, South Orange Maplewood Television
The 2021 Eastern Video Expo conference was designed to bring the media community together to learn and share and this year it was virtual. As the station manager for South Orange Maplewood Television, I was looking forward to attending to learn and share ideas of best practices as well as see what the vendors offered for our small station and, of course, attend the JAG Awards!
The Expo did not disappoint and despite not being able to meet the other attendees in person, the virtual aspect did not hinder learning and connecting with the community.
Technical
From a technical aspect, the Expo was well-run. The main room and the breakout rooms were easy to access and the chat function within those rooms allowed for participants to engage with speakers and ask questions. Engaging was one of the biggest concerns I had when considering attending this virtual conference. I wanted to be able to fully participate and not just listen to speakers disseminating information to me. Due to the technology, there was minimal lag with speakers and audience questions were addressed in a timely manner since there was a dedicated person taking questions for the speakers. This was a good move as I have attended other online conferences where the speaker has had to both field and answer questions and this had not been done very smoothly. The technical organization of this aspect of the Expo made it much more interesting to attend virtually and be better able to engage with the speakers.
Affinity Lunch: Social Media
I was fortunate to be asked to co-host the Social Media Affinity Lunch and speak on social media and how it is best used to engage your audience. This was a great example of sharing knowledge as well as learning from attendees. The information shared was useful to attendees just starting with social media as well as those who were knowledgeable about social media. The combination of different levels of social media experience allowed everyone to participate. For example, one attendee was just venturing into social media and had specific questions on getting started. The open roundtable discussion allowed for several people to share their experiences with different platforms instead of just the two co-hosts. This type of interaction among the group was helpful in enabling everyone to learn.
JAG Awards
Given that the entire expo was virtual this year, I was curious as to how the JAG Awards would be presented. The awards presentation turned out to be upbeat and fun. While the awards were being presented in each category, it was nice to have each winner be able to give a short speech in real time. Although we were not physically in the same room, the use of Zoom helped create an awards ceremony that was both lively and fun for everyone involved. The addition of the red carpet event allowed everyone to show a little bit of flair of how they would walk the carpet. The red carpet was entertaining and creative since some took the traditional path of walking the red carpet while others chose to celebrate the red carpet in other ways from their offices. Given the limitations of having a virtual awards show, the JAG Awards turned out great!
The 2021 Eastern Video Expo conference covered many topics this year, more than I have space to cover in this column, but suffice it to say that this year’s expo was a good way to share ideas, learn and network with others in the industry. I learned many things that I will be able to take back to my home station and share with our producers and, in general, help create better programming.
While I look forward to meeting again in person, the virtual aspect of the conference did not deter attendees from being able to learn and, in fact, allowed me to attend more panels since it only involved me Zooming into another room.
Posted: August 23, 2021 by Doug Seidel
Social Media Stats – August, 2021
by Doug Seidel, Social Media Manager, External Relations Committee
I have been busy updating our JAGonline.org website, this is going to be a big improvement. I won’t spoil all of the surprises but you will notice the change when you see it. This update will fix some issues like the slideshow on the homepage, and improve the formatting of things like the logos for our organizational members. Things will fit better on the pages and links to other pages will be easier to find. I am pretty excited about this update (especially because it will make my life easier to update the site) and hope to share the site with you all sometime in September! In the meantime if there is anything you want to see improved on the website, or if you have updated information about your content on the website (i.e. station address, contact e-mail) send that information to dseidel@piscatawaynj.org so we can make this site even better.
Jersey Access Group
facebook.com/pegtv
linkedin.com/company/jersey-access-group
instagram.com/jersey_access_group
EASTERN VIDEO EXPO
facebook.com/Easternvideoexpo
instagram.com/easternvideox/
Do not forget to check out our YouTube channel Have something you want on our YouTube channel? Send a link to dseidel@piscatawaynj.org for review.
New Content:
Mayor’s Summer Concert – WoodbridgeTV
Meet the Mayor – SOMATelevision
Aging Insights 119 – NJAAW
Posted: August 12, 2021 by Doug Seidel
Closed Captioning and Workflow Considerations for PEG Broadcasters
By Jesse Lerman, President and CEO, TelVue Corporation
With accessibility gaining momentum both as a core mission and a compliance requirement, Closed Captioning is top of mind for Community Media broadcasters, and modern technology has made captioning affordable. As you move towards making your channels and programming accessible, what are the technology and workflow tradeoffs to consider?
Before reviewing some of the workflow considerations, let’s look at the two main types of captioning technologies available. Human captioning, where humans are scheduled to listen to the program audio and type out the captions, or Artificial Intelligence (AI) captioning, where audio is processed by computer programs and speech is automatically transcribed – also known as Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) or Speech-to-Text (STT). Human captioning is highly accurate, but resource intensive and comes with a hefty price tag. AI captioning is automatic, highly scalable, with 80-90s % accuracy, and orders of magnitude more affordable.
For AI-based captioning solutions, the algorithms may run on dedicated hardware on-premise, or in the cloud. Cloud Speech-to-Text services have gone mainstream with major cloud computing providers including Google, IBM, Amazon, and Microsoft all offering services, as well as specialty providers. For both human and cloud-based AI captioning, it is common to stream audio and text over the Internet between the station and the cloud for processing. Audio and text are both low bandwidth, so this can easily be done reliably and with minimal latency.
Hardware captioning solutions can be quite expensive, with very high start-up capital expense in the $50k range. They also typically require caption encoders, which can easily cost an additional $4k to $6k per channel.
There is a growing trend in broadcast towards all-in-one systems, that simplify workflow, reduce complex integration points between varied systems, save money, extra rack space and power, and make support easier with one point of contact. Integrating captioning directly with playout and automation helps save money by eliminating the need for dedicated captioning hardware and traditional captioning encoders. Such integrated systems can provide hooks for using both AI captioning engines and human captioning. While AI captioning is so much more affordable and continues to get better, there may be times where specific events require the accuracy of human captioning.
For both human and AI captioning, quality audio with minimum background noise, and clear dialog without too many simultaneous speakers are all important for accuracy. AI captioning supports advanced features such as Custom Language Models to improve accuracy that allows configuring a list of commonly spoken names, words, and phrases so the automatic captioning knows what to expect. For example, a list of Council Member names for meetings.
Tightly integrating captioning directly with playout & automation streamlines captioning workflow, enabling:
Tight integration also allows for cost savings when combined with AI captioning engines and usage-based pricing by captioning unique programming only. Offline files and live events are processed once, saving the captions for replays. If you take replays and CBB out of the equation, you will likely find that your yearly usage-based caption cost will be extremely affordable. Grants and Sponsors for captioning can further offset costs.
AI captioning can also be used to solve more nuanced caption workflow challenges, such as Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) in which case there may be two separate audio tracks that both need captioning in different languages, or using AI language Translation services to present captioning in multiple languages. For live events on Cable, that could mean CC1 in English, and CC2 in Spanish, even if there is only one English-only audio track. For streaming & OTT, that could be any of 100+ languages you select that are important to your community.
Captioning your programming opens up additional benefits beyond accessibility. Once you have captions available, the caption transcript text can be useful as searchable metadata. Viewers of your on-demand programming can search the captions to find specific topics of interest in your meetings and programming, and drill right to that part of the video. Some AI captioning also supports Speaker Diarization that automatically detects and tags each individual speaker, potentially useful for meetings and transcripts.
TelVue recently launched SmartCaption™ LIVE to make captioning for Community Media broadcasters easy and affordable. SmartCaption integrates directly with the TelVue HyperCaster, no additional equipment required, providing the many all-in-one benefits. SmartCaption also supports a standalone server for simple integration with other playout systems, offering many of the same workflow and automation advantages. In both cases, usage-based pricing leveraging modern, AI-based captioning helps you control your costs and makes multi-language captioning ultra-affordable for live and offline captioning supporting both broadcast and streaming/OTT workflows.
Captions generated with SmartCaption are also compatible with TelVue CloudCast that displays captions in the web player, mobile (iOS & Android), and OTT apps (Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV). The CloudCast web player and mobile apps support Caption Transcript Search to make your meetings searchable, and captions can be translated to over 100 languages to allow viewers to select their language of choice. Captions can be embedded in broadcast files as standard CEA-608/708 in Connect for JAG Media Exchange sharing. SmartCaption also offers a powerful, cloud-based caption editor when quickly touching-up existing captions is required.
Now is a great time to start captioning your programming for accessibility and to better serve everyone in your community. The pricing for captioning is finally PEG-friendly, there are numerous options available, and the technology is ready for prime-time.