It's Willie!

I get to do some really fun things in my career.  The highlight of December, so far, has been covering Willie Nelson's concert at the Abilene Civic Center on Thursday, Dec. 2.  I had emailed Willie's "people" earlier in the week, and they let me get in front of the stage for some great video.  My good friend, Shellie, came in from Austin to join me.  She's a magnificent still photographer, and together we got some great footage!

I wasn't allowed to shoot the entire concert; only the first two songs.  That's typical with big-name musicians, because of copyright reasons, etc.  But it's still an honor to be so close to a legend!  I have been much closer to Willie before, though.  During his last trip to Abilene, in March 2008, Sam Nichols and I were actually invited on board Willie's bus for an exclusive interview!  I swear, both Sam and I were star struck as we were sitting on the couch just chatting it up with Willie and his daughter Lana!  This is the same bus, by the way, that was "searched" in far West Texas a couple of weeks ago....but when I was on board, there was no "odor"....

Here are a couple of videos I shot during last week's concert.  The first is Willie opening his set with "Whiskey River."  The second video is of Willie's son, Lukas, and his band Promise of the Real.  They opened up the show with an incredible mix of rock, blues, and country, with some latin beats thrown in.  Lukas is definitely a chip off the old block!

Make sure and watch these videos in High Definition!

Editorial: Why does road construction take so long?

Is it just me, or is construction along I-20 on Ranger hill dragging on way longer than it should? I've only lived in Abilene for a year, but it seems every time I made a trip here before that there was some sort of delay at Ranger Hill. According to some folks that have been here a while, it's been about 10 years since the project began. So I'm asking...Why is it taking so long? Does anyone have an answer?

The good news is this: it seems to be wrapping up. I have been fooled a few times over the past few months, though. On one trip to Fort Worth I noticed all 4 lanes were open! On my next trip a couple weeks later, they were re-surfacing the hill and it was one lane in each direction again. It seems that each time it's complete something else comes up and it becomes a construction zone again.

The reason I thought of this was because the city of Abilene re-surfaced South 14th street in front of our station this week. And that's just how long it took. This week. In a matter of days, the one mile stretch from the freeway to Pioneer was torn up, re-surfaced and the lines re-painted. If it can be done that fast, why do some projects (like Ranger Hill) take so long?

Yes, I admit a few things. An Interstate is a bit different from a city street. Also, several streches of I-20 between Ranger and Weatherford were re-paved (with concrete, not just re-surfaced with black top). Ranger Hill was probably part of that project. I-20 is also a federal roadway, and dealing with money for roads from the Feds comes with a lot of red tape. But seriously, 10 years? Isn't it a bit much? I know you guys living in Eastland County have to be more frustrated with it than me.

The discussion starts right here, right now. Post your comments.

Reporting Live, Via Satellite!

If you've been following our high school football coverage on BigCountryHomepage.Com Sports this fall, you've no doubt noticed that our BCH Sports Team, David, Tyler, and Manny, are serious about Big Country football!  This season, we have covered more games each Friday night than ever before.  And we've added a great new feature....live coverage from far-away cities each Friday night!

In 2007, our parent corporation, Nexstar Broadcasting, purchased a satellite uplink truck, or "sat truck," to be shared by Nexstar's western Texas markets; stations in Abilene, San Angelo, Wichita Falls, Midland/Odessa, Lubbock, and Amarillo.  The truck is based in Lubbock, primarily because it's used for broadcasting many Texas Tech athletic events.  But virtually every Friday night this season, our sat truck has been, well, "ours!"  During 3-5A district play, we were able to cover both Abilene ISD schools live; we used our local "live vans" at Shotwell Stadium, and the sat truck in Midland.  In addition, we used the truck to broadcast from Brownwood's game at Cowboys Stadium, and we've already booked the truck solid during the playoffs!

To many people, all t.v. live trucks look fancy, but to us, there's nothing like a satellite truck.  While our friends at KTXS have had their own sat truck for years, the freedom to go live from anywhere in the hemisphere is new to us.  Yes, we have the fancy live vans with the tall towers, or masts, that rise 40'-50' above the ground, but those have limited range, usually 30-40 miles from the television station.  Sat trucks have much larger dishes, which point to the sky, and transmit their signals 25,000 miles up to an orbiting satellite.

Here are some pictures of our sat truck, taken at the Cooper/Midland High game on November 5, 2010:

This is a rare sight at any high school football game: two satellite trucks.  On the left is, of course, KTXS' Live Star, which they've had since 1992.  Our truck is on the right.  Since we share it with several other stations, our truck only brands the Nexstar logo.

The interior of our truck is truly a television station on wheels.  Bob Bailey, the Chief Photographer at KLBK/KAMC in Lubbock, is the truck's primary operater.

Our powerful laptop computer features the same Avid Newscutter professional editing software that we have in our edit suites at the station.  Our JVC HD cameras shoot on SDHC memory cards; all we have to do it take the cards out of the camera, insert them into the laptop, and begin editing!

This is a shot of the "dish" as seen from a small window inside the truck.  The dish is about 6 feet wide, and the transmitter is powerful enough to send the digital t.v. signals to orbiting satellites 25,000 miles in space.  The bright spots are reflections of ceiling lights against the window.



Manny Diaz and I prepare for the first live satellite shot of the day from Midland's Grande Communication Stadium.  In all, we did about a dozen "hits" for both KTAB and KRBC during the 5, 6, and 10pm newscasts.



This is not a satellite truck.  This is one of the three "microwave" vans we have here in Abilene.  The dishes sit atop towers, or masts, that when pressurized with air rise up to 50 feet.  The digital microwave signals are sent between the dish on the van and an antenna at the t.v. station on S. 14th.  The maximum range is 40-50 miles, depending on terrain.  In this shot, the dish and mast are in the stowed position while filling up at the 7-11 at S. 7th and Butternut.

One of our microwave vans at work on election night, November 2, 2010, as KRBC's Morgan Bond prepares to go live.

An "artistic" view of my camera with the 50' mast in the background....

It's Football Season!

I'm not at all what you would call a rabid sports fan, but as a videographer, there's something magical about covering high school football.

I vividly remember the very first football game I ever covered: September, 1997, in Hamlin.  At the ripe old age of 22, I was a rookie photog for KRBC, and I remember driving up to Pied Piper Stadium in my Jeep Cherokee news vehicle, with the Backstreet Boys blaring on the radio.  Standing along the sidelines, carrying 50 pounds of 1970s-era Sony U-Matic 3/4" video gear, my sole focus was to attempt to follow the ball through the old-school black and white viewfinder.  I wasn't very good at it.  At all.  Luckily, Steve Strain and Mike Miller, the "9 NewsChannel" sports team, were able to pull a couple of highlights from my video.  But those first couple of years of shooting football were awesome. After moving to Florida in 1999, I had the opportunity to cover two seasons of HS football in the Sunshine State; and though football there is on a smaller scale, it was still fun.

2010 is my sixth season covering Big Country HS football since returning to KTAB/KRBC, and my tenth season overall as a videographer.  And though the equipment has changed....my new tapeless HD camcorder features a color HD viewfinder that's like watching a movie in your eye....the experience is still the same.  This Friday night will be typical.  I'll start the evening at Shotwell Stadium, doing 6pm live shots for both KTAB and KRBC previewing Cooper's Homecoming game.  At 6:30, I'll head to Haskell to get a couple of highlights.  Then I'll stop in Hamlin for a little while....I'm still sentimental about that place!  The goal is to be back at the studio by 9:15 or so....edit the highlights....then get back out to Shotwell by 10pm, and meet up with David Bacon so we can interview Coach Spradlin after the game is over.

It may sound like a lot of work, but it's fun.  And most of my time is spent driving, so that's my relaxation time.  And thanks to our team of videographers, we'll have highlights from more than a dozen Big Country games!

Here are some pictures of games I've covered so far this year....



Week 1:  The Early Longhorns visit the Cisco Loboes at Chesley Field.





After missing Week 2 due to illness, Week 3 finds us doing live coverage from Wylie as the Bulldogs host the Graham Steers.  One of our live vans, ENG-9, stands ready to broadcast our live reports back to the tv station.



Between the 6 and 10pm live shots at Wylie, I made the short drive to Tuscola as the Indians hosted the Munday Moguls.

Week 4 featured Abilene High hosting Tampa (FL) Plant HS in a Thursday night game that was aired live nationwide on ESPNU.  It was a rare opportunity for me to stay and watch an entire game...I was in charge of the KRBC 5, 6, and 10 live shots, while Goose took care of KTAB.  And though Shotwell Stadium has awesome new lights, ESPN brought in a set of mobile stadium lights that lit up the entire stadium like daylight.

On Friday night of Week 4, I traveled to Early as the Longhorns hosted the Sweetwater Mustangs.  This is one of those instances where you spend 1.5 hours driving there, spend 15-20 minutes at the game, then drive 1.5 hours back!

98x changes to sports

Last week KTLT 98.1 made the switch from alternative to sports. If you're like me, you're glad to have ESPN back but ANGRY to lose what I (and many others) thought was the best non-country radio station in Abilene.



The station is owned by Cumulus, which also operates Power 103, 102 The Bear and KBCY. Why did they chose to make the change? Your guess is as good as mine. KTAB/KRBC attempted to contact the station but got no return phone calls. Corporate probably decided there was more of a market for sports talk than alternative rock music. I don't have access to the ratings, but if I had to guess, 98x probably had the lowest ratings of the stations I listed above.



Here's the sad part...the station probably had a much larger following than the ratings showed. In my job, I am always driving all over town. I would constantly come across other cars tuned to 98x. Sometimes I'd overhear it at a gas station. Other times, the driver in the lane next to me would be blasting it loud enough for me to hear in my car. (and I knew what station it was because it was almost always tuned in on my radio). I also heard the station playing in local businesses like the barber shop and some clothing stores.



Why weren't the ratings better? One possibility is 98x's listeners just didn't participate in the ratings process. Arbitron, the ratings company, sends out diaries to random people. Those people log the time they spend listening to the radio. It's kind of a pain. So lots of people never send the diary back. There are many other ways the ratings system is flawed. The bottom line is, it isn't perfect but it's the only system available, and like I said, I think it underestimated 98x's audience. Let me also say this. Since I don't have access to the ratings, I don't know for sure that 98x was in the hole. As I said before, even if 98x had good ratings, ESPN radio will probably draw a larger audience (in the eyes of the radio executive). That's just what research shows across the nation.



So why not listen to Rock 108? I guess we have no choice now. It's not a bad station. In fact, it's much better than rock stations in other cities. The thing I don't like about it is it's too hard. What I liked about 98x is that it was the lighter side of rock music. It also had no DJs...just music. Now that it's gone I really notice how much hard rock is played on 108. I guess that's why their slogan is "Real Rock Radio". Don't expect them to pick up any of the lighter music 98x played. That doesn't fit the "real rock radio" format, and it could drive away the people that like Rock 108. That station has been successful for years, and "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".



The bottom line it this...nothing is forever in the media business, so enjoy what you have while it's there because someday it will change.

Coming soon: Katrina raw video shot by me

It's the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I covered the storm for KTAL in Shreveport, LA. I went to New Orleans with meteorologist Todd Warren and our own Lane Stone when she was the main anchor there. I still have some of the raw tapes laying around in a drawer full of tapes. I'm sifting through them to show you some of what I shot. Stay tuned for that. As soon as I find the stuff, I'll post some of the video.

Our New Digital Newsroom!

Over the weekend we "made the switch!"  Here are some pictures of our new cameras and edit systems, installed and ready to go!

Our JVC ProHD cameras record high-defintion video on tiny memory cards, not videotape.  We have about a dozen cameras total.

Most of our reporters will use the smaller, handheld cameras, while Goose and I (as well as the sports guys) have full-size, shoulder mount cameras (thankfully they only weigh half or less than the old tape-based cameras).  The picture quality of all of the cameras is absolutely amazing.

Smile! You're on tv!

This is one of our eight new edit stations. All of the video we shoot with the new cameras is edited using the latest Avid Newscutter software.  Until a few days ago, we had to "capture" the footage from our old videotape cameras in real time into our older Avid computers. That meant if you had 20 minutes of raw video, it took 20 minutes to capture before you could edit.  Now, we just take the memory cards out of the camera and insert them into the computer....the video files are instantly available for editing.

Each of the six general edit stations is located in secluded "edit bays," away from the noise of the newsroom.  Once we've finished editing a news story, it just takes a few mouse clicks to send the video file to one of the computer playback servers located across the building in Master Control.  During the live newscasts, the directors just pushes a button, and the stories are instantly on tv.
And note that while all of our video is shot and edited in 16:9 high definition, we will still air our newscasts in standard definition for the foreseeable future.  Before sending each story to the playback servers, we "downconvert" the video to 4:3 standard definition.

This is the KRBC Producer's edit station, located next to the producer's desk in the newsroom (KTAB has an identical setup).  Along with all the functionality of the standard editors, the producer computers are also hooked up to the station's Routing Switcher system, BetaSP and DVCPRO tape machines, DVD players, and the "video on demand" services from NBC, CBS, and CNN.  This allows us to record anything from anywhere, such as the "national" news stories you see on our newscasts.

It's Almost Here!

Back in the spring, I blogged about our plans to transition the KTAB/KRBC News Departments into a "Digital Newsroom" operation.

Well, the transition is almost complete!  By the end of this month, we will "go live" with our new tapeless JVC Professional camcorders (which record broadcast-quality HD video onto small memory cards), brand-new Avid Newscutter editing workstations, new ingest/playback servers, new edit suites...etc.  It's the whole nine yards!  (For those that don't know, Avid is the company that basically invented computerized, digital editing for the professional broadcast and cinematography markets.  Most major news operations worldwide, as well as most Hollywood movie studios, use Avid editing software.)

Ya'll might be wondering how this will affect what you see when you watch our newscasts.  In a nutshell, things won't change much for the viewing audience.  While stations in larger cities are producing local newscasts in High Definition, our newscasts will still be aired in "standard definition" for some time to come.  This is true of most smaller t.v. markets such as Abilene.  We've spent millions of dollars in the past few years upgrading our facilities for "digital television," including the ability to broadcast CBS and NBC network programming in HD, but it will take millions more to fully outfit our studios for complete local HD programming.  It will happen some day, just not in the very near future.

What our "Digital Newsroom" upgrade will provide, however, is much more efficiency in the way we deliver the news.  Our old, tape-based cameras are just that....old.  As are our current generation of editing computers/servers.  They break down a lot, and getting raw news footage from the camera to the editor is time-consuming.  If you shot 10 minutes of video at the press conference or car wreck, it takes 10 minutes for that video to "capture" to an edit computer.  That's not good if it's 5:55 and you're video is supposed to be the top story for the 6pm news!  With our new equipment, editing will be pretty much instantaneous.  Insert the SDHC memory card into the edit computer, and start editing right away!  You'll have the top story video ready in just a minute or two!  Not to mention, all of our equipment is new and under warranty.....so we won't have to worry about breakdowns for a while!

In many ways this is an evolutionary step for us, since we've already been "halfway" digital for the past 5 years.  Our current, very old cameras record the news on videotape in the field, just like it's been done for the past four decades.....we then "capture" that video in real time to our current, older Avid computer workstations.  Then the stories are digitally edited, and sent to a hard drive server system for playback during our newscasts.  We were, and still are, the only news stations in the Abilene market to eliminate videotape from the editing and playback processes.  Ironically, our competition has been doing the reverse of us for a number of years....shooting news in the field using tapeless cameras, but using conventional videotape for the editing and playback processes.

For the next couple of weeks, we're putting the final pieces together, making sure all the equipment is in and working properly, and LOTS of training!  Below is a picture of one of our new Avid Newscutter version 10 workstations.  Once we're "live," I'll post pictures of the complete operation!

Follow KTAB "On The Road!"

As many of you may know, KTAB News is going "On The Road" to area towns next week, July 19-23.  Monday we'll be in Albany, Tuesday in Eastland, Wednesday in Sweetwater, Thursday in Brownwood, and Friday in Anson.

We're bringing an entire mobile studio to each town, including big satellite and production trucks.  It will be quite a production.  Of course the big draw will be the opportunity for Big Country folks to watch Bob, Lane, Sam, and David do the 5, 6, and 10pm news live, in person!

I'll be there, too, documenting each day's activities.  I'll be posting updates and pictures throughout the day on Twitter, so make sure and follow along!  My Twitter name is andrewktab, so feel free to follow along!

Why do we __ ? How do you ___?

There are a lot of things we do on TV, and sometimes we do them because it's just how things have always been done. Have you ever wondered why we do some particular thing in our newscasts? Or have you always wondered how we do something? Leave me a question and I'll do my best to answer it.

The Flight Of A Lifetime!

On April 28-29, 2010, KTAB anchor/managing editor Bob Bartlett and I had the opportunity to fly to the home of the USAF Thunderbirds at Nellis AFB, located just north of Las Vegas, Nevada.  The Air Force organized the "media flight" to promote the Thunderbirds' performance at Dyess' Big Country AirFest the following weekend.

A KC-135 Stratotanker from Altus AFB, OK, stopped at Dyess to pick us up. The following day, after touring the Thunderbirds' facilities at Nellis, and spending the night on the Las Vegas Strip, we returned to Dyess. The return flight wasn't quite ordinary, however.  We were escorting the Thunderbirds' F-16 fighter jets to Dyess, and the long trip required us to refuel each jet in flight.  So there we are, at 25,000 feet, going 500+ mph, with the Thunderbirds literally feet away from us.  Following are some of the most awesome pictures I've ever taken.  I'll note that Bob and I learned of Abilene Police Officer Rodney Holder's death prior to leaving Vegas, so the day was very somber.....

Here's a link to the story that aired on that evening's 10pm newscast: Aerial Refueling of the Thunderbirds!

And since I had the chance to ride in the cockpit for much of the journey, I had amazing views of the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and the Las Vegas skyline!

 

 

UFOs in the Big Country!

Ok, so we have gotten a ton of calls over the past few weeks about lights in the sky. Every time it happens, the phenomena are not visible from KTAB/KRBC's studios. Usually it happens in the southeast sky. I have yet to capture it on video with our Sony PD-170 cameras. We would love to show the UFOs to all of you on TV. That's why I'm calling on you, our viewers, to capture the lights on your home video camcorders. Cell phone and still pictures are good too, but the resolution on those devices would probably yield what looks like a star on the air. Moving color video is the best. Doing the following will improve the quality of your image:
-Use a tripod
-Zoom in as little as possible; the more zoom you use, the lesser quality image (but you might have to zoom to get it if it's small)
-both of these things impact how shaky your video is...more shake = less quality.
-turn off autofocus as focus will go in and out if you zoom in on an object in the night sky in auto mode.
-stay away from trees, power lines and other obstructions that could hinder you from getting a clear shot of the object.

If you capture something unusual on video, send it to us in the "SHARE IT" section of bigcountryhomepage.com!

Also, join us on facebook and twitter. If you see something, that's a good place to start a discussion with other viewers and compare what you see. It also alerts us to the UFO's presence.

There may be no way of identifying what's out there. I will say this. The military has a rather large chunk of airspace in the southern Big Country it has reserved for its use only. What they use it for is in most cases none of our business. They conduct lots of training and testing that relates to our national security, and that may be what you are seeing.

This happened when I worked in Shreveport. Lots of folks saw UFOs flying low to the ground. At first the military denied they were testing anything. But, after hundreds of sightings and lots of public fear, they did release they were testing an experimental aircraft..of which the details could not be released.

Keep reporting your sightings to us. You never know. Your video could make national news like the sightings in the desert Southwest in the 90s!

I Never Thought It Would Happen

I began my career in broadcasting in 1995.  And in the '90s, when you needed to record and playback video, you used videotape...just like it was done in the '50s.  Of course those early VTRs (videotape recorders...the industry term) were larger than refrigerators, and used reel-to-reel tape, up to 2" wide, that traveled at astonishing speeds.  And they cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per machine.  And since it was somewhat impractical to drag around a fragile VTR the size of a bookcase, all news footage was still shot on film cameras.

It wasn't until the 1970's that Sony developed a cassette-based videotape format, called U-Matic, that allowed VTRs to be small enough to be truly portable.  And though the early U-Matic (or 3/4" as they are commonly called in the industry because of the width of the tape) machines recorded less-than-stellar video, and weighed up to 50 pounds, the format resulted in the ENG (Electronic News Gathering) revolution; by 1980, film was all but gone from t.v. newsrooms across the county.

Professional ENG videotape formats progressed in quality (and, thankfully, shrunk in size and weight) over the ensuing decades.  And by the start of the 21st century, as hard drive-based computer servers were quickly replacing tape machines in control rooms and edit bays around the world, videotape was still the only practical option for portable broadcast camcorders.  Because even though CDs, DVDs, and eventually iPods had taken over the consumer audio/visual markets, the quality just wasn't good enough for broadcast use.

If you've read this far, you're probably wondering what the point of this blog is, other than a history of professional videotape formats.  But the fact is, back in 1995, 2000, even 2005....I never could imagine a day without videotape.  But we are close to that day.

KTXS was the first station in the Abilene market to transition to "tapeless" ENG camcorders.  For the past five years or so, they've used Sony XDCAM camcorders.  XDCAM uses a robust, professional-grade variant of the consumer Blu-Ray disc format.  The full-size camcorders have a drive mechanism inside that spins the disc as it records the digital video and audio data.

At KTAB/KRBC, we've been shooting news using handheld Sony DSR-PD150/170 camcorders since about 2002.  These cameras use digital videotape as the recording medium, but the recorded digital information is identical to the data stored on KTXS' XDCAM discs.

Our videotape-based camcorders have significant limitations that are shared by all VTRs.  Since we edit all of our news footage using computers, the raw footage must be played back in real time and "captured" into the edit computer.  So, if you shot 20 minutes of footage at a press conference, it will take 20 minutes to ingest that video into the edit computer.   Also, videotape is a "linear" medium, meaning if you want to find a specific shot or interview, you have to fast-forward or rewind the tape.  That's also very time-consuming.  And tape machines have many moving mechanical parts that wear out and break down; and the tape itself wears out after repeated recording and playback cycles.

But all that is changing.  Our parent company, Nexstar Broadcasting, is in the process of converting our operation to a completely tapeless "digital newsroom."  We are receiving brand new high-definition JVC camcorders that record all footage onto small memory cards.  In fact, the only moving parts on the cameras are the lens focus and zoom controls.  There's no tape or disc drive, and the operation is completely silent.  And when it comes time to edit, all we have to do is pull the postage stamp-sized memory out of the camera, insert it into the edit computer, and all of the video is instantly ready for editing.  And once the story is edited, the story is sent to the playback server with just a few mouse clicks, ready for the newscast.

It's a very exciting time.....and I'm excited to be at the forefront of 21st century technology!

Verizon Wireless outage in Abilene?

How many of you have been having trouble with your Verizon (formerly Alltel) service? I've noticed over the past month or so that the signal goes out on a fairly regular basis. It usually happens late at night, but sometimes happens during the day too. The bars go to one, none, or no service in areas of town where there is normally a full strength signal. As a customer, I have been unable to get any straight answers from the company. I also tried calling as a reporter for KTAB/KRBC and didn't get any response.

I'm writing this to find out what your experience has been. I'm sure it's a network outage because all of our phones at the station go out (and come back) at exactly the same time.

I'm just as stumped as all of you probably are. I hope to report the cause and fix of the problem ASAP. Post your reply describing any problems you've been having. I think it's happening across the Big Country. I'm curious to find out how wide-spread the problem is.

One thing the company did tell me is to have all of you call customer service. If more people call, it makes it easier for them to track the problem down. You have to call from a phone other than the one having problems, though, because they will want to do some troubleshooting. They can't do that if you are talking to them on the phone in question.

Why yes, that is my video over Brian Williams' shoulder!

You know those little pictures, or sometimes video, that appear either next to or over the shouldesr of news anchors?  The technical term for those graphics is OTS, which stands for, well, Over-The-Shoulder.

In the following segment from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, there are four video clips in Brian's OTS as he intros the story: First, a Saturn SUV; second, a flood guage at the 2-foot level; third, water flowing through a drainage culvert next to a road; and last, a shot of cars on a snow-covered highway.  The first and last clips came from other NBC affiliates, but I shot the videos of the flood guage and the drainage culvert...both at N. 18th and Treadaway.  Pretty cool, huh?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This story was from Thursday, Jan. 28, when Abilene received over 2.6 inches of rain.

Thanks to the magic of high-speed internet, it's now daily practice for affiliates and network hubs across the nation, and world, to share video almost instantly.  I shot the video around noon, had it back at the station by 12:30, it was edited by 12:45, and then the broadcast-quality video file was on it's way to NBC News via the internet.  A random editor in New York was likely searching through video files from the day, liked what I shot, and inserted it in Brian's OTS.

Not too many years ago, the fastest way for either KTAB or KRBC to get video to the networks was to drive (or sometimes fly via American Eagle) the actual videotape to the big stations in Dallas-Ft. Worth, where it was uplinked to a satellite to New York.  That was a very expensive, and time-consuming process....

Abilene...the city that cares

Wow. Folks in Abilene are kind. I was standing on the corner of E.N. 11th and Judge Ely today shooting video of the intersection for a story on road improvements. A person drove up and asked if I wanted any money. I said no, then they asked if I needed a burger or something. I didn't think I looked like a homeless person, but I guess I did. I had the camera and tripod set up. Oh well...kind of funny.

Technology brought you the earthquake

If you are reading this blog, chances are you've already checked out our coverage of the Haiti earthquake. If not, see that portion of our website:

http://bigcountryhomepage.com/content/aid_to_haiti

It's incredible. Per my previous blog entry, the way we bring you the news is changing. Every report from Haiti was brought to you via I-phone. We also used FTP to send some video, but the I-phone is what really counted on this story. It enabled Katherine and Tim to QUICKLY shoot a piece of video and have it on the way to the station almost immediately. They had no time to stop and edit/feed video. They were also able to send constant updates using Twitter. Without that phone, much of what you saw on our air between Sunday and Wednesday would not have been possible. We would have had to wait for them to return to bring you the video.

It's hard to appreciate what Katherine and Tim did over the past few days without going through it yourself. I know that from covering Hurricane Katrina. I don't know of any other local TV station in a city our size that sent a crew to Haiti. As an added bonus, our reporters were embedded with the military. Even the networks couldn't make that happen. The point is...what you saw is absolutely INCREDIBLE...and EXCLUSIVE. Watch for our video on the national news...CBS, NBC and CNN. We sent it to all 3.

Oh..just so you know...I was not on the Haiti trip. Katherine and Tim shot all their own video.

The Magic of Live Television

One really cool part about our jobs is that we get to witness events firsthand that most people only see on the news (because we're the ones putting it on the news!).

I've been in this business for many years, but one of my most memorable moments happened on live television.  On Monday, November 16, 2009, a large warehouse on the east side of downtown Abilene caught fire.  Coincidentally, the fire was reported about 5:20pm, and Goose and I were already downtown with two of our live trucks preparing for 6pm live shots from the AISD building.  So we just moved the trucks a few blocks to the fire, and we were up and broadcasting well before the 6pm newscasts started.

Goose was taking care of the KRBC live shots with Tim Johnston, while I was teamed up with Victor Sotelo for the KTAB shots.  Bob and Angela came to us many times during the show, but here's a link to what happened during one of our live reports:  Wall Collapses on Live Television

Luckily, there was no one in the warehouse, and no one was injured.  If you watched the clip, you noticed that Victor, who was standing beside me, was talking about the heat from the fire.  It was quite chilly that evening, but as soon as the wall collapsed, a blast of heat hit us.

I've covered countless fires in my career, but this was one of the "big ones."

Wave of the Future (or present!)

Last night, I brought you Katherine Lane's report from Brownwood at 6PM via an IPhone. Those of us in the business are well aware that this is the direction our business is heading in. As a viewer, you are probably aware of it too, but I thought I'd bring it to your attention just in case you aren't. Why are we heading this way? Because it's cheap and easy. To get video back from a remote location (what we call "feeding") requires a signal between the station and the remote location. Locally, we do this with our live trucks, which operate using microwave signals. The trouble with this is range is limited. We can feed you video or a live report using one of our 3 microwave trucks (which have been referred to as ENG-9, ENG-32, and the Chase Lab in previous blog posts by Andrew) from about 20-30 miles away from the station. It all depends on where the hills, trees and buildings are. All of those things will block a signal. When you are in an area where no signal is possible, in the past, the only way to get a signal would be to use a satellite truck. We do not have one readily available in Abilene. If a big story breaks, we have access to one at our Lubbock sister station. Satellite time is VERY expensive. It costs $5 to $10 a minute depending on whose satellite you buy the time on. The average story requires at least 10 minutes...5 to feed video and 5 for a live shot. That's $100! It adds up fast. The advantage to satellite is you can get a signal from anywhere in the country, provided you have a view of the southern sky, which is where all the satellites are. And, any station in the country can pick up your signal if they need your video. In the age of new technologies, we have found ways to feed cheaper. The first way is via FTP over the Internet. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. Basically, we create a video file using a laptop and send it over the Internet. The drawback to this is it takes time. The file has to upload on the remote end, then download on the station end and be imported into our video system. The speed varies. The whole process generally takes at least 30-45 minutes. You need an Internet connection on both ends of at least 12-15Mbps to make it efficient. The average cable connection? 6-8Mbps. DSL is even slower. At about 20Mbs it becomes as efficient as feeding over microwave or satellite (which happens in real time). Connections that fast are far and few between. Oh...by the way...you have to be in a remote location with Internet access to make this happen...an air card, even at 3G speed, is WAY too slow. The quality of video sent via FTP on the air is generally the same as what I shoot in the field. Sometimes it degrades a bit depending on the type of compression used. Using FTP is free. So, while all this technology is being perfected, along comes the I-Phone and other "smart" phones. It works on the same principle...We shot the video using the phone's camera and sent it over the Internet using the phone's 3G network. This is MUCH faster, except the quality is not near as good. (the phone shoots low resolution video). The point of all this? You will be seeing a lot of lower quality video, not just on our station, but on stations across the country. News is becoming more and more URGENT and about what's happening RIGHT NOW. It is also more competitive. Technology gives us the tools to bring you the news faster and as it's happening. The technology will improve. Someday, you will not know the difference between cell phone video and that shot by a $3,000 camera. Until then, enjoy live news from places we couldn't have even dreamed of 10 years ago. If it hadn't been for the IPhone, you would not have seen any video from Brownwood until 10PM. And by the way, you can help us cover the news using this technology. See the "SHARE IT" section on bigcountryhompage.com to send us your pictures.