• Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2011, 7:30 PM
• Location: The Art Institute of Michigan, 28125 Cabot Dr., Novi
• Topic: The Impact of Change on the Media Business
• Guest speaker: Mark Sherrod, Dean of Academic Affairs, The Art Institute of Michigan

Our December meeting will be held on our regular day and time, Tuesday, December 13 at 7:30 PM at the Art Institute of Michigan in Novi, where we will have an open discussion about the state of the local broadcast and production industry and the effect of recent changes on our members and colleagues, and how our group might be able to be helpful to the community in education and networking. The AIM will be embarking on instructional programs on audio and animation, and Mark Sherrod, the school’s Dean of Academic Affairs, will speak to us about this, and hear our group’s take on the industry.

The Detroit Section Managers have recently met to discuss how to keep our group alive and relevant. We will present some items for your consideration, discussion and input.

Thanks to The Art Institute of Michigan and Dave Wertheimer for location and refreshments.

Managers’ Dinner at 6:00 PM at Leo’s Coney Island, 37580 West 12 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills (Halsted Village shopping center, Halsted & 12 Mile). Separate checks. All are welcome.

Are you ready for the National EAS test on Nov 9^th?  Doubtless, you have at least a few unanswered questions regarding this nationwide effort to improve the reach and reliability of the national alerting system.

Please join us next Wednesday night, October 26^th, at the studios of WKBD and WWJ-TV in Southfield for a presentation by state EAS chairman Larry Estlack and WJR chief engineer Kevin Hawley as they brief us on the latest developments and wrinkles with the state, national, and southeast Michigan EAS scene. There are some known issues with a number of the EAS endecs currently in production by the leading manufacturers. Some of these are set up issues, others are software issues that could lead to an unsuccessful test. We’ll discuss the ones they know about and your experiences with your gear should help give us all a better picture of where the problems are and what can be done about them. There should be a good sized brain-trust present. Please be part of it!

The meeting time is 7:30P, but we’ll have some pizza and pop at 6:30P. Come and renew acquaintances, talk shop, or just talk with friends, then learn more of the details of EAS 2011. We need to do this right to help retain our value for emergency communications in the public’s eye. A little effort now should help mitigate avoidable screw-ups on Nov 9^th.

The studios are located at 26905 W. 11 Mile Road in Southfield between Inkster and Franklin roads. Parking will be in the rear of the studio building (the one on your left as you come down the driveway).

Please R.S.V.P. to Jim Totten at jmtotten@cbs.com so we can get an idea of how much food and beverage to purchase. Thanks.

See you there!

Our September meeting is on Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 7:00 PM and is a joint meeting with SEMAFX (Detroit ACM-SIGGRAPH). The host is Expert Electronics Showplace, 17100 Kercheval (at St. Clair, 2 blocks east of Cadieux), Grosse Pointe, MI 48230, and the topic is “Old School” computer graphics systems, cards, software and hardware.

SEMAFX, the Detroit chapter of ACM-SIGGRAPH, has invited SMPTE Detroit members to join them at their upcoming meeting. Apologies for the very short notice; this came about quite recently. Many of us have had the “pleasure” in past years of installing or working with early computer graphics, animation and CGI systems, video graphics and display cards. If the words Targa, RasterOps, NuBus, Truevision, NuVista, Amiga, etc bring on a chill or other reaction, you might find this program fun.

From Scott Dunham’s notice to SEMAFX:

Come join me as we keep the SEMAFX flame burning bright! School is back in session, and so is SEMAFX. Our goals remain unchanged- to form a casual, yet professional league of talented artists who want to explore the technology, the tips and the boundaries of our own abilities. And by working together, create opportunities for our community and our Craft. The “theme” if you want to call it that, is “Old Guys” Night! (Old gals are invited too, but sadly, we were mostly a guy-industry in those days… sigh. Anyway, it’s not much of a theme, I know. But I’d LOVE to see all my old veteran buddies who have been in the animation, graphics and showbiz biz since the early days! If you’ve heard of a Truevision Targa graphics board, Summagraphic tablets, Amiga II’s, sprites or CosA, then you’re probably an “old guy!” If you were ever impressed by the speed of a 486x processor… yep, you guessed it- OLD! And if you’re YOUNG- then come hang out with us Old Guys and listen to our war stories, along with some cool ideas, latest gossip and other fun stuff. SEMAFX is fun, dangit! So come ready to have fun. We will be meeting on Tuesday night, Sept. 20th, at 7pm, at the Expert Electronics Showplace, in Grosse Pointe Village, at 17100 Kercheval. Look for the Expert Electronics awning – and we’ll be down the stairs (under the TN Thai Bistro on the corner). Parking on the street or in the ramp across the street on St. Clair (might be metered or paid parking). BYOB. Volunteers needed to bring some “snacks”. Also bring any DVD’s or demos you want to share.

Because of location and start time, we will not do a pre meeting dinner. There are, however a number of places in “the Village,” on the adjacent 2 blocks, for early arrivals to grab a bite beforehand.

Our June section meeting will be a “shootout” of two mid-range studio/handheld HD cameras. It’s hosted by CBS Television (WKBD & WWJ-TV), 26905 West 11 Mile Road in Southfield. Note the day and date: Wednesday, June 15 at our usual time, 7:30 pm.

Sony will be bringing the HXC-100K and Ikegami will bring their HDK-77EC/CT. Each has a 1920×1080 2/3 inch sensor and is capable of handheld or fixed operation. They will be configured for triax studio use with mid-range lenses, viewfinders and control panels.

This will be a joint meeting with our colleagues in SBE Chapter 82. Members and guests of both organization are welcome; there is no charge, and please invite your co-workers and anyone interested.

Manager’s dinner will be at 5:30 at Buddy’s Rendezvous, 31646 Northwestern Highway at Middlebelt in Farmington Hills. Cash bar; food check divided equally among all diners.  All are welcome. If you plan on coming, send us a message.

Congratulations to newly elected and re-elected section officers:

Detroit Section election of officers is now underway. Members will be receiving instructions via e-mail. Be sure to cast your ballot online by May 15.

SMPTE is conducting four regional seminars in May on practical steps in implementing a file-based workflow. The seminar will cover the steps, challenges, and success in transitioning a traditional broadcast facility to one with a file-based workflow. Nearest to us is Toronto on May 14. Registration is $199 for SMPTE members and only $59 for students.

This month’s program will feature a discussion of the technology specified in the ATSC Mobile DTV Standard, adopted in October 2009. It defines the technical specifications for broadcasters to provide new services to mobile and handheld devices using their digital television (DTV) transmissions. These services are carried along with current DTV services without adverse impact on legacy receiving equipment. ATSC Mobile DTV was developed to support a variety of services including free (advertiser-supported) television and interactive services delivered in real-time, subscription-based TV, and file-based content download for playback at a later time. The standard can also be used for transmission of new data broadcasting services.

• Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2011, 7:30 PM
• Location: WKBD-TV & WWJ-TV, Southfield
• Presenter: Dave Benco, National Key Accounts Manager, Rohde & Schwarz

Light refreshments will be served, courtesy of Rohde & Schwarz. A brief business meeting will be held prior to the presentation.

If you would like to attend, please respond using the online RSVP form.

This month’s program is a joint meeting with IEEE on 4G systems and how they relate to the automotive and aerospace industries. The speaker is William Ashe, a senior engineer with Sirius XM. RSVP is required,  and space is limited.  The meeting is Wednesday, December 8 at Sirius XM in Farmington Hills with refreshments at 6:00 PM and the speaker at 6:30 PM. See the meeting notice for details and information on how to RSVP.

SMPTE Detroit Section will meet next Tuesday October19 at The Art Institute of Michigan, 28125 Cabot Drive, Suite 120, Novi, MI 48377. The meeting starts at 7:00 PM (note earlier start time).

Meeting topic:
Mr. Bob Zeichner will impart to us some newly-acquired knowledge and insight pertaining to this year’s hot-button item, 3D/Stereoscopic imaging.

“The business of 3-D production is complex and very different from traditional television. A successful end product requires much thought and preparation to capitalize on the effect without torturing your intended audience. My presentation is more of a synopsis of how 3-D works and the steps involved from capture to presentation with an emphasis on the acquisition aspects of the process. I won’t have equipment on which to demonstrate any of this, but armed with a dry marker, I will attempt to illustrate some of the more important points while all of this remains fresh in my memory.”

Meeting Notice (PDF)