Blogger Notes

I. Title: The End of Analog; Digital TV Transition
URL: http://coloradodjlabs.org/2009Spring/digitaltv/


II. Members:
Kyle Haas – Undergraduate, kyle.l.haas@colorado.edu

Sally Ho - Undergraduate, sally.ho@colorado.edu

Kathy Noonan – Graduate, kathy.noonan@colorado.edu

Jordan Wirfs-Brock – Graduate, jordan.wirfs-brock@colorado.edu


III. Division of Labor:
Haas – created the site (template and home page), wrote the tech section

Ho – created all the biz pages, contributed to the timeline, compiled sources solicitations, wrote project report

Noonan - created all Environment pages and contributed/edited the timeline

Wirfs-Brock - compiled the project proposal, collected the information for the history section, made the history section pages, and made the about us, contact us, and resources pages.

All members helped copy edit/proof and developed site content and concept.


IV. Resources:
Edgerton, Gary. The Columbia History of American Television. New York: Columbia
University Press, 2007.

Frey, Thomas
Executive Director of The DaVinci Institute
(303) 666-4133
tom@davinciinstitute.com

Green, Dick
CEO of Cable Labs in Louisville
r.green@cablelabs.com

Hewett, John
Chief Engineer for Entravision Communication, KCEC
jhewett@entravision.com

Hilmes, Michele, and Jason Jacobs, eds. The Television History Book. London: British
Film Institute, 2003.

Kelly, Dana
Office Manager, University of Colorado Environmental Center
303-492-8308

Layne, David
Director of Broadcast Operations and Engineering, KCNC
dlayne@cbs.com
303-830-6426

Matsch, Dan
Director of CHaRM, Eco-Cycle’s Center for Hard to Recycle Materials
303-444-6344

McKay, Jerome
General Manager, Best Buy Store #1134 (Tower Road and I-70)
303-373-9284

Ritchie, Michael. Please Stand By: A Prehistory of Television. Woodstock, New York:
Overlook Press, 1994.

Schaefer, Tony
Director of Engineering, KGWN
307-634-7755

Smith, Anthony and Richard Paterson, eds. Television, An International History. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Webb, Richard. Tele-visionaries: The People Behind the Invention of Television.
Hoboken, New Jersey: IEEE Press, 2005.


WEB SOURCES:
http://www.ban.org/index.html
Hosts to the e-Steward program which ensures responsible recycling of e-waste

http://www.iowadnr.gov/waste/recycling/tvrecycling.html

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/ecycling/index.htm
Provides research, statistics, general information about electronic waste and electronics recycling

http://earth911.com/
Zip-code search feature that finds local recycling opportunities

http://www.mygreenelectronics.org/
This site is a resource for consumers wanting to purchase green products or searching for local opportunities to recycle or donate used electronics

http://www.epa.gov/osw/partnerships/plugin/index.htm
Partnership between EPA and consumer electronics manufacturers, retailers, and service providers that offers more opportunities to donate or recycle - to "eCycle" - your used electronics

http://www.nrc-recycle.org/localresources.aspx
Provides links to state recycling resources

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/06/60minutes/main4579229.shtml
60 Minutes The Electronic Wasteland

http://www.kgwn.tv/ - KGWN/Cheyenne, Wyo. CBS

http://cbs4denver.com/ - KCNC/Denver CBS

http://www.kcectv.com/ - KCEC/Denver Univision

http://www.dtv.gov/ - Digital TV government home

http://www.electronics.howstuffworks.com/dtv.htm - How digital TV works

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_television - How digital TV works

http://www.vintagetvsets.com - thefiftys@aol.com; used images with permission of cite owner


V. Strengths of the Project: Web site design, context and linking to relevant sources, teamwork, reliable team members.

VI. Weaknesses of the Project: Original content and reporting, flow. Technical know-how for all group members.

VII. Lessons Learned: Communication is key when creating a group multi-media package. Our group had solid communication, which helped us complete the project successfully.

There were some skills we didn't have, and that made it hard to create certain sections of the project (Jordan would have liked to create the timeline from scratch using Flash). So the lesson learned is to know your skills and limitations before you start designing your content. And get coffee. Lots of it.

Kyle thinks it might have been interesting to do this entire project without any written reporting. Try to tell the story without the use of written word would place an extreme emphasis on using multimedia to convey meaning.

While driving to a dairy farm near Eaton today, I heard a piece on NPR's All Things Considered about the forthcoming convergence of web and TV: Hooking up PC to TV could be near.

Hey guys, I'm meeting with Dick Green, CEO of CableLabs in Louisville to talk about how digital tv works. He's a pretty important guy, I'm surprised I landed an interview with him, but I'm stoked nevertheless. He should paint a pretty good picture of how this whole thing works. You can read more about him here. He's actually a member of the cable hall of fame. Anything in particular you guys want me to ask him to help out with your stories?

-Kyle

Jordan and I met with Rick yesterday to update him about our project.

Remember on April 1, the first draft of content due, giving us only three weeks to put the website together. We thought of picking a date in April where we can really sit down and work with each other for significant progress on the website. Perhaps on a Saturday?...we could meet at my (Sally) house, where I will provide snacks and such. What do you guys think about this? I'll throw out April 11 starting at noon as an option.

During our conversation, Rick mentioned other bits and pieces that we may or may not want to incorporate in our project:
-The mess with the coupons (Anthony, maybe ask the people in your profile piece if they have tried to use one, if they had ever even heard of such a thing)

-A similar event in scope of this digital switch is the black/white to color broadcast transition, also mandated by the FCC (Jordan)

-With the fall of newspapers and perhaps with this switch, what does that imply for the future of information through technology? (Jordan, Sally and/or Anthony?)

We also brought up how Hawaii is coping. With the lack of coverage about it, let's assume they have done okay. Now let's hope for the best for the rest of us!

Thanks,
Sally

P.S.
Please reply with your thoughts on a April day-long session to build the web page.

I started doing some research for my "TVs of the past" piece, and I stumbled across the Colorado Radio Collectors.

These guys -- yes, most of them are guys -- collect old radios and refurbish them. There's a wealth of information on their site, including where to find parts and how to do repairs.

They have a members meeting every other month, and their annual antique radio show is coming up (hopefully in March). I know radios are somewhat ancillary to TV, but I think it would be fun to check them out. Is this the future of antique analog TVs?

I actually don't think so, because at least with these funky old washing machine-sized radios, once you fix them up, you can turn them on and tune in to the airwaves. With old TVs, however, you can spend all the time and effort you want repairing them, but you won't be able to catch a signal.

Unless, that is, you create your own? Hmmmm, there may well be a future use for obsolete TVs somehow, somewhere...

Image from Colorado Radio Collectors

-- Jordan

Grist's Ask Umbra took on the digital TV switch today. This is probably most relevant to Kathy's beat, but the article also has lots of other useful links, like How Stuff Work's (one of my favorite sites!) take on DTV.

(Side note: Though I normally swoon any time someone mentions "planned obsolescence," I feel that the DTV switch is outside that realm. Working planned obsolescence into this Ask Umbra column was a bit inappropriate. The DTV switch is unplanned obsolescence, which is why it's creating such a stir. We are groomed to adjust to the other kind!)

-- Jordan

This video alleges that converter boxes may have cameras and microphones in them to spy on people. Sounds like a wacky conspiracy theory but it probably would not hurt to look into it. Especially since these rumors could gain momentum. Maybe we can do a myth busters story.

Love you all,
-Anthony