Convergence in Broadcast and Communications Media


Book Description

Convergence in Broadcast and Communications Media offers concise and accurate information for engineers and technicians tackling products and systems combining audio, video, data processing and communications. Without adequate fundamental knowledge of the core technologies, products could be flawed or even fail. John Watkinson has provided a definitive professional guide, designed as a standard point of reference for engineers, whether you are from an audio, video, computer or communications background. Without assuming any background and starting from first principles, the four core technologies of image reproduction, sound reproduction, data processing and communications are described. Covering everything from digital fundamentals to conversion methods, sound and image technologies, compression techniques, digital coding principles, storage devices and the latest communications systems, the book shows how these technologies operate together and the necessary conversions that take place between them. Acronyms and buzzwords are introduced only after their purpose has been described in plain English - as the book serves to give a reliable grasp of the fundamentals. The criteria involved in determining image and sound quality are based on a thorough treatment of the human senses, a unique description of how motion portrayal works in managing systems. John Watkinson is an international consultant in audio video and data recording. He is a Fellow of the AES, a member of the British Computer Society and a chartered information systems practitioner. He presents lectures, seminars, conference papers and training courses worldwide and writes for many industry magazines. His other books for Focal Press are widely acknowledged as standard reference works and industry `bibles'. John is author of MPEG2, The Art of Digital Video and the Art of Digital Audio, An Introduction to Digital Video, An Introduction to Digital Audio, The Art of Sound Reproduction, Television Fundamentals, Co-author of The Digital Interface Handbook and Contributor to The Loudspeaker and Headphone Handbook.




Convergence of Broadband, Broadcast, and Cellular Network Technologies


Book Description

In the ever-evolving telecommunication industry, technological improvements alone are not able to keep up with the significant growth of mobile broadband traffic. As such, new research on communications networks is necessary to keep up with rising demand. Convergence of Broadband, Broadcast, and Cellular Network Technologies addresses the problems of broadband, broadcast, and cellular coexistence, including the increasing number of advanced mobile users and their bandwidth demands. This book will serve as a link between academia and industry, serving students, researchers, and industry professionals.




De-convergence of Global Media Industries


Book Description

Convergence has become a buzzword, referring on the one hand to the integration between computers, television, and mobile devices or between print, broadcast, and online media and on the other hand, the ownership of multiple content or distribution channels in media and communications. Yet while convergence among communications companies has been the major trend in the neoliberal era, the splintering of companies, de-convergence, is now gaining momentum in the communications market. As the first comprehensive attempt to analyze the wave of de-convergence of the global media system in the context of globalization, this book makes sense of those transitions by looking at global trends and how global media firms have changed and developed their business paradigm from convergence to de-convergence. Jin traces the complex relationship between media industries, culture, and globalization by exploring it in a transitional yet contextually grounded framework, employing a political economic analysis integrating empirical data analysis.




Media Convergence and Deconvergence


Book Description

This edited volume explores different meanings of media convergence and deconvergence, and reconsiders them in critical and innovative ways. Its parts provide together a broad picture of opposing trends and tensions in media convergence, by underlining the relevance of this powerful idea and emphasizing the misconceptions that it has generated. Sergio Sparviero, Corinna Peil, Gabriele Balbi and the other authors look into practices and realities of users in convergent media environments, ambiguities in the production and distribution of content, changes to the organization of media industries, the re-configuration of media markets, and the influence of policy and regulations. Primarily addressed to scholars and students in different fields of media and communication studies, Media Convergence and Deconvergence deconstructs taken-for-granted concepts and provides alternative and fresh analyses on one of the most popular topics in contemporary media culture. Chapter 1 is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com




Multimedia and Interactive Digital TV: Managing the Opportunities Created by Digital Convergence


Book Description

"Addressing the issues that managers in the multimedia industry have confronted while developing and implementing this innovative technology, this book focuses on the latest research and findings in digital television technologies. Covered are the major issues surrounding digital convergence including the digital metamarket and new digital media devices and their potential for IT convergence at the macro level. Also addressed are multimedia and interactive digital television and the economic implications of these technologies. Additionally, the managerial implications of interactive digital television are covered, including branding strategies for digital television channels and the critical role of content media management."




Legitimating Television


Book Description

Legitimating Television: Media Convergence and Cultural Status explores how and why television is gaining a new level of cultural respectability in the 21st century. Once looked down upon as a "plug-in drug" offering little redeeming social or artistic value, television is now said to be in a creative renaissance, with critics hailing the rise of Quality series such as Mad Men and 30 Rock. Likewise, DVDs and DVRs, web video, HDTV, and mobile devices have shifted the longstanding conception of television as a household appliance toward a new understanding of TV as a sophisticated, high-tech gadget. Newman and Levine argue that television’s growing prestige emerges alongside the convergence of media at technological, industrial, and experiential levels. Television is permitted to rise in respectability once it is connected to more highly valued media and audiences. Legitimation works by denigrating "ordinary" television associated with the past, distancing the television of the present from the feminized and mass audiences assumed to be inherent to the "old" TV. It is no coincidence that the most validated programming and technologies of the convergence era are associated with a more privileged viewership. The legitimation of television articulates the medium with the masculine over the feminine, the elite over the mass, reinforcing cultural hierarchies that have long perpetuated inequalities of gender and class. Legitimating Television urges readers to move beyond the question of taste—whether TV is "good" or "bad"—and to focus instead on the cultural, political, and economic issues at stake in television’s transformation in the digital age.




Strategies and Policies in Digital Convergence


Book Description

"This book addresses and positions the issues in business strategy and public policy rising from digital convergence, especially in the areas of mobile communications, broadband networks, and digital multimedia broadcast services. It presents new business opportunities generated by digital convergence, and raises governance issues in digital convergence"--Provided by publisher.




Digital and Social Media Regulation


Book Description

Digital and social media companies such as Apple, Google, and Facebook grip the globe with market, civic, and political strength akin to large, sovereign states. Yet, these corporations are private entities. How should states and communities protect the individual rights of their citizens – or their national and local interests – while keeping pace with globalized digital companies? This scholarly compendium examines regulatory solutions which encourage content diversity and protect fundamental rights. The volume compares European and US regulatory approaches, including closer focus on topics such as privacy, copyright, and freedom of expression. Further, we propose pedagogical models for educating students on possible regulatory regimes of the future. Our final chapter invites readers to consider social and digital media regulation for both this generation and the ones to come. Chapter(s) “Introduction: New Paradigms of Media Regulation in a Transatlantic Perspective”, “From News Diversity to News Quality: New Media Regulation Theoretical Issues” and “The Stakes and Threats of the Convergence Between Media and Telecommunication Industries” are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.




Media and Convergence Management


Book Description

Convergence has gained an enormous amount of attention in media studies within the last several years. It is used to describe the merging of formerly distinct functions, markets and fields of application, which has changed the way companies operate and consumers perceive and process media content. These transformations have not only led business practices to change and required companies to adapt to new conditions, they also continue to have a lasting impact on research in this area. This book’s main purpose is to shed some light on crucial phenomena of media and convergence management, while also addressing more specific issues brought about by innovations related to media, technologies, industries, business models, consumer behavior and content management. This book gathers insights from renowned academic researchers and pursues a highly interdisciplinary approach. It will serve as a valuable reference guide for students, practitioners and researchers interested in media convergence processes.




Broadcast Engineer's Reference Book


Book Description

The current and definitive reference broadcast engineers need! Compiled by leading international experts, this authoritative reference work covers every aspect of broadcast technology from camera to transmitter - encompassing subjects from analogue techniques to the latest digital compression and interactive technologies in a single source. Written with a minimum of maths, the book provides detailed coverage and quick access to key technologies, standards and practices. This global work will become your number one resource whether you are from an audio, video, communications or computing background. Composed for the industry professional, practicing engineer, technician or sales person looking for a guide that covers the broad landscape of television technology in one handy source, the Broadcast Engineer's Reference Book offers comprehensive and accurate technical information. Get this wealth of information at your fingertips! · Utilize extensive illustrations-more than 1200 tables, charts and photographs. · Find easy access to essential technical and standards data. · Discover information on every aspect of television technology. · Learn the concepts and terms every broadcaster needs to know. Learn from the experts on the following technologies: Quantities and Units; Error Correction; Network Technologies; Telco Technologies; Displays; Colourimetry; Audio Systems; Television Standards; Colour encoding; Time code; VBI data carriage; Broadcast Interconnect formats; File storage formats; HDTV; MPEG 2; DVB; Data Broadcast; ATSC Interactive TV; encryption systems; Optical systems; Studio Cameras and camcorders; VTRs and Tape Storage; Standards Convertors; TV Studios and Studio Equipment; Studio Lighting and Control; post production systems; Telecines; HDTV production systems; Media Asset Management systems; Electronic News Production Systems; OB vehicles and Mobile Control Rooms;ENG and EFP; Power and Battery Systems; R.F. propagation; Service Area Planning; Masts Towers and Antennas; Test and measurement; Systems management; and many more! Related Focal Press titles: Watkinson: Convergence In Broadcast and Communications Media (2001, £59.99 (GBP)/ $75.95 (USD), ISBN: 0240515099) Watkinson: MPEG Handbook (2001, £35 (GBP)/$54.99 (USD) ISBN: 0240516567)