studiomprd

Generally, I also agree with both POV's!! in specific regard to JW's forum, I personally appreciate knowing the identities of the folks I'm conversing with, as mostly we are talking technical topics and sharing personal experiences and opinions... While it is sufficient to know that someone is experienced, and vouched for, I give more weight (agreeing or disagreeing) when I know the source and can evaluate its credibility. so, I guess we'll have it both ways here on jwsound...

some recent (April 2) news: Microsoft submitted some more, presumably improved, devices for FCC testing to see how they can detect frequency activity, and avoid causing interference: they failed again! http://broadcastengineering.com/hdtv/microsoft_wsd_prototype_0401/ while some folks are getting giddy, these devices will eventually work, and hopefully they will work soon, and work well...

well, what happened??

for those involved: " The Chapter 7 Trustee in charge of Axium’s affairs sent all W-2 forms out by February 14. If you have not received a W-2 for work payrolled through Axium in 2007, or believe your W-2 is incorrect, we urge you to contact bankruptcy trustee Howard Ehrenberg at hehrenberg@sulmeyerlaw.com <mailto::hehrenberg@sulmeyerlaw.com> as soon as possible. " and SAG was " informed that the IRS and state taxing authorities will not pursue employees for taxes that were withheld by Axium but never paid to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or state taxing authorities. "

there were multi-track recorders "back then", they just weren't too portable! Jim Webb ("Nashville") was one of the pioneers, and Robert Altman's opening shot for "The Player" was one of the major examples (also well planned, well rehearsed!) the idea of starting the movie with the extravagent, major production, continuous, tracking/crane -and now Steadicam-, long (time, not lens!) opening shot is frequently credited to Orson Wells' "Touch of Evil". these shots took, and still take: planning, rehearsal, and budget for what is needed.

have you seen all the articles about how proud the TSA was to find an engagement ring in a guys bag (it must have looked really dangerous on the scanner!)... even though TSA experts keep failing to find the test objects they are looking for and should be finding! Then again, maybe an engagement ring is a scary item!

First of all: preproduction planning! and rehearsals are also involved!

Frank said the mixer told him: " he said he was promised more shows from the producers team " so he gave away the equipment; but when they had more work...

As I said! some LA area examples: in Feb 2009 KABC-DTV will leave TV ch 53 (in Bl 27) and reappear on TV ch 7, its former Analog TV assignment. KCAL-DTV will leave TV Ch 43 (Bl 25) and move to TV ch 9, its former analog TV channel. Alas, KCBS-DTV will be moving from the soon to be sold spectrum to TV ch 43, instead of all the way down to its former analog channel 2 !! KMEX will be vacating TV channel 35 (block 23), and will transmit digitally on TV ch 34 KPXN will cease transmitting analog on TV channel 30 (Bl 22) and remain on Ch 38.with a digital transmission. (sorry Bl 22 fans, looks like KTLA DTV will not move to its old analog TV ch 5, but will remain on TV ch 31, right next to KDOC-DTV)... there are more such changes. you can figure out approximately what will happen in your areas and blocks by going to www.antennaweb.org. also, you might figure that signals receivable only with directional antennae using pre-amps will have minimal impact on most wireless mic usage... and this just in: " The FCC may conduct DTV tests in certain markets before the DTV switchover, according to a letter from FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps, who requested the trials. "I believe that you have presented some interesting ideas that I am in favor of pursuing, including switching a small number of test markets to all-digital service before Feb. 17, 2009," Martin wrote. "

" an ungodly amount of money paid by Sony to Warners for them to go with Blue-ray. Is this what is called a "free" market? " sure: Toshiba was free to make a lager payment!

Sunday evening, sometime after 5PM PDT, and before 8PM

the AMPTP studio zone is 30 miles (radius), and used for IATSE contracts. There are other unions involved in the work of production sound mixers here including IBEW and NABET-CWA, and they have differing ways of figuring when mileage payments kick in.

While we will miss Andy's active presence, we will continue to enjoy his legacy! Andy and Janet are terrific folks and we wish the Cooper family a super retirement... Andy used to QC every Nagra that entered the (Western) USA, and then kept them working perfectly, when he was "Mr. Nagra Tech", working along with our other great friend and source of the finest quality production sound products, Manfred Klemme; together Andy and Manfred were Nagra, USA! and that is where they both learned about us, our work, and our needs. When Andy set out to design a mixer for us, he did exactly that: he designed a mixer for us. Now if someone would license his products, with a commitment to the absolute top quality of the products and the uncompromising support that Cooper Sound Systems is known for. "Sonus Clarus" !!

it is really "FCsP" semi-Pro!!

"Medical insurance is one of the great benefits provided for us by the union, and I greatly appreciate it. " Health benefits are actually provided (paid for!) by the employers, as negotiated by the unions, and they are, indeed, a major benefit of covered (in this case "Union") employment!

back to the original posting... we are in a transitional period, and depending on who wins the auctions, the exact specifics of a number of issues are still "undecided" what is "illegal" may be a moot point; the wireless manufacturers have been selling FCC approved equipment for many years, though it may frequently be used "illegally". there are many users of wireless system that are not in full compliance with the laws, strictly interpreted. As productions, we are allowed to use unused TV channels with our "approved" low power devices. We are secondary users (and supposed to be licensed, too) of these frequencies and the conditions are that primary users have preemptive permission on the frequencies they are licensed on, and higher power (!), too. We may not create any interference to them, and we must accept (deal with it!) any interference they cause to us. Depending on who and what (where, too!) get the frequencies. we may get to continue to use many of them with similar restrictions, or not! By Feb, '009, all full power TV stations will shut down their analog signals, and give up one of the 2 channels they currently use. Note that many will move their Digital signals to their previous Analog channel, often freeing a UHF channel by reverting to their VHF channel assignment! this means that it is definitely going to get better, before it gets worse!!

I really like the idea of remote control for wireless TX's, but often the remote control is a little pricey to add to only a couple systems... there ought to be a remote control that does just the important functions, like level and battery saving (aka talent privacy) for a more modest price....

I like the idea of listing troublesome productions, however this must be done with caution, as there may be legal entanglements. before the current Internet era, back in the days of DOS, I had a friend who ran a grip equipment company in HNL have a bad experience with getting paid. he faxed his local competitors about it, in the hope of getting the "producer" blacklisted until he got paid. This particular guy was a litigious SOB who was always suing folks with deeper pockets (representing himself) and he won a libel judgment against my friend, who also had to pay an attorney to represent him in his losing case!

...and Doc Kane !! and those are just the credited production mixers. many other talented folks worked hard to earn the recognition by the Academy! and what an enviable, consistent record of professional achievement: http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/23/oscarnominations.oconnor.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/frequencyfinder/ http://www.lectrosonics.com/service/tvlookup/tvstationlookup.htm http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/TechLibrary/WirelessFrequencyFinder/index.htm

The writers have dropped their demand for jurisdiction over Reality and Animation, so talks should be resuming soon... and now this from the NAB: " NBC, owing to the writers strike and concerns over the state of the U.S. economy, will eliminate or cut back on the number of big-budget series pilots that air next season, NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker said Tuesday. The decision could save the network as much as $50 million a year, according to Zucker, who added, "It's clear we are in a recession in the United States, and we're going to have to manage our business accordingly"

well, the news is always better if it is shot in HD, right?

it is a dual receiver unit that fits into camcorder slots; it is not a "stereophonic" receiver.

only the Fisher Booms are designed to extend and retract noiselessly!

I've said this before: for a few systems, any block will work (I'm not going to touch on what may or may not be legal to use in this rant) and you will find a few frequencies that you can work on. if you are thinking like a major concert, or road show with dozens of systems, you would certainly need to be spread over several blocks, but folks, all these "which block will work in xyzcity" inquiries are really rather redundant. if you have been reading them, for years now, you will come to the conclusion that what I just said has proved to be true! there are domestic and international charts easily accessible that can show what frequencies are used by licensed TV stations where ever you plan to go, but that is really only a small part of the big "interference" picture. and clear frequencies in one place may be unusable on the other side of the same town. As to the legality of the frequencies, that information is usually available on-line, but asking a local's advice is certainly a good idea. BTW, the place I had hassles was Israel, where I was spotted by the military which DF'd my signal; they "suggested" I be more careful about getting proper clearances.. there is another thing to consider: when you do the "scan", there will be lots of freq's with only a very low level of interference shown, and those frequencies are usually quite usable with excellent results, as the nearby signal of the wireless TX will completely block that little weak interfering signal; the technical term is "capture". so let me reverse the question: has anyone ever gone somewhere with frequency agile wireless systems over a block of at least 16mHz, and not been able to make any systems work. OK, wiseguys, no rediculously extreme examples, like "I was standing under the 1 Megawatt Omega antenna with 66 other wireless ENG crews all on block 21" (BTW: I've been there, and my old VHF's, which were state of the art at the time worked fine). Look at all the wireless stuff that gets used at, for example the Super Bowl. and in fact, a further question: who has actually gone out and replaced all there wireless systems (same capabilities I mentioned above!) because they were told they wouldn't be usable due to interference, -not just due to legality of the frequencies!