December 2008 - Applied Electronics Limited

Jamie Easson is Promoted to
AEL’s Manager of Systems
Engineering
After 41 years in this position, Gord Ballantyne has
finally vacated his office and Jamie Easson has moved
in. Jamie has been with AEL for over 7 years and came
to AEL from Netstar Communications (the former
parent company of TSN and Discovery Channel, now
CTV) where he had extensive experience in mobile and
studio systems engineering.
Everyone is delighted to see Jamie promoted to
Rob Judd Takes on New
Responsibilities
this position. As the new Manager of Systems Engineering, he will continue
to develop AEL’s technical capabilities as a provider of integrated systems and
workflow solutions. He will also keep his eye on technology changes in our industry
so as to keep AEL at the forefront of technological developments.
Congratulations, Jamie!
As a side note, Jamie’s 10 year old daughter, Jessica, recently
donated a long lock of her hair to “Angel Hair”, a charitable
organization that collects hair and creates wigs for cancer
patients who have lost their hair as a result of chemotherapy and
radiation treatments. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, it
takes approximately 12 donations of unprocessed hair and costs
about $1,200 to craft a single hand-sewn wig for a child. Jessica
deserves a pat on the back for such a wonderful deed.
Al Light – 35 Years with AEL
Al Light is the second longest serving employee at AEL
with over 35 years of very loyal and competent service.
Al could probably write a book on the “technology runaway” in the broadcast industry and, in particular, camera technology where Al specialized for many years. He
is presently our Service Manager with the assistance of
3 service coordinators and 7 service technicians.
Al and his wife, Mary, have a large family and they live
in a beautifully wooded property north of Toronto. Al’s
only hobby is to avoid being the subject end of a camera.
Thank you for the continued dedication, Al!
Eugene McEleney
10 Years with AEL
Eugene was born in Cambuslang, Scotland and raised in
Toronto. He has a degree from Laurentian University in
History and Philosophy and certificates in TV Production
and Management from Ryerson University. He worked
for CKSO-TV in Sudbury and then joined Global in Toronto
where he mastered the TV production challenges and
wound up as Senior Technical Producer. Having served
24½ years with Global, he joined AEL in April 1998 as
a Technology Sales Representative. Eugene is very
knowledgeable about AEL’s broadcast product lines and integration into modern
state-of-the-art production facilities.
Eugene and his wife, Catherine, who is a renowned mezzo soprano and a professor
at York University, have 5 wonderful children between them. They enjoy music,
traveling and reading.
Keep up the good work, Eugene – we all enjoy working with you!
Shamee Samad
Accounts Payable Clerk
Shamee joined AEL’s accounting team at head office as
the Accounts Payable Clerk. She comes to us with training from Humber College and experience in transportation, car rental, mining, and banking industries. Shamee
is responsible for processing all invoices, cheque runs,
verifying price variances on P.O.’s, interfacing with customers, and reconciling accounts.
Shamee and husband, Zak, have 2 sons, Mekael and
Khalid, and a daughter, Ameera. Shamee comes from a large family and is a great
fit into the AEL family. Welcome, Shamee!
After recently transferring from AEL’s Vancouver office to
the Calgary office, Jane Baker has been promoted to Administrative Supervisor, Western Region. Jane will be
overseeing all Western regional administrative staff and
activities in the Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver branch
offices. Jane has proven herself to be a valuable and
dynamic member of the AEL team since joining us 2 years
ago and we look forward to her contributions in her new role.
Congratulations, Jane!
Grant Dickson
14 Years with AEL
Grant is our camera expert. He has actually worked for
AEL twice and his second stint has been 10 years with
an accumulated total of 14 years. Grant graduated from
Conestoga College in Electronics Engineering Technology.
He is responsible for Ikegami and Grass Valley camera
service and quality control. He also assists with Telex
intercom repairs.
Grant and his wife, Judith, live in Breslau, Ontario. Together they raise champion
Scottish Deerhounds and have 6 of them as family live-in pets. They are beautiful.
Thank you for coming back to us, Grant.
Julian Fraser
10 Years with AEL
Julian was born in London, England and raised in Canada.
He earned a B.A. in Communications at the University of
Windsor and immediately started working in the Media
Production industry as a camera operator. He still does
some freelance camera work for the Calgary Flames on
game days at the Saddle Dome in Calgary.
Julian joined AEL in November 1998 as an A/V sales rep
and then transferred into our broadcast division, and is
now AEL’s Western Regional Manager, responsible for the Vancouver, Edmonton and
Calgary branch offices.
Julian and his wife Jody reside in Calgary with their 2 daughters, Megan and Allyson.
His new hobby is learning to fly and he has just recently experienced the thrill of his
first solo flight. Enjoy flying, Julian, and watch out for those big rocks west of Calgary.
December 2008
I
A ss i s t a n t E d i t o r
Lily Yang
I
Des i g n e r
Lithocolor Services
w w w . a p p l i e d e l e c t r o n i c s . c o m
volume 14, issue 4
In early November, our A/V and Broadcast team of managers, sales and sales-support staff from the east coast to
the west coast gathered for a 5-day symposium which concentrated around team building, workflow development,
project successes, struggles, sales strategies and forecasting for the upcoming year.
Season’s Greetings
to All
As the 50th year of celebrations
at Applied Electronics draws to a
close, we reflect back, not only
to a successful business year, but
also to an exciting year of special
anniversary celebrations. These
celebrations were planned not only
to inform our customers and friends
that AEL has been in business for 50
successful years, but also to show
appreciation to our employees,
who, after all, have made AEL what
it is today.
We wish to send sincere best wishes
to all of our customers, friends
and employees for this upcoming
holiday season and the new year.
Paul, Susan and
John Stechly
The following AEL employees attended this important annual sales meeting: Al Light, Alan English, Bill
Archibald, Chris Randles, Dave McGinn,
Dodie McDonald, Donnie Gallant, Eugene
McEleney, Greg Priest, Jamie Easson, Jane
Baker, Jennifer Gould, Jim Goessinger,
John Leermakers, John Stechly, Julian
Fraser, Kevin Noble, Kevin Reiser, Kevin
Stewart, Kim Edmonds, Lily Yang, Marcel
Joanis, Michel Bédard, Michel Gauthier,
Mike Dalton, Neil Lajoie, Patrick Wells,
Paul Roeser, Paul Stechly, Rob Judd,
Robert Thériault, Stephen Monteith, Serge
Desrosiers, Susan Stechly, Trevor Joice,
Yvon Cardinal.
Montréal City Hall
Council Chamber
The City of Montréal contracted AEL’s A/V team to design,
supply and install a new conference system for 80 delegates
in its City Hall council chamber. A DIS (Danish Interpretation
Systems) was installed to improve the audio and enable
request-to-speak, electronic voting, language translation,
and improved routing capabilities. The audio system was
enhanced to include Shure wireless microphones, Crown
amplifiers and a DBX sound processor. Technicians can
operate the new conference system with a 32” CyberTouch
touch panel which displays the seating layout in the room
and controls the request-to-speak system. Sessions are
recorded, archived and distributed throughout City Hall and
are available to broadcasters and cable companies.
For more information on this project, please contact Neil
Lajoie in our Montréal office.
AJA FS-1 Universal Frame Synchronizers for Beijing Olympics
The AEL Special Projects team used over 60 AJA FS-1 universal SD/HD audio/video frame synchronizers for the
Beijing Olympics. Functionality included embedding/de-embedding of analog and/or AES audio, re-arranging
channels of embedded digital audio and changing delay or levels, if needed. These units handled up/down
conversion of composite, SD and HD video with multiple aspect ratios and simultaneous outputs in both HD and
SD. HD cross conversion was also possible. Access and monitoring was provided from anywhere in the facility
via web browsing and SNMP support. Units include redundant power supplies and future software updates may
be easily applied.
Jamie Easson, who was AEL’s Project Engineer in
Beijing, reports that the functionality and reliability of
these units was excellent throughout the Olympics.
Contact your nearest AEL office for more information.
There are several Olympic units in stock at a great price!
Murray has joined AEL’s Edmonton team as an A/V Installation Technician. With education from Grant McEwan College and the University of Alberta and experience in live
sound reinforcement, audio production, videography, and
web design, Murray is a welcomed edition to our technical
team in Alberta. Originally from Tofield, Alberta, Murray and wife, Dana, have 3 sons,
Farrel, Konnick and Griffin. Welcome to the team, Murray!
Thanks to all AEL staff who have made contributions to this edition.
christmas Issue
AEL’s Annual National Sales Conference 2008
Murray Taylor
A/V Installation Technician
in Edmonton
AEL Viewfinder Staff
Gord Ballantyne
VIEWFINDER
Jane Baker
Administrative Supervisor,
Western Region
Rob Judd has been promoted to the new position of
Regional Technical Coordinator for our Calgary office.
Rob will be responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the Calgary integration group. He will serve as
the main technical liaison on all technical issues with
head office. Rob’s 13 years of technical experience with
AEL makes him well qualified to assume this new role.
Congratulations, Rob!
Editor
Applied Electronics Limited
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CCBE 2008 – AEL Hospitality Suite
Le Réseau Des Sports (RDS) Montréal
The Central Canada Broadcast Engineers Association (CCBE) held another
successful convention at the Horseshoe Valley Resort, near Barrie, Ontario,
on September 17th – 20th. The combination of quality technical papers
and a golf tournament continued to attract members from the broadcast
industry.
This year’s event was highlighted with the renaming of the CCBE Ambassador
Award to the “BOB NORTON AMBASSADOR AWARD”. AEL’s Bob Norton, who
passed away earlier this year, was the first recipient of this award in 1988.
This year’s recipient was Eugene Johnson of Ward-Beck Systems.
A “Bob Norton” evening was hosted in AEL's Hospitality Suite on the
Saturday evening: good stories and fine Merlot toasted the memory of
Canadian Broadcasting’s first Ambassador.
Winners of AEL’s Hospitality Suite draw prizes were Dennis Firby of SUN TV
and Wayne Scrivens of Bell ExpressVu. Details of Industry awards can be
found at www.ccbe.ca.
Prince Edward Island Legislature
Television
AEL recently completed the installation of a television broadcast system
in the P.E.I. Provincial Legislature. The system operates similarly to
the other legislatures in Canada: when a member is recognized by the
Speaker of the House, the TV operator touches an icon of the member’s
desk on a touch panel. The computer immediately commands the
appropriate camera to tilt-pan-zoom and focus to a pre-stored shot of
the member and commands the video production switcher to take the
members shot to air. It also pulls up the members name and riding from
a character generator. The operator may then, at his/her discretion,
downstream key the members name over the video. The system is
prepared to also select microphones in the future, but at present the mics
are selected by an operator who sits in the chamber.
Le Réseau des Sports (RDS), a division of CTVglobemedia, is the world’s
only French language all-sports network. AEL designed, supplied and
installed a new Thomson Grass Valley K2 HD media server system for
transmission requirements in RDS’s HD production facility in Montréal.
RDS HD also uses Miranda’s Xmedia Suite server for asset management
and Miranda’s VertigoXG HD graphics system for branding, Miranda’s
Densité series XVP-1801 HD/SD modular interface as part of their down
conversion solution, and Miranda’s Kaleido-X (7RU/4RU) fully expandable,
multi-image display system with integral router. ORAD’s TrackVision
graphics enhancement tool, which superimposes virtual graphics over
the playing field (HD/SD football enhancement offside lines, speed of the
ball, 9-meter circle, distance to goal, team logos, score, etc.), along with
ORAD’s HDVG universal video graphics platform is used to cover football
games in their programming.
For more information on this project, please contact Yvon Cardinal in our
Montréal office.
This is a small three-camera system using Panasonic AW-E750P, 2/3 inch
cameras with Canon lenses mounted on Crestron robotic heads. The
control system uses the AV-2 Creston controller with custom software by
one of our own certified Crestron programmers. The video production
switcher is a Thomson Grass Valley Indigo and the multi-screen preview
monitor is a Sharp 46” LCD with an Avitech media command centre.
This control centre is one of the most ergonomically efficient that AEL
has built.
Irwin Campbell, Manager of Multimedia Services for P.E.I. Legislature,
reports that the system went to air with no glitches when the house
opened on November 12th, 2008.
Global Television using Virtual Studio Technology
You may already know that Global Television is using Virtual Studio Technology
as it revamps its local newscasts and prepares for the total transition to full high
definition.
This project was known internally here at AEL as “Project X” and is an excellent
example of system integration. AEL is a systems integrator both in “Audio Visual” (or
you may wish to call it Multimedia) and Broadcast.
The onrush of technology is creating a new set of demands on our capabilities as
systems integrators. The Global remote news production project was unique in that
it involved a concept and technology that had never been attempted anywhere else
in the industry. Development of such a system involved the assembly of a full scale
proof of concept in a lab setting at the Applied Mississauga office. A DS3 loop was
brought in and a return circuit to Vancouver was provided. Over a period of 8 months
different system alternatives were built and tested often with the assistance of the
high level product development personnel from each of the prospective vendors.
Throughout the process, strides were made in terms of quality, operational aspect
and the unique challenges of system timing. The final system configuration which
can be readily deployed in about two weeks per location provides exceptional gains
in efficiency and the overall look of the on air product.
Global has integrated the Orad ProSet, an HD/SD virtual set system that imports
models, along with geometry, textures and animations, from multiple design
platforms. The broadcaster then uses Orad’s signature HDVG (high-definition video
graphics) rendering platform to ensure that the set runs glitch-free and in real time.
“Orad allows us to deliver a consistent high-end news product in all of our markets,
both large and small,” said Gerry Belec, Global Television’s Director of Technology
and Design. “Using the Orad ProSet, we can present news to our viewers in a
familiar setting, from the anchor desk, using virtual plasma-screens, but with added
graphics value including 3-D elements in a larger-than-life way when appropriate.
The Orad tools are a bridge to exciting new techniques of conveying information to
an audience.”
“Nowhere in the world has a broadcaster taken this regional master control approach
to operation on such a large scale,” said Avi Sharir, President and CEO of Orad.
Owned by Canwest Global Communications Corp., Global TV’s broadcast supercenters
are located in Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton, and Calgary, with additional stations in
Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Montréal, and Halifax, with sister CH News
stations in Victoria, Kelowna, Red Deer, and Hamilton.
To give you an idea of how extensive this particular system integration project
was, following is a list of the major components. Please be informed that not all
stations were equipped with all of these components. The key network stations were
equipped with most of them.
•Thomson Grass Valley DNP system based on K2 media servers and Aurora
editors
•Thomson Grass Valley Aurora Ingest and Aurora Play connected to ENPS
newsroom system
•Ultimatte U-11 SD/HD chroma key units, 28 throughout the project (1 mated to
each Orad HDVG)
•Ikegami HDL-45A HD box cameras
•Canon KJH16x7.7B lenses
•Telemetrics Custom “H Track” frame system and Televator unit each with one
PT-LP53 head
•Autocue QMaster prompter software and QBox IP-based prompter
•Thomson Grass Valley Trinix routers, 16 or 32 squared Harris Panacea routers
•Miranda XVP-1801 down-converters
•Evertz modular and conversion
products (embedders, DA’s) including
GPS time reference equipment used
for overall system timing
•Telex Adam voice-over IP intercom
system
For more information on this project,
please contact Paul Stechly or Donnie
Gallant in our Toronto office.
CTV News Trucks by the Half Dozen
For more information on this project, please contact Gord Ballantyne in
our Toronto office.
AEL Helping to Reach for the Rainbow
Fifteen years ago, Paul Stechly graciously offered AEL’s expertise to help
a charitable organization called “Reach for the Rainbow”, which helps
children with disabilities and their families by providing integrated
recreational, respite and outreach opportunities through traditional
summer camps and year-round programs. Each year since then, AEL has
continued to assist Reach by providing equipment and technical staff for
their annual “Crystal Ball” black-tie fundraiser gala.
AEL supplies projectors, LCD monitors and media players to augment the
silent auction fundraising. We’d like to thank our friends at Panasonic,
Sanyo and Frischkorn Associates for the support. The procurement,
cabling and set-up usually require a few days plus a weekend to organize,
and each year Richard Drygas, Grant Stockley and Bill Archibald from
our A/V team provide the AEL man-power. Last year’s event raised more
than a million dollars for Reach for the Rainbow and this year the goal
is bigger.
AEL and Frontline Communications proudly delivered six new HD News vehicles to CTV over
the past several months. Two of the trucks are DSNG-ENG “combo” Sprinters – one each
for CKY-CTV Winnipeg and CP24 Toronto. The other four are ENG Chevy Suburbans, which
are now being seen on the prowl for breaking news in Toronto for CP24 – two are shown
here prior to the application of their CP24 branding.
The twin Sprinters each use Frontline’s Vertex/AVL antenna system with a 1.8m reflector.
The DSNG signal is powered by a 400w CPI TWTA, fed from Tandberg HD encoders. The
Sprinters include a number of innovative options devised by the CTV engineering team and
implemented by Frontline’s engineering and production teams. Frontline installed MRC
MTX5000 microwave systems on all the trucks: 2/7GHz COFDM. The omni and parabolic
microwave antennae are perched atop 48 ft. Will-Burt masts on the Sprinters and 42 ft.
masts on the Suburbans. Frontline installed its new HD mast camera systems on all the
trucks. CTV Engineering included the new Evertz HD2020 in its build-out of all six vehicles.
Among other things, these support remote access of the trucks by CTV Engineering. The
Suburbans get system power from MEPS 6kw on-engine generators engineered to support
transmission while rolling.
For more information on these and other custom vehicle configurations, please contact
Dave McGinn in our Toronto office.