The days of looking at bars and tone and calling it a quality check are long gone. The digital world makes it easier to playout and produce high quality. It can also be more difficult to identify errors. With this in mind, where in the playout and production chain should one perform quality-control checks?

Broadcast standards have stood the test of time and served us well. But are we now in a position where transport stream standards are running the risk of inhibiting innovation? Is there a better way?

If you are one of those people who think that all HDMI cables are the same, you are not only wrong, but you may be missing out on some major features of 4K television like HDR, high frame rate and the lack of a wide color gamut.

Accurate timing continues to be central to video, audio and metadata delivery. But as we progress to IP, do we need to be so obsessed with nanosecond tolerances?

There seems to be a blurring of the line between engineering fact and marketing hype emerging within our industry. We must push back to maintain high technical standards.

There was a time when any self-respecting broadcast engineer had their own collection of miniature adjusters taking pride of place in their shirt pocket. With dignity they would carry their own bespoke toolkit, the product of many years of learning, to deal with the intricacies of maintaining and repairing servo-controlled tape machines.

As data storage expands beyond all comprehension, it seems like we are focused on storing every media asset we can get our hands on, but data storage is only as important as data retrieval.

We often hear vendors and pundits speak of “low latency” and “improving latency”. But what if we were to think in terms of predictable latency? Is this possible and would it help broadcasters?

"Ownership of connected televisions and streaming media players is accelerating while the availability of streaming content is simultaneously expanding. These combined forces will continue to drive increased adoption of connected devices within U.S. households,” John Buffone, executive director, Connected Intelligence.

Consultant Gary Olson offers his thoughts on what NAB 2018 could, or should, offer attendees. It’s time for a look into his technology crystal ball.