More PBS Progams On Line

Remember when you first watched video from the Internet on your home computer? Perhaps it was an attachment to an email or one of the videos posted on YouTube.com. In any case, the pictures and sound were not very good. The size of the image was limited and the movement jerky. Nevertheless, it was cool to see images of your grandkids or your neighbor’s vacation.

Unlike text, the transmission of video on the Internet requires significant bandwidth and fast computer processing speed. Both of these were once the exception but now are common place. So now the grainy, low resolution postage stamp size video images have been replaced with audio and video resolution comparable to what you see on your TV. This has sparked an explosion in video services available to most any computer user. Most are free.

Today there are movie services, high definition YouTube videos, and access to countless TV programs, new and old. Full disclosure here…while I don’t often “plug” services provided by my employer, CET, this week I am going to do just that because it is a really great service.

About four years ago CET conducted a series of focus groups seeking to find out what people wanted from on line services provided by public TV stations. One of the responses often heard centered around the desire to watch popular PBS programs on line and on demand. Nova, Frontline, American Experience, and the News Hour were all mentioned.

At that time, the technology and copyright issues precluded CET from offering most of these programs. The good news is that in a few short years, all that has changed. You can indeed watch these and many other signature PBS and CET programs on line at your convenience and the video and audio are quite good.

Finding these programs is a breeze. Just point your browser to http://www.cetconnect.org/.
On the first page you will see a box on the right side of the screen with a link to the current library of programs available. Clicking on that box is all you need to do.

You can choose from several programs and watch them in their entirety or fast forward to specific segments. You can choose to watch in a small window within your browser or choose a full screen experience. If you have a new flat screen TV with a computer input, connecting your computer to the TV will provide an even better experience.

The catalog of programs changes almost daily, so if you don’t see a program you like today, check it out tomorrow. For a complete listing of all the programs available you can click on the “Programs” icon.

CET is not the only station providing these services. So if you haven’t tried watching video on your computer for a while you may be surprised to see what you have been missing.

More PBS Progams On Line

Remember when you first watched video from the Internet on your home computer? Perhaps it was an attachment to an email or one of the videos posted on YouTube.com. In any case, the pictures and sound were not very good. The size of the image was limited and the movement jerky. Nevertheless, it was cool to see images of your grandkids or your neighbor’s vacation.

Unlike text, the transmission of video on the Internet requires significant bandwidth and fast computer processing speed. Both of these were once the exception but now are common place. So now the grainy, low resolution postage stamp size video images have been replaced with audio and video resolution comparable to what you see on your TV. This has sparked an explosion in video services available to most any computer user. Most are free.

Today there are movie services, high definition YouTube videos, and access to countless TV programs, new and old. Full disclosure here…while I don’t often “plug” services provided by my employer, CET, this week I am going to do just that because it is a really great service.

About four years ago CET conducted a series of focus groups seeking to find out what people wanted from on line services provided by public TV stations. One of the responses often heard centered around the desire to watch popular PBS programs on line and on demand. Nova, Frontline, American Experience, and the News Hour were all mentioned.

At that time, the technology and copyright issues precluded CET from offering most of these programs. The good news is that in a few short years, all that has changed. You can indeed watch these and many other signature PBS and CET programs on line at your convenience and the video and audio are quite good.

Finding these programs is a breeze. Just point your browser to http://www.cetconnect.org/.
On the first page you will see a box on the right side of the screen with a link to the current library of programs available. Clicking on that box is all you need to do.

You can choose from several programs and watch them in their entirety or fast forward to specific segments. You can choose to watch in a small window within your browser or choose a full screen experience. If you have a new flat screen TV with a computer input, connecting your computer to the TV will provide an even better experience.

The catalog of programs changes almost daily, so if you don’t see a program you like today, check it out tomorrow. For a complete listing of all the programs available you can click on the “Programs” icon.

CET is not the only station providing these services. So if you haven’t tried watching video on your computer for a while you may be surprised to see what you have been missing.

Everyone is all a "Twitter!"

Spring is in the air, flowers and trees are blooming, the days are growing longer, but the “tweeting” may not be coming only from the birds.

Since it first was introduced in 2006, “Twitter,” a free social networking and micro-blogging service, has gained fans and noteriety worldwide. The list of those who post on Twitter seems to grow exponetially each month. Many of our elected officials regulary Tweet or should I say their staffs Tweet for them. You can follow the daily routine of our President and the First Lady on Twitter. Each of them tweets about what is happening in the White House. Well again, I imagine both have minions doing the writing and posting and they may not tell us everything that goes on in the Oval Office.

If you look closely at the first paragraph of this column, you will note that it has exactly 140 characters (letters and spaces included). This is the maximum length of a single Tweet or message that you can post on Twitter. If you are going to be successful using Twitter you need to write concisely.

The messages you write as a Sender are displayed on your Twitter Home Page and are delivered to other users who have subscribed to read them. These readers are called Followers. As a Sender you can share your comments with anyone who has a Twitter account or you can restrict your messages to only your friends, colleagues or family.

The messages can be distributed and read in a variety of ways. You can use a regular computer and an Internet connection, a portable device like a “Blackberry” or any mobile phone with text message capability. While Twitter is free, some of the message retieval may not be. Be sure to check with your mobile phone carrier before you have Twitter configured to send the Tweets to your phone. If you follow only a few of the more prolific users, you can get hundreds of messages in a single day. At 10 cents per message you may be tweeting a different song at the end of the month.

You can get a Twitter account by going to www.twitter.com and signing up. It is free and once you sign up you can search from millions of subscribers and choose which ones you want to follow. It is not only individuals using Twitter. Companies, organizations, TV and radio stations all use Twitter to stay in touch with employees, members, viewers and listeners.

Twitter is not for everyone. Some find the steady stream of information, from the ridiculous to the sublime, like drinking from a fire hydrant. Too much stuff. Others find Twitter a great way to stay in touch with friends and family separated by geography or hectic schedules. It is worth a look.

Everyone is all a "Twitter!"

Spring is in the air, flowers and trees are blooming, the days are growing longer, but the “tweeting” may not be coming only from the birds.

Since it first was introduced in 2006, “Twitter,” a free social networking and micro-blogging service, has gained fans and noteriety worldwide. The list of those who post on Twitter seems to grow exponetially each month. Many of our elected officials regulary Tweet or should I say their staffs Tweet for them. You can follow the daily routine of our President and the First Lady on Twitter. Each of them tweets about what is happening in the White House. Well again, I imagine both have minions doing the writing and posting and they may not tell us everything that goes on in the Oval Office.

If you look closely at the first paragraph of this column, you will note that it has exactly 140 characters (letters and spaces included). This is the maximum length of a single Tweet or message that you can post on Twitter. If you are going to be successful using Twitter you need to write concisely.

The messages you write as a Sender are displayed on your Twitter Home Page and are delivered to other users who have subscribed to read them. These readers are called Followers. As a Sender you can share your comments with anyone who has a Twitter account or you can restrict your messages to only your friends, colleagues or family.

The messages can be distributed and read in a variety of ways. You can use a regular computer and an Internet connection, a portable device like a “Blackberry” or any mobile phone with text message capability. While Twitter is free, some of the message retieval may not be. Be sure to check with your mobile phone carrier before you have Twitter configured to send the Tweets to your phone. If you follow only a few of the more prolific users, you can get hundreds of messages in a single day. At 10 cents per message you may be tweeting a different song at the end of the month.

You can get a Twitter account by going to www.twitter.com and signing up. It is free and once you sign up you can search from millions of subscribers and choose which ones you want to follow. It is not only individuals using Twitter. Companies, organizations, TV and radio stations all use Twitter to stay in touch with employees, members, viewers and listeners.

Twitter is not for everyone. Some find the steady stream of information, from the ridiculous to the sublime, like drinking from a fire hydrant. Too much stuff. Others find Twitter a great way to stay in touch with friends and family separated by geography or hectic schedules. It is worth a look.

Why Does CET Not Have Backup Power?

With the spate of recent power outages you may have wondered why CET does not have back up power. The main reason is lack of funds. Unlike a radio and analog VHF TV stations, a UHF TV station like CET Channel 48, requires a tremendous amount of electrical power. When we last looked at it, a generator capable of powering our UHF analog transmitter and all the attendant air conditioning and cooling equipment at the Chickasaw Street location would cost in excess of $250,000. Since our transmitter is in Clifton and our studios are in the West End, we would need a generator at the studio as well. Again unlike radio, the equipment at the studio required to stay on the air also consumes significant electrical power … much more than we can afford.
The good news is that once we sign off the analog transmitter in February 2009 and switch to the digital transmitter, backup power may be possible. It seems that the digital transmitter requires only a fraction of the power than is needed for the analog system.
For those missing CET tonight I know this does not really help.
jack

Why Does CET Not Have Backup Power?

With the spate of recent power outages you may have wondered why CET does not have back up power. The main reason is lack of funds. Unlike a radio and analog VHF TV stations, a UHF TV station like CET Channel 48, requires a tremendous amount of electrical power. When we last looked at it, a generator capable of powering our UHF analog transmitter and all the attendant air conditioning and cooling equipment at the Chickasaw Street location would cost in excess of $250,000. Since our transmitter is in Clifton and our studios are in the West End, we would need a generator at the studio as well. Again unlike radio, the equipment at the studio required to stay on the air also consumes significant electrical power … much more than we can afford.
The good news is that once we sign off the analog transmitter in February 2009 and switch to the digital transmitter, backup power may be possible. It seems that the digital transmitter requires only a fraction of the power than is needed for the analog system.
For those missing CET tonight I know this does not really help.
jack

Watch DTV Programs On Line

Wednesday evening at 8 PM I was involved in the broadcast our first live DTV call in show on CET. We got more than 160 questions and they are still coming in this morning. The program was ½ hour but could have gone for an hour or more and still not addressed all the concerns and questions.

To watch the program on CETconnect.org just point your browser to http://www.cetconnect.org/cetconnect_video.asp?ID=2997 It is about 30 minutes in length.

We plan to take the most “asked” questions and produce 30 sec. spots that will run on CET TV. Keep your questions coming. Send them to techinfo@cetconnect.org or just place a comment here on the blog.

We are considering of two or three more before Feb 2009. CET wants to make sure that the only “snow” you see on February 18, 2009 is on the ground, not on your TV.

Watch DTV Programs On Line

Wednesday evening at 8 PM I was involved in the broadcast our first live DTV call in show on CET. We got more than 160 questions and they are still coming in this morning. The program was ½ hour but could have gone for an hour or more and still not addressed all the concerns and questions.

To watch the program on CETconnect.org just point your browser to http://www.cetconnect.org/cetconnect_video.asp?ID=2997 It is about 30 minutes in length.

We plan to take the most “asked” questions and produce 30 sec. spots that will run on CET TV. Keep your questions coming. Send them to techinfo@cetconnect.org or just place a comment here on the blog.

We are considering of two or three more before Feb 2009. CET wants to make sure that the only “snow” you see on February 18, 2009 is on the ground, not on your TV.

CAll IN YOUR DTV QUESTIONS

If you live in the Cincinnati, Ohio area you can tune in tomorrow, Wednesday evening for a special program on CET TV called “DTV, Ask US.” It is your chance to ask questions and get some good unbiased information about the digital transition.

So if you are wondering about getting a new set or what type of DTV converter works best, tune in.

We will have a phone bank of experts and I will be joined live in the studio by Neal Schmidt. Neal heads up CET’s Engineering Department. He and his colleagues have a wealth of good information.

I promise that we will give good advice and information you can use and we will do it in simple non-technical language.

That is Wednesday, June 18 from 8:00 - 8:30 PM on CET. If you miss it, you can watch it on demand at www.cetconnect.com beginning Thursday morning. Tell a neighbor.

Phones will be open beginning at 6:00 PM for your calls to 800-808-0445. Note this number is only good from 6 to 9 PM. You can use 513-345-6512 any other time for your technical questions.

CAll IN YOUR DTV QUESTIONS

If you live in the Cincinnati, Ohio area you can tune in tomorrow, Wednesday evening for a special program on CET TV called “DTV, Ask US.” It is your chance to ask questions and get some good unbiased information about the digital transition.

So if you are wondering about getting a new set or what type of DTV converter works best, tune in.

We will have a phone bank of experts and I will be joined live in the studio by Neal Schmidt. Neal heads up CET’s Engineering Department. He and his colleagues have a wealth of good information.

I promise that we will give good advice and information you can use and we will do it in simple non-technical language.

That is Wednesday, June 18 from 8:00 - 8:30 PM on CET. If you miss it, you can watch it on demand at www.cetconnect.com beginning Thursday morning. Tell a neighbor.

Phones will be open beginning at 6:00 PM for your calls to 800-808-0445. Note this number is only good from 6 to 9 PM. You can use 513-345-6512 any other time for your technical questions.