Nanox,TRP files and Mpeg streamclip

Byrichard

Satellite television broadcasting is an interesting field to looik into, especially now that there are thousands of channels available on a multitude of satellites. Over the past two days I have been learning about the Nanox HDTV recording device.

What I like about using the Nanox receiver is the ability to see stream information, what format is being broadcast as well as resolution. What’s interesting is that some satellite channels are broadcasting at full HD quality whilst others are broadcasting at no more than 576*352 for example. You get the bit rate information too.

Now that I’ve lost most people here’s the part I like. You can attach any USB hard disk to the device and record programs off the television. This is particularly interesting if there’s a documentary you intended to watch but weren’t around to watch it. It can record two simultaneous streams at once.

TRP files are a compressed file format that are ideal for storage. They’re not recognised by quicktime but if you download mpeg streamclip then you can convert this file format to any file format you desire.

If you record a number of files with the satellite receiver with mpeg streamclip you can batch encode a number of files at once. This means that a spare computer can do the rendering without you having to be there.

If there is an EPG available for the channel you are watching you can schedule the receiver to record the program. In other situations you can start a recording and it will ask whether to stop recording at the end of the scheduled program. If there is no EPG the process is manual to start a recording but you can select how long you want to record for. It’s a shame that you need to go into the menu to set the record duration however.

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Progression of satellite broadcasting

Byrichard

Satellite broadcasting has progressed since I was last able to watch a lot of television. The spacing of channels and the programs have progressed. I’ve watched France 24, Al Jazeera English and a few more channels.

As time is progressing so the channels are re-indexing themselves within the sky digital world. They are no longer organised by the discovery channel. Instead, we find that some of the documentary programs are included within specific interests. In particular, I’m thinking of travel documentaries. They are now cataloged within the travel section of the life and culture channels. It’s good because the travelogue documentaries are organised together. It allows for those dreaming of travel to visit these pages.

I watched Al Jazeera English and one thing that’s marked me is how many short features they have on a number of subjects. They have the everywoman program, the witness, and others. It’s a different take than that by BBC World. It’s interesting.

I want to travel. I don’t want to be stuck in uni anymore. I want to go to various locations and do some of these travel documentaries, see different parts of the world.

Maybe I will get to Australia in May.

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The future of the media

Byrichard

Over the next two weeks, I am working in part of what will become part of the new media landscape. I receive footage via satellite and edit short summaries to become video clips on the official site of the organisation. At the moment it’s not visible to the normal public but it is an interesting activity.

As part of my dissertation, I have to understand where the documentary has come from and where it’s going. It’s an interesting way to spend time and I’m learning about new things all the time. We’ll see what the landscape will be like once I’m working full time in the media again.

Paleo was really good fun. An average day consists of five hours of work, followed by at least two or three concerts, a multitude of conversations before ending with three or four hours of sleep.

The conversations have ranged from the passion that certain friends have for Nutella to driving Segway around one particular stand. With one friend we went through to the moshpit of one concert and there was a good ambiance. With another friend everything was far calmer, more relaxed, taking time to unwind and relax.

I have learned about long hours in the sun drinking ice tea whilst at work and enjoyed it greatly. It’s good fun because there’s a breeze, people come and go, and as they do your greeting varies. The variation in greeting is part of what makes the work so enjoyable.

When people pass they do so without wanting to take time to chat sometimes but as they have a badge you can read their name. In doing so you can greet them more personally. I read so many name badges over a number of hours that it was quite a challenge to remember everyone’s name. In fact, I could probably remember none. Faces… that’s what I remember all the time, not names.

On that note, I’ll stop rambling.