Well, it was inevitable. The scientific journal Nature reports that scientists at the University of Arizona have announced that they have created the first 3-D holographic moving images. Anyone remember the “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you are our only hope” line in Star Wars? Well, that is apparently firmly in the realm of possibility now. The technology was achieved by first, filming an object with an array of cameras (making this venture already too expensive for the average video enthusiast), then transmitting the resulting video data into a machine that can read it and control a series of lasers to produce an image. These lasers work by an interference pattern when one laser collides with another producing a glow. It obviously takes a high degree of precision and as such, moves much like Princess Leia did in her hologram: with a lot of jerky movement. Additionally, the image is currently being broadcast on a 10 inch monochromatic screen and refreshes at a rate of one image every two seconds, much too slow for any conventional use.

All of that aside, the possibilities of this kind of technology, once improved are vast. Since it is possible to go around the image and view an object at different angles, there is no doubt that this technology would be far more realistic than what we see on screen today. Additionally, with the real-time broadcast of 3-D images, it could be possible to broadcast interiors of homes, surgeries, and planets in space to experts around the world. Not to mention the possibilities this technology would have in the live television and teleconferencing world. Imagine being able to shoot a speaker and have it broadcast as a full 3-D hologram to people all around the world. The only problem: the technology won’t be available for 10 years – meaning you’ll have plenty of time to brush up on your holographic filming skills. Of course, you may want to brush up on a few good video capturing tips here first!

Are you curious to see what goes on behind the scenes during a live Major League Baseball event? I know I am! Fortunately enough, Tom Guilmette is a camera operator at Fenway Park and captures all the action of the Boston Red Sox as a full-time gig. Tom posted up a video with an inside look on what it’s like to be a professional camera operator for the broadcast sports industry and the rig he uses. The power of the cameras and quick reflexes it takes to shoot sports is unbelievable. The camera head alone that Tom is using has a retail price of $94,700.00 and that does not include the viewfinder or the lens plus Tom says the lens cost as almost as much – so next time you’re watching the game imagine how much all that equipment costs and the effort it takes to bring the game to you!

Avid teams with ABC to give journalism students the opportunity to practice production, editing and distribution aspects of broadcast journalism in their ABC News to Campus program. Read on for more details.

Student teams from leading journalism schools across United States get hands-on experience; create and report news in real-world newsroom environment

Avid® has joined forces with ABC News to participate in ABC News On Campus – an innovative program designed to give tomorrow’s most promising news professionals an opportunity to practice real-world news gathering, production and broadcasting.  ABC News On Campus students capture, produce, edit and distribute news stories in their local area, which are often featured across ABC News programs. This year, students from six universities, including Arizona State University, Syracuse University, University of Florida, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of North Carolina (at Chapel Hill), and University of Texas (at Austin) will learn the inner workings of a newsroom, while using industry-leading solutions like Media Composer® video editing software to create news stories.  The program is in its second year.
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Ok. We give up officially. The deadline for TV stations to abandon their analog broadcast channels was Feb 17th, then it wasn’t, then it was again, now it’s kinda June 12th if your local station wants to.

The latest bill that passed sent the drop-dead date out until June 12th, 2009. However most, if not all, analog broadcast stations were geared up to pull the switch on Feb 17th. Lawmakers are concerned that television viewers aren’t ready to make the switch yet,  and that there was a large unfilled backlog of digital converter coupons still left to be sent out.

The problem for TV stations is that it’s pretty expensive to run those analog transmitters, and they already have the new digital transmitters ready to go. So they’ve allowed stations to make the change any time they want between Feb 17th, and June 12th. Which means the transfer will happen in a piece-meal fashion over the next 4 months, with some analog and some digital channels overlapping.

I’m wondering if the Congress tried really hard, they could make this transition even more confusing?

In the meantime, we’ve given up following this story, and instead I’ll just let you know when my TV is working, and you can follow the FCC website daily.