Broadcast engineering
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
| Names | Broadcast engineer
Broadcastdesign engineer |
Occupation type | profession |
| Description | |
| Competencies | Technical knowledge, Management skills, Professionalism |
Education required | seeprofessional requirements |
Fields of employment | Radio,television,military |
Related jobs | Technologist,RF engineer,engineering technician,Technical operator |
Broadcast engineeringorradio engineeringis the field ofelectrical engineering,and now to some extentcomputer engineeringandinformation technology,which deals withradioandtelevisionbroadcasting.Audio engineeringandRF engineeringare also essential parts of broadcast engineering, being their ownsubsetsof electrical engineering.
Broadcast engineering involves both thestudioandtransmitteraspects (the entireairchain), as well asremote broadcasts.Everystationhas a broadcastengineer,though one may now serve an entire station group in a city. In smallmedia marketsthe engineer may work on acontractbasis for one or more stations as needed.[1]
Duties
[edit]Modern duties of a broadcast engineer include maintainingbroadcast automationsystems for the studio andautomatic transmission systemsfor the transmitterplant.There are also important duties regardingradio towers,which must bemaintainedwith properlightingandpainting.Occasionally a station's engineer must deal withcomplaintsofRF interference,particularly after a station has made changes to its transmission facilities.[2][3]
Titles
[edit]Broadcast engineers may have varying titles depending on their level ofexpertiseand field specialty. Some widely used titles include:
- Broadcastdesign engineer
- Broadcast Integration Engineer
- Broadcastsystems engineer
- BroadcastITengineer
- BroadcastITsystems engineer
- Broadcastnetwork engineer
- Broadcastmaintenance engineer
- Videobroadcast engineer
- TV studiobroadcast engineer
- Outside broadcastengineer
- Remote broadcastengineer
Qualifications
[edit]Broadcast engineers may need to possess some or all of the followingdegrees,depending on the broadcast technical environment. If one of the formal qualifications is not present, a related degree or equivalent professional experience is desirable.
- Degree inelectrical engineering
- Degree inelectronic engineering
- Degree intelecommunications engineering
- Degree incomputer engineering
- Degree inmanagement information system
- Degree in broadcast technology
Knowledge
[edit]Broadcast engineers are generally required to know the following areas, from conventional video broadcast systems to modern Information Technology:
- Conventional broadcast
- Audio/Videoinstrumentationmeasurement
- Basebandvideo– standard /high-definition
- Broadcast studioacoustics
- Television studios- broadcastvideo camerasandcamera lenses
- Production switcher(Video mixer)
- Audio mixer
- Recording engineer
- Broadcast IT
- Video compression-DV25,MPEG,DVBorATSC(orISDB)
- Digital serverplayouttechnologies. -VDCP,Louth,Harris,control protocols
- Broadcast automation
- Disk storage–RAID/NAS/SANtechnologies.
- Archives –Tape archivesorgrid storagetechnologies.
- Computer networking
- Operating systems–Microsoft Windows/macOS/Linux/RTOS
- Post production–video captureandnon-linear editing systems(NLEs).
- RF
- RFsatellite uplinking– High-powered amplifiers (HPA)
- RFcommunications satellitedownlinking– Band detection,carrierdetection andIRDtuning, etc.
- RF transmitter maintenance - IOT UHF transmitters, solid-state VHF transmitters, solid-state MF transmitters (AM radio), tube type VHF, and MF transmitters. Antennas, transmission lines, high power filters, digital modulators, towers, tower lighting systems, and backup generators.
- Health and safety
- Occupational safety and health
- Fire suppressionsystems likeFM 200.
- Basicstructural engineering
- RFhazard mitigation
Above mentioned requirements vary from station to station.
Digital engineering
[edit]The conversion todigitalbroadcasting means broadcast engineers must now be well-versed indigital televisionanddigital radio,in addition toanalogueprinciples. New equipment from the transmitter to theradio antennato the receiver may be encountered by engineers new to the field. Furthermore, modern techniques place a greater demand on an engineer's expertise, such assharingbroadcast towersorradio antennasamong different stations (diplexing).
Digital audioanddigital videohave revolutionized broadcast engineering in many respects.[4]Broadcaststudiosandcontrol roomsare now already digital in large part, usingnon-linear editinganddigital signal processingfor what used to take a great deal of time or money, if it was even possible at all.Mixing consolesfor bothaudioandvideoare continuing to become more digital in the 2000s, as is thecomputer storageused to keep digital medialibraries.Effects processingand TV graphics can now be realized much more easily and professionally as well.
With the broadcast industry's shift to IP-based production and content delivery technology not only the production technology and workflows are changing, but also the requirements for broadcast engineers, which now includeITandIP-networkingknowhow.[5]
Other devices used in broadcast engineering aretelephone hybrids,broadcast delays,anddead airalarms.See theGlossary of electrical and electronics engineeringfor further explanations.
Organizations
[edit]Brazil
[edit]- SET – Sociedade Brasileira de Engenharia de Televisão e Telecomunicações, Brazilian Society of Television and Telecommunications Engineering,Rio de Janeiro,Brazil.
Canada
[edit]- Central Canada Broadcast Engineers (CCBE),Paris,Ontario,Canada[6]
- Western Association of Broadcast Engineers (WABE),Calgary, Alberta,Canada[7]
- IEEE Broadcast Technology Society (BTS) – Ottawa Section, Canada[8]
Germany
[edit]India
[edit]Iran
[edit]Japan
[edit]- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers -JapanCouncil
Mexico
[edit]- Asociación Mexicana de Ingenieros y Técnicos en Radiodifusión A.C. (AMITRA), DelegaciónBenito Juárez,México
People's Republic of China (PRC)
[edit]- China Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, China[12]
- IEEE Broadcast Technology Society (BTS) –BeijingSection, China[13]
- IEEE Broadcast Technology Society (BTS) –ShanghaiSection, China
People's Republic of China – Hong Kong
[edit]- Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers-(Hong Kong) Section, điện ảnh điện thị công trình sư hiệp hội hương cảng phân hộiHong Kong[14]
- Society of Broadcast Engineers Hong Kong Chapter, quảng bá công trình sư hiệp hội hương cảng phân hộiHong Kong[15]
- Hong Kong Televisioners Association (HKTVA), hương cảng điện thị chuyên nghiệp nhân viên hiệp hội Hong Kong[16]
Philippines
[edit]- Society of Broadcast Engineers and Technicians of the Philippines, Inc. (SBETP),Quezon City,Philippines
Republic of China – Taiwan
[edit]- IEEE Broadcast Technology Society (BTS) –TaipeiSection
South Africa
[edit]- The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC),[17]Auckland Park,Johannesburg, South Africa,
South Korea
[edit]- Korean Broadcast Engineers & Technicians Association (KOBETA),Seoul,South Korea (ROK)
Turkey
[edit]- Chamber of Electrical Engineers(EMO)[18](Joint chamber of electrical, electronics and biomedical engineers)
United States
[edit]In theUnited States,many broadcast engineers belong to theSociety of Broadcast Engineers(SBE).[19]Some may also belong to theSociety of Motion Picture and Television Engineers(SMPTE),[20]or to organizations of related fields, such as theAudio Engineering SocietyorInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE)[21]-IEEE Broadcast Technology Society(BTS).
Forpublic radio,theAssociation of Public Radio Engineerswas created in late May 2006.[22]
Uruguay
[edit]- ANDEBU– Asociación Nacional de Broadcasters Uruguayos,Montevideo,Uruguay
 |
Notable publications
[edit]- Broadcast Beat
- Radio(formerlyBE Radio)
- Radio World
- TV Technology
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^"about.com - Broadcast Technician or Sound Engineering Technician: Career Information".Careerplanning.about.com. 2010-11-08. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-01-26.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^"U.S. Department of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics - Broadcast and Sound Engineering Technicians and Radio Operators".Bls.gov. 2012-03-29.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^"Transmission Engineer - TV".skillset. 2012-07-25. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-05-08.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^Interactive TV Web.Broadcast Engineering BasicsArchivedMay 5, 2007, at theWayback Machine
- ^Tony, Orme (15 July 2016)."Understanding IP Networks".thebroadcastbridge.com.Retrieved5 May2017.
- ^"Central Canada Broadcast Engineers (CCBE)".Ccbe.ca.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^"WABE - The Western Association of Broadcast Engineers".Wabe.ca.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^"IEEE Broadcast Technology Society".Ieee.org.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^"FKTG – Fernseh- und Kinotechnische Gesellschaft e.V. (Germany)".Fktg.de. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-07-29.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^"BES - Broadcast Engineering Society (India)".Besindia.com.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^"IRIBU - Iran Broadcasting University (Iran)".IRIBU.ir. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-05-23.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^China Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, China(CSMPTE)
- ^IEEE Broadcast Technology Society (BTS) - Beijing Section )ArchivedOctober 29, 2008, at theWayback Machine
- ^"Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers-(Hong Kong) Section (SMPTE-HKG)".Smpte.org.hk. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-02-19.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^"Society of Broadcast Engineers Hong Kong Chapter(SBE HK Chapter)".Sbe.org.hk. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-08-15.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^"Hong Kong Televisioners Association (HKTVA), Hong Kong".HKTVA.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^"SABC – Official Website – South African Broadcasting Corporation".
- ^"Hoş Geldiniz".EMO.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^"Society of Broadcast Engineers".Sbe.org.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^"Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers".Smpte.org. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-03-24.Retrieved2013-08-03.
- ^"Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers".Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE).Archived fromthe originalon 2008-12-07.Retrieved2008-12-07.
- ^Association of Public Radio Engineershome page