Archive for the ‘Management’ Category
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
So where do we stand today in our attempt to launch Canada’s first national public access television channel?
Slowly but surely, it’s moving forward!
A partnership is in the works, finding the first cable company to carry the channel is ongoing, development of the Automated Broadcast System is continuing, new Canadian programming is being found and put on the air…
But the best news is that the latest Linux distribution upgrade to our broadcast servers appears to have resolved the frequent synchronization issues we were having with the live Internet broadcast. Under the old system, the Internet streams would frequently go out of sync by as much as a second. But since the latest updates were applied, we’ve yet to find a single show go out of sync.
The only issue we’ve encountered is with the MPEG4/H.264 encoded test stream, which crashed while attempting to stream a movie that had caused us problems in the past (it worked perfectly on all the other test streams). So we’ve decided to drop the MPEG4/H.264 format altogether. The test stream would have never gone into production anyway since it’s encumbered with too many software patents whose excessively high licensing fees could have reached the tens of thousands of dollars per year.
And with Google announcing the development of a new competing open source streaming audio/video format called WebM or VP8, very soon there won’t be any reason to consider patent encumbered audio/video formats at all.
Because of all of these improvements, this corporation will soon begin offering consultation services for organizations wishing to implement their own Internet and cable based television channel infrastructure at a fraction of the cost of traditional television channels.
Yes, it’s a new era for broadcast television, one that is no longer encumbered by legacy equipment or software licensing fees, allowing all of us to concentrate on what’s most important: the content.
Posted in Advertising, Distribution, Management, News, Programming, Show Ideas, Technology | No Comments »
Friday, November 13th, 2009
This day is dedicated to my late father, Jean Caron.
Broadcast streams are now available to all qualified cable providers. Please email us with your company information in order to gain access to all of the available streams.
The current broadcast system is still very much in beta mode, so don’t be surprised if occasional “crashes” are encountered for a while. The system will undergo constant improvements during the following weeks, incorporating many of the features normally found on major broadcast channels along with a few interesting surprises.
In order to properly view and process the current broadcast stream, you’ll need to download and install the VLC Media Player, and you’ll require a minimum of 4 Mbps of reliable Internet bandwidth. Integrating the stream into your distribution system however will require further research, which is why we’re asking for plenty of information on the equipment set-ups currently installed at many of the nation’s cable providers.
We would especially appreciate receiving electronic versions of your equipment’s instruction manuals if you can legally provide them. You may already possess the appropriate gear to properly interpret and process the broadcast stream in its native form, making the integration of this channel’s daily broadcast into your distribution system an almost seamless operation.
The initial streaming tests performed during the past few weeks have clearly demonstrated that this new approach to television distribution is surprisingly reliable and flexible. Even live broadcasts are a definite possibility, a feature that wasn’t initially required in the original specifications.
Is this the future of broadcast television distribution? That’s left to be determined. One thing’s for certain however. The enormous cost savings incurred by using the Internet as a distribution network instead of more traditional technologies makes it worthwhile to invest further time and money in this venture.
A great big thanks goes to all the people who have encouraged me — and who continue to encourage me — to pursue this new and exciting business venture.
Stay tuned!
Posted in Distribution, Management, News, Technology | 1 Comment »
Monday, October 12th, 2009
Because of problems and delays in obtaining the computer equipment required for the automated broadcast system, the initial launch date has been rescheduled for November 13, 2009.
November 13 is a Friday.
No, I’m not superstitious.
Posted in Management, News, Technology | No Comments »
Sunday, September 20th, 2009
From September 20 to September 22, the CCSA will hold its conference and annual general meeting at the White Oak Resort in Niagara-by-the-Lake, Ontario, where representatives from the nation’ independent cable providers will meet and discuss the latest issues regarding their industry.
It is also the time of the year where many representatives outside the cable industry will meet to promote their products and services to the various cable companies in attendance.
That includes television channels such as this one.
For the next few days, we’ll be posting updates on this channel’s progress in obtaining as many distributors as possible for its upcoming national broadcast launch. But instead of being posted on our blog, we’ll be posting them on Twitter for which the latest entries will be listed at the top of the middle column.
For those attending the conference, here are the links to the documents that were mentioned, all available in the Adobe PDF format.
Have a great conference.
Posted in Distribution, Management | No Comments »
Friday, August 21st, 2009
We’re almost there.
The official launch date is now tentatively set for October 13, 2009.
So what has happened recently?
We’ve managed to gather a set of software components that will allow us to launch a minimum service, including the possibility of a regularly scheduled television show. We’ve also found at least two separate computer equipment suppliers who can satisfy the channel’s initial hardware requirements. Even the choice of a datacenter and Internet service provider are very close to be finalized.
It’s not certain at this time if this launch will include the live television broadcast component, but it will definitely include the live Internet streaming component which will be satisfactory as a proof of concept.
Stay tuned!
Posted in Management, News, Programming | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
A television broadcast doesn’t just happen out of nowhere. There’s usually a huge team of people working behind the scenes all busy at putting the channel’s programming on the air. However, this channel doesn’t have the resources or personnel required to operate a typical television channel. So let’s try something radically different instead.
Let’s develop the world’s first multi-platform automated television broadcasting system specifically designed to broadcast on traditional cable and digital satellite as well as the Internet and mobile devices, all at the same time, and with as little human intervention as technically possible.
This new system will not be a Frankenstein type system where the Internet and mobile device support will be added after the traditional broadcast version has already been implemented. Instead, this new automated broadcast system will include everything already created for the traditional broadcast chain, and expand the entire concept into new media platforms such as Video-on-Demand, the Internet, mobile platforms, and any other device suitable for video playback of both live and pre-recorded content.
Some of the system’s features will include automated multi-platform media generation, IP based distribution for both broadcast distribution undertakings and the general public, discrete embedded advertising, live and deferred Web streaming as well as BitTorrent mass distribution, programming and advertising scheduling and accounting, and multi-level redundancy.
This new system will feature so many specialized components, it’s possible the entire project may be too much for any single company to handle on their own, and still manage to deliver a quality product to market. So instead, the project will require the participation of many individual companies, each fully qualified to complete the system components best suited for their field of expertise.
A preliminary technical brief (available to any corporate representative upon request) lists the main components of the system along with their basic features and requirements. A private Web site will soon be created where the project’s participants can exchange ideas, concepts and design changes as well as upload prototypes and final versions of their individual contributions.
And yes, this will become a long term revenue generating venture. But only if you participate! So if your company has worked in the field of television and Internet broadcasting in the past, and is not afraid to take a chance on a project that may have huge potential for growth, please contact me.
Posted in Management, Society, Technology | No Comments »
Sunday, February 8th, 2009
Because of delays in finding adequate office space in downtown Montreal, the launch dates need to be pushed a few months ahead. These changes will allow more flexibility in achieving the channel’s goals. In fact, the original target dates were a bit too ambitious. But sometimes you need to push yourself harder than you should just to help keep things moving along.
Test Internet streaming: May, 2009.
Test broadcast: July, 2009.
Full Internet streaming and broadcast: October, 2009.
These are more realistic goals not only for the channel, but also for the content providers who now have the entire summer to produce their material for the upcoming fall season.
And remember. I’m trying things here that have never been tried before as well as learning how to run a business at the same time. So there’s bound to be a few glitches along the way. Even YouTube wasn’t built in a day. But look at what they’ve achieved in the four years since their preview launch of February, 2005. Truly remarkable.
Posted in Management | 1 Comment »
