KOMO-TV Seattle Hosts Two-Day Compression for Digital TV Course with Grass Valley Group Experts

KOMO-TV Engineering Invites You To Attend:

COMPRESSION FOR DIGITAL TV

A two-day course taught by Peter Symes and Wayne McLachlan

November 10th and 11th, 1999; 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Best Western Executive Inn, 200 Taylor St. N., Seattle, WA

(2 blocks east of Space Needle, between 5th and 6th Av.--Parking available beneath hotel: enter lot from alley on east side of building, press # key to get gate opened)

Normally offered in Los Angeles, CA, KOMO-TV is proud to host this excellent course here in Seattle. ìCompression for Digital TVî provides video engineers with a thorough overview of the technologies used in digital television, with an emphasis on video compression for both storage and transmission. The course examines the fundamental tools of compression and shows how these are combined to provide today's compression standards. The course is not intended for designers of compression systems, but for video engineers who will find compression as an element of almost every video system in the future. Other aspects of digital television, including audio compression, transport streams, multiplexing, MPEG switching, digital transmission, etc., are briefly discussed.

The material covered assumes a basic understanding of electrical or electronic engineering and a working knowledge of video, yet is designed to be accessible to the non-expert. The mathematics of compression techniques are discussed briefly, but the focus of the course is on providing a qualitative understanding of the processes involved rather than detailed analysis.

Course Materials:
The text, Video Compression, by P.D. Symes (McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing, 1998), and lecture notes, including background materials on CD-ROM, are distributed on the first day of the course.

Coordinator and Lecturer
Peter D. Symes is Manager for Advanced Technology at Grass Valley Group, Grass Valley, California. Mr. Symes began his 30-year career in the television industry as a planning and installation engineer in the British Broadcasting Corporation. Subsequent positions have involved him in the design and application of many types of television studio equipment. He is a co-holder of patents and joint recipient of Emmy awards for the architecture of a digital picture processor. Mr. Symes has spent much of the last 15 years participating in industry committees focused on future television systems. He has chaired several SMPTE standards committees and has presented seminars on compression and related topics to a wide range of audiences. He is author of the course text, and has authored and delivered numerous papers at SMPTE and other television-related conferences. Mr. Symes is a Senior Member of IEEE, and a Fellow of SMPTE.

Lecturer
Wayne McLachlan, Test Engineering Manager, Grass Valley Group, California. Mr. McLachlan has been with Grass Valley for the past 23 years in a number of different capacities. Since 1980, he has taught Introduction to Broadcast Video-Principles and Measurement, a popular course from which he has compiled a 12-volume videotape series. He has also taught a two-semester course in advanced communications technology with emphasis on video broadcasting at Yuba College. He is coauthor of the text, Applied Electronic Instrumentation and Measurement, and he has authored several application booklets on video testing methods including Comprehensive Video Test Methods, a guide used by Grass Valley for 18 years. He is an active member of SMPTE and the past-chairman for the Sacramento Chapter.

The cost of the course, which includes tuition, lunch for both days, and all course materials, is $1000. Space is limited, and your seat will be confirmed by first calling Sathya Sieu at 206-443-4199, and then by sending your full tuition, payable to KOMO-TV, to KOMO Engineering, Attn: Compression Course, 100 Fourth Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109. Your check must arrive no later than Thursday, November 4, 1999.