Month: February 2006

  • News Headlines from the Feb. 24 Radioshow: Net Neutrality Setback in the House; Senate Comm Committee Considers Cable

    These are the news headlines as read on the Feb. 24 edition of the mediageek radioshow. Net Neutrality Setback in the House Energy & Commerce Committee The battle over the future of the internet is heating up on Capitol Hill. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is currently drafting telecommunications legislation that will address many…

  • DJ Johnny Silver Scheduled for Friday’s Radioshow

    After a few weeks of hard policy analysis on the radioshow, it’s time to get back to pirate radio. I’m scheduled tomorrow night to talk to DJ Johnny Silver from Nyack’s Iron Action Radio for broadcast on Friday. It looks like Johnny plans to broadcast the interview live on Iron Action, which also has a…

  • Don’t Forget the Shortwave Pirates

    Ragnar Daneskjol, producer of the Pirates’ Week podcast, has gone live with his Shortwave Pirate website. Like the more widely known FM pirates, shortwave pirates are unlicensed broadcasters who use the shortwave bands to reach a good portion of the continent, and sometimes the globe. Because the shortwave bands have variable propagation patterns, shortwave pirates…

  • Even more HD… Sony announced palm-sized HDV cam

    Yes, I do think this will be the year that hi-def video recording becomes mainstream for advanced amateurs and independent videomakers. Sony just announced a small palm-sized HDV camcorder with a retail price around $1700, the HDR-HC3E. It’s a single CMOS chip cam, like the HDR-HC1 I blogged about on Monday, only the new one…

  • Speaking of HD…

    Sony introduced a new HDV (High-Def on miniDV) camcorder this model year at a relatively low price of $1600. It only has one chip, but it’s a CMOS instead of a CCD, which means that it’s less susceptible to inter-pixel distortion. DV Guru has a short review of the HDR-HC1 and finds that the camera…

  • Come All Ye Independent Media Makers – AMC 2006 Is Set for June 23-25

    I haven’t yet set my plans for June, though I haven’t missed an Allied Media Conference since I started attending some four years ago. As I’ve said before, this is one of the most useful media conferences I’ve been to, and it always has a very cool, friendly and enthusiastic vibe. This year’s theme is…

  • Pocket-Sized Flash-Memory Hi-Def Camcorder — NY Times Says It Works… Kind of

    Last month I posted about Sanyo’s newly announced high-definition camcorder that records to flash-memory cards, instead of tape. I admit that the concept is very enticing, but that most attempts at a flash-memory consumer cam have been lackluster. The Time’s David Pogue got his hands on one for one of the first reviews, and he…

  • Godcasters Making a Mint by Trafficking in Free Low-Power Radio Licenses

    Last year I was tracking the apparent trafficking in low-power FM translator stations by several Christian broadcasting groups. Translators are stations whose only legal purpose is to rebroadcast the programming of a full-power parent station. John at DIYmedia has an update on the traffickers and their spoils from laundering licenses that come free-of-charge from the…

  • The Future of the Internet Is on the Table

    I dedicated all of yesterday’s radioshow (already available for download) to the issue of network neutrality. I’m quite convinced that this is the most important communications issue to watch in 2006, since whatever Congress does will have long-lasting repercussions on the very basis of our telecommunications infrastructure. Yesterday’s show featured some excerpts of testimony from…

  • Another Sinclair Newsroom Goes Bye-Bye

    In what is becoming a common refrain for Sinclair, the company is shutting down its local news operation at WSTR-TV in Cincinnati. It’s Sinclair’s second newsroom in the city, but nevertheless employs 19 staffers who will all be looking for work.