Field of engineering dealing with radio and television broadcasting
Broadcast engineering
or
radio engineering
is the field of
electrical engineering
, and now to some extent
computer engineering
and
information technology
, which deals with
radio
and
television
broadcasting
.
Audio engineering
and
RF engineering
are also essential parts of broadcast engineering, being their own
subsets
of electrical engineering.
Broadcast engineering involves both the
studio
and
transmitter
aspects (the entire
airchain
), as well as
remote broadcasts
. Every
station
has a broadcast
engineer
, though one may now serve an entire station group in a city. In small
media markets
the engineer may work on a
contract
basis for one or more stations as needed.
[1]
Duties
[
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]
Modern duties of a broadcast engineer include maintaining
broadcast automation
systems for the studio and
automatic transmission systems
for the transmitter
plant
. There are also important duties regarding
radio towers
, which must be
maintained
with proper
lighting
and
painting
. Occasionally a station's engineer must deal with
complaints
of
RF interference
, particularly after a station has made changes to its transmission facilities.
[2]
[3]
Titles
[
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]
Broadcast engineers may have varying titles depending on their level of
expertise
and field specialty. Some widely used titles include:
Qualifications
[
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]
Broadcast engineers may need to possess some or all of the following
degrees
, depending on the broadcast technical environment. If one of the formal qualifications is not present, a related degree or equivalent professional experience is desirable.
Knowledge
[
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]
Broadcast engineers are generally required to know the following areas, from conventional video broadcast systems to modern Information Technology:
- Conventional broadcast
- Broadcast IT
- RF
- RF
satellite uplinking
? High-powered amplifiers (HPA)
- RF
communications satellite
downlinking
? Band detection,
carrier
detection and
IRD
tuning, 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
Above mentioned requirements vary from station to station.
Digital engineering
[
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The conversion to
digital
broadcasting means broadcast engineers must now be well-versed in
digital television
and
digital radio
, in addition to
analogue
principles. New equipment from the transmitter to the
radio antenna
to the receiver may be encountered by engineers new to the field. Furthermore, modern techniques place a greater demand on an engineer's expertise, such as
sharing
broadcast towers
or
radio antennas
among different stations (
diplexing
).
Digital audio
and
digital video
have revolutionized broadcast engineering in many respects.
[4]
Broadcast
studios
and
control rooms
are now already digital in large part, using
non-linear editing
and
digital signal processing
for what used to take a great deal of time or money, if it was even possible at all.
Mixing consoles
for both
audio
and
video
are continuing to become more digital in the 2000s, as is the
computer storage
used to keep digital media
libraries
.
Effects processing
and 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 include
IT
and
IP-networking
knowhow.
[5]
Other devices used in broadcast engineering are
telephone hybrids
,
broadcast delays
, and
dead air
alarms
. See the
Glossary of electrical and electronics engineering
for further explanations.
Organizations
[
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]
Brazil
[
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]
- SET ? Sociedade Brasileira de Engenharia de Televisao e Telecomunicacoes, Brazilian Society of Television and Telecommunications Engineering,
Rio de Janeiro
,
Brazil
.
Canada
[
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]
- 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
[
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]
- FKTG ? Fernseh- und Kinotechnische Gesellschaft e.V.,
Germany
[9]
India
[
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]
- Broadcast Engineering Society ? BES (India),
New Delhi
, India
[10]
Iran
[
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]
- Iran Broadcasting University
Iran
, Tehran (plus two campuses in
Qom
and
Dubai
)
[11]
Japan
[
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]
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers -
Japan
Council
Mexico
[
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]
- Asociacion Mexicana de Ingenieros y Tecnicos en Radiodifusion A.C. (AMITRA), Delegacion
Benito Juarez
,
Mexico
People's Republic of China (PRC)
[
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]
- China Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, China
[12]
- IEEE Broadcast Technology Society (BTS) ?
Beijing
Section, China
[13]
- IEEE Broadcast Technology Society (BTS) ?
Shanghai
Section, China
People's Republic of China ? Hong Kong
[
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]
- Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers-(Hong Kong) Section, 電影電視工程師協會香港分會
Hong Kong
[14]
- Society of Broadcast Engineers Hong Kong Chapter, 廣播工程師協會香港分會
Hong Kong
[15]
- Hong Kong Televisioners Association (HKTVA), 香港電視專業人員協會 Hong Kong
[16]
Philippines
[
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]
Republic of China ? Taiwan
[
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]
- IEEE Broadcast Technology Society (BTS) ?
Taipei
Section
South Africa
[
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]
- The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC),
[17]
Auckland Park
, Johannesburg, South Africa,
South Korea
[
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]
- Korean Broadcast Engineers & Technicians Association (KOBETA),
Seoul
, South Korea (ROK)
Turkey
[
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]
United States
[
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]
In the
United States
, many broadcast engineers belong to the
Society of Broadcast Engineers
(SBE).
[19]
Some may also belong to the
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
(SMPTE),
[20]
or to organizations of related fields, such as the
Audio Engineering Society
or
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE)
[21]
-
IEEE Broadcast Technology Society
(BTS).
For
public radio
, the
Association of Public Radio Engineers
was created in late May 2006.
[22]
Uruguay
[
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]
Notable publications
[
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]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]