HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-AOC-2023-05-02 1
MINUTES (as approved June 6, 2023)
Access Oversight Committee (AOC)
Tuesday, May 2, 2023 at 5 PM
The AOC held its meeting by ZOOM Conferencing.
Present: chair Rich DePaolo, secretary Wayles Browne, Common Council liaison
Jorge DeFendini, vice chair Wies van Leuken, member Paul Smith; Access
Coordinator Alex Wiers, Lauren Kelly (Director of Government Affairs - Finger Lakes
Region, Charter Communications); members of the public John Weiss, Jim
Garaventa, Tom Stern.
01. Call to Order by DePaolo 5:02.
02. Agenda Additions and/or Deletions: none.
03. Public Comments. Weiss: had a TV show previously (2004-2010). Now plans a
new series Heroyam Slava ['Glory to the Heroes'], with songs, stories, salutes for
Ukraine. Needs ideas. What would Ukrainians themselves like to see?
04. Comments by AOC members. DePaolo: each producer sets up their own show.
Van Leuken: has discussed the show with Weiss. Weiss: recalls that Smith helped
with shows featuring the conflicts in Darfur. Stern had comments, but
sound/computer problems prevented him from being heard; we hope to hear him
next month.
05. Approval of Minutes of the April 4, 2023 Meeting. Moved by DePaolo, seconded
by van Leuken. Approved without change 4-0, with one abstention.
06. Access Studio Coordinator Report - attached below.
a. Charter's recommendations for 2024 Equipment Budget. Wiers screenshares
his Coordinator Report that includes among others an Annual Report for 2024 with
"Estimated 2024 Expenses" for the PEGASYS building of $130,743, equipment
budget recommendations for both a new playback system and upgrades for current
equipment (attached). The Leightronix company is no longer supporting the
playback system that we have now. The report presents 2 possibilities for playback
replacement: #1-A Tightrope at $18,625.34 (less if we do without support from the
company) or #1-B Telvue at $30,074.22 (less without support). Tightrope: archiving
is part of the playback software itself. Telvue: has an archiving module that can hold
more than 8 terabytes of storage. It archives shows in SD (standard definition), so 1
hour of program = 500 megabytes to 3 gigabytes. DePaolo asks about HD (high
definition) programming. Reply: this has bigger files; 10, 15, or 20 GB/hour.
DePaolo asks about the $12K difference between the two quotes. Wiers: Telvue has
more storage and more capabilities. Some items are the same between the two
quotes, that were forwarded by the vendor. DePaolo: Is there used playback
equipment on the market? Wiers: doesn't know. The two companies are fairly new,
growing, probably will continue to exist.
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DePaolo: the quotes include installation by the vendor. Would it be cheaper if
Charter did the installation? Wiers: uncertain. Charter might not have experience
with it.
Smith: worked at PEG when it was all analog. Is it true that every channel is not
switched from 1 source to another? Why would PEG not use the same switching
system in the head end? Wiers: uncertain. Understands there was such a switcher
in the head end but thinks we still need to replace the PEG studio device.
Smith wonders if there is "reinventing the wheel" here – maybe technicians know.
This new switcher has a clock for switching between the Bulletin Board, material
from the live studio, and playback of pre-recorded material, right? Wiers: yes. Smith:
will the new system also be able to play back videotape and DVDs? Wiers: no, DVD
or videotapes have to be reformatted to MPEG-2 manually. Smith: Will this system
interface with the iNet that allows programming from locations in Ithaca? Wiers:
thinks not. DePaolo: the iNet is required in the franchise; I haven't yet learned if it is
still functional. Would like an answer. Is this equipment part of the chain for the iNet?
Smith: The studio and editing equipment can make video with 16x9 aspect ratio
[width vs. height of picture; 16x9 is typical for high definition]. Can the proposed new
equipment deal with a 4x3 screen with added black bars or shrinking of the frame?
Wiers: yes, editing stations can create 16x9 and HD, but Channel 13 is solely SD.
The system would be ready for HD but the channel is not (it's 4x3).
Smith: some DVDs bought nowadays give wide-screen pictures. Can the system
take a wide-screen picture and display it in a 16x9 screen? (Smith is concerned that
the new system might reduce images twice; put bars on left and right and also on
top and bottom. HDMI standard deals with this automatically.) Smith has experience
putting 16x9 pictures on YouTube, but it took much trial and error.
Wiers: the PEG Policies and Procedures Manual has standard procedures for
submitting shows.
DePaolo: Are we buying something that will rectify this anomaly?
Garaventa: shares experience from California public access. Tightrope offers SD or
HD and you can set how you send it back out. I'd assume Telvue can do this too.
Van Leuken: What formats can these systems accept? mp4? mpeg? avi? Wiers:
thinks all 3.
Wiers: RE Recommendation #2, upgrades for Remote Equipment [for making videos
outside the studio]. The field light uses both battery and AC power. One device is
both a lavalier mike and a recorder.
Wiers: Recommendation #3 for editing. ("Mini" should be "Edit studio".) DePaolo:
there is no doubt that we need this equipment, but I still feel that some cost should
be shared by Charter. Van Leuken: we don't have enough money for everything on
this list. We have $29K earmarked for 2024. DePaolo: needs an answer: does the
iNet signal not go through the studio any more? Charter is responsible for playback.
How is iNet routed—through the studio or not: Kelly: will try to get answers.
DePaolo sees 3 "legs": production, playback, iNet. Van Leuken suggests further
discussion at next meeting.
b. Mini-Studio Equipment installation - report. Wiers: the Mini studio is waiting
for vendor to finalize purchases and deliver them.
c. Discussion: see above.
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07. Member Reports
a. 2024 Budget - progress report. The Town of Ithaca has approved AOC's
Budget Recommendations at its April 24 meeting. The Village of Cayuga Heights
has it on its May agenda. The City has the item on the Administration Committee
agenda May 24, from which it will go to Common Council.
b. Charter's representation at AOC meetings. Van Leuken: the Franchise
Agreement (15.3-3) states that the Cable Company appoints an ex-officio member.
That position has been vacant since the previous studio coordinator retired.
DePaolo: I think we are doing OK with several representatives from Charter at our
meetings. Must it be specified who should attend? I don't want to discourage Charter
staff from attending meetings. Let's skip this for now.
c. AOC Vacancy - report. Member Paul Smith still needs to get sworn in by the
City Clerk's office.
d. AOC Member's reappointment - report. Van Leuken asks if the City received
the message from the Village re her reappointment. And Browne has not been
sworn in yet for his new term. DeFendini: will ask the City about van Leuken and
Browne tomorrow.
e. Common Council meetings on the Government Channel. DeFendini is
waiting for a meeting with the persons involved; will ask the City Clerk tomorrow.
f. PEGASYS Policies and Procedures Manual review - follow-up. Wiers and
van Leuken will meet May 4.
g. PEGASYS’ Operations. Van Leuken: am trying to revive the Outreach
Committee. DePaolo asks to be notified of the meeting dates.
08. Old Business
a. Streaming Channel 13. DePaolo: Patrick Pinney, who had been working on
this, has a demanding new job and is available only for discussions. Maybe we can
invite him to the next meeting. Van Leuken suggests asking him for a paragraph of
explanation to be forwarded to producers.
b. PEG Fee. DePaolo: the revenue stream has been $0.15 per subscriber per
month ever since 2003. Kelly: I did discuss this with Charter's legal group; they feel
we should proceed on renewing the franchise. I haven't been able to contact the
new Mayor of Ithaca. DePaolo: maybe Amanda [Lanham, legal person] should look
at AOC's previous proposals. I understand that Charter would like to see a privately-
operated model for PEG, but our governments prefer the present way. In any case,
it would be reasonable to up the share to 0.25 per subscriber.
09. New Business: none.
10. Next meeting: Tuesday, June 6, 5 pm.
11. Adjournment 6:54.
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Authority: City of Ithaca code Chapter 18, "Cable Access Oversight Committee". Adopted by the
Common Council of the City of Ithaca 11-5-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-17. Available at
https://ecode360.com/8386207.
Page on the City website: https://www.cityofithaca.org/369/Cable-Access-Oversight-Committee
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Contact information for AOC members:
City of Ithaca: Wayles Browne, secretary <ewb2@cornell.edu>.
City of Ithaca: Common Council liaison 2022- Jorge (George) DeFendini
<gdefendini@cityofithaca.org>.
City of Ithaca: Paul Smith <smithcommapaul@hotmail.com>.
Town of Ithaca: Rich DePaolo, chair <rd@richdepaolo.com>, <RDePaolo@town.ithaca.ny.us>.
Village of Cayuga Heights: Wies van Leuken, vice chair <pmv4@cornell.edu>.
Web site for the PEGASYS Community Media Center studio, with program schedules:
https://pegasys.webstarts.com/index.html
studio location, mailing address: 612 West Green Street, Ithaca, New York 14850
phone (607) 272-7272; fax (607) 277-5404
e-mail PEG.NYIthaca@charter.com
PEGASYS staff: Alex Wiers.
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Part of Coordinator report
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ITHACA ANNUAL REPORT - APRIL 30, 2023
Estimated 2024 Expenses
Personnel Expenses $70,800
Contractors and Temporary $0
Equipment Repairs $5,000
Headend / System Maintenance $5,500
Office: Owned
Property Tax $15,787
Office Expense:
Office Maintenance-Outdoor $360
Office Maintenance- Snow Removal $5,051
Office Maintenance-Safety & Security $1,500
Office Maintenance-Janitorial $7,800
Office Maintenance-Electrical & Plumbing $2,100
Office Maintenance-Heating/AC $4,970
Office Maintenance-Fire Alarm Inspections & Repairs $1,400
Office Supplies $200
Freight Expense $25
Office Utilities:
Utilities-Electric $3,100
Utilities-Gas $4,000
Utilities-Sewer & Water $800
Utilities-Trash $2,350
Other Software $0
Other Training $0
Other Capital $0
Total Budget $130,743
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