The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutMN-CABLE-2009-10-13Cable Access Oversight Committee minutes Oct. 13, 2009 (as approved Nov. 17, 2009) The Cable Access Oversight Committee (AOC) met at 4:45 pm on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009, in the PEGASYS studio. Present: AOC members Wayles Browne, Mike Brutvan, Rich DePaolo, Wies van Leuken; Mike Cederstrom (replacing studio manager Lauren Stefanelli). 0. Notes by W. Browne as AOC secretary. 1. R. DePaolo called the meeting to order. 2. The minutes of the Sept. 8, 2009 meeting were approved with minor changes. 3. Comments from members of the public: none. 4. Member reports: a. W. van Leuken has received up to date Quarterly Franchise Fee Report information from the Town of Ithaca and the Village of Cayuga Heights; for the City of Ithaca, we are lacking many quarters. This is different from the Usage Fee fund from which Mike Cederstrom is being paid as replacement studio manager. b. Follow -up on resolutions: one we passed Sept. 8 asking for an internet connection in the studio for producers to use with appropriate safeguards, and two we passed at the August 4 meeting [(1) Recommendation to Time Warner Cable to Draft Contingency Plans for PEGASYS Facility Closures, (2) Resolution Requesting Replacement and Scheduling of Hours Lost Due to PEGASYS Closure]. R. DePaolo: Time Warner Cable manager Thomas Doheny replied to my e -mail by stating that all written communication will go through studio manager L. Stefanelli and therefore AOC should expect no direct responses from Doheny himself. Van Leuken: OK, we'll ask Stefanelli for responses (item for the next meeting's agenda, along with Stefanelli's own report). c. Van Leuken shared information she had found (1) about English - language TV news programs from Deutsche Welle (national broadcasting in Germany) and (2) about http: / /www.pegmedia.org /. A video producer can upload video programs to this site, and then the site stores them so that public- access stations can download them for broadcast. DePaolo wonders what it would cost to create our own web server for on- demand viewing of programs. 5. Studio Manager's report: sent to van Leuken for presentation in writing. (See Appendix.) Discussion: Brutvan: We need a Canon underwater camera. People have used the 10- year -old one. M. Cederstrom: will conduct exams for newly - qualified producers. Thereafter Stefanelli will be back in Nov. Brutvan: Time Warner's engineer Paul Cullings is needed for a few hours of work on equipment. Time -base correctors are here but still need to be installed. At present, signals 2 from different sources cannot be mixed; time -base correctors will make this possible. New equalizers also need installing. Van Leuken: The capture function on camcorders frequently fails. They need repairs. AOC needs to expedite repairs. Tripods also need repairing; as they are, they introduce vibrations. Also the computer in the analog editing suite works only sometimes. Brutvan: Did we get the new character generator? Can the 3/4" deck be made more usable (without needing to set it up all over again each time)? DePaolo: We'll need to prioritize this list of needs. Van Leuken: Let's prioritize it with Stefanelli's input at the November meeting. 6. Old business. -- Subscriber fee report: tabled for next meeting. -- Review of cablecast rules, requested by Stefanelli: tabled for next meeting. 7. New business. -- We should set a new date for DePaolo's planned audio workshop (on avoiding problems and dealing with problems that come up in recording audio). Van Leuken: We'll want Stefanelli's input into this at the next meeting. Also for next meeting: annual reviews (see Agenda). Review of opening hours of studio: they seem OK for now. We need to know if the usage fee is enough for M. Cedarstrom to replace Stefanelli: we'll ask Stefanelli for a statement of income and expenditure of usage fees. -- Brutvan would like to get an e-mail list of all producers. -- We need advance notice of times when Stefanelli will be away. -- Van Leuken will ask Stefanelli for needed info: number of producers of weekly or occasional shows; their e -mail addresses. -- Outreach to underserved communities? -- Stefanelli's proposed changes to rules for producers. Can we have "red -line versions" (showing changes clearly) of the producers' handbook and the cablecast rules? 8. Next meeting: Tuesday Nov. 17, 4:30. Place: PEGASYS studio. 9. Meeting adjourned 5:55. Contact information for AOC members: Jennifer Dotson, Common Council liaison <jdotsonAcityofithaca.org> Wayles Browne, secretary <ewb2pcornell.edu> Rich DePaolo <rd @richdepaolo.com> Wies van Leuken <pmv4&comell.edu> and <WIESVL&cityofithaca.org> Michael Brutvan <noidea @lightlink.com >, <mbrutvan @mac.com> Web site for the PEGASYS studio, with program schedules: http: / /www.peaasysaccesLgig/ studio location: 612 West Green Street, Ithaca, New York mailing address: 519 West State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 phone (607) 272 -7272 fax (607) 277 -5404 PEGASYS staff: Lauren Stefanelli lauren .stefanelli(cr,twcable.com Appendix: Access Coordinator Report AOC October 13, 2009 Report Equipment All of the equipment from the 2008 budget that was not able to be purchased with capital funds in 2008 because of accounting code reasons has been purchased. We now have an official account for such expenditures in the future, so this problem should not come up again. PEGASYS has replenished its supply of accessories, including camcorder batteries, cables, headphones, and camera - mounted lights. The PEGASYS water fountain has been replaced. And the Lehman ACS has received its support equipment for its computer editing program. All of the capital equipment for 2009 has also arrived. This is the mini studio project, which will convert one of our former edit rooms into a 1- person turn-key studio. The last component, installation, will be done by staff from Syracuse in the near future. I hope to be able to report the inauguration of this new facility, which will effectively double our available studio time, very soon. Institutions Channel 15 is running an unprecedented number of live meetings this month - approx. 25 of them! - from 3 different INET locations. Both the City and the County have numerous budget meetings in addition to their regularly scheduled meetings. The ICSD Board of Ed has 2 live meetings. Time Warner is responsible for all of the City meetings; we have also coordinated with all institutions on cooperative sharing of the channel. Substitute Staff Mike Cederstrom successfully subbed for me in September, and will do so again while I take the rest of my vacation this month. As per the plan of the AOC, he will be paid from the equipment usage fee fund. Replacement Hours I have had a lot of interest in the Friday replacement hours once I sent an email about it. Posting this information everywhere in the building and mailing it to producers in hard copy went pretty unnoticed, so the first week had only 3 users. I will let you know how the rest of the Friday hours turn out in terms of demand. Training We have had excellent interest in training this fall. All Sept, Oct and November classes have been fully enrolled. 2 groups are at some stage of training - a nature photography club that wants to branch out to videography, and a local dance troupe. Cordially, Lauren Stefanelli Access Coordinator, P.E.G.A.S.Y.S. TV Center