Archived from groups: rec.video.satellite.tvro,alt.video.satellite.mpeg-dvb,sci.space.shuttle (
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ed kyle wrote:
> cole smith wrote:
> > Anyone else think the video resolution of NASA-TV has degraded since the
> > digital switchover? In particular some of the recorded video file material
> > looks atrocious, but even live events look less than optimal. I'm
> > interested mainly in the opinions of those who viewed the analog c-band
> > feeds of several years ago, not current small dish viewers.
>
> One factor that might add to the impression
> of reduced quality was the lousy long-range
> tracking camera focus. Nearly every long-
> range shot I saw was out of focus much of
> the time. It appeared that these might have
> been autofocus systems that were fooled by the
> bright plumes. These out of focus shots were
> useless for determining ET shedding events as
> near as I could tell. I would like to know
> what went wrong with these cameras.
They really should be operating cameras manually whenever possible. I
don't mean letting just anybody do it but somebody trained and
experienced... perhaps with some auto assistance on launch tracking of
course. Train just like you train for complicated missions. An
experienced camera operator makes a world of difference in the world of
filming live events... they know that in the entertainment world. You
don't have auto focus problems or auto iris issues (seen on ISS
exterior footage all the time.) It seems like NASA treats cameras like
a black box. You stick a bunch of equipment together and hook it all up
to a single button somebody presses. That might work if you were
filming the exact same events under the exact same lighting conditions
all the time but once you introduce camera movement you definitely need
a live camera operator or short of that a video production director
with a clue and some manual override on the camera functions.
-McDaniel
>
> - Ed Kyle
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