B&H Photo Video Professional Video Source Books

This is an open letter to the CEO of B&H PhotoVideo (located in New York City). The reason why I've decided to post this letter is that the two volume book (almost 1500 pages) is loaded with the latest and greatest high-definition equipment with fantastic details about the products.

Greetings Sam,

All I can say is WOW. The Source Books are great. Thank you for the them and please pass this along to the staff that created them. As you stated in your letter, you can find a lot a information via the internet (i.e. Google), but the Source Books are so much more. The information and details about all the products are fantastic. As the economy gets tighter and more and more people think they can do the "professional" jobs out there with very little skill, these books set the professionals apart from the want-a-be's. Technology has been changing a such a fast pace that it is hard for small companies like ours (3 people) to keep up with all the latest and greatest items. The Source Books will allow us to learn about the new (and old) products and how they can work together in this ever-changing world of Video Production. The Source Books remind me of being a kid and getting the chance to browse through the Sears Catalog during the holiday season. Thanks for making me feel young again. I can only image the costs (including the postage) and time that went into creating the Source Books and it is truly appreciated that they landed on the office desk a couple of days ago. Thank you for the gifts and please don't let the others in the world convince you to discontinuing making them for the professional industry.
 
One last side note: I have known about B&H Photo Video for years because of the previous Source Books. Anyway, I was visiting the Connecticut/New York area two years ago and I just HAD to visit the store in person. It was a thrill and pleasure to finally see the place that I have spend so much time reading about through the pages of your books. And yes, I did buy a few items while I was there in the store!
 
All the best!

The Bonnie Hunt Show

First off I have to confess I am a fan of Bonnie Hunt. She is a great comedian with a sense of humor that is sharp, educated and damn right funny.

Today aired the first episode of her daily talk show appropriately called "The Bonnie Hunt Show."

I hope it was the first show jitters, but I was a little disappointed. I didn't find that the show flowed from segment to segment. It seemed like it was all over the place. for example, I would have liked it to have a little more 'ta-da' for being the first show. She explained how and why the opening titles were created. Also, fellow comedian Robin Williams delivered flowers to her and there was the small mention of the Chicago Cubs jerseys being worn by the shows staff because Hunt is a long time Cubs fan. And was about it. I know the show wants to be a current with the days events, well I think they missed the point by trying to cram too much into the first episode. The days event was that it was the 'first show'. Just to give you an idea of all that went on, there were Culver City firemen sliding down a pole, talk of Dean Martin, a short guest interview with Hunt's niece, Robin Williams, singer-songwriter Meiko, a pizza delivered from Chicago, interviews with kids at her sister's school in Chicago, food being passed out for the audience, etc. I think you get the point.

As for the good parts, Bonnie Hunt still has the goods. The set is awesome. The 'live' band is swinging. And Hunt is funny.

In conclusion, Hunt is a comedian and needs to let the jokes work for her and not be so wrapped up in the gimmicks of the day. The show has great potential and I hope they find a groove to settle into to make it work.

And by the way, why isn't "The Bonnie Hunt Show" being recorded and broadcast in high definition?

The Bonnie Hunt Show

Empty Seats at the 2008 Olympics

After watching the Olympics in HD on NBC for the last couple of nights, I have to wonder why there are so many empty seats in the various venues. From "Beach Volleyball" to "Swimming" and even "Gymnastics" there are empty seats. What is going on? Is it a reflection of China being a poor country? We'll have to watch more and see what happens behind the athletes in the seats!

2008 Olympic Medals

Olympic Medal winners at NBC Olympics.com!

High Definition Channels on Comcast

High-Definition and Digital Television has arrived and before you know it, it is all we'll know here in the United States. When trying to figure out which channels are available through the local cable provider, an online chat to the service department was need; however it got me nowhere. I just wanted a simple thing: a list of all the channels available with the HDTV in my office. We spent 15-20 minutes going round and round trying to get a listing of the channels. The customer service representive tried with various lists, but not one was comprehenive. All I wanted was a "complete" listing of all the channels (including the Standard-Definition, High-Definition AND the various radio/music channels).

So after the online chat ended, I decided to spend an hour or two creating my own list. Here it is:

Television channels

2 – NWCN
4 – ABC KOMO
4-1 – ABC KOMO/HD
4-1 – ABC KOMO/HD
5 – NBC KING
5-1 – NBC KING/HD
5-2 – KING WX
6 – KONG
7 – CBS KIRO
7-1 – CBS KIRO/DT
7-2 – CBS KIRO/RTN
8 – Discovery
9 – PBS KCTS
9-1 – PBS KCTS/DT
9-1 – PBS KCTS/DT
9-2 – PBS KCTS/VME
9-2 – PBS KCTS/VME
9-3 – PBS KCTS/create DT 
9-3 – PBS KCTS/create DT
9-5 – PBS KCTS/HD
9-5 – PBS KCTS/HD
10 – FOX KCPQ
11 – CW
11-1 – CW/HD
12 – PBS KBTC
13 – FOX KCPQ
13-1 – FOX KCPQ/HD
13-2 – FOX Accuweather
14 – Shop NBC.com
15 – Jewelry Television
16 – QVC
16-1 – KONG HD
17 – HSN
18 – [religious]
19 – Hallmark 
20 – [religious
21 – [community] 
22 – [community] 
22-1 – MY Q 2 /HD
23 – TVW [community] 
24 – C-SPAN
26 – [educational]
27 – UWTV [community]
28 – Clover Park Technical College [community]
29 – ? {Spanish}
30 – FSN
31 – ? {bad reception}
66 – Bravo
67 – AMC
68 – HGTV
69 – Golf
70 – ?
75 – ?
76 – ? [local arts]
77 – ?
78 – The Weather Channel
87-1 – NWCN
87-2 – ION
87-3 – ABC
87-4 – NBC
87-5 – KONG
87-6 – CBC
87-7 – PBS KCTS
87-8 – FOX KCPQ
87-9 – CW
87-10 – PBS KBTC
88-1 – FOX KCPQ
88-2 – CBS KIRO
88-3 – Jewelry Television
88-4 – ? [religious]
88-6 – ? [religious]
88-7 – TVW [community]
88-8 – Univision
88-9 – ARTS
88-10 – Shop NBC.com
89-1 – scrambled
90-332 – audio
90-333 – audio
90-334 – audio
90-335 – country audio
90-336 – KUOW radio
90-337 – audio
90-338 – audio
90-339 – audio
91-4 – univision-no audio
91-8 –
94-2 – scrambled
94-9 – scrambled
99 – CBC
102-9 – UWTV
102-10 – community ?
103-3 – scrambled
103-4 – Discovery
112-11 – The Weather Channel (local radar)
112-13 – ?
112-420 – audio
112-421 – audio
112-422 – audio
112-423 – audio
112-424 – audio
112-425 – audio
112-426 – audio
114-9 – Movieplex
114-485 – audio
114-486 – audio
114-487 – audio
114-488 – audio
114-489 – audio
114-490 – audio
114-491 – audio
114-492 – audio
115-14 – [advertisements]
116-1 – C-SPAN
116-2 – C-SPAN2
116-9 – HSN
116-10 – QVC
116-89 – ONE TV
117-1 –? [education] 
117-2 – TV Guide Network
117-3 – The Weather Channel (same as 78)
117-4 – ? [community] 
117-5 – ? [community]
117-6 – (same as 76)
117-7 –?
117-8 – Pentagon Channel
117-9 – CPTC
117-10 – ?
117-11 – ?
118-1 – sports preview
134 – ?