Do you remember?

BE Spotmaster

Broadcast Electronics is celebrating 50 years in the biz. According to a press release, the company was founded in 1959 as the inventor of the first broadcast cart machine, the Spotmaster. (Check out the photo of BE's first product, initially used at WWDC Radio in Washington, DC.) In 1965 BE was the first to introduce a multi-deck tape cartridge machine, and in 1978, it introduced the first microprocessor-based program control system. In 1989 the company introduced the first automation system based on the open PC platform, which several generations later carries the BE Audio Vault brand. In 1979 it introduced the first single-tube high-powered FM transmitter. BE entered the FM transmission market with a patented folded half-wave cavity design, the first of its kind capable of eliminating plate-blocking capacitors and sliding contacts. At the same time, the company introduced an FM exciter design that later developed into BE's current FXi exciter line with the use of a direct-to-channel RF frequency generation. During the 2000s, BE became the first to market with second-generation HD Radio products and soon after, developed and acquired technology for the introduction of new data services for HD Radio. Today, BE studio and RF products are used daily in thousands of radio facilities in nearly 100 countries.

BE Spotmaster ads from 1961
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Broadcast Electronics is looking for the oldest surviving BE transmitter currently in operation, either operating in standby or as the main transmitter. Visit www.bdcast.com/contest for more information.

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Sample and Hold

Digital Media and Entertainment Industry Going Green

The BPM Forum conducted a pilot online survey of 225 IT professionals across multiple industries to assess the validity, resonance and supporting drivers for the Think Eco-Logical initiative. An astonishing 96 percent of respondents strongly support the idea of going green and reducing energy. Data center energy conservation was a high priority to 85 percent. To download the full report, visit www.rackable.com/thinkecological/index.html.

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Source: BPM Forum