Broadcast equipment

Broadcasting has changed a lot in the last 25 years. Technical developments made it increasingly easy to record, modify and transmit audio and video signals. In the past, broadcast equipments were complicated and heavy machineries, hard to move from one place to another and needing a complicated infrastructure to transmit. Initially, video and radio signals were broadcasted through radio waves, which a receptor could pick on a set frequency. In the 1970s, satellite broadcasting started to emerge, and with its help the video signals reached the furthest corners of the world.

In the 1990s, the digital revolution reached the broadcasting world. This changed how things were done, and made everything simpler. Nowadays, broadcast equipments are lighter; they are more reliable; it is much easier to carry them around and easier to operate. There are many options to choose from, and they can outperform any past option. Digital equipment also offers more detailed images, with unprecedented clarity. Cameras can be easily linked to a broadcasting network, and, as they have become smaller, so did the rest of the tools needed to broadcast. It is now possible for a single person to hold both the camera and to carry the broadcasting equipment.

The switch from analogue to digital has ensured more than just an increased image quality. It has also ensured that broadcasting companies can expand their margins. Modern broadcast equipment needs less people and is becoming increasingly cheaper. Big broadcast equipment companies are also making good profits, since most countries either switched from analogue to digital, or are currently doing so.

Broadcast equipment varies from one type of broadcast to another. They can be small enough to fit in a backpack, and this type of equipment is the one most used in live on the field broadcasting. They include a professional camera and everything needed to broadcast the signal, like an antenna. The broadcast equipment used in newsrooms are much more complex and they perform many other tasks, both video and audio. These equipments also record, and allow the staff to alter and modify the image and sound on the go.

With the continuing development of cellular technology, it has become a standard for most televisions to broadcast live from remote locations. To do so, they need a mix of digital and satellite technology. This means a mix of broadcast equipments that need to be easily transported and easily installed. The newest broadcast equipment offer just that and they are allowing reporters to better do their jobs. Real-time news becomes truly real-time with their help.

Nowadays it is easier to forget that broadcasting an event was a complicated endeavor that required many people and heavy and complicated equipment. Latest technological developments changed all that.