Issue link: https://in-sync.uberflip.com/i/920567
16 I n f o r m a t i o n o n H o l l y w o o d S M P T E a t w w w. h s m p t e . o r g . With the advent of information being readily available on any web-connected device, using technology amounts to nothing more strenuous than opening an appli- cation on a device or watching content on Netflix. Seriously, how tough is it to select and click? One might think that things like standards and knowledge are less impor- tant. We confuse information with knowledge and we forget why there were standards in the first place. Let's take television delivery standards. Created in the public interest, convenience and necessity TV is at a juncture where how we watch, when we watch and what we watch is scrutinized at a very granular level and content providers are making it avail- able in a variety of ways. Antenna, cable, VOD, Internet and inevitably LTE will vie for business. Playing nice with all these formats requires a reasonable expectation that content can be viewed across devices at varying bitrates and bandwidth, that captions for the hearing impaired and non-English speaking folks remain available and that maximum and minimum audio levels be respected and descriptive video for the sight impaired remain accessible. I'm not going to start on the lack of standards for 4K, UHD, etc. I'm not a SMPTE member because they help create standards, I'm a SMPTE member because they create a community where knowledge is freely shared and everyone is welcome whether you're a member or not. I feel smarter when I leave a meeting. Humans are social animals. In a challenging employment climate, there are certain fundamental things that remain important. Work, the ability to get and keep jobs, the need to constantly update skills and acquire new ones, and the ability to build com- munity. I can only hope that my doctor has reviewed the procedure that he's about to perform on me, and maybe consulted a colleague or two to compare notes. I'd not be thrilled if he did a hasty Google search and called it a day. Personally, I'm comforted to know that there are folks who have the same problems and share my concerns and that I can count on them for help and support. The food at meetings isn't half bad, either... I n f o r m a t i o n o n H o l l y w o o d S M P T E a t w w w. h s m p t e . o r g .