This week starts our new audio streaming service which transmits flagship Channel 9 straight from our Central Square location into every home in the wired world. Over a year has passed since complications with our internet service provider caused us to drop our video stream but with new and affordable software solutions we can offer this service again, albeit only an audio webcast until we are sufficiently satisfied with the performance to make it a video feed once more. Please bear with us through this 'play testing' period as there may be interruptions in the stream as we tweak and improve the feed. If you have a positive or negative experience with the webstream, please fee free to email us. You may launch the audio stream from the side bar at right or from the digital video library, please read on if you would like to learn how this system was built virtually for free...

Well, not exactly free, but we are not paying 'server taxes' per viewer nor using expensive third party services, this system runs entirely from within our facilities. The Channel 9 signal is lined into a Sony media converter, which changes the feed from an analog waveform into a DV source, and then connected directly to our server. We operate a dedicated 500Mhz Mac G4 running Mac OS X Server, including the QuickTime Streaming Server applications which are built into the operating system. With QuickTime Broadcaster, a free application from Apple, we digitize and compress the DV source into an MPEG4 type file, and then the QTSS takes care of the rest. Our only costs are the hardware but running the service is free unlike Real or Windows Media solutions which can cost hundred of dollars a month for only ten viewers! Learn more about QTSS at Apple.

Marty Jukovsky inaugurates our first "Free Friday" forum this Friday, May 16th, 2003, from Noon - 2:00 p.m. with an "OSX Q&A/Demonstration." Very soon, all of the Macs in CCTV's computer lab will be upgraded from OS 9.2 to OSX; are you ready for the change? Come for a tour of what's different about OSX. Bring your questions, and a brown bag lunch if you want. This will be a demonstration format seminar. Seminar is open to the public on a first-come basis; no advance registrations will be taken.

This is the first of what we hope will become a series of free computer demonstrations held in CCTV's computerCENTRAL. These "Free Fridays" tutorials are meant to complement the courses CCTV regularly offers, and to give our instructors and prospective trainers a format for trying out new ideas that may turn into full courses pending student interest. Presentation format will be up to each seminar leader; some may be lecture/demonstration format, others' hands-on training. Look for announcements of future "Free Fridays" here. Please contact John Donovan at 617-661-6900 x123 or john@cctvcambridge.org if there‚s something you would like to teach or learn on future Fridays.

On April 26, at its 15th annual meeting, Cambridge Community Television awarded the Joseph Sakey Award to Webhood, Inc. The Sakey Award is named for the former Director of the Cambridge Public Library who developed plans for the cable system in the City. It is presented annually to the individual or organization who has done the most to advance access to media and technology in Cambridge.

Webhood, Inc. founded by Stephen Sillari, provides technical support and assistance "to address the digital divide in the digitally depressed neighborhoods in Cambridge." Since its inception in 1999, Webhood has provided over 200 computers and 2000 hours of assistance to two dozen non-profit organizations in and around Cambridge.


Other awards were presented to CCTV members for outstanding service to the organization and the Cambridge community. Marissa Acosta, Lauren Kroiz, Matt Landry and Pete Scheehle were recognized as Interns of the Year; Garabed Setrakian and Luis Teixeira as Trainers of the Year; Ann Powers and Juliet Schneider as Volunteers; Youth Intern Laurel Peters; Youth Members Shaun Clarke, Ethan Goldhammer, and Evan Ragon; Matt Landry received the Rudy Award for Service Above and Beyond the call of Duty; Alison Gent was presented with the David Avellone Award for most technical improvement; and Congressman Michael Capuano and State Representative/City Councilor Tim Toomey were recognized as Clients of the Year for their use of CCTV‚s channels to inform, educate, and interact with the Cambridge community.

CCTV's Member Advisory Committee proudly presents a screening featuring CCTV's finest homegrown documentaries, short films, and other great programs. Part 2 of "The Master Series", this screening is slated for Monday, March 31st, at 7:00 p.m. Admission is free. The filmmakers will be present for the screening. Light refreshments will be served. All screenings are held at CCTVâs Studio, located at 675 Mass. Avenue in Central Square, enter on Prospect Street.



The March 31st program includes:
"Go Back To Sleep" Joe Douillette
"CARE Afghanistan" by Mary Lou Bigelow
"Frog Sounds" by Jen Audley
"Looking for Mr. Right" by David Young and Peter Pizzi
"Eno" by Marissa Acosta
"Remembering with Pop" by Natasha Freidus
"Tview (Signs Video Parody)" by Rudy Hypolite
"Iron and Air" by Cecilia Li Wong and Joseph Bauer
The Master Series at CCTV welcomes submissions from local video and filmmakers for future screenings. Tapes can be dropped off at CCTV, addressed to the attention of THE MAC.
03/26/2003