Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Hello ABS-CBN!





                First of all, I want to say that writing blogs are not really my thing, but story telling on the other hand is a different story. When I was still in elementary, I remembered going to ABS-CBN for a children’s party for the child of my mom’s friend. If I remembered it correctly, that time ABS-CBN was a closed studio only for employees working inside there, but when I arrived there and saw the lobby, it was a lot different. I saw a lot of stores and there was a food court. I also remembered that just this year during January, I was about to take my internship in ABS-CBN when I suddenly decided not to continue due to the lack of time needed. I was really excited then to take my internship there as I was hoping to learn from the best in media entertainment and was hoping to see a lot of actors and actresses. Who wouldn’t be excited in entering ABS-CBN? 
               On a gloomy weather of the 27th day of July, we went to ABS-CBN as a requirement for our BROACOU class. I arrived there 30 minutes early in case of traffic. Entering ELJ building, I saw my friends and we gathered with other students as we continued to the tour. 


What? When? Who?

                We were the first batch to enter the tour, before we started the tour; we had a short orientation from our facilitator. In this short orientation, a short film was viewed to us. In this short film, a brief history of ABS-CBN was shown to us.

                            
                                                           Our Facilitator, this guy!


                 
 What does ABS-CBN stands for? ABS-CBN stands for Alto Systems Chronicles Broadcasting Network. ABS-CBN as a Corporation is a diversified Filipino media conglomerate and the country's largest and foremost media and entertainment company. The corporation was formed by the merger of Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) owned by James Lindenberg and Judge Antonio Quirino and the Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN) owned by Don Eugenio Lopez, Sr. and the then Philippine Vice president Fernando Lopez. Founded on 13 June 1946 by James Lindenberg as Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC), it was incorporated as the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation on 1 February 1967, shorted to simply ABS-CBN Corporation in 2010. The common shares of ABS were first offered in July 1992 while the PDR (Philippine Depository Receipt) of ABSP were offered in October 1999.
Its assets include the broadcast television network ABS-CBN which is among the first commercial television networks in Asia, a youth-oriented broadcast television network Studio 23, international premium television networks like The Filipino Channel and Myx TV as well as the radio networks DZMM Radyo Patrol 630 and Tambayan 101.9 along with subsidiaries dealing in print publication (ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc.), cable television (Creative Programs, Inc.), communications (Sky Cable Corporation) film production (Star Cinema), visual effects (Roadrunner Network, Inc.), music production (Star Records), new media (ABS-CBN Interactive) and other related assets. ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiaries are part of the Lopez Group of Companies.
The ABS-CBN logo features three main elements, the vertical line rooted on a horizontal origin, the three extending circles, and the text ABS-CBN. The vertical line or bar represents a tower (broadcasting tower), with the circles symbolizing its signals representing the red, green and blue or RGB colors which makes up a pixel shown on the television. The 3 divisions of the Philippines, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, are also denoted by the three circles.
ABS-CBN once used a logo with ABS on top and CBN on the bottom, meaning the broadcasting corporations owned by two different families, the Quirino-owned ABS and the Lopez-owned CBN. Three circles, from the past years having no color variety, represent the three main islands of the Philippines, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, while the vertical bar represented the ABS-CBN TV transmitter tower. The whole logo is boxed, meaning ABS-CBN connects all the islands of the country with one family. The logo first introduced and appeared in 1966 including the colored circles when the network is the first color television network in the Philippines and 1967 rended in black and white. The colored circles used from its switching to color TV from 1966 to its closure by Marcoses by declearing Martial Law in the country in 1972 and 1992 when the network broadcast the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain until late 1999. When the black and white from 1967 to its clousure in 1972 and from resume broadcast from 1986 until 1992. Then, the latter years, ABS-CBN launched The Filipino Channel, making the ABS-CBN logo unboxed, and represented as ABS-CBN is not only for the Filipinos inside, but also outside of the country. Merging the two stations, ABS and CBN, with one owner, the Lopez family, the ABS-CBN logo now uses "ABS-CBN", instead of having ABS and CBN, in one variation, situated on the bottom of the logo.




  • Did you know?
ABS-CBN was the biggest network by the time Marcos declared martial law. With other media agencies, it was shut down, its owners sent either to prison or exile. They returned in 1986, reclaiming their old facilities and jump-starting television and radio operations virtually from scratch. From the bottom of the ratings chart in its first broadcast in October 1986, ABS-CBN made it to the top in only six months. By 1993, it had an audience share of 62%. This phenomenal rise was due through a combination of sensational news reporting, savvy marketing and sheer attitude.

Master Control Room






             ABS-CBN Corporation first applied for a license from the National Telecommunications Commission to operate a digital terrestrial television service in 2007, initially utilizing the DVB-T standard. In Metro Manila, ABS-CBN planned to offer DWWX-TV and DWAC-TV, plus 6 other premium channels through its digital television platform. It also planned to help supply DTT converter boxes in areas where reception is weak, such as Valenzuela, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna. The conglomerate is expected to spend 1 billion pesos annually for the next 5 years for its DTT plan.[39] ABS-CBN utilized UHF Channel 51 (692–698 MHz) for test broadcasts in the DVB-T format. ABS-CBN was originally expected to begin digital broadcasts in January 2009. 
            On 11 June 2010, the NTC announced that it would officially adopt the Japanese DTT standard ISDB-T for the transmission of digital television in the country. A month before the NTC's Technical Working Group would begin to implement regulations regarding digital television, a representative from GMA Network, Inc. objected to its decision to use ISDB-T, proposing a review of using DVB-T2 for digital television instead, due to its superior quality. However NTC decided not to, and stick with ISDB-T in preparation to introduce regulations for DTT in June 2011.
             In April 2011, the conglomerate announced further details about its DTT plans, which would offer ABS-CBN 2, Studio 23 as well as the affiliate networks GEM TV and PTV 4. In addition, five new channels which will be exclusively available to its digital users will be offered once the digital broadcast start. The premium channel line-up include three youth-oriented channels, a men oriented channel and a women-oriented channel. The conglomerate is also planning to utilize the 1seg (One Seg) broadcast standard for handheld devices as GEM TV and PTV-4 is already utilizing the technology.The launch of DTT in the Philippines is still pending for a "go signal" from the NTC. 
            ABS-CBN Corporation started digitizing its content in 2004. In 2007, the conglomerate invested in a 4 million dollar deal with IBM Corporation for a Media Asset Management System (MAMS) that includes a hardware infrastructure support and 2 petabytes (2000 terabytes) of storage capacity that is expected to grow by 36% over the years as ABS-CBN is already generating over 700 hours of content a month. The technology, with 1.2 million dollar deal integration with Dalet Digital Media Systems and Avid Unity ISIS (Infinitely Scalable Intelligent Storage) will enable ABS-CBN to digitize and store its over 200,000 hours of television content and its library of over 2000 films. The Big Dipper Digital Content & Design, Inc. is the subsidiary that oversees all of its digital assets.




Transmitter in the Transmitter building. Two sets in-placed. One active, and one not. The other one is only for spare.











Inside Transmitter room.
Filled with air condition to avoid over heating of equipments.






The TV used by kuya Kim in his weather forecast.
The Tv costs around 4 million pesos according to our facilitator. It has a heat sensor that detects a person's hand.








One of the studio sets. 
Little Big star










  • Did you know?

   When all these lights are turned on, you can get a 3rd degree burn. 
             



           We had a good time in this field trip, we learned things that we don't usually learn in school. This trip gave us an idea for our future as an Electronics and Communications Engineer. We were able to grasped the concepts of broadcasting from our lecture class as we were able to saw it being applied in this studio. ABS-CBN is clearly an outstanding company, from the equipment in the transmitter room to the sets in the studio, there were all amazing. That is why we all know that ABS-CBN is number one in all the channel stations here in Philippines. I'm glad to experience going to this trip even though I was a little worry since we had a quiz after this trip. Being able to tour in this company makes me feel more regret not taking the chance of entering this company in my internship.  
           My only recommendation to ABS-CBN is to keep doing what they do best, and that is to serve the public. Their is always still a room for improvement even though we can already see how great this company already, so they just have to further look for improvement to avoid uncertainties.  
           




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