7548-R1_NewGloucester_2019-2020_AnnualReport_Web

ANNUAL REPORT Cable Television Committee

Until the Covid-19 prohibition of large gatherings, the Committee continued its basic mission to record and broadcast public Meeting House meetings as well as events held there, making such recordings available as video-on-demand on the Internet in addition to “cablecasting” on channel 1302. Committee members, as individuals, produced public access programming of nongovernmental events and offered DVDs for purchase at a nominal fee. Staffing of video operators for Meeting House meeting coverage was provided by a part-time employee with hours based on need, backed by a volunteer who also maintains the video server recording and playback, as well as being responsible for all technical matters. In anticipation of the upcoming Cable Franchise Agreement renegotiation in 2020, the Committee members assisted the Town Manager in working with attorneys, by providing technical information and cost estimates for eventual replacement of 22-year-old Meeting House video equipment and for digital upgrades of related equipment. During the Covid-19 period, meetings and a candidate forum were held and recorded by Town staff using Zoom teleconferencing technology. The recordings were converted, uploaded for video-on-demand and played back on the Town’s TV channel. Unlike most years, no in-person events that required recording were held outside of the Meeting House. Until Covid-19, volunteer production of public access programming continued, consisting of six Historical Society presentations and the annual library play. These productions and older NGHS presentations were telecast on weekends (Fri.-Sun.) starting at 7:00 am/pm. In support of the Capital Improvement Plan and Budgeting processes, those meetings were rebroadcast on weekends at 2:00 pm soon after they occurred. All recorded Meeting House and Zoom meetings were sent to the Town’s video-on demand service, then trimmed and published at http://newgloucester.viebit.com for access via Internet. DVDs of the Meeting House meetings are retained at the Town Office. Zoom meetings are retained as MP4 files for access by computers. The library retains DVDs of annual and special Town Meetings. In addition, all meetings and other content are retained on “hard drives” retired from the video server. As a result of a legislative bill passed in June 2019 that withstood legal challenges from the cable industry, NGTV is now available on both Channels 3 and 1302. The Committee encourages those desiring greater communication within our town to help us expand our utilization of the cable channel and video-on-demand web site.

Respectfully submitted, Cable TV Committee: Richard Erwin

Patti Mikkelsen

Cliff Andrews

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