Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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The Golden Reference for Video and IT Professionals, 21 Mar 2006
As a professional who serves the pro-video and broadcast market, I received my order a few months ago from Amazon.com and I've now had a chance to absorb the key concepts. First impressions: Substantial. Meaty. First of its kind. When you receive this book in the post, the first thing you notice upon opening the package is the sheer weight and tasteful abstract art on the front cover. This is a hefty 600-page volume packed with hundreds of detailed illustrations and many of examples. When it comes to understanding principles of modern networked media for video and audio, this Focal Press work deserves a prominent place in any serious video or IT engineer's reference library. Although this book is oriented towards the professional media or broadcast systems engineer (as opposed to a video consumer building a home media network), the author does a nice job of weaving together the essentials of networked media from "A to Z" including a handy glossary of terms for those of us who can't keep our acronyms straight. I've known the author, Al Kovalick, who's a well regarded figure in the broadcast community. His breadth of knowledge is evident throughout each chapter, yet he writes in a witty, practical style that's both educational and fun to read (including some pretty subtle humor that will make an engineer chuckle). Without sacrificing depth, this book takes a complex technical subject and brings it down to earth, making it suitable even for less technical (but motivated) readers. I like the "It's a Wrap" section found at the end of each chapter that summarises the salient points of each chapter. In summary, this book is for you if you're seeking a solid overview of key engineering considerations when designing or recommending networked video architectures, including networking fundamentals, virus and firewall protection, video servers, NSPOF (no single point of failure) storage design including RAID and RAIN methods, as well as other innovative architectures. Several real-world case studies complement the teaching benefits including specific examples by leading-edge media companies and broadcasters. Chapter Highlights: Networked Media in an IT Environment The Fundamentals of Professional Networked Media Storage System Basics Storage Access Methods Software Technology for AV Systems Reliability and Scalability Methods Networking Basics for AV Media Systems Integration Security for Networked AV Systems Systems Management and Monitoring The Transition to IT: Issues and Case Studies A Review of AV Basics
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The Golden Reference for Video and IT Engineers, 21 Mar 2006
As a professional who serves the pro-video and broadcast market, I received my order a few months ago from Amazon.com and have now had a chance to absorb the book's concepts. My first impressions: Substantial! Meaty. First of its kind. When you receive this book in the post, the first thing you notice upon opening the package is the sheer weight and tasteful abstract art on the front cover. This is a hefty 600-page volume packed with hundreds of detailed illustrations and many examples. When it comes to understanding principles of modern networked media for video and audio, this Focal Press work deserves a prominent place in any serious video or IT engineer's reference library. Although this book is oriented towards the professional media or broadcast systems engineer (as opposed to a video consumer building a home media network), the author does a nice job of weaving together the essentials of networked media from "A to Z" including a handy glossary of terms for those of us who can't keep our acronyms straight. I've known the author, Al Kovalick, who's a well regarded figure in the broadcast community. His breadth of knowledge is evident throughout each chapter, yet he writes in a witty, practical style that's both educational and fun to read (including some pretty subtle humor that will make an engineer chuckle). Without sacrificing depth, this book takes a complex technical subject and brings it down to earth, making it suitable even for less technical (but motivated) readers. I like the "It's a Wrap" section found at the end of each chapter that summarises the salient points of each chapter. Summarising, this book is for you if you're seeking a solid overview of key engineering considerations when designing or recommending networked video architectures, including networking fundamentals, virus and firewall protection, video servers, NSPOF (no single point of failure) storage design including RAID and RAIN methods, as well as other innovative architectures. Several real-world case studies complement the teaching benefits including specific examples by leading-edge media companies and broadcasters. Chapter Highlights: Networked Media in an IT Environment The Fundamentals of Professional Networked Media Storage System Basics Storage Access Methods Software Technology for AV Systems Reliability and Scalability Methods Networking Basics for AV Media Systems Integration Security for Networked AV Systems Systems Management and Monitoring The Transition to IT: Issues and Case Studies A Review of AV Basics
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