Coveted Emmy Award for Architect of ExtendSim

When watching live television, we don’t think twice about how the images we see on the screen are manipulated and morphed together. In the early days, live television shows would simply cut from one video to the next. So you would see a newscaster report on a story, then the screen would cut to a video of that story.

In 1974, prior to fulfilling his dream of creating a simulation application that would allow individuals in any discipline to use simulation, ExtendSim architect Bob Diamond and colleague Steve Rutt invented the Video Repositioner - a device to reposition broadcast quality video in real time.

With this Video Repositioner, television and film apparatus could finally alter the position of a video image without rescanning the originally generated image. So a newscaster could report on a story and you could see the video running in real time within the same screen.

Pretty cool invention!

This Video Repositioner was the impetus to the creation of image processing devices such as the Quantel DPE-5000 (motion adaptive line interpolation allowing both field and frame information to be used according to picture content), Grass Valley Kaleidoscope (for digital effects such as wipes, keys, recursive effects, mosaics, etc.), and Ampex ADO (digital special effects which allow rotation and perspective of video images) used by television stations and production companies including the CBS Television Network and EUE/Screen Gems.

40 years later, this groundbreaking invention will be recognized at the 65^th annual Technology & Engineering Emmy® Awards - honoring development and innovation in broadcast technology and breakthroughs that have a significant effect on television engineering. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) awards Emmys to those involved in engineering technologies which either represent so extensive an improvement on existing methods or are so innovative in nature that they materially have affected the transmission, recording, or reception of television.

The 65th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy awards will be presented on January 9, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV as part of the International Consumer Electronics Show. Imagine That Inc. President Bob Diamond is honored to be recognized by the NATAS for his Pioneering Analog Video Repositioner.

For more information on the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards, please go to http://emmyonline.com/tech_65th_recipients.

A Day at "The Park" with ExtendSim

“Why are you collecting this data?”, I asked. It seemed a reasonable question given my current location. You see my friends and I were hiking to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, and we were currently about 7 miles from the trailhead. Imagine our surprise when a formally dressed college student (complete with official ID badge) asked us if we were willing to participate in a trail study. We were supposed to be in the middle of nowhere! But there she was sitting off to the side of the trail at a foldout card table that was holding a stack of time cards, a clipboard and some stickers.

“We’re trying to understand the traffic patterns along this route to Half Dome.”, she answered. "Participants show their time cards to officials stationed at various waypoints along the way. The officials will mark your time of arrival at each waypoint. Would you like to participate?”

“Perhaps.”, I said. “This sounds like you’re collecting data for a simulation study. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“What simulation tool are you using?”, I asked.

“Umm….I think it’s called ExtendSim. Yeah. That’s it. It’s called ExtendSim.”

I smiled and said, “Well, in that case we’d be very happy to participate in your study.” ;-)

So the next time someone asks you, “Where is ExtendSim used?”, maybe the most appropriate response is, “Where is it not used?”

Simulation Master Class

Being a simulation modeler can often be a lonely proposition. Often alone, you are called on to build a model of a complex process, analyze that model, and present the results to management. As simulation modeling is as much an art as a science, we thought applying the musician/artist Master Class concept to simulation would be helpful to our customers. 

A team of simulation experts from a range of backgrounds have been invited to join the Imagine That Inc. technical staff to discuss their simulation techniques, general research, and specific ExtendSim features that they find intriguing. Some of the Master Classes will be specific to ExtendSim while others will be more general and useful to all simulation modelers.

We have a number of speakers lined up. However, if you are interested in presenting at one of our Master Class sessions or simply have some suggestions, let us know. We are looking for speakers who can address the issues of the simulation community as a whole as well as ExtendSim modelers.

Imagine That’s simulation Master Class sessions are open to everyone at no charge. Classes begin May 2011. Check our web site for more details.