Well, time has flown and we here at Boothbay Region Community Television find ourselves continuing to move forward in 2008! Consider this our "annual report" to our viewing public as we recap some of the highlights of the past year and plans for the future.

One of the biggest steps we've taken in the last year is the hiring of an assistant station manager to help keep up with the rapidly changing nature of technology in the realm of digital video and computer technology in general. Many of our viewers and supporters may be unaware of the fact that station manager Rick Prose has only ever been a part-time employee of BRCTV. With the addition of half-time assistant station manager Jonne Trees to the BRCTV staff, we now have what amounts to a full-time staff, split between the two positions.

Trees has been in training under Prose since last November, and both employees feel that their particular skill sets complement each other and will keep the station moving ahead as the pace of new technology continues to accelerate. One of the projects they have undertaken this month is research into the feasibility of switching to a completely digital broadcast format, a step made much easier by the purchase of the station's new broadcast system in 2006. Currently, approximately 60 percent of what our viewers see on the air is truly digital in format - meaning that what the viewer sees is a computer file being broadcast, not a tape being run through a VCR.

As a transitional measure, the station still retains four VCRs, which are used to broadcast programs which might only be shown for a short period of time and then archived, such as sporting events, selectmen's meetings, etc. In the past year, however, the cost of the equipment that would allow us to digitize (commit the image to DVD, versus tape) all content has come down to a level that makes it much more feasible to convert our system to an all-digital format. This will make everything you see on BRCTV comparable to other broadcast stations in terms of image quality.

In addition to this step, we are in the process of having our outgoing audio system evaluated preparatory to purchasing a more sophisticated compressor/limiter, which will eliminate the fluctuations in audio levels that viewers notice form time to time. Again, advances in digital technology keep bringing equipment like this within a price range that we can reasonably afford.

We also continue to upgrade our audio/video equipment to ensure that our volunteers have reliable, state-of-the-art cameras and audio recorders at their disposal when they venture into the community to gather the sound and pictures we share with the rest of you.

One of the highlights of the year for the BRCTV family was the recognition of the work done by volunteer Lee Arnott for her series focusing on the Lincoln County Animal Shelter. Lee won an Honorable Mention in the Documentary Feature category in last year's Hometown Video Festival, an event sponsored annually by the Alliance for Community Media. The Hometown Video Festival is the largest video competition in the country that focuses solely on work produced for community television stations, and last year's Festival received over 1,000 entries, so having one of our volunteers' programs singled out for honors is especially gratifying.

And speaking of volunteers, this is the perfect opportunity to make an appeal for interested Boothbay Region residents to explore the resources available to one and all through your community TV station! As most of you know, BRCTV really only exists to serve three purposes: 1) we train anyone who has an interest in producing video programming in the minimal skills required to pursue his or her vision; 2) we provide audio/video equipment to volunteers; and, 3), we guarantee that your program will be broadcast for the entertainment, education and/or enlightenment of your friends and neighbors right here in the Boothbay region.

Every locally-produced program you see on BRCTV has been put together by someone just like you who had an idea to share, or felt strongly that a sports event, public meeting or arts event of any kind deserved to be shared with the rest of us. Having this resource available to one and all ensures that there will always be one place on the TV dial to see truly local programming presented in a non-commercial, open-to-all public forum, so give us a call or send us an email if you're interested in sharing your talent with the community.

Many of our viewers have noticed and commented favorably upon the wide array of programs we have been scheduling in the last few months, that aren't specific to the Boothbay Region. These programs are generally documentary in nature, and are created by volunteer producers at other community TV stations in Maine, or independently-produced and made available to community TV stations for broadcast with no restrictions.

While we at BRCTV would love it if we had enough volunteers and programming produced right here in the Boothbay region to fill every broadcast day, this just isn't the case, so we feel it's appropriate to share interesting programs produced around the state with our viewers, many of which feature interviews with folks who have connections to our community. We have also been featuring health-related programs produced by Mid-Coast Hospital and Parkview Medical Center, shows dealing with different aspects of home repair and the government-produced "Army Newswatch." In addition to these programs, we continue to scour the archives of Northeast Historic Films, to bring you interesting features produced in Maine and New England over the past decades.

In an effort to add to our schedule of locally-produced programming, we have begun sifting through the hundreds of hours of videotapes BRCTV has amassed over 14 years to "resurrect" older programs that might be of interest to the community. In fact, thanks to the generous help of Laura Arsenault, we were able to broadcast during the Christmas season the very first Alumni Community Band holiday concert, from 1991. We received many calls and emails from happy viewers who were delighted to be able to recapture memories from years past, and we will continue to bring older shows to the airwaves as they emerge form the vault.

As we have done on many occasions in the past, we want to remind everyone that the BRCTV Community Bulletin Board is available to all non-profits in the region, in addition to local government and our schools, to publicize events or keep the community abreast of important information. Since we have no radio station dedicated to our region, the Boothbay Register and Channel 7 are the only media outlets dedicated to letting the community know about ongoing programs or upcoming events, and getting your message on the air is as easy as emailing us the pertinent information or a prepared PowerPoint slide.

Our Bulletin Board runs for an hour between noon and 1 p.m. and 6 and 7 p.m., and also runs throughout the wee hours of the night and morning after we sign off at 11 p.m.. BRCTV is seen in over 2,300 households in the Boothbay region and the Bristol peninsula, which translates into approximately 5,700 viewers of all ages. We exist as an organization to serve the needs of the community, and we're happy to help you get your message out to the public.

As we move forward into the new year, the board and staff of BRCTV will be making an effort to attract and train more volunteers in our community, to ensure that the wide array of interesting events and people in the region continue to be captured for posterity. No special talent is needed, and it's 100 percent free! So, if you have an idea for a documentary feature, an ongoing series or know of a community event that you think should be broadcast, just contact Rick or Jonne and they'll get you started.

We'll be announcing our schedule of upcoming classes in the near future, so keep your eyes on our Bulletin Board and the Boothbay Register for dates and times. In the meantime, if you'd like to schedule a class for volunteers from your organization, call Rick or Jonne in the studio at 633-5022, or you can e-mail them at brctv7@verizon.net.