Like, it’s the current year, if I fire up Discord, Skype or even FaceTime I can talk to or video message people on the other side of the country with close to zero lag, as if they’re right here with me. Still, when I watch TV sometimes I see that there’s a delay in the communication between the host and the reporter on the scene, even if they’re in the same city.
– So, we have Jim on the scene to bring us the newest news
– [camera focuses on Jim, 3 weird seconds passes]
– Oh yeah, John, we’re here with Ms. Davis who lost all her belongings on the Godzilla attack…
In: Technology
One reason is that the director in the control room is talking to the reporter on an earwig. The audio link is typically over cellular phone or it could be on an audio channel on the van’s microwave transmitter. The reporter is generally not only listening to the tv host. The director counts down the reporter, then the reporter starts talking.
The reporter could be in a noisy location and not hear the control room (holding one hand up to one ear to hear the cue or host questions), the reporter could be gathering their thoughts and miss the cue.
Also, cellular telephones have a different amount of delay versus the mpeg digital encoders the remote van uses to encode the video to be sent back to the station.
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