[opendtv] Re: How should I respond?
- From: "Donald Koeleman" <donald.koeleman@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 03:15:47 +0100
Samsung?! I was under the impression that this list was all about LG...
----- Original Message -----
From: "Craig Birkmaier" <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "OpenDTV Mail List" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 3:07 AM
Subject: [opendtv] How should I respond?
A rare opportunity has presented itself to cross pollinate our
discussions with a question from a reader of Broadcast Engineering. I
will not identify this reader, however, I will say that the person is
a retired broadcast engineer. here is the question:
>What is the Fifth Generation chip that makes HDTV
>reception better than previous receivers?
>Was thinking of buying a tuner now, for watching what is on HDTV
>broadcasts, using my old JVC 31" analog TV, and later buying an HDTV
>Monitor to use with my new fifth generation tuner.
I responded to my editor with the following analysis, asking for the
opportunity to see if the OpenDTV community could come up with a good
response:
-----------------
This has been a hot topic on the OpenDTV list. I am going to try to
see if we can come up with a consensus response.
There are two key issues here:
1. the equalizer chips that the retired engineer is referring to.
These are the chips that are referenced by generation #.
2. The tuner front ends that feed the EQ chips. There has been much
controversy here, and this portion of an ATSC receiver may be more
important to overall performance than the EQ chip.
Samsung built a prototype box (nickname: Cold Fusion) which used
their 5th generation EQ chip. This is the box that worked at Mark
Schubin's apartment, which was pointed to as proof that the reception
problems have been solved. The problem is that no commercial product
has come close to matching the performance of that prototype.
For several years, Sinclair, NAB, MSTV and others have expressed the
importance of a proper front end, with respect to reception issues.
The recent work done by the NAB and MSTV to develop an acceptable STB
included some beefed up specs for the front ends. It is interesting
to listen to the chatter about the various receivers that are
available and how well they work. Several 4th generation receivers
seem to do a decent job, without the more complex EQ chips.
And then there is the decision by Samsung NOT to offer stand-alone
STBs with their 5th generation chips. They are using the chip in
their integrated TV receivers, but it has been reported that these
integrated sets do not match the performance of the Cold Fusion
prototype.
Several other companies are preparing to offer products with the 5th
gen Samsung chip, including USDTV. I am not certain if there are any
stand alone receivers using 5th gen chips on the market today.
So I will try to get some additional facts on all of this before I respond.
---------------------
So what should "we" say?
Regards
Craig
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