[opendtv] Mark's Monday Memo - 2004 April 26
- From: Mark Schubin <tvmark@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Multiple Addresses Suppressed <tvmark@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 21:27:19 -0400
- Follow-ups:
- Indentations - Some of you are getting them, and some of you
aren't. I'm trying to figure out what's going on. Thanks for your
patience.
- The Ferree plan - Speaking at the National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB) convention, Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
chair Michael Powell wasn't sure it was a good idea but thought
broadcasters shouldn't reject it because "More dangerous things might be
afoot."
I can't find a transcript on the NAB or FCC web sites (and they had
none at the NAB newsroom), so here are various reports on the speech:
<http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=televisionNews&storyID=4883249§ion=news>
<http://www.tvweek.com/news/web042004.html#powell>
<http://www.cedmagazine.com/cedailydirect/2004/0404/cedaily040421.htm#2>
<http://www.imaspub.com/nabdaily/wed_am/Powell_tackles.shtml>
- Cable/Satellite and H/DTV -
- Time Warner Cable reportedly carries local CBS HD broadcasts
in 26 of the 29 of its divisions where CBS transmits an HD signal, ABC
in 26 of 31, and NBC in 22 of 30:
<http://www.cableworld.com/cgi/cw/show_mag.cgi?pub=cw&mon=041904&file=canhidef.htm>
- The Digital Transition Coalition has been formed by an odd
combination of EchoStar and such diverse groups as Americans for Tax
Reform, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, the Media
Access Project, Public Knowledge, and the Small Business Survival
Committee. They have some lofty goals, in some cases
self-contradictory, such as "immediate redeployment of the analog
spectrum dedicated for public-safety access nationwide" and "the
re-auctioning of the analog spectrum by the FCC no later than December
31, 2007." Their means for doing this is to get Congress to modify the
Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act so that EchoStar can carry network
HD signals everywhere.
Here's the story:
<http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-21-2004/0002157003&EDATE=>
Here's their web site:
<http://www.iwantmyhdtv.com/iwanthdtv/>
- Microsoft announced that both USDTV and Voom will use their
WMV9 codec to further compress their signals. Voom will reportedly
double their HD capacity (which they already seem to have a hard time
filling). USDTV would be able to offer more cable channels and/or more
HDTV (reportedly by the end of this year), but there's the question of
what to do with existing boxes:
<http://www.cedmagazine.com/cedailydirect/2004/0404/cedaily040419.htm#1>
- A transcript of the opening address of NAB-president Edward
Fritts IS available. The heart of it is his Reagan-like call for cable
to "Tear down that wall!" The wall is a "digital dam" preventing most
of what Fritts calls the 1200 local DTT stations from being carried on
cable. He then went to point two of the cable problem. "Predictably,
the cable industry is fighting multicasting," meaning cable doesn't want
to be forced to carry a DTT station's multicasts:
<http://www.nab.org/Newsroom/PressRel/speeches/Keynote041904.asp>
- Emmis Communications CEO Jeff Smulyan offered a good reason
for cable not to want to carry multicasts. Like USDTV, he's proposing a
broadcast cable-like service via DTT, this time with up to 50 SD as well
as a bunch of HD for $25/month. In addition to Emmis, other
broadcasters signed on are reportedly Barrignton, Citadel, Clear
Channel, Fisher, Media General, Meredith, Nexstar, Prime Cities, Raycom,
Scripps, and Sunbelt:
<http://www.tvweek.com/news/web041904.html#smulyan>
<http://www.tvweek.com/technology/042604broadcasters.html>
- Here's a recent list of cable/satellite channels in HD (TNT
is supposed to start next week):
<http://www.cableworld.com/cgi/cw/show_mag.cgi?pub=cw&mon=041904&file=hdtvnationalservicesbr.htm>
- July 1 - Just about two months to go!
- TV sets that would require DTT-reception circuitry starting 2005:
- RCA 36V550T 36-inch TV w/$50 gift card @ Circuit City $599.99
- Toshiba 36-inch TV @ Sears $599.99
- Toshiba 36E60 36-inch TV @ Royal $298
- Toshiba 50A60 50-inch 4:3 projection TV w/PIP @ Royal $428
- TV sets that would require DTT-reception circuitry starting 2006:
- RCA 25-inch TV @ Royal $98
- Apex AT2708S 27-inch TV @ Ultimate $169.95
- Magnavox 27MS3404 27-inch TV @ Best Buy $199.99
- Magnavox 27MS343S 27-inch TV @ Circuit City $199.99
- Panasonic CT27L8S 27-inch TV @ Circuit City $219.99
- Philips 27PT543S 27-inch TV @ Best Buy $219.99
- Sony 27S45 27-inch TV @ Royal $144
- Toshiba 27H50 27-inch TV @ Royal $139
- Apex PF2720 27-inch flat-screen TV @ Circuit City $249.99
- Devices that would require DTT-reception circuitry in 2007:
- Apex AT1308 13-inch TV @ Circuit City $64.99
- "Famous Maker" 13-inch TV @ Royal $58
- Magnavox 13MT14S3 13-inch TV @ Best Buy $79.99
- "Famous Maker" 19-inch TV @ Royal $78
- Magnavox 20MT133S 20-inch TV @ Circuit City $109.99
- Advent Q2035A 20-inch flat-screen TV @ Best Buy $129.99
- Sylvania 23-inch TV @ Sears $139.88
- "Famous Maker" VCR @ Royal $44.99
- Panasonic PVD744S/PVD4744S DVD/VCR combo @ Circuit City $129.99
- Samsung DVD-V3500 DVD/VCR combo @ CompUSA $119.99
- Sylvania DVD/VCR combo @ Sears $99.99
- Toshiba SD-V392 DVD/VCR combo @ Best Buy $129.99
- LiteOn LVW5001 DVD+R/RW recorder @ CompUSA $229.99 after rebate
- DVD+R/RW recorder @ Fry's $199
- Devices that would require dual DTT-reception circuitry in 2007:
- Symphonic SC313D 13-inch TV/VCR combo @ Best Buy $99.99
- Broksonic CTSGT9369T 19-inch TV/VCR combo @ Circuit City $159.99
- Devices not covered by the mandate but using analog TV broadcasts:
- RCA EO9344 9-inch under-cabinet TV @ Best Buy $149.99
- May 1 - None of the lists I check have been updated since the
last memo.
- NAB -
- There was much concern by broadcasters at the show about the
repacking of the spectrum that is to occur when analog is shut down.
The FCC just made a report of analog-channel utilization available (as
of the end of 2003). Ignore the incorrect URL in the opening document.
Just keep incrementing the last digit of this URL until you run out:
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-246251A1.doc>
- There remains concern about the effect of Dotcast on stereo
transmission, even if the aural carrier is not used for the
datacasting. Quite a few PBS stations have signed up for this, so it
should be interesting.
- Dennis Wallace presented a very scary paper at the PBS
Technology Conference on low-ish power DTT in the presence of
interference. One Washington station went from a potential audience in
excess of six million to a REAL potential audience of 75 (yes, 75 -- not
75,000).
- I saw no one attempting DTT reception anywhere on the show
floor. The DTV Drafthouse was moved to the South Hall upper lobby, and
Zenith was right next to the floor-to-ceiling windows, but they didn't
attempt reception there.
- Victor Tawil of MSTV presented a paper on ATSC reception in
difficult areas based on the latest receiver. All sites were in the
Rosslyn area of Arlington, Virginia (across the river from Washington)
outdoors on a five-foot mast. The results were 65% success rate (based
on fewer than four hits in three minutes); measured the old way (fewer
than 50 hits) , it would have been 86%. That's not counting 14 (of 78)
sites that were below threshold. These were selected to be difficult
sites, so the percentages don't apply to the population in general.
- Andy Bater of Tribune gave a paper on the ATSC DTV Receiver
Performance Recommended Practices. He noted that some perfectly legal
adjacent channel situations can actually result in a carrier-to-noise
ratio below 8-VSB threshold. He also noted that there was a 58 us echo
measured in the Philadelphia area.
- Adam Goldberg of Sharp gave a paper on the issues of PSIP
for E-VSB. They're not simple.
- Ling-yuan Tseng of Taiwan Micro Display said $2000 LCoS sets
should be available by 2006.
- I neglected to mention that the Kinetta
digital-cinematography camera is to offer an actual hand crank (REALLY!)
for over- and under-cranking:
<http://www.kinetta.com>
- LitePanels had a cute little 150-LED camera-mounted diffuse
light (5600K).
- Belden has resurrected RG-179 as 179DT. The DT stands for
"digital truck." The idea is that the cable is so light and thin that
it saves weight and improves air flow. Belden says it'll carry HD-SDI
at least 110 feet. A Belden staffer said Sony says at least 170 feet.
- ARRI and Licht-Technik both showed diffuse light panels
based on the Osram Planon sources (flat -- like an all-white plasma
panel -- originally developed for LCD backlighting). ARRI's was
available in either 3200K or 5600K (very high CRI in either case) with
no difference in light output and a reported 10,000-hour life.
- Panavision's 300x zoom lens got a little soft at the end.
One person there attributed that to optical limits; another said it
could be tweaked. I also neglected to mention last week that the
Fujinon precision-focus lens loses about 3/4 stop due to the beam
splitter for the focus sensors.
- In case you haven't been following ANY NAB news, Snell &
Wilcox was offering free MXF tools (MXF Express).
- Enco's Guardien is an automatic voice-recognition
anti-obscenity delay blooper; it can use some training. Pixelmetrix was
another in the big list of wardrobe-malfunction delays.
- Band Pro also had an HD slomo camera, too (Cine SpeedCam).
They also showed Baytech's CineRAM, which can record the outputs of the
new digital-cinema cameras.
- Sony's Luma series LCD monitors have good viewing angles,
but Imp Electronics' Hummingbird series have not only that but also full
color, full contrast viewability in direct sunlight! REALLY! I took
one outside!
- Buf's Sport is an integrated replay server built into
something the size of one of their old remote controls.
- Shining Technology's CitiDisk DV is a tiny DV25 drive that
can be placed almost anywhere on a camera.
- Baystor has a DVD recorder that includes VBI stuff like
closed captions and VITC.
- Fuji Television had a bunch of cool stuff: an uncompressed
two-channel HD link from Tokyo over IP with zero delay (users got to try
their luck with an arcade crane game in Tokyo), a virtual-set/motion
control system called Camsat, a fluorescent spotlight called Flocubic,
and a folding aluminum apple-box replacement with great features called
Valise Pro.
- Kwill (a KDD company) was making its NAB debut with
real-time quality-assessing test gear (MPEG-2 or baseband), supposedly
with great perceptual correlation (over 90%). Tek had some new test
gear, of which my favorite was a new matrix signal including both luma
and color-difference moving zone plates. Leitch bought Videotek. Vqual
also showed test stuff.
- Telecast Fiber's Mamba is intended to interconnect trucks.
It goes patch-to-fiber.
- Apple not only had a DVCPROHD codec built into Final Cut Pro
HD, but their Motion is a dirt-cheap ($299) graphics creation server.
- Modulus Video had AVC (H.264) SD and HD. Envivio was also
showing AVC stuff. But no one knew what the latest licensing issues were.
There are two patent pools. The Via Licensing group came out with
terms on April 20. I believe these are those terms:
- $15,000 initial (waived for small projects and with
hardship concessions available)
- no fees for anything done before 2005
- $0.25/encoder or decoder ("temporary" decoder fees recurr)
- $0.025/permanently sold program over 90 minutes
- $0.0025/pay-per-view
<http://www.vialicensing.com/news/via_pr_0404_AVCPatentTerms.html>
The MPEG LA group is still keeping people guessing. One person
involved in one of the pools opined to me that the terms MPEG LA
recently reached with Japan's broadcasters would have to be available to
others, but he couldn't swear to what those terms were:
<http://www.mpegla.com/>
MPEG LA is forming a pool for the Microsoft-based VC-9, too, so I
wonder what terms USDTV and Voom think they got and whether they are
indemnified.
- Broadcast International's CodecSys claims to get HD down to
3 Mbps by switching codecs on the fly:
<http://www.codecsys.com/>
- Thales Crystal inserts bugs in MPEG-2 HD for under $20k.
- Horita's Pocket PA sends time code to a Pocket PC via
Bluetooth.
- Element Labs' Versa Tile is a set background based on giant
LED pixels and a controller.
- J-Lab was showing CED-CETA's Pen-Gen, a handheld HD-SDI
(three formats)/SDI test signal generator. Wohler's Pen-Pal HD is to be
similar but isn't out yet.
- Dan Dugan's D-3 automatic mic mixer supposedly has no limit
on open mics.
- All-Mobile Video's Matrix HD fly-pack (roughly equivalent to
a full-blown HD truck) was set up and working in a booth (partial
equipment).
- Exavio's ExaMax and ExaVault provide portable terabyte
storage. The trays of drives can be write-protected and moved on a
project basis.
- The FCC was raffling off a one-month license, good anywhere
in the U.S., to transmit 1 mw maximum at 93 GHz with 1 Hz modulation.
- Ikegami had four CMOS HD cameras.
- Kodak had an autostereoscopic display, but you had to stick
your face into it.
- QuVis had an ASIC for its codec.
- There's a new Digital Cinema Society.
- Avid's DNxHD codec allows variable compression.
- Attendance was 97,544, up from 88,020. 22,320 were
foreign. Almost all 97,544 seemed to be in the Apple booth all the
time. Most of the rest seemed to be at Avid or Sony.
- Here's another take on the show:
<http://bth.broadcastengineering.com/april_26/index.htm>
- Here are the awards NAB gave out based on the votes of the
crowd:
- In the Content Creation category: Apple Motion; Leitch
Inc. VelocityHD; LitePanels LitePanels; Panasonic Broadcast P2 Series;
and TM Systems DubStation II.
- In the Content Management category: BayStor/Karden
Group BK-2500; ENCO Systems Guardien; Fast Forward Video Covert DVR;
Maximum Throughput Inc. Sledgehammer; and Thales Broadcast & Multimedia
CRYSTAL Logo Inserter.
- And in the Content Delivery category: Decisionmark
Guide Channel; VBrick Systems Inc. EtherneTV; Vela CineView Quad; Vyvx
HD VenueNet; and Wolf Coach Inc. Sprinter.
<http://www.imaspub.com/nabdaily/wed_pm/AIMS_laud.shtml>
- Texas Instruments today announced the shipment of its three-millionth
DLP system. I don't have a URL for this yet.
- International H/DTV news:
- According to the Irish Times, about 100,000 Freeview boxes have
been sold to viewers in Ireland who live close enough to Northern
Ireland to pick up Freeview signals from Belfast and Newry:
<http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds14235.html>
- The Australian Broadcasting Authority says that country's
broadcasters met or exceeded their mandatory HD requirements. Among the
HD programs are "Alias," "CSI," "ER," and "Everybody Loves Raymond":
<http://www.aba.gov.au/abanews/news_releases/2004/37nr04.htm>
- "The BBC is considering distribution of HD. This won't, in
itself, be a driver for digital take-up for the owners of millions of
small-screen SD analogue televisions currently in the market, but it
would be a service potentially of interest to the growing number of
owners of large screen devices":
<http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds14311.html>
- Link Research won the Queen's Award for Enterprise for its Link
XP wireless camera system:
<http://www.eetuk.com/bus/news/OEG20040421S0010>
- Electronic Engineering Times takes note of lip-sync problems, this
time caused by display technologies:
<http://www.eetimes.com/sys/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=18901792>
- Sony of Canada has announced a 12-inch wireless LCD monitor called
LocationFree. It just needs to be within 100 feet of a Wi-Fi point:
<http://www.marketnews.ca/news_mobileelectronics.cgi#1082748975>
- For the ninth week in a row, the Consumer Electronics Association
(CEA) has reported no factory-to-U.S.-dealer sales of (supposedly)
non-H/DTV projection TVs; when it hits 10 weeks, I'll assume the
category is dead and stop reporting it.
VCRs were down 68.3% for the first 13 weeks of 2004 compared to the
same period in 2003, and a near-identical 68.2% for the first 14 weeks.
Direct-view was UP 4.4% for the first 13 weeks and up 3.9% for the first
14. My ten-week running average was down 2.8% for the first 13 and down
7.6% for the first 14.
So-called "Digital Television" sales to U.S. dealers for the 13th
week were 95,194 units; for the 14th they were 46,126. For the first 13
weeks of the year, there were 975,312 units; for the first 14 weeks
1,021,438. For both periods, "Digital Televisions" (most of which are
HDTV displays without DTT-reception capability) accounted for about
14.3% of the TVs (not counting plasma or direct-view LCD) sold to U.S.
dealers so far this year. It may be worth noting here what that means.
Over 85% of the TVs sold so far this year were still plain non-H/DTV
direct-view TVs with picture tubes.
To qualify as a "Digital Television," a display need only be
capable of dealing with at least 480p; it need not be capable of either
receiving digital signals or displaying them. Devices actually capable
of receiving DTT signals were still a small fraction of those numbers.
- Ads for set-top DTT receivers: I saw none the past two weeks.
- The ads - Two-weeks worth - I call both "merchandise cards" and "gift
cards" gift cards:
- Best Buy (appropriate disclaimers):
- Daewoo DP-42SM 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $2449.99**
- JVC LT26WX84 26-inch widescreen direct-view LCD TV $2699.99
- JVC PD42WV74 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $4499.99**/***
- Mitsubishi WS-48313 48-inch 16:9 projection TV $1699.99**
- Mitsubishi WS-65313 65-inch 16:9 projection TV $2499.99
- Panasonic PT-50LC13 50-inch LCD projection TV $2999.99**
- Philips 34PW850H 34-inch 16:9 direct-view CRT TV $1499.99
- Philips 42FD9954 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $4999.99***
- Pioneer PDP4341HD 43-inch 16:9 plasma TV $6999.99***
- RCA D52W15 52-inch 16:9 projection TV $1299.99**
- Samsung HLN-5065W 50-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV $3499.99
- Sharp 32F641 32-inch 4:3 direct-view TV $499.99
- Sharp LC20E1/2U 20-inch direct-view LCD TV $1099.99
- Sharp LC37HV4U 37-inch 16:9 LCD direct-view TV $5999.99***
- Sony KE37XS910 37-inch 16:9 plasma TV $5499.99**/***
- Sony KE50XS910 50-inch 16:9 plasma TV $8999.99**/***
- Sony KV32FS100 32-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV $699.99
- Sony KV32HS510 32-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV $1299.99
- Sony KV36FS100 36-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV $999.99
- Toshiba 26HL83P 26-inch widescreen LCD TV $2999.99
- Toshiba 32HF73 32-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV $999.99
- Toshiba 51H83 51-inch 16:9 projection TV $1799.99**
- Toshiba 57H83 57-inch 16:9 CRT projection TV $1999.99
- Zenith L23V36 23-inch widescreen LCD TV $1999.99
** price includes 5.1-channel home-theater sound system
*** price includes basic installation after mail-in rebate
- Circuit City (appropriate disclaimers):
- Akai PDP4247 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV w/$50 gift card $2499.99
- Hitachi 42HDT50 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV w/$500 gift card $5999.99***
- Hitachi 46W500 46-inch 16:9 CRT proj. TV/DVD player w/$100 GC $1699.99
- Hitachi 50V500 50-inch 16:9 LCD projection TV w/$300 gift card
$3299.99
- Hitachi 51S500 51-inch 16:9 CRT projection TV w/$200 gift card
$1999.99
- Hitachi 57F500A 57-inch 16:9 CRT proj. TV w/$200 gift card $1999.99
- Panasonic PT47WX53 47-inch 16:9 projection TV w/$100 gift card
$1499.99
- Panasonic PT50LC13 50-inch LCD projection TV w/$300 gift card $2999.99
- Panasonic PT53TW53 53-inch 16:9 CRT proj. TV w/$100 GC $1299.99****
- Panasonic TH42PX20U 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV w/$500 gift card $4999.99**
- Philips 15PF7835 15-inch 4:3 LCD TV w/$50 gift card $599.99
- Philips 15PF9936 15-inch 4:3 LCD TV w/$50 gift card $699.99
- RCA HD50LPW42 50-inch 16:9 integrated DLP proj. DTV w/$300 GC $3399.99
- RCA HD61LPW42 61-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV w/$300 gift card $3899.99
- Samsung HCN4226W 42-inch 16:9 CRT proj. TV w/$100 gift card $1399.99
- Samsung HLN437W 43-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV w/300 gift card
$2999.99
- Samsung LTN1535 15-inch 4:3 direct-view LCD TV w/$50 gift card $599.99
- Samsung LTN1565 15-inch 4:3 direct-view LCD TV w/two $50 GCs $699.99
- Samsung LTN1735 17-inch 4:3 direct-view LCD TV w/$50 gift card $799.99
- Samsung SPN4235 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV w/two $200 gift cards $2799.99
- Samsung TXN2745FP 27-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV w/$50 GC $499.99
- Samsung TXN2775HF 27-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV w/$50 GC $699.99
- Samsung TXN3245FP 32-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV w/$50 GC $699.99
- Samsung TXN3275HF 32-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV w/$50 GC $899.99
- Sharp LC13E1UB 13-inch 4:3 LCD direct-view TV w/$50 gift card $499.99
- Sharp LC15B4US 15-inch 4:3 LCD direct-view TV w/$50 gift card $749.99
- Sharp LC20B4US 20-inch 4:3 LCD direct-view TV w/$100 gift card
$1199.99
- Sharp LC20E1UB 20-inch 4:3 LCD direct-view TV w/$100 gift card
$1099.99
- Sony KLV21SG2 21-inch widescreen LCD TV w/$100 gift card $1699.99
- Sony KP46WT510 46-inch 16:9 projection TV w/$100 gift card $1499.99
- Sony KP51WS510 51-inch 16:9 projection TV w/$100 gift card $1699.99
- Sony KV32HS510 32-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV w/$100 gift card
$1299.99
- Sony KV34HS510 34-inch 16:9 direct-view CRT TV w/$200 GC $1999.99
- Zenith L15V36 15-inch 4:3 LCD TV w/$50 gift card $649.99
*** price includes basic installation after mail-in rebate
**** price after mail-in rebate
- CompUSA (appropriate disclaimers):
- Hitachi 32HDT50 32-inch 16:9 plasma TV $3699.99***
- Panasonic PT-50LC13 50-inch LCD projection TV $2699.99
- Panasonic PT-53WX55 53-inch 16:9 CRT projection TV $1299.88
- Philips 42FD9954 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $4699.99***
- Pioneer PDP4340HD 43-inch 16:9 plasma TV $6999.99***
- Polaroid LCD-1750 17-inch widescreen LCD TV $699.99
- Samsung SPN4235 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $2999.99**/***
- Samsung TXN3075WHF 30-inch 16:9 direct-view CRT TV $899.99
** price includes 5.1-channel home-theater sound system
*** price includes basic installation after mail-in rebate
- Dell (Los Angeles Times, no disclaimer):
- Dell 17-inch widescreen direct-view LCD TV $699
- Dell 30-inch widescreen direct-view LCD TV $2599
- Fry's (Fort Worth Star Telegram, no disclaimer):
- Sony 43-inch 4:3 projection TV $1199
- Fry's (Los Angeles Times, no disclaimer):
- "Major Brand" 57-inch 16:9 integrated projection DTV $1799
- Good Guys (Los Angeles Times, appropriate disclaimer):
- JVC AV36DF74 36-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV $999
- Mitsubishi WS65411 65-inch 16:9 projection TV $1999
- Philips 17PF9945 17-inch 16:9 LCD TV $999
- Philips 34PW9819 34-inch 16:9 direct-view CRT TV w/stand $1699
- Philips 42FD9954 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $4999
- Samsung HPN5039X 50-inch 16:9 plasma TV $6999
- Sony KDE50XBR950 50-inch 16:9 integrated plasma DTV $9999
- ViewSonic N2700W 27-inch widescreen LCD direct-view TV $2499
- ViewSonic VPW425 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $2299
- Ken Crane's (Los Angeles Times, no disclaimer):
- Epson LS47P1 47-inch 16:9 projection TV/photo printer $3498
- Mitsubishi WS-55413 55-inch 16:9 CRT projection TV $1998
- Panasonic PT-60LC13 60-inch LCD projection TV $3998
- Zenith P42W34B 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $2798
- Zenith P50W38 50-inch 16:9 plasma TV $5998
- Royal Computers and Electronics (AM New York, no disclaimer):
- RCA ZA46 46-inch widescreen projection TV $397
- Sony 53S65 53-inch widescreen projection TV $498
- Sony 61S75 61-inch widescreen projection TV $598
- Sony 65S65 65-inch widescreen projection TV $999
- Toshiba 61H60 61-inch widescreen projection TV $618
- Sears (Minneapolis Star Tribune, no disclaimer):
- Hitachi 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV, Sears #75743 $5999.99
- Hitachi 46-inch 16:9 projection TV, Sears #54713 $1399.99
- Philips 32-inch 16:9 plasma TV, Sears #75333 $3499.88
- Samsung 26-inch 16:9 direct-view CRT TV, Sears #45063 $599.99
- Samsung 30-inch 16:9 direct-view CRT TV, Sears #42083 $949.88
- Samsung 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV, Sears #75033 $3799.99
- Samsung 43-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV, Sears #54073 $2999.99
- Sony 32-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV, Sears #42683 $1299.99
- Sony 34-inch 16:9 direct-view CRT TV, Sears #46693 $1999.99
- Sony 46-inch 16:9 projection TV, Sears #54604 $1499.99
- Sony 51-inch 16:9 projection TV, Sears #54623 $1699.99
- Toshiba 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV, Sears #75443 $5999.99
- Toshiba 51-inch 16:9 projection TV, Sears #54433 $1699.99
- Ultimate Electronics (Minneapolis Star Tribune, appropriate disclaimer):
- Akai PT4298 42-inch 16:9 projection TV $998.95
- Epson LS57P1 57-inch 16:9 projection TV/photo printer $3999.95
- Mitsubishi WS48313 48-inch 16:9 projection TV $1499.95
- Panasonic CT32HL43 32-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV $898.95
- Panasonic PT47WXD63 47-inch 16:9 projection TV $1499.95
- Panasonic TC17LA1 17-inch 4:3 LCD TV $699.95
- Panasonic TH42PX20 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $4999.95*****
- Panasonic TH50PX20U 50-inch 16:9 plasma TV $6999.95*****
- Samsung HLN467W 46-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV $3134.95
- Sharp LC22SV6U 22-inch 16:9 LCD direct-view TV $1499.95
- Sony KDP57WS550 57-inch 16:9 integrated projection DTV $2199.95
- Zenith C34W37 34-inch 16:9 integr. direct-view CRT cable/DTV $1709.95
- Zenith P42W22B 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $2498.95
***** price includes DTT receiver/decoder
- DVD news: According to CEA, sales of DVD players to U.S. dealers for
the first 13 weeks of 2004 were up 13.4% over the same period in 2003
(CEA revised its figures). My ten-week running average was up 13.6%.
For the first 14 weeks, CEA put the growth rate at 9.9%; my ten-week
running average was 5.9%. Is the growth rate finally slowing to
something reasonable?
- PVR news:
- Today's New York Times, based on IDC information, reports that of
all the PVRs in the U.S. in 2003, EchoStar had 36%, TiVo DirecTV 20%,
TiVo stand-alone 19%, and Scientific-Atlanta 14%:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/26/business/media/26MOSTWANTED.html>
- At NAB, S-A showed the ability to network three other cable boxes
to one with a PVR.
- The HD TiVos are now being delivered -- and hacked (for increased
capacity):
<http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=171445>
- A former DirecTV anti-piracy enforcer now calls his former job "little
better than a 'bag man for the mob'":
<http://www.securityfocus.com/news/8472>
- The FCC has created an Office of Intergovernmental Affairs:
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-246218A1.doc>
- According to Adams Media Research, "Finding Nemo" made $340 million in
box-office revenues in 2003 but $537 million in home video revenues the
same year:
<http://www.adamsmediaresearch.com/cart/enter.html?target=Titles_Database.html>
- Upcoming Dates (DTV and non-DTV):
- April 28, San Francisco, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/02_San_Francisco.htm>.
- April 29, Sacramento, California, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB"
(not NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/03_Sacramento.htm>.
- May 1, Napa Valley Community College, California, Road Show -- "A
Taste of NAB" (not NAB affiliated)
<http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/04_Napa_ValleyCC.htm>.
- *May 2-5, Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, The National
Show (NCTA) <http://www.thenationalshow.com/>.
- May 3, Reno, Nevada, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/05_Reno.htm>.
- May 5, Fresno, California, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/06_Fresno.htm>.
- May 7, Los Angeles, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/07_Los_Angeles.htm>.
- *May 10, Kresge Auditorium, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT
Media Lab/CEA look at the future of consumer electronics
<http://cel.media.mit.edu/>.
- May 10, San Diego, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/08_San_Diego.htm>.
- May 12, Phoenix, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/09_Phoenix.htm>.
- *May 12, HBO, New York, SMPTE New York Section NAB Wrap-Up
<http://www.mte.com/nysmpte/meetings/mtg0405.htm>.
- May 14, Albuquerque, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/10_Albuquerque.htm>.
- May 17, El Paso, Texas, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/11_El_Paso.htm>.
- May 19, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/12_Tulsa.htm>.
- *May 20-23, New York Hilton, Home Entertainment 2004 East
<http://www.homeentertainment-expo.com/>.
- May 21, Dallas, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/13_Dallas.htm>.
- May 24, Houston, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/14_Houston.htm>.
- May 26, Lafayette, Louisiana, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not
NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/15_Lafayette.htm>.
- May 28, New Oreans, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/16_New_Orleans.htm>.
- June 1, Jackson, Mississippi, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not
NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/17_Jackson.htm>.
- June 3, Montgomery, Alabama, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not
NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/18_Montgomery.htm>.
- June 5-11, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, InfoComm
<http://infocomm03.expoexchange.com/>.
- June 7, Tampa, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB affiliated)
<http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/19_Tampa.htm>.
- June 9, Miami, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB affiliated)
<http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/20_Miami.htm>.
- June 11, West Palm Beach, Florida, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB"
(not NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/21_WPalm_Beach.htm>.
- June 14, Jacksonville, Florida, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB"
(not NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/22_Jacksonville.htm>.
- June 15-18, Singapore Expo, Broadcast Asia 2004, Audio Technology
2004, CableSat 2004, ComGraphics & Animation 2004, CommunicAsia 2004,
EnterpriseIT 2004 <http://www.broadcast-asia.com/>.
- June 16, Atlanta, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/23_Atlanta.htm>.
- June 18, Huntsville, Alabama, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not
NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/24_Huntsville.htm>.
- June 21, Nashville, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/25_Nashville.htm>.
- June 23, Knoxville, Tennessee, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not
NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/26_Knoxville.htm>.
- June 25, Greenville, South Carolina, Road Show -- "A Taste of
NAB" (not NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/27_Greenville.htm>.
- June 28, Charlotte, North Carolina, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB"
(not NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/28_Charlotte.htm>.
- June 30, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, Road Show -- "A Taste of
NAB" (not NAB affiliated)
<http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/29_Raleigh-Durham.htm>.
- July 6, Baltimore-Washington, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not
NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/30_Baltimore-Washington.htm>.
- July 8, Philadelphia, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/31_Philadelphia.htm>.
- July 12, New Haven, Connecticut, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB"
(not NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/32_New_Haven.htm>.
- July 14, Boston, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/33_Boston.htm>.
- July 16, Eastern New York, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/34_Up_State_NY.htm>.
- July 19, Binghamton, New York, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not
NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/35_Binghamton.htm>.
- July 19-23, Seattle, MPEG meetings.
- July 21, Cleveland, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/36_Cleveland.htm>.
- July 22, Columbus, Ohio, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/37_Columbus.htm>.
- July 26, Indianapolis, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/38_Indianapolis.htm>.
- July 28, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, Road Show -- "A Taste of
NAB" (not NAB affiliated)
<http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/39_Urbana-Champaign.htm>.
- July 29, Madison, Wisconsin, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not
NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/40_Madison.htm>.
- August 2, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB"
(not NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/41_Minn-StP.htm>.
- August 4, Omaha, Nebraska, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/42_Omaha.htm>.
- August 6, Riverton, Wyoming, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not
NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/43_Riverton.htm>.
- August 9, Salt Lake City, Utah, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB"
(not NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/44_SLC.htm>.
- August 11, Bozeman, Montana, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not
NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/45_Bozeman.htm>.
- August 13, Boise, Idaho, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/46_Boise.htm>.
- August 16, Spokane, Washington, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB"
(not NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/47_Spokane.htm>.
- August 18, Washington State University, Road Show -- "A Taste of
NAB" (not NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/48_WSU.htm>.
- August 20, Seattle, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/49_Seattle.htm>.
- August 24, Portland, Oregon, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not
NAB affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/50_Portland.htm>.
- August 25, Eugene, Oregon, Road Show -- "A Taste of NAB" (not NAB
affiliated) <http://www.tech-notes.tv/2004/51_Eugene.htm>.
- August 30-September 1, Hollywood Renaissance Hotel, Entertainment
Media Expo <http://www.media-tech.net/news/New_A.htm>.
- September 1-3, Reading, UK, International Symposium on Consumer
Electronics <http://www.isce.reading.ac.uk>.
- September 9-14, RAI, Amsterdam, International Broadcasting
Convention <http://www.ibc.org>.
- October 6-7, Washington (D.C.) Convention Center, Government
Video Technology Expo <http://www.GVExpo.com>.
- October 13-15, Hotel Washington, Washington, D.C., IEEE Broadcast
Symposium <http://www.ieee.org/organizations/society/bt/symposium.html>.
- November 4-7, Westin St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, Home
Entertainment 2004 West <http://www.homeentertainment-expo.com/>.
- November 17-19, Makuhari Messe (Tokyo area), InterBEE
<http://bee.jesa.or.jp>.
- ***January 26-28, Rancho Las Palmas Marriott, California, ***The
Technology Retreat*** <http://www.hpaonline.com>.
* - new or revised listing
TTFN,
Mark
PS Permission is granted to forward this or any other Monday Memo.
Next week's memo might be late. There will be no memo the week of June
14, and the memo the following week will be late.
Confused about something in the memo? Please first check out the second
post-script to the January 5 memo here:
<http://www.digitaltelevision.com/mondaymemo/mlist/frm02052.html>
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