The U.S. government will allow its citizens an extension to the end of the month to claim charitable contributions for tsunami relief: <http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-quake-usa.html> Here are some very efficient (low-administrative-cost) relief organizations (all have four-star ratings from CharityNavigator.org): <http://www.americares.org/> <http://www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html> <http://www.directrelief.org/index.html> <http://www.hopeww.org/> <http://www.mercycorps.org/splash/> - Follow-ups: - ***The Technology Retreat***, January 26-28 (with a number of earlier pre-retreat events), at the Marriott Rancho Las Palmas Resort, Rancho Mirage, California - - In the main program, on Thursday morning, JVC vp Robert Harris is joining the tapeless-camcorder acquisition panel. What do LED backlights do for LCD TVs? What does a surface-conducting electron-emitting display (SED) look like? What is a "pocket projector"? Why might rear-projection TVs suddenly look better? How low can flat-panel TV prices go? Find out everything you missed about displays at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week when you attend Peter Putman's session Thursday afternoon. Lighting Media president Steve Buchsbaum is joining Teresis president Keri DeWitt in the "Solving Real Unscripted-TV Post Problems" session Friday morning. - Thursday's breakfast roundtables now include one from Telecast Fiber chief technology officer Eugene Baker on using fiber to attach a pared-down camera head capturing "4:4:4" HD signals to control and recording equipment elsewhere. Outgoing Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) chair Phil Livingston will moderate a Thursday breakfast roundtable on unlicensed TV channel devices. Will they provide the expected bandwidth? Will they screw up home and cable-TV reception? What happens to wireless mics? Is channel "sniffing" practical? Come and find out. Or go to Peter Putman's Thursday-morning breakfast roundtable on CableCARD issues and answers. He has extensive data on the use of CableCARDs in "digital-cable-ready" products from LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, RCA, and Sharp -- and they're all different! Friday's breakfast roundtables include one from Kodak vp of entertainment imaging Leon Silverman on post production and the new digital workflow. More interested in production? Telecast Fiber product manager Jim Hurwitz will moderate a roundtable on carrying all signals to and from a set on a single fiber cable. More interested in self-contained acquisition? Phil Livingston, this time as Panasonic vp and technical liaison, will continue Thursday morning's discussion of tapeless acquisition. There's still plenty of room for more breakfast roundtables, so, if you're registered and want to moderate one, just contact me. If you're not yet registered, you'd better do so IMMEDIATELY: <https://www.hpaonline.com/custom/forms/form.cfm?id=95> - Don't forget Tuesday afternoon's half-day seminars. They require a separate admission, but they'll be worth every penny. Are you a broadcaster? Do you work with broadcasters? Would you LIKE to work with broadcasters? Would you like broadcasters to do nice things for you with the data they carry? Come to the ATSC seminar "Getting PSIP Right" and learn what's necessary before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) starts chasing people with axes. They've really put together an outstanding program: <http://www.atsc.org/psip.html> - If you think you have no involvement in transmitted data, then you must surely be interested in moving-image acquisition. In that case, you should attend Charles Poynton's ALL-NEW seminar on HDTV and Digital Cinema Camera Technlogy. Do you know how to achieve wider dynamic range and color gamut? Do you know the different effects of color prisms, stripes, and Bayer filters? Do you know how they got those projectors small enough to fit in a pocket? SMPTE Gold Medal winner Charles Poynton does. Come to his seminar, and maybe you'll end up in his next book: <http://www.poynton.com/notes/events/20050125_PSP_HPA.html> What ELSE are you going to do on the 25th? Stand in Los Angeles getting rained on? Freeze in Chicago? - To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure WHO will be in the demo area. It is now officially full with a waiting list. But before our Dictator of Demos started slashing latecomers, these additional company names passed through my inbox: Globalstor Data, Inlet Technologies, JVC (showing how HD gets from the Goodyear airship via microwave), Linear Acoustics, Telecast Fiber, and Zetools. Who made the cut? Find out -- with a free drink in your hand -- at the demo-area cocktail party the evening of Wednesday the 26th. - The complete schedule is still available here: <http://www.hpaonline.com/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=304> - And, guess what! This may be the last ***Technology Retreat*** promotion you read this year. We are on the verge of being fire-marshal sold out. So, if you think you might want to stroll in on the 26th, maybe you'd better register immediately: <https://www.hpaonline.com/custom/forms/form.cfm?id=95> See you there! <http://www.hpaonline.com> One final tidbit: Want to see an 87-year-old (and good looking) showgirl do a split? No, she won't be at ***The Technology Retreat***. But she WILL be at the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, just down the road from the brain food: <http://www.psfollies.com/> - TiVoToGo - David Pogue had an interesting comment in his column in the Circuits section of Thursday's New York Times. "...copying shows takes a long time -- longer, in fact, than the running time of the shows themselves. At high quality (the second-best of TiVo's four recording settings), a half-hour show weighs in at 800 megabytes, which takes 50 minutes to copy across a wireless network": <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/06/technology/circuits/06stat.html> - The burned cable boxes - Cox withdrew its demand for $500 after learning that the family whose home burned down on Christmas with the cable boxes in it had no insurance: <http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=2750154&nav=EyAzUhYZ> - HD consumer disks - - Warren Communications News reported Thursday that Toshiba plans to ship its HD DVD recorder by the end of the year and plans to have a terabyte of storage (leapfrogging Blu-ray) by next year. The story is no longer on their site, but there are plenty of reports on Blu-ray and HD DVD from CES: <http://www.warren-news.com/> - Will Blu-ray's capacity and consortium win the day? Will HD DVD's ease of replication? Or is there another factor? According to Reuters, pornography is the key: <http://olympics.reuters.com/audi/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&stor yID=7274001> - HD via satellite - DirecTV plans to deliver local HD channels in 12 markets (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Tampa, and Washington, D.C.) later this year, but, because they're using advanced compression, customers will need new receivers: <http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050106/65719_1.html> - Consumer dislikes regarding display technologies - Pacific Media Associates has now posted the press release: <http://www.pacificmediaassociates.com/Press_releases/press_release.htm#pres s30> - CableCARD - - There are two stories on its progress (and that of the two-way agreement) in TWICE. In the one from CableLabs, it was noted that "By the holiday selling season of 2004, an estimated 1 million CableCARD-equipped devices were scheduled to be 'in the pipeline' toward consumers": <http://www.twice.com/article/CA492453.html> - In the other, it was noted that "As of November, 4,200 CableCARDs (one-way) had been deployed, while two-way talks continue": <http://www.twice.com/article/CA492495.html> - Samsung has been working out its own two-way agreements, the latest with Charter and Time Warner: <http://www.eet.com/sys/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=57300192> - LG is starting on the same path: <http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050106/65665_1.html> In a somewhat related story, it has been reported that LG, contrary to previous announcements, does not plan to issue its 5th-generation ATSC receiver (the only one to conquer my apartment) in a set-top box: <http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4950708#post4950708 > - July 1 - - The "tuner" mandate made it to The New York Times this week. The article said it "will add several hundred dollars in cost, at least at first, to sets so small that they cannot display high- definition signals effectively": <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/04/business/worldbusiness/04tele.html> - The trade publication TWICE (This Week In Consumer Electronics) had a similar "$300 premium asked for the new tuning technology, which many will never use": <http://www.twice.com/article/CA492512.html> - This week I've listed 82 advertised TVs 36-inch or larger (my Los Angeles correspondent was at CES). Of those, 23 (28%) have integrated DTT-reception capability. - See also the ads section for inexpensive non-integrated sets that are HD and/or widescreen. - TV sets that would require DTT-reception circuitry starting 2004: - Sony Wega 36-inch TV @ Royal $549 - Toshiba 36E60 36-inch TV @ Royal $298 - RCA ZA46 46-inch projection TV @ Royal $397 - Toshiba 50A60 50-inch projection TV @ Royal $428 - Sony 53S65 53-inch projection TV @ Royal $498 - Sony 61S75 61-inch projection TV @ Royal $598 - Toshiba 61H60 61-inch projection TV @ Royal $618 - Sony 65S65 65-inch projection TV @ Royal $849 - TV sets that would require DTT-reception circuitry starting 2005: - RCA 25-inch TV @ Royal $98 - ESA EF427E 27-inch flat-screen TV @ Circuit City $229.99 - Mystery brand 27-inch TV @ Circuit City $159.99 - Sony 27S45 27-inch TV @ Royal $144 - Toshiba 27H50 27-inch TV @ Royal $139 - Devices that would require DTT-reception circuitry in 2007: - "Famous Maker" 13-inch TV @ Royal $58 - ESA ET419E 19-inch TV @ Circuit City $79.99 - "Famous Maker" 19-inch TV @ Royal $78 - Toshiba 19A24 19-inch TV @ Best Buy $119.99 - GoVideo DV2140 DVD/VCR combo @ J&R $89.99 - Philips DVP620VR DVD/VCR combo @ J&R $119.99 - Toshiba SD-V392 DVD/VCR combo w/$20 GC @ Best Buy $119.99 - Zenith XBV442 DVD/VCR combo @ Circuit City $99.99 - LiteOn DVD+/-R/RW recorder @ CompUSA $169.99 AR - Panasonic DMR-E50S DVD-R/RAM recorder @ CompUSA $249.99 - Panasonic DMR-E55 DVD-R/RAM recorder @ J&R $229.99 AR - price after mail-in rebate GC - price includes gift card of amount shown - Devices that would require dual DTT-reception circuitry in 2007: - Magnavox 20MC4304 20-inch flat-scr. TV/DVD/VCR @ Circuit $299.99 - Devices not covered by the mandate but using analog TV broadcasts: - Jensen VM9510 7-inch car TV AM/FM/CD/DVD @ Best Buy $899.99 - Sony D-NF400 AM/FM/TV/weather CD portable @ J&R $69.99 - Sony SRFM80V AM/FM/TV/weather CD portable @ Best Buy $49.99 - May 1 - - Neither the FCC nor the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) updated their lists this week. - Doug Lung's RF Report lists 646 licensed U.S. DTT stations in the FCC's CDBS data base as of January 3: <http://www.tvtechnology.com/dlrf/one.php?id=702> - Despite the NAB list still saying there are 1344 U.S. DTT stations <http://www.nab.org/Newsroom/issues/digitaltv/DTVStations.asp> NAB president Edward Fritts keeps referring to 1400 (sometimes "over 1400"). He also says 57 markets "now have fully completed the transition to digital and high-definition TV": <http://www.twice.com/article/CA492456.html> - Similarly Warren Communications News said today that the transition is "said to be going faster than expected": <http://www.warren-news.com/> Does that mean analog can be shut off BEFORE the end of 2006? The story will be on their site until tomorrow morning. - There are no specific H/DTV issues on the agenda of Thursday's FCC meeting, but there will be presentations from the Office of Strategic Planning & Policy Analysis, the Office of Engineering & Technology, and the Media Bureau: <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-255929A1.pdf> - Here are some reports from CES: <http://www.tvtechnology.com/dailynews/one.php?id=2632> <http://www.hometheatermag.com/news/010705ces1/> <http://www.hometheatermag.com/news/010805ces2/> - There is to be a 27-inch RCA integrated DTV for $269 this year: <http://www.twice.com/article/CA492512.html> - LED backlights have reportedly dramatically improved LCD imagery (and sequential LEDs eliminate the need for a color wheel in those pocket-sized projectors): <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050107/nyf031_1.html> - Wireless technologies (or at least those without interconnection wires) are being used to carry HDTV around homes. There's ultra-wideband: <http://www.commsdesign.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=57300025> powerline: <http://www.physorg.com/news2604.html> and 802.11g <http://finance.lycos.com/qc/news/story.aspx?story=45981924> - DirecTV demonstrated the H.264 coding it will use to carry those local HD signals: <http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050106/65712_1.html> - Mitsubishi's WD-62825 (already in the ads covered in these memos) was touted for its built-in DVR. Might that be so it doesn't need to deal with "broadcast flag" issues? <http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050106/65365_1.html> - Warren Communications News reported today that "Broadcast flag bypass hardware [is] already on [the] market" and that "Panelists acknowledge[d that the] flag will be broken." They also reported that JVC demonstrated the Blu-ray/DVD hybrid disk reported here, that Toshiba and Canon demonstrated SED technology (in a 36-inch display that my correspondents report was absolutely gorgeous) and that there's new interest in picture-tube based TVs due to low prices and new, thinner designs. The stories will be on the site until tomorrow morning: <http://www.warren-news.com/> FCC head Michael Powell said the commission would set a firm date for shutting down NTSC transmission by the end of this year. He also questioned whether Congress's 85% figure applies to homes or TVs. And he said, "When a customer goes into a store and has a choice between a $300 analog TV and a $3,000 digital and asked the salesman, 'When do I have to have this?' I?m always disheartened when the guy says 'I have no idea really, but it?s probably a long way off'": <http://www.twice.com/article/CA493289?display=Breaking+News> <http://www.eet.com/sys/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=57300324> - I liked these adjacent headlines in Electronic Engineering Times UK. One refers to Intel CEO Craig Barrett, the other to Microsoft chair Bill Gates: "Intel's Barrett says IT, consumer electronics gap bridged": <http://www.eetuk.com/tech/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=57300304> "Oops: Blue Screen Of Death interrupts Gates' CES pitch": <http://www.eetuk.com/bus/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=57300306> - I've probably mentioned this before. The 71-inch plasma display (there were also 80-inch and 102-inch at the show) was priced at $75,000 -- a little over $1000 an inch: <http://www.guidetohometheater.com/news/010505ces/> - International H/DTV news: - Spain says the analog cutoff will be at the beginning of 2010: <http://www.advanced-television.com/2005/news_archive_2005/Jan5_7.htm#spainn a> - France has made some controversial decisions about who gets to use MPEG-2 and who gets more advanced compression coding: <http://www.advanced-television.com/2005/news_archive_2005/Jan5_7.htm#french d> - A store called HDTV Warehouse has opened in Connecticut: <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050105/nyw013_1.html> - The Consumer Electronics Association's Winter 2005 HDTV Guide has come out. In it, CEA president Gary Shapiro defines "Digital TV" in a way that has nothing to do with CEA's definition of "digital TV products." Those products are listed, with data as of November 19: - There are 199 models of integrated DTVs, starting at $699. - There are 29 models of microdisplay-based non-integrated projection TVs, starting at $2299. Three have no NTSC (analog) tuner. - There are 232 models of flat-panel non-integrated HD displays, starting at $499; 83 have no NTSC tuner. - There are 90 models of flat-panel non-integrated EDTVs, starting at $450, 26 without NTSC tuners. - There's also a list of networks with their hours per week of HD programming: <http://www.ce.org/publications/books_references/dtv_guide/HDTV_Guide_Winter _05.pdf> The guide continues online. This is the introduction: <http://www.ce.org/publications/books_references/dtv_guide/default.asp> This list has only 122 U.S. broadcasters: <http://www.ce.org/publications/books_references/dtv_guide/listings/Broadcas ters_Fall04.pdf> Here's a list of retailers: <http://www.ce.org/publications/books_references/dtv_guide/listings/HDTV_Ret ailers_winter_04.htm> And here are more products: - Seven PC tuner cards, starting at $199: <http://www.ce.org/publications/books_references/dtv_guide/listings/DTV_Tune r_Cards.pdf> - Six D-VHS recorders and 15 HD PVRs, both starting at $449: <http://www.ce.org/publications/books_references/dtv_guide/listings/DTV_Vide o_Recorders.pdf> - 27 EDTV monitors on the first of two pages (the second page didn't load), starting at $549.99, 23 without NTSC tuners: <http://www.ce.org/publications/books_references/dtv_guide/listings/EDTV_Mon itors.pdf> - 14 HD cable boxes, one listed at $299: <http://www.ce.org/publications/books_references/dtv_guide/listings/Cable_Bo xes.pdf> - 21 DTT STBs, starting at $199: <http://www.ce.org/publications/books_references/dtv_guide/listings/Set-Top_ Decoders.pdf> - 249 HD monitors, starting at $449, 128 without NTSC tuners: <http://www.ce.org/publications/books_references/dtv_guide/listings/HDTV_Mon itors.pdf> That's 263 models without NTSC tuners (and, therefore, not subject to the FCC "tuner" mandate), not counting however many there might be on the second page of EDTV monitors (the first page was over 85% tunerless). There's also another list of HD programming: <http://www.ce.org/publications/books_references/dtv_guide/listings/HDTV_Pro gramming.pdf> - The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) 2005 consensus report on factory sales and household penetration was released on Tuesday. - The list of U.S. household penetrations was interesting even before the first figures. Previous versions said they were simply "Based on Telephone Surveys Conducted by CEA." The 2005 version says "Based on Sales Tracking Data and Telephone Surveys Conducted by CEA." Why? As attendees at last year's ***Technology Retreat*** learned, telephone surveys are no longer accurate when it comes to high-tech consumer-electronics products because owners don't really know what they have. Far more people said they owned digital televisions, for example, than had been manufactured. Given that grain of salt to take them with, here are some of the latest penetration figures (as of January of each year): 2002 2003 2004 2005 - TV and color TV 98% 98% 98% 98% - VCR 94% 92% 91% 88% - DVD player 25% 35% 60% 75% - TV with stereo sound 70% 70% 71% 73% - Computer 60% 62% 66% 70% - Modem 58% 60% 64% 64% - Camcorder 42% 49% 54% 54% - Monochrome TV 40% 39% 37% 33% - Home theater sound system 25% 28% 32% 33% - TV/VCR combo 22% 23% 27% 30% - Direct-to-home satellite 18% 21% 24% 25% - Projection TV 15% 18% 19% 20% - All LCD TV 12% 13% 14% 17% - DTV (DTT and/or 480p and up) 2% 4% 8% 12% - Here are some of the figures for factory sales to dealers (the 2004 figures are estimated because the report was prepared a while back): - Direct-view color (excluding LCD, projection, combos, and "digital") sold 19.9 million units in 2004, down from 20.8 million in 2003. The average wholesale price was $176, down from $152. - Total "digital" TVs (including direct-view, flat-panel, and projection, integrated or not) sold 7.3 million, up from 4.1 million. The average price was $1458 down from $1590. - "Digital Direct-View Receivers" sold one million, up from 0.7 million in 2003. That difference seems too small to me, given the start of the "tuner" mandate in July, if "digital... receiver" means display integrated with DTT-reception circuitry, so take this with a grain of salt, too. The average price was $754 down from $957. - "Digital" projection TV sold 3.3 million, up from 2.4 million. The average price was $1609, UP from $1505. - "Analog" projection TV (the difference from "digital" seems based only on horizontal scan rate) sold 97 thousand, down from 276 thousand. The average price was $876, down from $1062. The manufacturers participating in the consensus report project that there will still be tens of thousands of these sold in 2005. - Monochrome TV (not counting LCD) sold 150 thousand units, down from 200 thousand. The average price was $5 (yes, five dollars -- wholesale), down from $9. - All forms of LCD TV sold 2.6 million units, up from 1.3 million. The average price was $783, UP from $530, which reflects the increase in sales of larger, more-expensive models. - Plasma TV sold 853 thousand, up from 342 thousand. The average price was $2952, down from $4649. That huge drop probably reflects the fact that a much greater proportion of plasma TVs sold in 2004 were NOT HDTV than in 2003. - Analog TV combos (TV/VCR, TV/DVD, and TV/VCR/DVD) sold 3.6 million, down from 4.4 million. The average price was $186, UP from $178, probably reflecting an increased percentage of tri-combos. - Videocassette players sold 40 thousand, down from 45 thousand. The average price was $38, down from $52. - ALL of the VCRs sold to dealers in 2004, 2.3 million, were stereo. That's down from 4 million stereo decks in 2003 or 6.4 million total. The average price was $58, down from $67 for stereo or $63 for all. - Camcorders sold 5.6 million units, a tiny bit less than in 2003. The average price was $305, down from $356. - DBS receivers sold 16.9 million, up from 10.5 million. The average price was $112, down from $141. - PVRs (both stand-alone and integrated into cable or satellite set-top boxes but not including sales to cable operators) sold 1.9 million, up from 0.5 million. The average price was $279, down from $343. - DVD players sold 22.1 million units, up from 22 million. The average price was $111, down from $123. - TV set-top internet-access devices sold 285 thousand, down from 500 thousand. The average price was $110, down from $125. - Home theater sound systems sold 4.9 million units, up from 3.6 million. The average price was $200, down from $265. - Just for perspective, 80 million wireless phones were sold to U.S. dealers at an average price of $132. Nothing else came close to that number of units. They penetrate 70% of U.S. households. - I still don't have figures from CEA for the last few weeks of 2004. They were busy with CES. - Ads for set-top DTT receivers: I'm aware of none this week. - The ads - My Los Angeles correspondent was at CES. - Bang & Olufsen (New York Times, no disclaimer): - BeoVision 5 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $19,900 - Best Buy (HD disclaimers only): - Mitsubishi WD-62525 62-inch 16:9 integr. proj. DTV w/$135 RC $4099.99 - Mitsubishi WS55315 55-inch 16:9 proj. TV w/$200 GC & $50 RC $1799.99 - Mitsubishi WS65315 65-inch 16:9 projection TV w/$75 RC $2299.9 - Philips 30PF9946D/37 30-inch wide LCD TV w/$65 RC $1999.99 - Philips 30PW8402 30-inch 16:9 direct-view CRT TV $799.99 - Philips 42PF9966 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV w/$145 RC $4499.99 - Samsung HL-P5063W 50-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV w/$95 RC $2999.99 - Samsung HL-P6163W 61-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV $3799.99 - Samsung TX-P2670WH 26-inch 16:9 integrated direct-view CRT DTV $699.99 - Samsung TX-P3271H 32-inch 4:3 integrated direct-view CRT DTV $899.99 - Sharp LC45GD4U 45-inch wide integrated LCD DTV w/$265 RC $7999.99 - Sony KDE37XS955 37-inch 16:9 integrated plasma DTV w/$145 RC $4499.99 - Sony KDF42WE655 42-inch wide integr. LCD proj. DTV w/$80 RC $2499.99 - Sony KDF50WE655 50-inch wide integr. LCD proj. DTV $2999.99 - Sony KV36FS120 36-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV $899.99 - Toshiba 23HL84 23-inch widescreen LCD TV w/$45 RC $1499.99 - Toshiba 26HL84 26-inch widescreen LCD TV w/$65 RC $1999.99 - Toshiba 30HF84 30-inch 16:9 direct-view flat CRT TV w/$25 RC $899.99 - Toshiba 42HP84 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV w/$130 RC $3999.99 - Toshiba 46H84 46-inch 16:9 projection TV w/$45 RC $1399.99 - Toshiba 51H84 51-inch 16:9 projection TV w/$55 RC $1699.99 - Toshiba 52HM84 52-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV w/$95 RC $2999.99 - Toshiba 57H84 57-inch 16:9 projection TV $1899.99 - Toshiba SDP4000 14-inch LCD/DVD combo w/$15 RC $599.99 - Westinghouse W32701 27-inch 16:9 direct-view LCD TV w/$65 RC $1099.99 - Zenith P42W46X 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV w/$65 RC $1999.99 GC - price includes gift card of amount shown RC - price includes reward certificates of amount shown - Circuit City (HD IDs only): - Akai PT4299HD 42-inch 16:9 projection TV $999.99 - ESA PDP4294LVI 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $1999.99 - Hitachi 32HDL51 32-inch integrated LCD photo-slot DTV $3499.99 - Hitachi 50VS810 50-inch 16:9 integrated LCD projection DTV $3699.99 BS - Magnavox 15MF170V 20-inch 4:3 LCD TV $449.99 - Magnavox 30MF200V 30-inch LCD TV $1999.99 BS - Mystery brand 20-inch 4:3 LCD TV (called "HD Ready") $599.99 - Mystery brand 27-inch LCD TV (called "HD Ready") $1199.99 BS - Panasonic TC32LX20 32-inch widescreen LCD TV $3299.99 BS - Panasonic TH37PD25U 37-inch 16:9 integrated plasma DTV $2499.99 BS - Panasonic TH42PD25U 42-inch 16:9 integrated plasma DTV $2999.99 BS - Panasonic TH42PX25U 42-inch 16:9 integrated plasma DTV $5499.99 BS - Panasonic TH50PX25U 50-inch 16:9 integrated plasma DTV $6999.99 BS - RCA D52W20 52-inch 16:9 projection TV $1499.99 BS - Samsung HLP4663W 46-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV $2699.99 BS - Samsung HLP5063W 50-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV $2999.99 BS - Samsung LTP227W 22-inch widescreen direct-view LCD TV $1499.99 BS - Samsung TXP2675WHD 26-inch 16:9 integr. CRT DTV $699.99 BS - Samsung TXP3264 32-inch 4:3 direct-view CRT TV $799.99 BS - Sony KDF42WE655 42-inch wide integr. LCD proj. DTV $2499.99 BS - Sony KDF50WE655 50-inch wide integr. LCD proj. DTV $2999.99 BS - Sony KP46WT520 46-inch 16:9 projection TV $1499.99 BS - Sony KP51WS520 51-inch 16:9 projection TV $1699.99 BS - Sony KV30HS420 30-inch 16:9 direct-view CRT TV $999.99 BS - Sony KV34HS420 34-inch 16:9 direct-view CRT TV $1599.99 BS BS - price "before savings" - CompUSA (appropriate disclaimer): - Panasonic PT-50DL54 50-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV $3299.99 - Samsung HLP4663WX/XAA 46-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV $2999.99 - Samsung HLP5063WX/XAA 50-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV $3499.99 - Sony KDF42WE655 42-inch wide integr. LCD proj. DTV $2499.99 - Sony KDF50WE655 50-inch wide integr. LCD proj. DTV $2999.99 - Sony KLV-23M1 23-inch wide direct-view LCD TV $1599.99 - Sony KLV-32M1 32-inch wide direct-view LCD TV $$2999.99 - Syntax Olevia 27-inch widescreen LCD TV $899.99 AR AR - price after mail-in rebates - Dell (New York Times, no disclaimer): - Dell 26-inch widescreen LCD TV $1615 - Dell W1900 19-inch widescreen LCD TV $849 - Dell W2600 26-inch widescreen LCD TV $1899 - Dell W4200 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $2299 - Epson (New York Times, no disclaimer necessary): - Epson 47-inch integrated projection DTV/printer w/CD-R/RW $2699 AR - Epson 57-inch integrated projection DTV/printer w/CD-R/RW $3199 AR AR - price after mail-in rebate - HP (New York Times, no disclaimer): - HP pl4245n 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $3999.99 - J&R (am New York, no disclaimer): - Samsung HP-P4261 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $3699.99 - J&R (New York Times, no disclaimer): - Akai LCT2660 26-inch widescreen LCD TV $999.99 - Akai PDV42S10 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $1699.99 - Epson PowerLite S1+ projector - JVC PD-42WX84 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $2999.99 - Philips 15PF9945 15-inch 4:3 LCD TV $479.99 - Philips 42PF9996 42-inch 16:9 LCD TV $5999.99 - Philips 55PL9524 55-inch 16:9 LCoS projection TV $2499.99 - Samsung HLP4663W 46-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV $2299.99 - Samsung TX-P2775H 27-inch 4:3 integrated direct-view CRT DTV $599.99 - Sharp LC-20B6U-S 20-inch 4:3 LCD direct-view TV $799.99 - Sony KDF60WF655 60-inch widescreen integrated LCD projection DTV - Westinghouse W32001 20-inch 16:9 direct-view LCD TV $549.99 - J&R (Village Voice, no disclaimer necessary): - Hitachi 55HDT51 55-inch 16:9 integrated plasma DTV $7499.00 - Sony KDF-70XBR950 70-inch 16:9 LCD projection TV $5999.99 - Royal Computers & Electronics (am New York, no disclaimer): - Mystery brand 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $1799 - Sears (Minneapolis Star Tribune, no disclaimer): - Mitsubishi WS55315 55-inch 16:9 projection TV $1799.99 - Panasonic TH-37PD25UP 37-inch integrated 16:9 plasma DTV $2499.99 - Samsung HL[P]4663W 46-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV $2699.99 - Samsung HLP5063W 50-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV $2999.99 - Sony KP46WT520 46-inch 16:9 projection TV $1499.99 - Sony KP51WS520 51-inch 16:9 projection TV $1699.99 - Soho Electric (NY Press, disclaimer on one model): - Hitachi CMP-4202 [?] 42-inch plasma TV $2199 - Hitachi CMP-5202 [?] 50-inch plasma TV $4699 - Panasonic TH-42PW6 [?] 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $2099 - Panasonic TH-42PWD7 [?] 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $2299.99 - Panasonic TH-50PWD7 [?] 50-inch 16:9 plasma TV $4899.99 - Pioneer PDP-503CMX 50-inch 16:9 integrated plasma DTV $4299 - Samsung PPM-42S3 [?] 42-inch plasma TV $2499.99 - Sony KDE-50XS955 50-inch 16:9 integrated plasma DTV $5899.99 - Sony KF-42WE655 [?] 42-inch 16:9 LCD projection TV $2099 - Sony KF-50WE655 [?] 50-inch 16:9 LCD projection TV $2599.99 - Sony KF-60WE655 [?] 60-inch 16:9 LCD projection TV $3199.99 - Sony KLV-26HR1 26-inch direct-view LCD TV $1699.99 - Sony PFM-42M1 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $2299 - SVA 30-inch widescreen LCD TV $1399 - SVA HD4280UII-PDP 42-inch 16:9 plasma TV $1899 - Ultimate Electronics (Minneapolis Star Tribune, HD IDs only): - Mitsubishi WS48515 48-inch 16:9 integrated projection DTV $1999.95 - Panasonic TH37PD25 37-inch integrated 16:9 plasma DTV $2499.95 - Samsung HLP5063W 50-inch 16:9 DLP projection TV $2999.95 - Sony KP46WT520 46-inch 16:9 projection TV $1499.95 - DVD news: - I still don't have CEA figures for the last few weeks of 2004. They were busy at CES. - The New York Times reported Wednesday that a major opera CD recording might be the last because DVDs are less expensive to make: <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/05/arts/music/05tris.html> - IEEE Spectrum has a story on the Advanced Access Content System in which it is compared favorably to DVD's CSS: <http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/jan05/0105ldvd.html> - Warren Communications News reported Thursday that it is adopting the DVD+R format for home decks. The story is no longer on the site: <http://www.warren-news.com/> - Sirius Satellite Radio plans to offer several channels of VIDEO programming by the end of next year: <http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=7002> - The FCC has issued a report by economists in the Media and International bureaus called "Competition between Cable Television and Direct Broadcast Satellite - It's More Complicated than You Think": <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-255869A1.pdf> - Quantegy, the last U.S. manufacturer of audio tape, isn't anymore: <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4259503> - Upcoming Dates (DTV and non-DTV): - Through January 12, Las Vegas Convention Center, International Conference on Consumer Electronics <http://www.icce.org/>. - January 11-13, Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort, California, SCTE Emerging Technologies Conference <http://et.scte.org/>. - January 15, KABC, Los Angeles, STE VSB seminar <http://www.ste-ca.org/>. - *January 20-22, MPS Studios, Dallas, HD Expo VariCamp Workshop <http://www.hdexpo.net/workshops/varicampHome.html>. - January 25, Rancho Las Palmas Marriott, Rancho Mirage, California, NABA Technical Committee meeting <http://www.nabanet.com/calendar/default.asp?action=view&EventId=379>. - ***January 26-28, Rancho Las Palmas Marriott, California, ***The Technology Retreat*** <http://www.hpaonline.com>. - January 28, Wokefield Park, England, International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers conference <http://www.theiabm.org/index.cfm?RecordID=80>. - January 30-February 2, Crowne Plaza Ravinia, Atlanta, SMPTE Advanced Motion Imaging Conference and VidTrans <http://www.smpte.org/conferences/vidsm.cfm>. - February 17-19, Resort at Squaw Creek, Lake Tahoe, California, CEA Summit <http://www.ce.org/events/event_info/default.asp?eventID=WS05>. - February 21-22, New York and London, Collaborative Conferencing Summit <http://sites.securemc.com/folder4073/>. - February 25, 1750 K Street NW, Washington, D.C., ATSC Forum <http://www.atsc.org/technicalmeetings.html>. - March 7-11, Hyatt Regency San Antonio, Texas, CEA Winter Technology & Standards Forum <http://www.ce.org/events/event_info/default.asp?eventID=WTS05>. - March 23, KQED, San Francisco, VSB seminar <http://www.lns.com/sbe/archive/sbenov04.html>. - March 28-31, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, SURA/VIDe 2005 <http://www.vide.net/conferences/spr2005/>. - April 3-5, Moscone Center, San Francisco, NCTA: The National Show <http://www.thenationalshow.com/ncta2005/ncta2005/public/enter.aspx>. - April 14-16, MGM Grand, Las Vegas, PBS Technology Conference <https://secure.connect.pbs.org/conferences/technology/2005/>. - April 16-21, Las Vegas Convention Center, NAB 2005 <http://www.nabshow.com/default.asp>. - May 22-27, Hynes Convention Center, Boston, SID International Symposium 2005 <http://www.sid.org/conf/sid2005/sid2005.html>. - May 28-31, CCIB, Barcelona, 118th AES Convention <http://www.aes.org/events/118/>. - May 30-June 3, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary, SAIT/WABE Broadcast Training Seminar <wayne.watson@xxxxxxx> <http://www.wabe.ca/>. - June 4-10, Las Vegas Convention Center, Infocomm 2005 <http://www.sid.org/conf/sid2005/sid2005.html>. - June 14-16, Macau, IEEE International Symposium on Consumer Electronics <http://www.ieee.org.hk/> - June 28-30, Javits Convention Center, New York, Entertainment Technology Alliance Summit <http://www.etaexpo.com/register.html>. * - 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. PPS I apologize for the size of this next postscript, but I figured I'd run it once a year and hope it answers most new-reader questions. FAQs about Mark's Monday Memo ----------------------------- - What is the memo? It is my compilation of the TV technical news of the week that I deem worth noting. I do not run predictions. I do not run most business or employment news. I do not run most programming or production news. The memo was started around 1997 as a way of generating traffic for an e-mail reflector called ITS Mail, which was run by the International Teleproduction Society. ITS is no more. ITS Mail has become the Post list, administered by the Hollywood Post Alliance. Their web site offers a link to join Post (free). It's usually a fairly low-traffic list. Most weeks the memo is the only traffic: <http://www.hpaonline.com> - Who am I? I'm an engineering consultant working in television and related fields. I've had a monthly column in Videography magazine since April 1976 and currently also write the "Final Thoughts" column in Digital TV magazine. I have worked on many HDTV shows, including the first regularly scheduled one in Japan in 1989. I first panned an 1125 (total) line HDTV camera in 1973. I have served on the ATSC Implementation Subcommittee and T3/S6 working group. I've also served on standardization committees of the IEEE, SMPTE, and the Exchange Carriers Standards Association. None of the above prevents me from being human and making mistakes. As soon as I learn of (or realize) a mistake in a memo, the correction is posted at the top of the next one. - Is there a memo distribution list? No. You can join Post (or one of the other reflectors carrying the memos) or you can get them off the web from <http://www.digitaltelevision.com/mondaymemo/mlist/> or one of the other web sites that carry the memo. Some of these sites archive the memos back to the start. The suppressed multiple addresses in the address field are to get the memo to the various reflectors and web sites. - Why don't I use HTML to shrink the links, and why do I put angle brackets around the links? Long time readers have asked me to do it this way. If you want to reformat the memos and post them on your site, feel free. I'll even announce a link to your site at least once, if you let me know about it. - Why all the stuff about ***The Technology Retreat*** (in memos between roughly September and February)? I work on the program for the retreat, so I shamelessly promote it. It's an outstanding event -- the only one I know of that intentionally tries to bring together ALL aspects of the television, video, and electronic-imaging fields, from military surveillance to forensic analysis, from cinematographers to consumer-electronics manufacturers, from chip makers to digital-cinema theaters, from Hollywood studios to non-commercial broadcasters, from accessible-media specialists to retailers: <http://www.hpaonline.com> - What do I mean by "May 1," "July 1," and the like? See the glossary below. - Glossary: - 1.33:1 - Aspect ratio of ordinary television, also called 4:3 - 1.78:1 - Aspect ratio standard for widescreen television, also called 16:9 - 3:1:1 - A way to describe the form of HDTV recorded by HDCAM: 3/4 of the number of active luma samples per line (1440 instead of 1920) and one-third as many active color samples per line (480), with color samples on each line - 4:1:1 - A way to describe the form of SDTV recorded by professional DV-based recorders (and U.S.-type consumer ones): 720 active luma samples per line and 180 for color, with color samples on each line - 4:2:0 - A way to describe the form of SDTV or HDTV typically compressed by MPEG: 720 or 704 (SDTV) or 1920 (HDTV) active luma samples per line, half as many for color, and half the number of samples vertically as there are active scanning lines - 4:2:2 - A way to describe the form of SDTV or HDTV typically used in studios: 720 or 704 (SDTV) or 1920 (HDTV) active luma samples per line, half as many for color, with color samples on each line - 4:3 - Aspect ratio of ordinary television, 1.33:1 - 5C - A five-company-proposed content-protection system, DTCP - 8-VSB - Eight-level vestigial sideband, the form of modulation used in ATSC digital television - 16:9 - Aspect ratio of HDTV, 1.78:1 - 16-QAM - 16-point quadrature amplitude modulation, used in some COFDM - 16-VSB - 16-level vestigial sideband, a form of modulation developed for (but not used by) cable television - 24p - 24 frames per second, progressively scanned, used with the intention of transfer to film or for a more film-like look - 64-QAM - 64-point quadrature amplitude modulation, used in digital cable and some COFDM - 100 Hz - A form of enhanced display offering 100 images per second instead of 50, raising the rate above the flicker threshold even for large, bright screens - 256-QAM - 256-point quadrature amplitude modulation, used in digital cable - 352 - Number of active samples per line in half-resolution images sometimes used on cable or satellite - 480 - Nominal number of active scanning lines in an NTSC picture (483.5 in the original standard) - 480i - 480 active lines interlaced (525 total), nominal ordinary NTSC television - 480p - 480 active lines progressively scanned, typically called EDTV - 525 - Number of total scanning lines associated with 480 active - 544 - Number of active samples is 3/4-resolution images sometimes used on cable or satellite - 576 - Nominal number of active lines for ordinary analog television in 25-frame-per-second countries - 601 - See BT.601 - 625 - Number of total lines associated with 576 active - 700 MHz - A range of UHF frequencies used by some television channels in the U.S. as this is written and desired for public-safety communications - 704 - Maximum number of active samples per line allowed in SDTV in the ATSC DTT standard intended for the U.S. (A/53) - 720h - Number of active samples per line in digital SDTV (the "h" is to distinguish it from 720-line systems) - 720p - Form of HDTV with 1280 active pixels by 720 active lines (750 total), progressively scanned - 750 - Number of total lines associated with 720 active - 1035i - Older form of HDTV with 1035 active lines (1125 total), interlaced - 1080i - Form of HDTV with 1920 active pixels by 1080 active lines (1250 or 1125 total), interlaced - 1080p - Like 1080i but progressively scanned - 1125 - Number of total lines usually associated with 1035 or 1080 active (or even the older 1045 and 1052 active) - 1152 - Nominal number of active lines proposed for 1250-total line HDTV systems - 1250 - Number of total lines for older 1152-active systems, sometimes used with 1080-active systems to make them 625 friendly - 1280 - Number of active samples per line specified for 720p HDTV - 1394 - IEEE-1394, a standard for data interconnection, sometimes called Firewire or i.Link, used for compressed video - 1920 - Number of active samples per line specified in some 1035- and 1080-active-line HDTV standards - A/53 - The ATSC DTT standard intended for the U.S. This URL is for the latest version as this glossary is being written: <http://www.atsc.org/standards/a_53c_with_amend_1.pdf> - A/54 - Guide to the ATSC U.S. DTT standard: <http://www.atsc.org/standards/a_54a.pdf> - A/63 - The ATSC DTT standard intended for countries with 25-frame-per-second television. It allows 720 active pixels per line in SDTV: <http://www.atsc.org/standards/a_63.pdf> - AC-3 - The audio bit-rate reduction system used in U.S. DTT - Active - Picture-carrying - Ads - These are only newspaper ads. I see the ones in the New York Times and some other New York newspapers (and others when I travel) myself. A correspondent scans and sends me the ads from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Another correspondent sends me the data from the ads in the Los Angeles Times. The Best Buy, Circuit City, and CompUSA ads I see seem to be the same elsewhere in the country, so I do not attribute them to the New York Times. In the ads section, I include only devices advertised in print by the retailers (not those sales noted only in the stores) that have at least one of these words or phrases (or similar): 16:9, 480p, 720p, 768, 1080i, ATSC, digital tuner, EDTV, HDTV, or progressive scan (except DVD players). I make no representation that any of these are HDTV. I include computer products only when they specifically mention TV or something similar. Sometimes one retailer will use one of the key words or phrases and another will not. I go by the printed ads. When the price shown is after a mail-in rebate, I note that. I do not note "instant rebates." If a retailer provides a means for me to calculate a discount or "savings" (and I notice it) I do so. I note offers included in the price (gift cards, DVD players, stands, chairs, etc.) except delivery and/or payment terms. When the same model is offered by the same store more than once during the week at different prices, I use the lowest. When model numbers appear strange to me, I often append "[?]" When I store offers a small number of older models, I probably won't comment on it, but when it offers a large number I often do. - ADSL - Asymmetric DSL, with higher speed towards the subscriber than from - AES - Audio Engineering Society: <http://www.aes.org> - APTS - The U.S. Association of Public Television Stations (sometimes called America's Public Television Stations): <http://www.apts.org> - AR - The abbreviation I use to note that an advertised item's price is AFTER a mail-in REBATE. In cinematography, AR is a common abbreviation for aspect ratio. - Artifacts - In terms of imaging and compression, perceptually undesirable results of processing (e.g. blocks appearing in the picture that weren't in the original) - Aspect ratio - Ratio of picture width to height, typically wider for HDTV than for ordinary television - ATSC - Advanced Television Systems Committee, a standards organization created by other industry groups and standards organizations. Although it is the source of (and is used synonymously with) the U.S. digital television standard, the first ATSC standard was actually related to ghost reduction for analog NTSC. The ATSC Forum, a different organization, promotes the ATSC digital television standard around the world. As this is being written, the ATSC standard has been adopted by Mexico and is in use in the U.S., Canada, and South Korea: <http://www.atsc.org> - AVC - Advanced video codec, a bit-rate-reduction scheme also known as H.264 (ITU) and MPEG-4 Part 10 (IEC/ISO). - Blanking Interval - The time period during which electron beams in picture tubes return for right to left (horizontal blanking interval) or bottom to top (vertical blanking interval) - Berlin - The first market in the world to have completed the transition from analog television broadcasting to digital; the transition took four months for commercial broadcasters and nine months for non-commercial. - Broadcast flag - A retransmission control descriptor, also the FCC order relating to it involving signal security issues - BRR - Bit-rate reduction, commonly called compression - BS - The abbreviation I use to note that an advertised price is BEFORE unspecified in-store SAVINGS. There is, of course, another meaning often used for the abbreviation; it's not my intention to refer to it. - BT.601 - The basic standard-definition digital video standard of the ITU - CableCARD - A security module supplied by a cable system to be inserted into a subscriber's plug-&-play TV to handle conditional-access security - CARS - Community Antenna Relay Service, microwave paths used for cable TV - CATV - Community-antenna television, cable television - CBA - Community Broadcasters Association, representing low-power TV stations: <http://www.communitybroadcasters.com/> - CEA - The U.S. Consumer Electronics Association: <http://www.ce.org> - Census households - Number of homes based on population census (smaller number than postal households) - CES - The U.S. Consumer Electronics Show: <http://www.cesweb.org/> - CHILA - CableCARD-Host Interface Licensing Agreement (formerly PHILA when a CableCARD was called a POD) - Class A - LPTV stations with "permanent" status - CNR - Carrier-to-noise ratio - COFDM - Coded orthogonal frequency-division multiplex, the form of transmission used in DVB-T - Component - In signal terms, video carried as three signals, typically luma and two color-difference signals (separate red, green, and blue signals are also possible) - Composite - A single video signal carrying both luma and color - Compression - Term commonly used to describe bit-rate reduction achieved through more efficient coding of pictures and sounds; when it is perfectly reversible, it is called lossless; when it isn't perfectly reversible but no one would notice, it's called perceptually lossless; otherwise, it's lossy and generates what are called artifacts. - CRT - Cathode-ray tube, such as a picture tube or video-projection tube - Currencies - I try to do currency conversions just before I send the memo. The symbol $ by itself indicates U.S. dollars. A$ is Australian dollars. C$ is Canadian dollars. UKP is United Kingdom pounds. - DBS - Direct broadcast(ing by) satellite - dialnorm - A parameter of the U.S. DTT signal allowing dialogue levels to be normalized across channels and programs; broadcasters are required to adjust it appropriately - Digital television - A vague term I try to avoid - D-ILA - Digital image light amplifier, a JVC projection-display technology in the LCoS category - Disclaimer - A notice in a retailer's advertisement that indicates that something called "digital," "EDTV," or "HDTV" that doesn't include DTT-reception circuitry requires an additional device to receive DTT broadcasts - DLP - Digital light processing, Texas Instruments' trademark for projection systems based on their micro-mirror chips - DSL - Digital subscriber line, a phone-company line carrying high-speed data - DTCP - Digital transmission content protection, also sometimes called 5C, intended for use with 1394 - DTH - Direct-to-home, same as DBS - DTT - Digital terrestrial television broadcasting - DTV - Digital television, a term I use only in the ads to indicate an integrated display/DTT receiver - DV - Both a recording format using 1/4-inch tape in a cassette (commonly called MiniDV) and the compression system used in DV recorders (but also in other recorders) - DVB - Digital Video Broadcasting group, based in Europe <http://www.dvb.org> - DVB-C - The cable standard of DVB - DVB-H - The mobile standard of DVB - DVB-S - The satellite standard of DVB - DVB-T - The terrestrial-broadcasting standard of DVB - DVD-R, DVD+R - Different forms of record-once DVD-recording systems - DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW - Different forms of re-recordable DVD recording systems; I sometimes use a slash to indicate combinations (e.g., DVD-R/RW). - DVI - Digital visual interface, a high-data-rate connection scheme used for monitors, two versions of which also include analog component video - DVI-A - An analog-only version of DVI - DVI-CE - HDMI - DVI-D - The basic DVI digital connection - DVI-I - A version of DVI with both digital and analog connections - D-VHS - Data VHS, able to record compressed television signals, usually via 1394 connection - DVR - Digital video recorder, sometimes used as a synonym for PVR - EDTV - Extended-definition (or enhanced-definition) television, generally meaning 480p. - EFP - Electronic field production, ENG with higher production values - ENG - Electronic news gathering, sometimes used as shorthand for a professional camcorder - EPG - Electronic program guide - E-VSB - A robust version of 8-VSB sacrificing data rate - FCC - The U.S. Federal Communication Commission: <http://www.fcc.gov> - Flat panel - A TV display screen that is both thin and flat, as in plasma and direct-view LCD - Flat screen - A TV display screen (including CRT) that is not convex - Follow-ups - New information (or corrections) to relatively recent memos; longer-term follow-ups are sometimes listed as such - Freeview - Current UK DTT system, which, as the name implies, is free to view - GLV - Grating light valve, a laser projection-display technology - Gray-market/grey-market - Designation for products not originally intended to be sold in the U.S. - H.264 - ITU designation of AVC - HD - High definition - HDCP - High-bandwidth digital content protection, intended for use with DVI and HDMI connections - HDMI - High-definition multimedia interface, originally called DVI-CE, similar to DVI, but with smaller connectors and optionally including audio and remote-control functions - HDTV - High-definition television, defined by CEA to be at least 720p or 1080i, even if displayed on a 4:3 screen, as long as the image may be shrunk on that screen to a 16:9 shape - HDV - High-definition video, systems for recording HD on a DV cassette - Homes passed - Existing cable-TV subscribers and those who could subscribe if they so chose - Household - Roughly synonymous with "home," but see also Census households, Postal households, and TV households - IEC - International Electrotechnical Commission - IEEE - The Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: <http://www.ieee.org> - Integer frame rate - Typically 24.0, 30.0, or 60.0 per second (25 is always integer) - Integrated - A picture display with built-in DTT receiver - Interlaced - With each frame divided into two sections, one carrying the odd-numbered scanning lines and the other the even, the two sections transmitted (or captured or displayed) sequentially (opposite of progressive) - International Bureau - The branch of the FCC dealing with satellite issues, including domestic satellite - IPPV - Impulse PPV, PPV that can be ordered from a remote control at the spur of the moment - ISDB-T - Integrated-services digital broadcasting - terrestrial, the form of DTT used in Japan - ISO - International Standardization Organization - ITFS - Instructional Television Fixed Service, educational television microwave similar to MDS - ITU - International Telecommunications Union - ITV Digital - Renamed onDigital, predecessor of Freeview, named for the Independent Television companies that owned it - July 1 - Under the FCC's phased-in schedule, as of July 1, 2004, 50% of 36-inch and larger TV sets equipped with analog NTSC tuners were also to have had DTT-reception circuitry. As of July 1, 2005, it's 100% of those and 50% of those 25- to 35-inch. As of July 1, 2006, it's 100% of those. As of July 1, 2007, it's all NTSC-tuner-equipped TVs 13-inch and larger as well as other NTSC-tuner-equipped devices, such as VCRs, DVD recorders, computer tuner cards, and the like. Manufacturers may either add DTT-reception circuitry or remove analog NTSC-reception circuitry to comply with the rule. In this section, I note some of the lowest prices I saw in newspaper ads during the week for devices that would require the DTT-reception circuitry at the appropriate July 1 date. I also note in this section other issues related to July 1 mandates, such as CableCARD (July 1, 2004 mandatory availability). - LCD - Liquid crystal display - LCoS - Liquid-crystal on silicon, a microdisplay used for projection - LED - Light-emitting diode - Lines - Either scanning lines (active or total) or lines of resolution, hypothetical vertical alternating white and black lines representing the finest detail that can be carried - Lip-sync - Matched audio and video timing, which can be a problem in DTT - LPTV - Low-power television station - Luma - The portion of a video signal containing black-&-white information - MATV - Master-antenna television - May 1 - Under the phased-in schedule for the advent of DTT in the U.S., most deadlines were on May 1. As of May 1, 1999, the ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC outlets in the top-ten markets were due to begin DTT broadcasting. As of November 1, 1999, it was those outlets in markets 11-30. As of May 1, 2002, all full-power U.S. commercial stations on the air as of the rule onset were to have begun DTT broadcasting. As of May 1, even full-power non-commercial stations were to have begun DTT broadcasting. Not all stations made their deadlines. I check and report on two sets of lists weekly: the FCC and NAB figures. When they are available, I report Doug Lung's licensed-DTT-stations figures taken from the FCC CDBS database. In addition to licensed stations, there are those operating on program-test authority (full-power) and special and experimental temporary authorities (low-power). - Mbps - Million bits per second - MDS - Multipoint Distribution Service, microwave television broadcasting - MDU - Multiple-dwelling unit (apartment house) - MHz - Megahertz, million cycles per second - Microdisplay - A chip-sized display system, such as DLP or LCoS, used in projection systems - MMDS - Multichannel MDS - Monochrome - In typical use, black-&-white - MPAA - Motion Picture Association of America; the international version is the Motion Picture Association: <http://www.mpaa.org> - MPEG - Moving Picture Experts Group, a committee that has come up with a number of compression schemes and related standards: <http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/index.htm> - MSTV - The Association for Maximum Service Television: <http://www.mstv.org> - MTF - Modulation transfer function, the energy (contrast ratio) that can pass through a system at different finenesses of detail. - Multipath - The arrival at a receiver of signals from a single transmitter that have taken different paths (and, therefore, different amounts of time to arrive); in analog television, this condition is seen as ghosts. - MVDDS - Multichannel video and data distribution service, sharing DBS downlink frequencies for terrestrial transmissions - MVDS - Multipoint Video Distribution Systems, microwave broadcasting, like MMDS outside the U.S. - NAB - The U.S. National Association of Broadcasters and its annual convention and equipment exhibition: <http://www.nab.org> - NCTA - The U.S. National Cable & Telecommunications Association: <http://www.ncta.com> - Non-integer frame rate - Typically 23.976, 29.97, or 59.94 used in NTSC countries - NTSC - National Television System Committee, the first of which standardized the U.S. 525 (total) line/30 frame system and the second of which added compatible composite color; NTSC is sometimes used in the U.S. to refer to analog television. - NVOD - Near VOD, a multichannel service approximating VOD - onDigital - Original UK subscription DTT service (coexisting with some free-to-view channels) - Pixel - Picture element, the smallest part of a picture captured, transmitted, or displayed - Plug-&-Play - The agreement between the U.S. cable and consumer-electronics industries and the subsequent FCC order regarding the circuitry necessary to allow "digital-cable-ready" TV sets to be plugged directly into cable systems without need for a set-top box. A CableCARD handles conditional-access security. One-way plug-&-play devices might not be able to handle EPG, IPPV, or VOD functions. - POD - Point-of-deployment cable conditional-access security module, now called a CableCARD - Postal households - A number larger than that of census households, including vacation homes and the like - PPV - Pay per view - Progressive - With all scanning lines of a frame occurring sequentially (opposite of interlaced), sometimes called sequential - PSIP - Program and system-information protocol, an ATSC standard covering such non-program data as an electronic program guide - PVR - Personal video recorder, such as ReplayTV or TiVo - Robust - Either a description of a DTT signal that is easier to receive than a non-robust signal or a description of the signal security in a broadcast-flag-related device - Sample - A moment in time, the smallest picture element in a digital video signal - Schubin site - My Manhattan apartment, where many people have tested DTT reception, both officially (it was test-site NYC300 for the Advanced Television Technology Center) and unofficially - SCTE - The Society of Cable & Telecommunications Engineers: <http://www.scte.org> - SD - Standard definition - SDTV - Standard-definition television, a term sometimes used to refer to ordinary television and sometimes to the component-digital form of ordinary television (720 x 483 in NTSC countries) - Sharpness - A psychophysical function found to be proportional to the square of the area under a curve plotting contrast ratio against detail resolution - SMATV - Satellite-fed MATV - SMPTE - Society of Motion-Picture and Television Engineers: <http://www.smpte.org> - SNR - Signal-to-noise ratio - STB - Set-top box - SVOD - Subscription VOD - Total - With reference to scanning lines or pixels, both the active and those in the blanking interval - TVHH or TV households - That portion of census households with TV sets (a very stable 98% in the U.S.) - VC-1 - A SMPTE standardized advanced video compression system based, in part, on WMV-9 - VDSL - Very-high-speed DSL - VOD - Video on demand - Widescreen - Description of wider-than-normal TV aspect ratio, usually 16:9 but not in some LCD displays (which may be 5:3) - WMV9 - Windows Media Video 9, a bit-rate-reduction scheme ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.