ATSC veterans LG and Thomson were tapped Wed. to develop prototyp...
ATSC veterans LG and Thomson were tapped Wed. to develop prototype set-top converters for terrestrial DTV reception on legacy analog TVs. In announcing selection of the respective Zenith and RCA parents, the MSTV and NAB cited the CE firms’…
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role in developing the ATSC standard and their experience in building low-cost set tops. The LG/Thomson prototypes will be reference designs for other makers, to ensure the 70 million analog TVs in 21 million residences relying on terrestrial broadcast “will continue to receive free over-the-air TV service when all-digital broadcasting begins,” MSTV and NAB said. Selection of LG and Thomson came after evaluation of more than a dozen proposals by CE and chip makers worldwide in response to a June 20 quotation request by MSTV and NAB, the groups said. The effort, jointly funded by MSTV and NAB with assistance from LG and Thomson, “comports with Congressional efforts to subsidize quality converter boxes that provide an alternative for consumers that want to keep their current analog equipment,” MSTV Pres. David Donovan said. Neither a schedule for prototype delivery nor a per-unit was announced, but $50 is an attainable target, industry consensus maintains.