Paul Gluckman

The “attenuation” of buildings is a “critical factor” in determining whether an unlicensed wireless device can cause harmful interference to over-the-air TV reception and that device’s ability to “autonomously detect” vacant TV channels if it’s to operate reliably, CEA told the FCC in an ex parte filing Wed.

Year-to-date factory DTV shipments have surpassed those of standalone direct-view analog TVs for the first time, CEA reported. The milestone was passed in week 12 ended March 24, when 2,341,358 DTV sets had been shipped in 2006 vs. 2,226,344 for analog TV only. Adding in analog TV/DVD and other combos, analog direct-view still held a slight lead. CEA’s weekly DTV shipments include LCD, plasma, direct-view and projection sets, as well as analog sets containing built- in ATSC tuners required by the FCC. Beginning March 1, under Commission rules, all TV sets shipped with an analog NTSC tuner also must have a digital ATSC tuner built in. The mandate will expand to all sets shipped after March 1, 2007.

FCC action on Broadband Radio Service rules (dockets 02- 364, 00-258) is expected to be on the Commission April 12 agenda, Panasonic disclosed in an ex parte filing. Panasonic was so advised in meetings last week at the FCC with Comr. Adelstein, aides to Comr. Copps and members of the Media Bureau, the filing said.

Most claims in the 41 pages of evidence CE makers submitted to the FCC to show that cable has botched CableCARD deployment (CED March 30 p1) were “anecdotal at best,” the NCTA said in its latest CableCARD progress report to the Commission. “To the extent that they can be deciphered,” the allegations “appear to be misleading,” NCTA said. Even so, it pledged to look into each of them “and respond in due course.”

“Consumer frustration” reigns because cable companies aren’t complying with FCC rules in place since last July requiring support for the IEEE-1394 home network interface, the 1394 Trade Assn. told the FCC in an ex parte filing. Cable MSOs “are rejecting consumer requests” for 1394-enabled set-top devices or are guilty of “poor implementation” where those devices are available, the group said. It urged the Commission to begin requiring cable operators to regularly report 1394 deployment by unit volume and to make provision on the FCC website for fielding consumer complaints. NCTA had no comment, pending study of the filing.

“Negative” -- often disastrous -- consumer experiences abound in the deployment of CableCARDs, and major cable operators “and/or their CableCARD vendors” are partly or wholly to blame, said representatives of CEA and 8 DTV set makers in meetings last week with the FCC Office of Engineering & Technology, according to ex parte filings at the Commission. Cable, not surprisingly, disagreed.

LG opposes a waiver of the DTV tuner mandate on sets 13” and smaller for PDI Communications Systems, a supplier of hospital video systems, LG told the FCC in an ex parte filing. PDI, of Springboro, O., has asked the FCC for clarification of whether its products are covered by the tuner rule taking effect March 1, 2007, and has said it will seek a waiver if the Commission decides the regulation applies. PDI has said it doesn’t make or sell TVs for “general” consumer use, but is “in the niche industry” of supplying video entertainment systems for health care facilities “that require specialized systems meeting demanding safety requirements” (CED Jan 31 p7). But LG said granting PDI a waiver or even a deadline extension “would set a dangerous precedent,” undermining the DTV transition and the FCC’s goal of “maximizing” the number of TV sets with DTV tuners on the market as quickly as possible, it told the Commission. Because LG and other set makers also sell TV receivers to the health care industry, “relieving PDI from the DTV tuner mandate’s requirements would unfairly place LG and those manufacturers who are working diligently to comply with the law at a competitive disadvantage,” LG said.

Pierce (Jack) Roberts’s resignation Thurs. from the XM board overshadowed impressive company gains in revenue and subscribers in Q4 and annual results. At the same time, as XM spent heavily in the quarter to counter Howard Stern’s Jan. 9 debut at rival Sirius, XM subscriber acquisition costs (SACs) and costs per gross addition (CPGA) took significant hits.

Entercom Communications filed individual experimental authorization requests at the FCC on behalf of 25 FM stations in 8 markets seeking to begin HD2 digital radio multicasts. All but 2 of the stations -- KWOD-FM and KDND-FM in Sacramento -- already have begun transmitting regular HD Radio signals, according to the HDRadio.com site just launched by the HD Radio Alliance. Authorization requests were filed for 5 Entercom-owned stations in Kansas City, 5 in Seattle, 4 in Portland, Ore., 3 in Denver, 3 in Sacramento, 2 in Memphis, 2 in Milwaukee and one in Boston.

LG is “working hard to make sure we have not only the most cost-effective approach” to DTV converters under the new DTV transition law’s subsidy provisions (CD Feb 9 p9), but also “one that provides value to the consumer and the best reception performance possible,” Vp John Taylor told us. LG got the tap from MSTV and NAB, along with Thomson, to develop a prototype low-cost converter box. “This is not a high-end box by any means,” Taylor said. “It doesn’t output high definition. It doesn’t include a DVR. It doesn’t include a DVD. Just the basics.” LG believes the $50 box it’s designing for MSTV and NAB will qualify for the $40 voucher program, even if it includes a PSIP-based “simple” electronic program guide, because it’s “very cost-effective to implement,” Taylor said. “It’s a necessity in today’s multichannel digital world to have a simple navigation device. It’s not a full-blown Gemstar guide, nor does it need to be. When you look at the growing number of multicast channels, we think this is just an important component of the overall package. We call it a low-end, affordable approach.” LG hasn’t yet shown a final prototype to MSTV or NAB, but the company has met all the “development timelines” and plans to complete the project this year, Taylor said: “As Thomson has said, we believe our approach also will serve as a benchmark for the industry -- a reference design, if you will -- against which others can build to assure these set-top boxes provide the level of performance that will serve dealers but also give broadcasters the confidence that their signal is getting through.” Taylor said: “There are plenty of things in the box that aren’t mentioned in the legislation. It’s going to have the V-chip. It’s going to have closed captioning. It’s going to have all the basic things that you have to have with an ATSC receiver not only to be lawful, but to provide utility.” Asked if the 37.5 million $40 vouchers covered by the law’s $1.5 billion allocation will suffice for all households that need them, Taylor said no one knows for sure how many boxes will be needed. With the FCC’s requirement that all TVs shipped after March 1, 2007, must have ATSC tuning, Taylor said, “many of these analog TVs out there that might otherwise require an adapter are just going to be replaced, so the overall population of sets requiring these adapters will shrink by the time they're needed. That being said, there also will be, I think, many American consumers who will not take advantage of the subsidy program. And frankly there will be other products out there that will be well outside of the scope of the subsidy program. There will be those who want to spend not $50, but $100 or $200 for a more full-featured device that does other things.” The $40 voucher is “a good starting place, and I don’t want to sound negative at all about it,” Taylor said. “It’s a program that will help complete this transition in a smooth manner. We're excited that there is a definitive hard date -- that 2009 is something we can all work toward and make sure that consumers are not disenfranchised.”