A 3-in-1 TV tuner chip for ATSC, NTSC and digital cable reception is shipping from Microtune, the Tex. company said Tues. Its MicroTuner MT2131 is smaller than a thumbtack, Microtune said. Its size and $3 price slash the bill-of- materials cost 60% and enable manufacturers to deploy a tuner across all TV models, sizes and prices -- from multituner, giant-screen home theaters to small, affordable LCD TVs and inexpensive DTV set-top converter boxes, the company said. The MT2131 was engineered to solve 3 technical problems commonly identified as sources of DTV dissatisfaction -- picture break-up from interference, picture freezing and picture loss, Microtune said. The chip also is claimed to significantly improve TV reception using antennas in attics.
Europe may lead in HDTV technology but its success remains dependent on the U.S., where most content is produced. That’s the message set-top maker Pace Micro Technology plans to deliver at today’s 3rd European HDTV Summit in London, where panelists include terrestrial and satellite broadcasters, CE companies, content owners and producers. Neil Gaydon, Pace dir.-worldwide sales & mktg., in comments, released in advance of the Summit, alluded to Europe’s adoption of the DVB-S2 standard for HDTV, which uses the MPEG-4 H.264 advanced video codec in place of lower compression MPEG-2 used in the U.S. ATSC system. “However, until more HD content is generated in this region, we will still have a high dependence on the U.S. for the best quality content -- which is essential for any HD operator to make a success out of offering HD premium channels.”
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.”
Qualifying DTV converter boxes as eligible for govt. subsidy under newly enacted analog TV cutoff legislation will be a central challenge of any NTIA management plan detailing how the agency will promote the availability of low-cost set- tops through $40 vouchers (CD Feb 7 p1).
Members of the NAB’s Audio Broadcast Flag Task Force will begin meeting with their recording industry counterparts to hash out content protection for terrestrial digital HD Radio. It isn’t known how long a compromise will take, but the NAB and RIAA already have agreed to take off the table a proposal to encrypt the digital content at the source.
Firewire, a.k.a. IEEE-1394, is being resurrected as the sinew of HD home networks hoped to be easy for consumers to connect but hard to crack for content piracy. The proposal comes from a multi-industry group that introduced itself Wed. and will reveal other members and plans at the upcoming CES, with the goal having compliant products at the Las Vegas show in 2007.
Entravision bought Harris DTV transmitters for 17 of its stations, Harris said. It said Entravision chose Harris PowerCD high-power UHF ATSC transmitters for most of its stations, and DiamondCD UHF sold-state transmitters for its stations with a power output of less than 15kW.
Thomson and Zoran said they teamed to develop an ATSC-compliant reference design easily integrated into analog CRT TV sets or set-top converter boxes for DTV reception. The reference design is based on Zoran’s SupraHD 640 processor and Cascade 2 demodulator, plus the Thomson DTT 7602 DTV tuner device. They said the reference design’s compactness would enable set makers to incorporate it easily directly into an analog TV chassis or a set-top converter box. The reference design “offers a DVD-class video and audio experience far superior to what consumers are receiving today on their analog NTSC televisions,” said Dave Pederson, Zoran vp-corporate mktg. No costs were given, but Zoran has said converter boxes containing the SupraHD 640 processor could retail for $50 or less by a 2009 analog cutoff, assuming mass production volume. The companies said they plan to demonstrate the design at CES. Thomson LG, were picked by the NAB and MSTV to devise a low-cost DTV converter box.
A rulemaking on technology under which DTV broadcasters could use multiple cell-like transmitters (CD Dec 20 p5), rather than one big transmitter per station was launched by the FCC. The ATSC approved the standard more than a year ago. The FCC said the so-called Distributed Transmission Systems (DTS) would let broadcasters fill gaps in coverage areas. It also could let stations maximize their station coverage areas, the Commission said. The rulemaking seeks comments on how DTV receivers and converter boxes would work in a DTS environment. It proposes to apply existing DTV rules for effective radiated power, antenna height and emission mask, and would maintain protections against “cherry picking.”
In an effort to promote over-the-air DTV sets and LIN TV’s broadcast stations, the company formed a co-marketing arrangement with Bernie’s stores in Providence, R.I. in what one industry executive called an unusual marketing plan. Under the partnership, Bernie’s customers pay $219 and receive a discounted ATSC-equipped Samsung set and an indoor antenna. LIN TV Chmn. Gary Chapman said the deal will last through the Super Bowl. Broadcasters have been criticized for not marketing over-the-air DTV with large retailers. CBS TV Exec. VP Marty Franks said he has been working with major retailers 6 years on a co-marketing deal. “But I haven’t been able to get a single one to sign up.” LIN TV is negotiating similar arrangements with retailers in other markets, Chapman said, but wouldn’t provide details. Bernie’s is absorbing the costs of the discounted sets and displaying DTV in 3 Providence stores in exchange for promotions on LIN’s 2 stations in the market -- WNAC-TV (Fox) and WPRI-TV (CBS). The stations’ websites also provide links about how to obtain HD sets. LIN TV and Bernie’s also are promoting DTV over free TV. - - TP