Mobile DTV Standard Approved
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, October 19, 2009 · 
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A fast-track effort by broadcasters, transmission vendors and consumer electronics manufacturers to create a technical standard for transmitting digital TV signals to cellphones and other mobile devices has come to fruition, with the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) announcing October 16 that it has approved the ATSC Mobile DTV Standard.
The ATSC Mobile DTV Standard defines the technical specifications necessary for broadcasters to provide new services to mobile and handheld devices using their digital television (DTV) transmissions. Read more
DTV Transition: No Surprises
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, June 15, 2009 · ·
For the majority of broadcast television stations across the nation, the digital TV transition took place last Friday, June 12, without major difficulty.
Most broadcast stations did not receive the flood of calls they had expected, a sign that the transition was smoother than predicted.
As anticipated, the FCC’s call center was inundated on Friday with 317,000 calls, but Saturday saw a drop-off to just north of 145,000 calls, and 63,000 calls were reported on Sunday. The most common questions were about the coupon program (which continues through July 31) and box installations. Many of the calls concerned the rescanning of TV sets. The FCC says that over-the-air viewers must rescan their sets to pick up the new digital signals that were powered on throughout the day on Friday. In fact, the commission is suggesting that consumers now perform a “double-re-scan.” The process ensures that consumers clear out their boxes’ memories before re-scanning. Read more
In Prep for DTV, 5% Switch to Pay-TV
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, June 8, 2009 · ·
The transition to digital television (DTV) has directly impacted one-out-of-four (26%) U.S. TV households during the past year, as they bought a digital converter, a new television set or a pay-TV subscription, according to a recent survey conducted by research firm Knowledge Networks.
Knowledge Networks has been tracking reaction to the digital transition since 2006. The new data, collected from February-April of this year, shows that, among TV households: Read more
DTV Transition: Four Days and Counting
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, June 8, 2009 · ·
The FCC’s monthly open meeting took place in early June, and focused on the impending digital television (DTV) transition, slated for this Friday, June 12.
During the meeting, experts from inside the commission and from other groups including NTIA, the National Association of Broadcasters and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association reviewed the status of the transition and efforts to educate consumers.
Despite expansive education programs, the commission remains concerned that there will be problems associated with the transition, including procrastinators who are not yet DTV ready, viewers who have had trouble making the switch for reasons of language or finances, and a myriad of reception problems due to the propagation techniques of DTV signals. There also are a host of unexpected issues which might arise, for example extreme weather conditions and unlicensed wireless devices which might affect a digital signal more prone to interference than its analog predecessor. Read more
