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Cable One makes some HD channels viewable only with CableCARD / STB
At first glance, we assumed that Cable One had relegated a number of channels to switched digital video, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Instead, company officials have proclaimed that "cable programmers like Discovery HD, Nat Geo HD and ESPN HD have requested their signals to be scrambled," meaning that subscribers will now need to fork out for a CableCARD or cable company-issued set-top-box in order to see all 24 high-def stations offered in Sioux City, Iowa. Ah well, you've been looking for a valid reason to make the leap to a carrier with a real dose of high-definition anyway, right?
Comcast blows off FCC inquisition, could face fines
Tsk, tsk. It seems that Comcast has all the time in the world to investigate just how high it should push cable rates, but not a moment to really sit down and answer questions from the FCC. Okay, so maybe that's a touch harsh, but it's really not far from the truth. It's stated that Comcast provided an "inadequate response" to a recent FCC request for "information on cable company policies as they switch to digital signals." As you could likely guess, Comcast isn't the only guilty party, but chairman Kevin Martin did pick on Comcast's "narrative" of a reply. Comcast alleges that fully completing the request would've required 1,500 man hours, and while we don't doubt the legitimacy of such a claim, we'd still probably think twice before pushing back a half-hearted response to the almighty Federal Communications Commission.[Image courtesy of JournalGroup]
Zoran intros highly integrated SupraHD 775 / 785 HDTV processors
In order for the thin to keep getting more anorexic looking, we need those internals to slim down, too. Thankfully, Zoran is looking out for those who know that no HDTV is ever thin enough by introducing two new HDTV processors. Designed for ATSC-tuning digital TVs, the highly integrated SupraHD 775 and 785 "eliminate multiple components from the DTV system design by integrating the TV microcontroller, 8VSB demodulator, audio codec, audio multiplexer, analog video multiplexer and a host of other functions including advanced audio processing and color management capabilities into the single-chip solution." Good show, Zoran -- we suspect you'll be a big help in making 0.1-inch HDTVs a reality.
Best Buy / NAB to host DTV transition workshops for the uninformed
Best Buy has been pushing out "surveys" asserting that the vast majority of America still isn't prepared for the looming 2009 digital TV transition for months now, but at long last the retailer is stepping up to do something about it. Similar to Circuit City's initiative earlier this year, Best Buy is teaming up with NAB to host in-store DTV workshops in the 25 largest cities across the nation. The festivities will begin on the morning of November 17th in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and a smattering of others, and of course, you can count on store employees coaxing you into buying a DTV converter box right then and there. Ah well, whatever it takes to get you prepared. Like an Eagle Scout.
Number of digital TV ready homes jumped in October
The digital TV transition message may be getting through, with Nielsen stats for October showing the biggest drop in "digital unready" homes in the last six months, going from 8.4% to 7.7%. Could be the tests, the FCC warnings, PSAs, or just procrastination finally wearing off, but whatever it is lets hope the pace keeps up. Amusing & informative viral ads aside, the February 17 deadline continues to approach, although we're sure you're more than ready, right?
Chicagoland broadcasters testing analog shutdown today
For any Chicago-area readers not already enjoying tru2way bliss (or certain Engadget editors waiting around for another CableCARD install attempt), the full power broadcast TV stations in the area are running their own soft-shutdown of analog TV broadcasts at 6:53 a.m. and 5:23 p.m., sending anyone properly prepared for digital broadcasts a screen crawl to check all household TVs, while analog sets will get a fullscreen graphic directing them towards various informational resources, including a (hopefully) prepped and ready 311 call center to assist residents in making the switch. Know someone who still gets their TV OTA? Make sure they're watching TV at the appointed test times, or better yet send them a link to one of the available online resources, and then for some Harold's.[Thanks, Stephen]
Hawaiian analog TV shutoff to come early, saving God's creatures
Technological progress marches forward, assimilating all those who resist -- we know this well in our line of work, but sometimes you've got to stand up and say, "The line must be drawn here! This far, no further!" Take the digital TV transition in the United States for example: all the analog TV signals will be shut off in February. It won't be pretty, but it'll be progress. Hawaii, though, has a dilemma: it just so happens that the analog towers that'll be torn down are awfully close to the nests of the state's adorable and endangered petrel birds, whose nesting season also occurs in February. Hence Hawaii's digital switch will occur a month early on January 15th, so you 17,000 affected Hawaiians have that much less time to grab converter boxes, or you'll end up watching the next season of Lost in person on your beautiful beaches instead of your ancient tube televisions.
DISH Network joins with CBA to push awareness of DTV transition, sell converter boxes
Let us not forget, DISH Network has a dog in the fight too when it comes to digital TV converter boxes. Said satcaster currently has a few such devices on the market right now -- the TR-40 CRA, DTVPal, and DTVPal Plus -- and it's looking to simultaneously push awareness of the impending analog switchover and sell a few converters while it's out there. Via a partnership with the Community Broadcasters Association (CBA), the two will ambiguously reach out to those not yet informed and urge them to take action well before February 2009. Of course, how exactly they plan on doing that remains somewhat of a mystery. In related news, we are told that the TR-50 standalone OTA DVR (or the DTVPal DVR, as it will be known), should be available later this month. Huzzah!
Judge maintains that cable companies must air broadcast signals post-DTV cutover
While some cable companies have already committed to keeping analog signals around for three years after the impending 2009 digital TV transition, a judge in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit made it universal. The ruling demands that cable providers "must continue to carry the same broadcast channels that over-the-air viewers receive once those stations make their federally mandated conversion to digital signals in February." In other words, they either switch to an all-digital system or carry both the digital and analog signals of local stations for three years (after the DTV cutover). Judge Judith Rogers asserted that cable companies at large had either already implemented an all-digital system or were "moving in that direction." Hopefully after this, more will make that move with renewed haste.[Image courtesy of AussieBloggers]
French national HD channels first to implement Dolby Digital Plus
You know those four French national channels that decided to recently made the leap to high-def? Yeah, well those four are the first HD terrestrial TV channels to implement Dolby Digital Plus. In fact, both Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Digital were chosen by those broadcasters for the Television Numerique Terrestre platform, and viewers tuning into TF1 HD, France 2 HD, ARTE HD, Canal+ HD and M6 HD will be able to listen to 5.1-channels of audio so long as they have the requisite decoding equipment. Interestingly enough, the French HD forum specification "requires that by December 2008 HD-ready TVs for sale in France must include Dolby Digital Plus and High Efficiency AAC (HE AAC) audio." Atta way to be proactive, France!
Video: New York City conducts analog shutoff drill
We've seen a smattering of shutoff drills go down from one side of the country to the other, but honestly, hearing of one is still more the exception than the rule. With the digital TV transition drawing ever closer here in the USA, the Big Apple decided to flip the test switch on its local OTA stations in order to give antenna-using citizens a much-needed heads-up. As you can see in the video waiting in the read link, the two-minute test only affected an analog set using an antenna; televisions tuned to WCBS via cable, digital OTA or satellite didn't even notice the warning message. Nice show, New York.
China to give analog TV the boot by 2015
While the US of A is gritting its teeth and hoping the world doesn't implode when it switches completely to digital TV next February, many other nations around the globe are just now setting up their own timeline. For China, the magic year looks to be 2015. Professor Huang Yong, the deputy editor-in-chief of China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, recently stated that program production would be "turned from analog to digital" seven years from now, though he didn't say what kind of technology would be used for digital broadcasting. Knowing China, though, it'll cook up something the rest of the globe has no interest in for the sake of saving on licensing fees.[Image courtesy of DayLife]
CEA launches YouTube digital transition PSA contest, winner gets a home theater
Think you know how to inform people about the digital transition in three minutes or less? The Consumer Electronics Association is sponsoring a contest with country band Whiskey Falls (yes, that's what we think when we think DTV, country music), offering a flat screen HDTV, Blu-ray player and surround sound system to the maker of the best video demonstrating how to get family and friends ready for the analog shutoff coming in February. Head over to the dedicated YouTube channel to check out the entries, and Whiskey Falls promo asking for entries after the break. Voting opens December 1 with a winner selected December 10, any questions?[Via CE Pro]
FCC official predicts "messy" digital TV switch, probably a three sheeter
Don't let the smooth transition experienced in Wilmington and other tests fool you, FCC member Robert McDowell just returned from a tour in Afghanistan Alaska, Montana & Oklahoma, and he's seen things, terrible things. Things that have convinced him that the transition on February 17, 2009 "will be messy ... but we will get through it" when over the air broadcasts go all-digital. Hopefully there's enough time (and money left in the budget) to take care of any problems -- the Government Accountability Office recently found that regulators are unprepared for the demand of consumers in need of help switching.
DTV coupon requests surging in LIN TV blackout markets
Here's an interesting one. While we'd say it's perfectly normal to see upticks in voucher requests from areas affected by early analog shutoff drills, this here is just bizarre. According to a release put out by the American Cable Association, an irregular surge in coupon requests has occurred in three markets where Time Warner Cable dropped LIN TV's stations after the two couldn't come to a retransmission agreement. On top of that, FCC chairman Kevin Martin has reportedly asserted that the voucher program is running out of cash, but given that this isn't the FCC's program, we'd take that as speculation more than anything. Either way, because of this blackout, it seems consumers are asking for items (and thus, cash) they probably don't even need. Look LIN TV, we know you loathe TWC, but please -- put your stations back online. Do it for the taxpayer. Do it for love.
Mitsubishi's NR-HZ001 GPS: ten million destinations and a couple big distractions
As you know, when an already distracted driver gets his hands on a GPS the results can be disastrous: that's why we're predicting a whole slew of train wrecks once the NR-HZ001 hits the streets. Beginning November 5th, the device -- which doubles as a digital TV receiver -- will start shipping with new Mitsubishi autos, either at ¥250,000 ($2,353) for full segment digital video or ¥200,000 ($1,883) for 1seg. Both versions feature an internal hard drive, Bluetooth, ten million destinations and something called Multi Relay Operation: the ability for the driver and passengers to control the unit simultaneously through voice recognition. But we have to ask: between the live TV and the scintillating conversation you and your passengers are bound to have with the GPS, who will be watching the road?[Via Coolest Gadgets]
RCN keeps up the good work, rolls out all-digital cable in NYC
It was inevitable, really. As RCN's quest to smash analog and introduce all-digital cable to all of its markets continues, we've finally received word that it will do so in the Big Apple. Starting next month, the carrier will begin switching its New York network to all-digital, which will obviously enable it to "reclaim existing analog channels, improve the picture quality, make the network easier to maintain, and dramatically increase the number of standard and HD channels it can offer to subscribers." RCN CEO and President Peter Aquino even stated that it hopes to offer "approximately 100 HD channels or more in the future," which couldn't possibly sound sweeter. Now, if only we knew how long it would be before "in the future" became "today."
KCTS 9 (PBS) moves for all-digital conversion, leaves quality HD shows behind
The times, they are a-changin', and with February 2009 getting closer by the minute, we should probably expect even more situations like this. Put simply, western Washington's local PBS channel had a long-standing history of pleasing HD junkies with a whole swath of unique HD programming on Comcast slot 108 (OTA channel 9.5). Due to the transition to all-digital (or so it says), the HD channel has been shifted to Comcast slot 109 and OTA slot 9.1; that there isn't the problem, though. The issue is that with the move, many of its best high-def programs have been nixed, and the leftovers are being presented "in low-quality DTV," as stated by our tipster. The reaction has been overwhelmingly negative, with pages upon pages of angry comments piling up in a matter of hours. Thankfully, management has posted a note that it is taking notice, but only time will tell if the channel will ever return in its full glory.[Thanks, Aaron]
Apex DT250 DTV converter box gets reviewed
It's been awhile since we've seen a DTV converter box on the test bench, and while the Apex DT250 isn't anything extraordinary, we figured it prudent to pass along CNET's review and remind you that February 2009 is drawing ever closer. That being said, critics found that this box produces remarkably good image quality, and the S-Video output / analog pass-through were also smiled upon. Unfortunately, it managed to pull in fewer stations than rival boxes, and neither the bundled remote nor the EPG were top-shelf material. Still, if you're close enough to towers that signal strength won't be an issue, it may be worth looking at if you value stunning SD quality. Whatever that means.
Fujitsu intros digital HDTV SoC with integrated video processing engine
Panasonic pumped out its UniPhier SoC for worldwide digital TVs earlier this year, and now Fujitsu is hitting back with its MB86H70. The digital HDTV SoC (system-on-chip) boasts an inbuilt video processing engine, support for Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution and a multi-decoder that decodes both MPEG-2 and H.264 video compression formats. The chip is actually designed for digital TVs receiving HD broadcasts in Europe, and supposedly, the LSI will enable TV manufacturers to "improve their design efficiencies with regard to picture quality settings." Look for samples to start shipping without your knowledge in mid-October.
