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WASHINGTON — Millions of $40 government coupons become available Tuesday, Jan 01, to help low-tech television owners buy special converter boxes for older TVs that might not work after the switch to digital broadcasting.

Beginning Feb 18, 2009, anyone who does not own a digital set and still gets their programming via over-the-air antennas will no longer receive a picture. That’s the day the television industry completes its transition from old-style analog broadcasting to digital.

The converter boxes are expected to cost between $50 and $70 and will be available at most major electronics retail stores. Starting Tuesday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will begin accepting requests for two $40 coupons per household to be used toward the purchase of the boxes.

Viewers who have satellite or cable service will not need a box.

To request a coupon, consumers can apply online at DTV2009.gov starting Tuesday. The government also has set up a 24-hour hotline to take requests, 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009).

The first 22 million coupons will go to all households that request them. That includes a residence that gets cable service for one television but has a spare TV that still uses an antenna, for example. The rest of the coupons, however, are meant only for those who do not subscribe to a pay-television service.The Nielsen estimates that 14.3 million households, or about 13 percent of the 112.8 million total television households in the nation, rely on over-the-air television broadcasts for programming. More at NTIA, DTV2009.gov.

Washington — The Federal Communications Commission on Monday, Dec 31, approved new rules giving US broadcasters more flexibility in making the switch to digital television from traditional analog signals, Reuters reported.

The rules would, among other things, allow some broadcast stations to make a “phased transition” to digital broadcasting. Stations also will be allowed to reduce or terminate their analog service before the Feb. 17, 2009 deadline for the transition “if doing so is necessary to achieve their transition,” the FCC said.

“The rules we adopt in this item attempt to provide broadcasters the flexibility they need while at the same time ensuring that any disruption to over-the-air viewers is minimized to the fullest extent possible,” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said in a statement.

Congress ordered the switch to digital television to free up public airwaves for other uses, such as for police and fire departments. The switch will also to improved picture and sound for TV viewers.

US lawmakers, many of whom face re-election in November, are closely watching the switch because their constituents, who own analog television sets, will be unable to watch programs sent via digital signals unless they subscribe to satellite or digital cable, get a converter box, or buy a new digital TV.

The government will subsidize the cost of buying a digital-analog converter box by offering $40 discount coupons to anyone who owns an analog television set.” More at Reuters, FCC (in Word).

Seoul — Dec 13, `07 –Korea Newswire– Samsung Electronics announced today the development of a new digital TV receiver chip (S5H1432) using 65nm process technology for terrestrial digital video broadcasting (DVB-T), the digital broadcasting standard in Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

Samsung’s new DVB-T receiver chip is designed for use in digital TVs, set-top boxes, TV receiver cards for PCs, USB interfaced plug-and play dongle or boxes, and DVD recorders.

Fabricated using Samsung’s advanced 65nm process technology on 300mm wafers, this new DVB-T receiver chip fully supports Europe’s NorDig unified standard for digital broadcasting. The power consumption level for this chip is at an industry low of 80mW, less than one third of the conventional 250mW average power consumption of existing solutions on the market.

By using a proprietary processing algorithm, Samsung’s new DVB-T receiver chip enables high performance even in single frequency network environments, reducing the channel scanning interval by half, to less than 0.1-second, from the conventional 0.2-second.

The new DVB-T receiver chip is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2008. This DVB-T receiver chip, together with other Samsung logic devices and solutions, will be on display at CES 2008.

NEW YORK, Dec 05, ‘07 /PRNewswire/ — Just in time for the holiday season, Verizon is unwrapping high-definition video-on-demand in many of its FiOS TV markets.

HD VOD is now available over the FiOS TV systems in Richmond and Virginia Beach, Va.; Tampa, Fla.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Pittsburgh. It is coming soon to the FiOS systems in the Washington, D.C., metro area, Massachusetts and Rhode Island; and to Verizon’s remaining FiOS TV markets next year.

Verizon last month said it expects to have more than 150 HD channels by the end of 2008 as it continues to add to its HD lineup, and programmerslaunch new channels. It also said that it would increase its HD VOD titles to more than 1,000 in 2008.

Verizon’s initial HD VOD offering contains around 75 HD titles including a mix of free programs and recently released blockbuster movies such as “Transformers;” “The Hoax,” starring Richard Gere; “Mr. Brooks,” with Kevin Costner and Demi Moore; and the animated “Surf’s Up.” In the coming months, the company will continue to add HD titles to its VOD library, which now totals more than 10,000 titles.

Customers access video-on-demand simply by pressing the “VOD” or “On Demand” button on their remote control, through a menu on FiOS TV’s
interactive media guide, or by tuning into channel 900. Customers need an HDTV and an HD set-top box to view the on-demand titles in high definition. More at PRNewsWire.

Single Package Is Less than 1/100th the Size of Previous Tuner.

Dec 05, ‘07 — Sharp Corporation has developed the VA3C5CZ920, the industry’s first tuner module compatible with GB20600-2006, the China Digital Television Terrestrial Broadcasting System Standard. Sample shipments will start in late January 2008. This tuner module is less than 1/100th the size of conventional “can” tuners for receiving China’s terrestrial digital broadcasts. The small package size of just 10.7 x 10.7 x 1.4 mm means that this tuner module can go into mobile equipment such as portable TVs and allow them to receive terrestrial digital broadcasts.

Established in August 2006, China’s terrestrial digital broadcast standard has begun test service and plans are for a gradual conversion to full-fledged service. This is fueling expectations for a growing market in mobile equipment capable of receiving high-quality HD broadcasts as the country heads for major events like the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

Unlike conventional can tuners, key component tuners like this one mainly go into mobile equipment and must therefore be extremely small. The VA3C5CZ920 answers this call with a compact, single package achieved through proprietary high-frequency and high-density-mounting technologies that came out of Sharp’s experience in developing tuner modules for One-Seg, Japan’s terrestrial digital broadcast format.

Major Features
1. Industry’s first tuner compatible with GB20600-2006, the China Digital Television Terrestrial Broadcasting System Standard
2. The single package measures just 10.7 x 10.7 x 1.4 mm, less than 1/100th the size of Sharp’s previous tuner
3. Achieves low power consumption of 530 mW (during continuous operation)

More at Sharp.

Nov 20, ‘07 — The BBC Trust has approved the immediate launch of a BBC high-definition channel, but decided that no service will be launched on Freeview until a further review is completed next year.

It also repeated previous guidance that the new HD channel needed to be a “mixed genre” offering - not just a simulcast of prime time BBC1.

Up to 20% of the channel’s content should be sport and films, the trust said, but it should be a “head-on competitor” for sports and movie HD channels. The trust, which received 921 submissions - mostly from the public - in its consultation, concluded:

Satellite and cable

• BBC HD should launch on Sky and cable as soon as possible.
• The channel should launch on Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) Freesat from the launch of that platform.

Freeview

• The full BBC HD channel should be provided on Freeview as soon as possible, subject to a review of options in 2008.
• No four-hour interim channel will be provided on Freeview before equipment integrating standards for the future provision of HDTV on DTT is available.
• Once such equipment is available, and if at that point such a service remains appropriate, approval is given for a four-hour, overnight interim channel.

BBC Parliament

• If services are withdrawn from Freeview, live proceedings of the House of Commons should take precedence over the HD channel if capacity is not available for both.

“We are delighted that the BBC Trust has approved the BBC executive’s high definition television proposals, allowing us to launch the UK’s first free-to-air, mixed-genre public service HDTV channel,” said the BBC director general, Mark Thompson. More at BBCNews.

Washington — Nov 09, ‘07 — The Bush administration official who heads the agency charged with ensuring the smooth transition of the television industry to digital broadcasting is leaving that post.

John Kneuer was named administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in May 2006 by President Bush. Kneuer will resign this month to pursue new opportunities, agency spokesman Todd Sedmak said Friday.

Kneuer’s resignation as the president’s top telecommunications adviser comes amid considerable concern on Capitol Hill over the manner in which the government is handling the conversion by television broadcasters from analog to digital broadcasting.

On Feb. 18, 2009, tens of millions of televisions that are not equipped to receive digital signals will no longer be able to receive programming. Congress committed $1.5 billion for viewers to spend on converter boxes that will translate digital signals for older televisions, but only $5 million of the total was earmarked for consumer education.

After the first of the year, the government will be making available to each household two coupons worth $40 each that can be used to buy two converter boxes. The NTIA is responsible for administering the program.

Kneuer has made numerous appearances in recent months before committees on Capitol Hill providing updates to members of Congress who have expressed concern that the public is still largely unaware that the transition is coming.

Taking over Kneuer’s duties until the White House nominates a replacement will be Meredith Baker, deputy assistant secretary, who will serve as acting NTIA administrator. NTIA is part of the Commerce Department.