US consumer electronics trade body the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has voiced its opposition to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding a test procedure for set-top boxes. Doug Johnson, vice president of technology policy, described the department’s rulemaking for set-top boxes as “wasteful and unnecessary” in light of industry leadership and accomplishment on energy efficiency in [...]
at800 – the organisation responsible for ensuring people continue to receive free-to-air television when 4G mobile services operating at 800 MHz are launched in the UK – has completed its first live test to help assess the extent to which digital terrestrial television platform Freeview could be impacted when the services are launched later this year. Fifteen households in the [...]
A giant 1,223 ft high terrestrial tower, standing on Television Hill in Maryland and which covers the Baltimore-Washington DC region switched to Europe’s DVB-T2 (OFDM) digital TV transmission for a few hours in the early hours of March 27. The 800+ kW tower beamed out using an experimental licence issued by the FCC to Sinclair Broadcasting’s WNUV-TV station as part [...]
The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) has announced a call for proposals for the “physical layer” of this next-generation broadcast TV standard that in the years ahead could replace the current digital broadcasting systems used in the United States and around the world. The physical layer is the core transmission system that is the basis for any over-the-air broadcast system. [...]
It may not be the largest TV market on the planet but China must be pleased that it will be providing equipment for Cuba’s adoption of digital terrestrial TV, just 90 miles from the Florida coast. China’s DTMB standard (Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcast) is used throughout China, Hong Kong, Macau and Laos. Other countries using it, although often in trial [...]
at800, the organisation tasked with ensuring UK viewers continue to receive Freeview when 4G mobile services at 800MHz are launched later this year, has gone into operation. Its first pilot begins on March 18th in the West Midlands; and its website and UK-based contact centre are now live. The not-for-profit organisation – funded by the UK mobile operators with licences [...]
The Radio Frequency Interference – End Users Initiative (RFI-EUI) and the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) have, with support and commitment to the programme from the World Broadcasting Unions – International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG) and the satellite Interference Reduction Group (IRG), announced the launch of a two-prong effort to improve the quality of satellite newsgathering services worldwide. RFI-EUI, an international [...]
Senior managers at UK free-to-air digital satellite platform Freesat have confirmed the service’s support for the HTML5 multimedia Internet standard. The move follows Freesat’s successful launch of YouTube built on HTML 5, offering a TV-optimised, visually stunning and fully interactive viewing experience. James Strickland, Chief Technology Officer, noted that previous standards such as MHEG, which were broadcast-centric, offered some semblance [...]
The US television and film industries have revealed plans to roll out a national multimedia campaign to inform parents about the many tools that can help them manage what their children see on television and at the movies. The industries will make a positive contribution to the national conversation on violent behaviour by launching a national educational campaign through communications [...]
The US broadcasts its terrestrial signals under the ATSC format, but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has just approved a 6-month trial of Europe’s OFDM-based DVB-T2 standard. The trial will take place shortly on a Baltimore station between the hours of 1am-5am. The rationale behind the trial is to use it as a test-bed for ‘next generation’ TV transmissions, which [...]
