At this year’s NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories Open Day, NHK showed prototype receivers—developed together with equipment manufacturers—as well as a prototype of the new iTV service. Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, Sharp and Mitsubishi Electric have each developed receivers for the Hybridcast concept.

When used with live sports broadcasts, updates about the game and players can be synchronized with the broadcast timeline and superimposed on the screen.

NHK said the service uses HTML5 applications that can be displayed on a portable tablet. For example, if you’re watching a travel program, you can show where the subjects on TV are walking on a map. And if you’re watching a quiz program, you can take part by answering the questions.

When used with sports broadcasts, updates about game and players can be synchronized with the broadcast timeline and superimposed on the screen. This information can be combined with a service that shows where each player is, creating a more integrated viewing experience.

“A big feature of this system is that content can be created by service providers other than broadcasters,” the network said. “So, it’ll also be possible for new business players to create applications.”

Hybridcast supports a variety of terminals, including TV sets, smart phones and tablets. By using technology that supports interoperability between TVs and various terminal devices, it is possible to implement services that use different screen sizes in different ways. This includes large screens for TV viewing to using hand-held terminals to display information tailored to each individual viewer.

NHK also sees Hybridcast eventually introduced in set-top boxes. “A growing number of broadcasters are showing their approval for this service,” the network said. “This year, Fuji Television and BS WOWOW are giving their support. So we hope we can make this an all-Japan service.”

See Youtube video: http://youtu.be/ThrOv2NqI00

Using a new version of High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) compression technology reduces bandwidth by 50 percent in comparison to MPEG4 AVC/H.264—while still delivering similar video quality, the company said. HEVC, it continued, provides high-quality video resolution in the home and makes HD video over wireless links (Wi-Fi or cellular) much more practical and attainable for service providers.

Google acquired Motorola Mobility last week $40.00 per share in cash (or about $12.5 billion).

Motorola showed a side-by-side comparison of HEVC and MPEG4 AVC/H.264 at the show. HEVC was jointly developed by ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG). Motorola has been an active contributing member of MPEG-2 (1993) and MPEG-4 (2008) standards.

Additionally, HEVC can be a significant factor in dramatically reducing storage costs for in-home and networked DVRs. Motorola demonstrated how a networked VCR could leverage the efficiencies in the cloud and providers’ networks to deliver unlimited storage capacities for their consumers.

Motorola called the nDVR a key to the true multi-screen experience. By migrating DVR functionality into the network, providers can deliver the convenience and anytime, anyplace, any screen access to content that many consumers want.

By the end of the year, a major (unidentified) MSO customer of Motorola Mobility will launch a trial of a basic network DVR, the company said.

Google acquired Motorola Mobility last week $40.00 per share in cash (or about $12.5 billion).

The acquisition will enable Google to improve its Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.

Participating in an interactive demo area called “Imagine Park,” the company showed how digital TV consumers can forego the remote control and use voice, facial-recognition and simple gesture-based movements to access personalized content and interact with a cable set-top-box.

The company's natural user interfaces help consumers find personalized content and to navigate to their favorite show with the wave of a hand.

Natural user interfaces (NUI)—including touch, voice, video and gesture interfaces —in devices ranging from smartphones and tablets to peripherals such as videogame consoles provide an opportunity for cable companies to deliver personalized interactive customer experiences, Infosys demonstrated.

“Cable television innovation is crucial to serve the growing number of digital consumers who expect rich, interactive, personalized viewing experiences, and natural user interfaces are the next step in the evolution of TV entertainment,” said Mit Majumdar, head of U.S. cable practice at Infosys.

From the perspective of cable multiple services operators, Infosys said multi-channel user interfaces would allow service providers to increase customer loyalty, emphasize personalization and help add interactive revenue-generating channels to differentiate their television service offerings.

Using popular devices such as Microsoft’s XBOX Kinect for accessing Live TV and video-on-demand (VOD) on set-top-boxes, Viroo Mirju and Majumdar demonstrated user interfaces that helped consumers find personalized content and to navigate to their favorite show with the wave of a hand.

Infosys provides business consulting, technology, engineering and outsourcing services to help cable clients in over 30 countries build new technologies and services.

See a video demonstration:

http://2012.thecableshow.com/ThePark/Video#ooid=lhM3JxNDp1ByXo8hK6cuGvzZ_oPNEe6J,VsYXFyNDoJshFmqrW1WRnIed7_6Q48K4

FOR-A developed the camera’s high-sensitivity CMOS sensor, called the “FT1-CMOS” inhouse. It records full 4K (4096 x 2160) “film look” imagery in super slomo at up to 1,000 frames per second and can also simultaneously record and play back in 4K resolution.

High-resolution images are captured as uncompressed raw data on the system’s internal (RAM) memory, which has a recording capacity of 8.5 seconds.

The company said images are captured as uncompressed raw data on the system’s internal (RAM) memory, which has a recording capacity of 8.5 seconds. This data is then stored on one of two hot-swappable SSD cartridges. Each solid-state memory cartridge is capable of storing 75 seconds of full 4K resolution images, enabling up to 150 seconds with a maximum of two cartridges.

Depending upon the application, one output channel can provide either full 4K output, or four 1080p HD-SDI outputs; while the other output channel provides down-converted HD-SDI for live viewing and the control menu.

Hiro Tanoue, President for FOR-A Corporation of America, said that the ability to record super slow motion images at 4K resolution has heretfiore been missing and the new FT-ONE addresses that “gap.”

The FT-ONE camera uses a PL mount lens and a global shutter system that reduces image distortion caused by the rolling shutter system. The FT-ONE is designed as a self-contained unit that weights approximately 15 pounds and measures 235mm(W) x 294mm(H) x 384mm (D).

Aereo, backed by media mogul Barry Diller, began streaming broadcast signals in March over the Internet to New York City residents for $12 a month.

Aereo began streaming over-the-air television broadcasts in New York City a couple months ago in spite of a series of lawsuits.

In the first action in the case, a federal judge dismissed an unfair competition claim against Aereo. The company had argued that the anti-competition claim by broadcasters was actually an attempt to vindicate the broadcasters’ rights to control the performance of their copyrighted materials.

Because those rights are granted under federal law, the state law claim by the broadcasters was preempted and dismissed by U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan from the case pursuant to the Copyright Act.

Despite the initial victory, Aereo still faces a copyright claim by broadcasters next week in the same court.

“It’s disappointing,” a representative for Fox, one of the broadcasters whose claim was dismissed, told the Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/). “But we look forward to our day in court to prove that Aereo’s unauthorized streaming of our content constitutes copyright infringement.”

Aereo, backed by media mogul Barry Diller, began streaming broadcast signals in March over the Internet to New York City residents for $12 a month. Major broadcasters sued to shut the service down, claiming copyright infringement and unfair competition. The broadcasters are not being paid for Aereo’s use of their signals.

Aereo uses micro-sized antennas to pick up television signals off the air and combines the signals with a software-based VCR. The company claims the service is no different from a subscribers purchasing a television antenna at Radio Shack.

Eugene Polley was recognized with an Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts for his contributions to remote control technology in 1997.

Polley has died at age 96 at a hospital in Downers Grove, Ill. He started his 47-year career at Zenith in 1935, and acquired 18 U.S. patents for his inventions, including the “Flash-matic” remote control (the precursor to the multi-button, infrared contraption we have now). Introduced in 1955, it “used a flashlight-like device to activate photo cells on the television set to change channels.”

Because the first remotes shined visible light at TV sets, they could become confused by other light sources. In spite of that, the Flash-matic was a revolution, and the reason Polley was bestowed with humorous titles ranging from “the founding father of the couch potato” to “the czar of zapping” to “the beach boy of channel surfing.”

The Flash-Matic was followed by the Space Command — a “next-generation wireless TV remote based on ultrasonic technology” — which was developed by the late Dr. Robert Adler, a fellow Zenith engineer who built upon Polley’s invention.

By the 1980s, ultrasonic remotes had given way to infrared (or IR) remotes. The most recent ones use radio frequencies, so users don’t have to point them directly at anything.

Wireless remote controls, which were a luxury in their early days, are now a standard accompaniment to any TV, set-top box, DVD player, DVR and stereo. All because of the engineering work tracing back to Eugene J. Polley’s first zapper.

Joop Janssen.

“Over the last nine years Joop Janssen has driven growth and market share for the Vitec Videocom brands,” said Stephen Bird, CEO of the Vitec Group. “We thank him for his many achievements and wish him well as his career progresses. Matt Danilowicz is one of the most accomplished managers in our industry, which is why we worked so hard to bring him back into the Vitec Group to head Bexel. He is the natural choice to take Vitec Videocom on to the next level.”

Janssen, who is currently based in the UK, will officially start at EVS on September 3, 2012 and relocate to Belgium. Janssen has over 25 years of experience in the broadcast video, professional audio and telecommunications equipment industries. He recently served as Chief Executive of the Vitec Videocom division on the Executive Board of the Vitec Group Plc. Since 2003, Janssen helped grow the Vitec Videocom group through acquisitions and capitol expansion. Prior to that he was vice president and general manager of Phillips Broadcast (formerly BTS) North America where he was instrumental in the successful divestment to Thomson Multimedia and the subsequent acquisition of the Grass Valley Group. He has held senior and executive management positions including those at Philips Electronics Digital Networks in France and Philips Business Electronics in the Netherlands.

Within Vitec Videocom, Danilowicz was CEO of Clear-Com (intercom systems) for five years until 2010, and at the beginning of 2012 he returned to head Bexel, the U.S.-based rental and services company. Alongside his appointment as divisional CEO, Bexel is being merged with Vitec Videocom, and he will align the two organizations.

Matt Danilowicz.

Danilowicz will be based at Bexel’s head office in Los Angeles. To support him there is an addition to the Vitec Videocom senior management team. Paul Watson joins the division following a 20-year career in a range of industries, based in Germany and Switzerland as well as the UK. His primary role is as General Manager, Supports, overseeing the work of Vitec’s brands O’Connor, Sachtler, Vinten and Vinten Radamec, based in the Bury St Edmunds offices in the UK. As a member of the senior management team he will also provide support for Danilowicz in European time zones.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Joop for the success he has brought to the company,” Danilowicz said. “I am relishing the challenge of taking it to the next level maximizing the customer proposition of Vitec Videocom by building on those brands to develop complete solutions around the camera.”

The Vitec Videocom division includes: Petrol Bags, Oconnor, The Camera Store (UK rentals), Anton Bauer, Bexel, Lite Panels, Sachtler, Autoscript, Vinten, Vinten/Rademec, Nucomm, RF Central, Microwave Service, IMT and Haigh-Farr (military and aerospace).

EVS designs and markets professional digital video applications for live, near live and studio TV production.

Cui, who has worked with Lithium-ion battery technology in the past, said he has now abandoned lithium ions and replaced them with either sodium or potassium ions for the new, longer lasting technology. For example, a typical laptop battery can go for about 1,000 charge/discharge cycles before its starts to be able to hold 80 percent of the original charge. The battery technology significantly outperforms current power products.

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used to power everything from electric vehicles to portable electronics because they can store a relatively large amount of energy in a relatively lightweight package. The battery works by controlling the flow of lithium ions through a fluid electrolyte between its two terminals, called the anode and cathode.

The new double-walled silicon nanotube anode is produced via a four-step process [see diagram]: Polymer nanofibers (green) are made, then heated (with, and then without, air) until they are reduced to carbon (black). Silicon (light blue) is coated over the outside of the carbon fibers. Finally, heating in air drives off the carbon and creates the tube as well as the clamping oxide layer (red).

The new double-walled silicon nanotube anode is produced via a four-step process. Polymer nanofibers (green) are made, then heated (with, and then without, air) until they are reduced to carbon (black). Silicon (light blue) is coated over the outside of the carbon fibers. Finally, heating in air drives off the carbon and creates the tube as well as the clamping oxide layer (red). Image courtesy Hui Wu, Stanford, and Yi Cui.

“The promise—and peril—of using silicon as the anode in these batteries comes from the way the lithium ions bond with the anode during the charging cycle. Up to four lithium ions bind to each of the atoms in a silicon anode—compared to just one for every six carbon atoms in today’s graphite anode—which allows it to store much more charge,” said an explanation of the technology from Stanford’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Over the past five years, Cui’s group is said to have improved the durability of silicon anodes by making them out of nanowires and then hollow silicon nanoparticles. His latest design consists of a double-walled silicon nanotube coated with a thin layer of silicon oxide, a very tough ceramic material, the university said.

This strong outer layer keeps the outside wall of the nanotube from expanding, so it stays intact. Instead, the silicon swells harmlessly into the hollow interior, which is also too small for electrolyte molecules to enter. After the first charging cycle, it operates for more than 6,000 cycles with 85 percent capacity rem

The IEEE reported there is a weight penalty with the battery technology, which means that it will not be powering any laptops or electric vehicles in the near future. However, the engineering group said it might be the perfect fit for large-scale energy storage on the electrical grid.

“At a rate of several cycles per day, this electrode would have a good 30 years of useful life on the electrical grid,” said Colin Wessells, a graduate student in materials science and engineering who is the lead author of a paper describing the research, published last week in Nature Communications.

Cui said future research is aimed at simplifying the process for making the double-wall silicon nanotubes. Others in his group are developing new high-performance cathodes to combine with the new anode to form a battery with five times the performance of today’s lithium-ion technology.

In 2008, Cui founded a company, Amprius, which licensed rights to Stanford’s patents for his silicon nanowire anode technology. Its short-term goal is to produce a battery with double the energy density of today’s lithium-ion batteries.

The Gorman-Redlich CAP-DEC1 CAP-to-EAS converter translates received CAP alerts into EAS headers.

As part of the revised FCC regulations that were published on April 23, broadcasters and cable operators must implement the required equipment into their facilities to handle the expanded EAS requirements, which now includes digital alert messaging formatted in the CAP data format. They must monitor IPAWS messaging but distribute to the public as they see fit. Not all messages are required to be passed along. It’s up to the individual stations or groups of stations within a state broadcasters’ association.

“You station can elect not to air certain messages (like thunder storm warnings) but they must pass along alerts from the president and do a monthly test of the Emergency Alert System,” said Ed Czarnecki, senior director for strategy, development, and regulatory affairs at Monroe Electronics. He also co-chairs an FCC committee that is working on recommendations for implementing the new CAP EAS system.  That FCC committee is expected to compile additional reports on CAP migration in June and September.

State-Specific Implementation

Typically, a state’s broadcasting agency will decide on which specific IPAWS-compliant system to use and recommend that to its member stations in its region. Each state makes it own decisions and this has led to different states using different technologies.

There are currently 20 states that use some form of CAP-based system, according to Czarnecki.  Individual counties or even cities could also send CAP alerts. For example, Sedgwick County, Kansas will be using the Monroe DASEOC CAP originator to send CAP alerts to the IPAWS infrastructure. Publicly, the rest of the state of Kansas is still determining which way to go.

TFT’s EAS 911R4 is an FCC-Certified EAS Encoder/Decoder with four balanced audio inputs, one RS-232C input, a balanced audio output, an RS-232C output, impact printer, and digital voice recorder.

“Depending upon the state EAS plan, you have the county official that might want to initiate EAS and cell alerts via IPAWS, you have the state emergency management agency which sends alerts to iPAWs and you have state police issuing Amber Alerts and other warnings,” said Czarnecki. “There’s a lot of different agencies to consider, and you as a station must be sure to work with all of them.”

The output is standards-based (CAP with the IPAW profile), so it ensures interoperability among stations using different manufacturers equipment.

To date most stations have made arrangements for and implemented some type of IPAWS-compliant system. Companies that make the required CAP EAS equipment include Monroe Electronics/Digital Alert Systems (DAS), Gorman Redlich, Sage Alerting Systems, and TFT, Inc. DAS has received the necessary FCC certification while the others are in the process of getting their respective equipment certified and should be fully compliant by June 30^th. The equipment costs about $2,500 on average to purchase and is relatively easy to install. All products include software that can be updated to handle a range of potential changes in requirements that may be forthcoming from the FCC and FEMA.

The Word is getting Out

“State broadcasting associations have been very active in terms of warning their membership about the June 30 deadline,” Czarnecki said. “By our estimation, at least 85 percent of the broadcast market is outfitted with the required technology. Cable operators have been slower to implement it but we’ve been getting a lot of calls in the past month to make them complaint as well.”

DAS has released a new IPAWS interface (software) for its products to help stations configure their devices, IT networks and making the adjustments to their security systems in time for the June deadline. It also ensures that stations’ equipment is compatible with the latest regulations.

Sage Alerting Systems has developed an end-to-end CAP origination, transport, and broadcast dissemination system.

The new IPAWS transmissions represent an encrypted ATOM web feed (like an RSS feed) that is received by a station. The CAP EAS-compliant device will poll the iPAWS system every 60 seconds to search for electronic tags that represent different alert messages. For cell phones, mobile providers receive a Cellular Mobile Alerting System (CMAS) feed. Not every ATOM feed will make it to CMAS devices, only the most urgent. For example, an Amber Alert would go through to all platforms while a storm warning might not go to all areas because it does not carry the most serious EAS tagging.

“The alerts displayed are contingent on the person tagging it, the FEMA for properly filtering it, and the end user, who can opt out of some messages,” Czarnecki said. “No one can opt out of a national alert.”

FCC Certification Is Critical

Czarnecki warns that stations need to make sure the technology they have implemented has the proper FCC certification, based on strict lab and field-testing. DAS just announced that it is the first to receive such certification for its DASDEC-II and R189 One-Net series of EAS equipment. Both comply with the FCC’s updated Part 11 regulations governing EAS.

[Czarnecki said the DASDEC EAS platform was originally granted its FCC equipment authorization in 2004 with the FCC certification ID of R8VDASDEC-1EN. The R189 One-Net system shares the same certified EAS platform.]

Monroe’s DASEOC CAP originator automatically sends CAP alerts to the IPAWS infrastructure.

“Attaining this FCC approval is much more than a formality; it helps ensure the regulatory compliance of the cable operator and broadcaster using this equipment,” said Czarnecki. “By completing the required Class II Permissive Change, accompanied by the Suppliers Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) requirements, we can assure customers our equipment meets all the FCC’s requirements.”

Again, stations need to be aware of the equipment they have in place and how it works. Hypothetically, a station could have purchased an EAS box two years ago in good faith that is now non-certified and, after June 30^th, can be fined for non-compliance. As of April 23, the FCC required all CAP technology venders to submit their gear to an additional step of CAP certification.

“Our concern is that a broadcaster gets fined without even realizing that they are doing something wrong,” Czarnecki said. “The other issue is that if a device is not compliant, it is a detriment to the public and should be replaced. This is public safety we’re talking about here. It’s that simple.”

The Facebook “Be on TV” app allows broadcast videos from Facebook to be seen in 177 of the top 200 cable markets in the U.S.

Luanched last week, the Facebook “Be on TV” app allows broadcast videos from Facebook to air on Youtoo TV, which can be seen in 177 of the top 200 cable markets in the U.S. The app was designed for major broadcasters around the world and will run on other networks this fall.

“We designed the technology so that Facebook users can be on their favorite shows,” said Chris Wyatt CEO of Youtoo.  “For the first time Youtoo technology is instantly available to the 800 million Facebook users.”

Facebook users can search the keyword “Youtoo” to download the Be on TV app.  Users can record or upload videos based on questions posed by the program. Once a video is recorded, it will automatically post to their personal timeline or wall and can be shared online with their social network and Facebook friends.

When a Facebook user’s video is approved and scheduled for air, he or she will receive a notification on Facebook of the time and date they’ll be on TV.

After the user appears in the program, he or she will automatically receive an air check or recorded video of the live airing to share. To date, YouToo has nationally televised over 90,000 videos submissions from their users who have uploaded their videos via Youtoo.com.

For Facebook users who don’t want to be on TV, the Be on TV app allows them to send personalized messages including birthday greetings and congratulations to family and friends.

Since launching, Youtoo technology has broadcast over 90,000 viewer videos on national television and bridged the gap between social media and interactive television.