opendtv

[opendtv] Re: Overscanning on LCD TVs (Stessen, Jeroen)

Hello all, It's nice to see that you are still on-line here, Alan Roberts ! I missed the opportunity at IBC to buy your book Circles of confusion. True, overscan was essential in the times of CRT television, to mask all kinds of edge problems, mainly due to a less than stable high-voltage power supply, and imperfect calibration of the scan amplitudes (or drift, or the lack of such), not to mention image jitter due to unstable sources (VHS tape recorders). ...

[opendtv] Re: Overscanning on LCD TVs (Tom Barry)

I also have a Sharp DLP projector connected to my computer using VGA input. And it also seems to adjust to the size of the screen without eating the edges. Though sometimes I have to switch it to another input and back to get it to do this. Maybe some devices just assume VGA is computer and thus does not want overscan. ?? Dunno. I remember with my old 1080i Toshiba RPTV CRT I had to get the service manual and do serious service mode changes to deal with overscan issues ...

[opendtv] Re: Overscanning on LCD TVs (Alan Roberts)

Overscan was inevitable on early crt displays, simply because it was impossible to make stable power supplies. As a result, the broadcasters have had to accommodate overscan and make pictures to a 'safe' size. Now that pixel-based displays are ubiquitous, if not in every home yet, there is no need for overscan at all. Many recent displays allow overscan to be turned off (my Panasonic 42PZ81 does) and so I get pixel-mapped 1920x1080 pictures off-air and via HDMI. the biggest problem is that the display manufacturers still seem to think that ...

[opendtv] Re: Overscanning on LCD TVs (nicholas kocsis)

I make no pretence of being 'expert' in this subject. I do have the same complaint with my Samsung DLP 56 RP display (720p) bought circa 2002-2003. The display loses at least 3 of display at each edge. My sources can be OTA or satellite receiver output with the same overscan attributable to the display monitor itself. Of late the overscan is decidedly annoying on some programming where text overlays are 'chopped'. I did notice that when in a showroom (a year or two after buying) watching side by side the same program on different TV makes. Some did display a normal scan while others had noticeable overscan. ...

[opendtv] Re: The numbers that really matter (Craig Birkmaier)

At 9:38 AM -0600 11/5/09, Manfredi, Albert E wrote: Advertizers put money into the media they think are going to give them the best returns. It's a game of hype and perceptions. If DTT viewership is up compared with previous analog OTA, the advertizers will look again at FOTA ad delivery. The viewership figures are the real key to this, not what advertizers did last year or last quarter. ...

[opendtv] Re: Overscanning on LCD TVs (Tom Barry)

dan.grimes@xxxxxxxx wrote: We have a large amount of consumer grade Sony Bravia televisions in our facility. It appears that all of them overscan the picture, despite setting overscan to normal in the menu. Adjusting overscan to 1 or 2 makes it even worse. The only sources I have been able to confirm are on the HDMI inputs and often using HD-SDI to HDMI converters but I have also seen it with DVI sources. I plan to test with BD as well. So my question is, is overscanning typical with consumer TVs? I thought that it that current LCD TV's used all 1920x1080 pixels. ...

[opendtv] Overscanning on LCD TVs (dan . grimes)

We have a large amount of consumer grade Sony Bravia televisions in our facility. It appears that all of them overscan the picture, despite setting overscan to normal in the menu. Adjusting overscan to 1 or 2 makes it even worse. The only sources I have been able to confirm are on the HDMI inputs and often using HD-SDI to HDMI converters but I have also seen it with DVI sources. I plan to test with BD as well. So my question is, is overscanning typical with consumer TVs? I thought that it that current LCD TV's used all 1920x1080 pixels. ...

[opendtv] Re: Another view on media recovery (Cliff Benham)

dan.grimes@xxxxxxxx wrote: The networks are constricted by the demands of affiliates and limitations of decency (because the use the public air waves). The model is broken. -Don Moore I would hate to think that decency is what is restricting the networks from developing good programming. I would argue that much of the CSI/CIS franchise is worse than most of what is on cable with its very ...

[opendtv] Re: Droid Phone (Tom Barry)

Mark A. Aitken wrote: There will 'soon' be an app for that (ATSC Mobile DTV), but on a different network. It will be part of the Washington/Baltimore Consumer trial that OMVC is coordinating. The device is quite cool! Mark the Mark that will soon have an excuse to get an iPhone (or iTouch!). Hi Mark - I started googling for info on the Washington trial and found the ...

[opendtv] Re: Another view on media recovery (dan . grimes)

The networks are constricted by the demands of affiliates and limitations of decency (because the use the public air waves). The model is broken. -Don Moore I would hate to think that decency is what is restricting the networks from developing good programming. I would argue that much of the CSI/CIS franchise is worse than most of what is on cable with its very graphic violence and morbid scenery. Personally, I would also argue that a civilized society, one that is progressive rather than decadent, would take decency into account in all it does, including television ...

[opendtv] Re: Droid Phone (Mark A. Aitken)

There will 'soon' be an app for that (ATSC Mobile DTV), but on a different network. It will be part of the Washington/Baltimore Consumer trial that OMVC is coordinating. The device is quite cool! Mark the Mark that will soon have an excuse to get an iPhone (or iTouch!). On 11/5/2009 7:50 AM, Craig Birkmaier wrote: ...

[opendtv] Re: Parenthetically (Manfredi, Albert E)

Craig Birkmaier wrote: For all the silly talk about how difficult ATSC is, my wife and I agree that getting radio and TV over the Internet is far more temperamental. And by the way, unlike digital radio or TV, the problems with online streaming are not as easily fixed on a permanent basis. Why? Because the sources are forever messing around with their feeds, changing their servers, changing their players, changing ...

[opendtv] Re: Commentary: Be Wary Of FCC's Cash-For-Spectrum Plan (Tom Barry)

Craig Birkmaier wrote: ... Let's just say the the media conglomerates are not likely to keep propping up the local stations when they can go direct and keep all of the subscriber fees and local ad avails. Regards Craig P.S. I agree with Tom that the best continuing use of spectrum for TV ...

[opendtv] Re: The numbers that really matter (Manfredi, Albert E)

Craig Birkmaier wrote: Bert is optimstic about improved ratings for the broadcast networks. Here are the numbers that really matter for one representative broadcaster. Cart, horse. ...

[opendtv] Re: Basic basic service (Manfredi, Albert E)

Craig Birkmaier wrote: In many of the discussions about reclaiming the broadcast spectrum the idea that cable would provide a lifeline service is mentioned; there are also suggestions that some of the money from auctions be used to pay for this service for those who are disenfranchised. But the real questions is what happens if the Networks go direct with the MVPDs. Do they still show up on the lifeline service, or does this tier become a second class citizen, populated with local ...

[opendtv] Re: The numbers that really matter (Tom Barry)

Things have generally sucked in the economy for the last year. But I am also optimistic about increased advertising revenues going forward from here. I don't think it will be hard for 2010 year over year numbers to show improvement since the bar is set fairly low right now and things are starting to improve. - Tom Craig Birkmaier wrote: ...

[opendtv] Re: Basic basic service (Tom Barry)

Craig Birkmaier wrote: ... In many of the discussions about reclaiming the broadcast spectrum the idea that cable would provide a lifeline service is mentioned; there are also suggestions that some of the money from auctions be used to pay for this service for those who are disenfranchised. But the real questions is what happens if the Networks go direct with the MVPDs. Do they still show up on the lifeline service, or does this tier become a second class citizen, populated with local broadcasters ...

[opendtv] Re: Commentary: Be Wary Of FCC's Cash-For-Spectrum Plan (Craig Birkmaier)

At 5:44 PM -0600 11/3/09, Manfredi, Albert E wrote: 3. They talk about transition. What transition? After a broadcaster has given up his 6 MHz channel, why would anyone expect that broadcaster entity to survive? You don't need a broadcaster for the cable content, any more than you need a broadcaster for, say, the AE channel or ESPN. People on MVPDs want certain content, and aside from the occasional local news and weather, after OTA broadcasters give up their OTA spectrum, they can be history. Don't need no OTA-deprived broadcaster for my NCIS fix, thank you very ...

[opendtv] Re: Droid Phone (Craig Birkmaier)

At 12:16 PM -0800 11/4/09, dan.grimes@xxxxxxxx wrote: Saw an add yesterday that states iDon't and Droid Does, referring to the to-be-released phone from Verizon. I looked at the website (droiddoes.com) but one notable don't do is ATSC M/H. But they claim 10000+ apps so maybe there is an app for that? Dan ...

[opendtv] Re: Parenthetically (Craig Birkmaier)

At 12:51 PM -0600 11/4/09, Manfredi, Albert E wrote: ... , yet another lunch ruined by a fitful streaming media feed from the BBC. If only I had my portable HD Radio receiver with me, I'd tune to WAMU-3 instead. For all the silly talk about how difficult ATSC is, my wife and I agree that getting radio and TV over the Internet is far more temperamental. ...

[opendtv] Re: TSC Looks to Future With Mobile DTV (Craig Birkmaier)

At 10:34 AM -0600 11/4/09, Manfredi, Albert E wrote: The new twist described in this piece is work on enabling ALL of the 6 MHz channel to be used for ATSC M/H. Well, that would sure kill off any thought of OTA HDTV. This looks like a tactic for broadcasters to hold onto their OTA spectrum, showing that they too can reinvent themselves to fit into the trendy new mobile hand-held market, even 100 percent. Seems like ...

[opendtv] The numbers that really matter (Craig Birkmaier)

Bert is optimstic about improved ratings for the broadcast networks. Here are the numbers that really matter for one representative broadcaster. QUARTERLY EARNINGS REPORT Sinclair's 3Q Broadcast Revenue Falls 9% ...

[opendtv] Re: Commentary: Be Wary Of FCC's Cash-For-Spectrum Plan (Craig Birkmaier)

At 7:30 PM -0600 11/3/09, Manfredi, Albert E wrote: Tom Barry wrote: Much of the justification for the entire transition was the possibility of OTA HDTV. Yet I would wager that in any given entire month period now far less than 1 in 10 households actually use an antenna to watch any OTA HDTV ...

[opendtv] Re: Basic basic service (Craig Birkmaier)

At 7:59 PM -0500 11/3/09, Tom Barry wrote: Manfredi, Albert E wrote: So, what does anyone guess will happen to this service after the OTA TV channels are taken away? Bert ...

[opendtv] Re: Another view on media recovery (Manfredi, Albert E)

Cliff Benham wrote: If there is to be no more OTA TV because the spectrum is being sold to the highest bidder, how can the broadcast spectrum be called public airwaves? Hear hear! And the vultures are even after our public unlicensed spectrum too, apparently. They have no shame. Institutionalized. crass, greed. Now apparently sanctioned ...

[opendtv] Re: Another view on media recovery (Cliff Benham)

Don Moore wrote: The networks are constricted by the demands of affiliates and limitations of decency (because the use the public air waves). Show me where it still says 'the airwaves belong to the people'. That went away in 1986 when the FCC revised [or maybe it should be ...

[opendtv] Re: Another view on media recovery (Don Moore)

I recall when Jeff Foxworthy did a CSI spoof, it featured my city. It's no wonder that foreign countries think we are full of criminals - there's more crime on TV than in real life. If you own the franchise, why not run with it until it's dead. American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, Millionaire. Ring any bells. The networks are constricted by the demands of affiliates and limitations of decency (because the use the public air waves). The model is broken. ...

[opendtv] Droid Phone (dan . grimes)

Saw an add yesterday that states iDon't and Droid Does, referring to the to-be-released phone from Verizon. I looked at the website (droiddoes.com) but one notable don't do is ATSC M/H. But they claim 10000+ apps so maybe there is an app for that? Dan ...

[opendtv] Re: Parenthetically (Tom Barry)

Manfredi, Albert E wrote: ... , yet another lunch ruined by a fitful streaming media feed from the BBC. If only I had my portable HD Radio receiver with me, I'd tune to WAMU-3 instead. For all the silly talk about how difficult ATSC is, my wife and I agree that getting radio and TV over the Internet is far more temperamental. And by the way, unlike digital radio or TV, the problems with online streaming are not as easily fixed on a permanent basis. Why? Because the ...

[opendtv] Re: Another view on media recovery (dan . grimes)

I suspect CBS will be in decline shortly, too. I see that they have a new show called NCIS: Los Angeles. So now they have CSI Las Vegas, CSI Miami, CSI New York, NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles...are they now the Crime (investigating) Broadcasting Network? And how much longer can they keep Survivor, Amazing Race, Big Brother going? And news? ...

[opendtv] Parenthetically (Manfredi, Albert E)

... , yet another lunch ruined by a fitful streaming media feed from the BBC. If only I had my portable HD Radio receiver with me, I'd tune to WAMU-3 instead. For all the silly talk about how difficult ATSC is, my wife and I agree that getting radio and TV over the Internet is far more temperamental. And by the way, unlike digital radio or TV, the problems with online streaming are not as easily fixed on a permanent basis. Why? Because the sources are forever messing around with their feeds, changing their servers, changing their players, changing their compression algorithms. And if that isn't bad enough, ...

[opendtv] Re: TSC Looks to Future With Mobile DTV (Tom Barry)

How do we know there is no monthly fee? I don't see any technical reason there couldn't be one for certain channels in the future. Just legacy receivers would not be able to receive premium channels, only open ones. - Tom Manfredi, Albert E wrote: The new twist described in this piece is work on enabling ALL of the 6 MHz ...

[opendtv] Re: TSC Looks to Future With Mobile DTV (Mark A. Aitken)

Well, let's lend a little perspective on how the SFCMM came into being. It is really, really simple. It turns out (and should be no surprise to most of the folks here) that there exist a number of folks with 6MHz slices of 700MHz spectrum (how did that happen?!). They approached ATSC and asked if a NWIP (New Work Item Proposal-supported by many including SBG) could be considered that offered ALL of the payload capacity (19.39Mb/s emmited) could be used for Mobile DTV in such a fashion as to be compatible with the (now final) A/153 (CMM) standard. The answer was yes, the work is progressing, and it is expected that we (the Broadcast industry and others) will have what has been asked for. For those ...

[opendtv] TSC Looks to Future With Mobile DTV (Manfredi, Albert E)

The new twist described in this piece is work on enabling ALL of the 6 MHz channel to be used for ATSC M/H. Well, that would sure kill off any thought of OTA HDTV. This looks like a tactic for broadcasters to hold onto their OTA spectrum, showing that they too can reinvent themselves to fit into the trendy new mobile hand-held market, even 100 percent. Seems like one heck of a challenge to MediaFLO, potentially. (Oh, except there's no monthly fee. People won't like that. Must add the ...

[opendtv] EU and US want more TV spectrum for wireless (Manfredi, Albert E)

Yes, perhaps, but US TV has given up that 800 MHz spectrum eons ago, in the 1980s. And the 700 MHz spectrum too. Man, what a circus act this has become. All the hand-wringing. Bert ------------------------------- ...

[opendtv] Re: Commentary: Be Wary Of FCC's Cash-For-Spectrum Plan (Manfredi, Albert E)

Tom Barry wrote: Much of the justification for the entire transition was the possibility of OTA HDTV. Yet I would wager that in any given entire month period now far less than 1 in 10 households actually use an antenna to watch any OTA HDTV program on an HDTV display. I'd love to know the real numbers on this. Don't forget that as long as DBS makes local into local only as an extra premium service, and only in some ...

[opendtv] Re: Basic basic service (Tom Barry)

Manfredi, Albert E wrote: This is the first time I see such basic basic service specified: Bottom of the page, in the smallest print: FiOS TV Local service package also available, providing access to local TV channels and community and educational programming for $12.99/month. ...

[opendtv] Re: Commentary: Be Wary Of FCC's Cash-For-Spectrum Plan (Tom Barry)

Manfredi, Albert E wrote: ... 6. I don't think many of these articles are very instructive about how well or poorly the TV spectrum is used. They just make the point that it's not efficiently used, and everyone is expected to nod their heads and to conclude that ATSC is flawed. (These are the head nodders I allude to sometimes.) So let's use the cell phone concept, even though small cells are primarily used to deploy an efficient two-service, and would NOT be used to deploy an efficient broadcast service. ...

[opendtv] Basic basic service (Manfredi, Albert E)

This is the first time I see such basic basic service specified: Bottom of the page, in the smallest print: FiOS TV Local service package also available, providing access to local TV channels and community and educational programming for $12.99/month. My FiOS-using office neighbor says this package is transmitted in clear QAM. ...

[opendtv] Re: Commentary: Be Wary Of FCC's Cash-For-Spectrum Plan (Manfredi, Albert E)

Craig Birkmaier wrote: WOW! This is a very well written commentary by a former broadcaster who now specializes in spectrum allocation and reallocation proceedings. I wasn't as taken as you obviously are, in large part, because we saw most of these points already, and they didn't sound much better then. ...

[opendtv] Re: Commentary: Be Wary Of FCC's Cash-For-Spectrum Plan (Dale Kelly)

VERY interesting, good post Craig! -----Original Message----- From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [ Behalf Of Craig Birkmaier Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 5:20 AM To: OpenDTV Mail List Subject: [opendtv] Commentary: Be Wary Of FCC's Cash-For-Spectrum Plan ...

[opendtv] Commentary: Be Wary Of FCC's Cash-For-Spectrum Plan (Craig Birkmaier)

WOW! This is a very well written commentary by a former broadcaster who now specializes in spectrum allocation and reallocation proceedings. There is a wealth of information and some honest assessment about the plight broadcasters are in - brought on in part by their unwillingness to buy a new coat. You'll need to read the column to understand this. ...

[opendtv] News: Apple's Over-The-Top Plans For TV (Craig Birkmaier)

Tidbits Apple's Over-The-Top Plans For TV Taylor Buley, 11.02.09, 06:00 PM EST The company's got a new subscription TV service in the works. Will cable networks line up their content? ...

[opendtv] Apple's iTunes Pitch: TV for $30 a Month (Craig Birkmaier)

Apple's iTunes Pitch: TV for $30 a Month by Peter Kafka Posted on November 2, 2009 at 8:34 AM PT Would you pay $30 a month to watch TV via iTunes? That's the pitch Apple has been making to TV networks in recent ...

[opendtv] Re: Another view on media recovery (Craig Birkmaier)

At 9:45 AM -0600 11/2/09, Manfredi, Albert E wrote: Craig Birkmaier wrote: Here's another story about recovery of the ad markets for big media. Please note that almost all of the growth is coming from cable networks not the broadcast networks. ...

[opendtv] Re: Bank Projects Broadcast Growth in 2010 (Craig Birkmaier)

At 9:30 AM -0600 11/2/09, Manfredi, Albert E wrote: Craig Birkmaier wrote: Rather than stopping to watch the occasionally interesting ad, wouldn't you prefer to watch one or two short ads that are targeted to you, then the entire program UNINTERUPTED? ...

[opendtv] Re: Another view on media recovery (Manfredi, Albert E)

Craig Birkmaier wrote: Here's another story about recovery of the ad markets for big media. Please note that almost all of the growth is coming from cable networks not the broadcast networks. That's not at all the way I read it. The summary is at the end, and it agrees with the previous article. ...

[opendtv] Re: Bank Projects Broadcast Growth in 2010 (Manfredi, Albert E)

Craig Birkmaier wrote: Rather than stopping to watch the occasionally interesting ad, wouldn't you prefer to watch one or two short ads that are targeted to you, then the entire program UNINTERUPTED? Of course, but I don't think that's an option. For ad-supported TV, that is. Even the 5 or so 30-second ad interruptions you see now in the Internet-delivered TV programs do not provide the networks as much revenue as ...

[opendtv] Multi-platform VOD (Craig Birkmaier)

I just listened to a podcast from Broadcasting and Cable about Multi-platform VOD. It turns out that several large VOD equipment vendors like SeaChange are pushing the cable industry to deploy servers that make VOD content available not only over the cable system proprietary pipes, but via the Internet and mobile as well. Given the discussion Bert and I just had about network neutrality and VOD, this adds another dimension to the discussion. As Bert pointed out, the proprietary service for subscribers may be using the same IP ...

[opendtv] Another view on media recovery (Craig Birkmaier)

Here's another story about recovery of the ad markets for big media. Please note that almost all of the growth is coming from cable networks not the broadcast networks. Of particular note is the paragraph that tells us that Wall Street bankers have descended on Comcast to work with them to SELL the NBC Network and stations if they acquire NBC Universal. Regards Craig ...