A primer on the digital conversion

On Feb. 17, the U.S. government will flip a figurative switch, transforming television transmission from analog — in use since the beginning days of TV — to digital.</p><p>What does this monumental change mean for consumers? Don't procrastinate, or you may be left with nothing but a blank picture tube come next February.</p><p>Damon Porter of Time Warner Cable in Kansas City — which is teaming with KCPT-TV, Channel 19, on a public service campaign to help educate viewers in the area — warns that time is of the essence.</p><p>“We encourage people to plan ahead, to make sure they're ready,” Porter said. “What we've found from being out in the public, talking to people, is that there are varying degrees of knowledge and varying degrees of readiness.”</p><p>To help in the transition, here is a general primer:</p><p><strong>What do I need to get ready?</strong></p><p>It all depends on what types of televisions you have and whether you have pay TV service (cable or satellite).</p><p>-If you have cable or satellite, you should be good to go, but only for the televisions in your home that are hooked up to a pay service.</p><p>-If you have a newer television, generally one made in the past three years, almost all have a digital tuner, in which case it will be able to receive the digital signal.</p><p>-If you have one or more older TV sets and rely on an external antenna — generally rooftop or rabbit ears — you'll need a converter box.


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New Sharp Aquos D Series LCD HDTVs

Sharp introduced 22 new Aquos LCD TVs in Japan. The Sharp Aquos D Series include 9 new LCD TV models.

The Sharp Aquos D series comes in 42, 37 and 32 inch screen sizes and three colors (Black, White and Red) designed by Toshiyuki Kita.
Features of the new Sharp Aquos D series LCD HDTVs include 15,000:1 contrast ratio, 120Hz, 12 bit gray-scale processing, and 3 HDMI ports.
The new LC-42DS5, LC-37DS5 and LC-32DS5 will start shipping on July 10th.
Via this Sharp press-release (Japanese).

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LG Claims World's Slimmest LCD TV

LG Electronics Inc Wednesday (May 7) unveiled what it claims is the world's slimmest LCD TV.

The Scarlet Super Slim, or 42LG61, is 44.7mm thin, 0.2mm thinner than the 44.9mm Bordeaux 690 which Samsung Electronics Co introduced last month.

"The global LCD TV competition this year is now shifting its focus from how far the image quality can go to how slim it can be," said Lee Woo-kyung, an LG Electronics executive.

Flat-panel TV sets, using liquid crystal displays, are typically about 105mm thick, LG said in a press release.

The ultra-slim TV is part of the Korean electronics giant's recently launched Scarlet TV series, for which the company plans to spend US$100 million in marketing globally.

"LG will continue to lead the global TV market, introducing new models that excel both in its design and technology," Lee said.


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Shorter Labor Day holiday has limited impact on China LCD TV market

The shortening this year of China's Labor Day holiday at the beginning of May did not impact demand for LCD TVs as bad as expected, with unit sales dropping only 5-10% on year, according to industry sources.

China's Labor Day holiday, which used to be a week or longer in duration, traditionally is a strong shopping period. But since the Labor Day holiday was shortened this year, worries arose that demand would take a strong hit.

But the smaller-than-expected decline in LCD TVs sales during the holiday period also allowed inventory at the retail channels to maintain a healthy level of 20-25 days, the sources noted, adding with demand expected to pick up in the third quarter, demand for LCD TV panels will also increase.

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Recent Original Stories

Mobile-gadget makers are starting to take advantage of software-defined radio, a new technology allowing a single device to receive signals from multiple sources, including TV stations and cell phone networks. But a new federal rule set to take effect Friday could mean that radios built on 'open-source elements' may encounter a more sluggish path to market - or, in the worst case scenario, be shut out altogether. U.S. regulators, it seems, believe the inherently public nature of open-source code makes it more vulnerable to hackers, leaving 'a high burden to demonstrate that it is sufficiently secure'. .

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Birmingham searches for the digital family

A Birmingham family will soon begin a year-long experiment to demonstrate the difference digital technology can make to everyday life.

Digital Birmingham, the organisation charged with ensuring the benefits of digital technologies can be experienced by all in the city, has joined forces with the Birmingham Mail paper to launch the search for Birmingham's digital family.

The initiative is supported by BT, which is providing a range of equipment for the winning family to use throughout their digital test.

They will be invited to make the most out of BT broadband, BT Vision digital TV, wireless connectivity, security software, and the latest telephones and webcams, to learn and develop their skills and teach other family members along the way.

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Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 6th Nov 2006 21:31 UTC

"Just as extensions make Firefox better, so do plug-ins add extra goodness to Windows XP Media Center Edition. For the uninitiated, MCE provides DVR and other multimedia features wrapped in an attractive 10-foot interface. Armed with a couch and a remote, you can record TV shows, pause live TV, view photo slideshows, listen to your music collection, tune in FM radio stations, and so on. I am unabashedly in love with MCE. It's the one Microsoft product I consider just about perfect, which is why it's the heart of my home entertainment system. With these eight plugs-ins, most of which are free, you can trick out your MCE PC like never before." .


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