DTV

Digital TVs competing with PCs as media hubs

Though more computers have been landing in living rooms, digital TVs are adding new features to help them hang onto their role as the family's entertainment center, says a report released Tuesday by In-Stat.

As DTVs replace old analog sets throughout the world, manufacturers are beefing them up with new network features, including Internet access, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi, noted an In-Stat report called "DTV 2009: Declining Costs, Increasing Shipments, and Network Capability." In-Stat predicts that 36 percent of digital sets sold in 2013 will be network-enabled.

Technologies for wireless high-definition, such as the competing 60GHz WirelessHD and WHDI … Read more

Reflecting on the DTV transition

In the aftermath of the U.S. switchover to a new digital television standard, which became official on June 12, the man who saw it through a 25-year transition, Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro, likened the effort recently to "putting a man on the moon."

Speaking with CNET News by telephone from his Washington, D.C. office this week, Shapiro reflected on the cooperative effort undertaken by consumer electronics companies worldwide, the U.S. government, and broadcast, cable, and satellite providers. He says the transition was completely smooth but reflects on the bumpy road behind the scenes … Read more

Obama fills FCC seats

President Barack Obama announced Thursday that he plans to nominate Meredith Attwell Baker, a former Commerce Department official, to fill the open Republican slot on the Federal Communications Commission.

Most recently Baker led the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA. This is the agency within the Commerce Department that was responsible for distributing the $40 coupons to consumers to convert their older analog TVs to receive digital TV signals. Baker came under fire earlier this year when the Commerce Department ran out of money for the coupons and millions of people were put on a waiting … Read more

3D means new rules for directors

The rise of 3D technology for movies and television will force a change in how directors tell stories.

Say good-bye to gut-wrenching drops off cliffs and swoops through asteroid fields to call attention to 3D effects. Be prepared for directors to use slower pans, less cutting, and more deliberate camera moves to blend the technology into the story. These new 3D movies may look boring in 2D, but they'll end up feeling more engaging when seen in three dimensions.

"Unfortunately, the history of 3D is bad 3D," says Sandy Climan, CEO of 3ality, a company that makes, as he calls it, "end-to-end technologies from image capture to processing" for three-dimensional entertainment. The technology hasn't been up to snuff until recently, he says. He claims his company's tech is leagues better, naturally. But the art hasn't advanced, either, and no amount of technology can fix that. Directors need new rules.

I talked with Climan about the changes coming to cinematography and television in the move to 3D, as well as to Didier Debons and Isabelle de Montagu, CEO and business development manager of 3DTV Solutions, which makes 3D video recording products, and Tuyen Pham, CEO of A-volute, a 3D audio encoding company. The short takeaway: if you're in the video or entertainment business, forget what you know about directing and editing. 3D changes everything.

Think 3D is a gimmick and that professional cinematographers and television directors don't take it seriously? Financials, Climan says, dispute this. 3D films in 3D theaters gross two to five times what the 2D versions of those films do. Commercials in 3D yield better recall rates. And it's not just the novelty factor, Climan says. If so, the trend would have faded. Grosses for 3D films are growing.

"The family movie business has largely moved to 3D," Climan continues, pointing to films like "Journey to the Center of the Earth," "Coraline," and "Up"--the last two having being taken far more seriously than standard 3D matinee fare. On the grownup front, Climan says that for sports and concerts, there's nothing like the 3D movie or TV experience. The upcoming James Cameron film, "Avatar" is a 3D production and is expected to be a watershed for mainstream 3D entertainment.

For now, the growth of 3D looks inevitable. The next step for the medium, after family films and fantastic blockbusters, is for 3D to move into independent and artisan films. Climan thinks the technology is becoming straightforward enough to make that likely.

… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 997: Texas Ranger Panda

Vic the Texas Rancher pilot wrote in, but somehow in the twisted mind of Molly Wood his name became Texas Ranger Panda. And now she can't stop laughing at the cute ranger panda writing in about HD makeup. Which Natali thinks is a conspiracy. We also review the DTV transition and help you get a contract-free iPhone.

Listen now: Download today's podcast Subscribe now: iTunes (audio) | iTunes (video) | RSS (audio) | RSS (video) EPISODE 997

The day after the U.S. DTV transition http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10264369-94.html

When’s your country switching? http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/06/us-declares-victory-as-dtv-transition-goes-rather-smoothly.ars… Read more

The 404 362: Where the 404 goes CNET LIVE

We're proud to announce the debut of CNET LIVE, the new portal for all live shows, including The 404, on CNET. Don't worry, the transition won't be as difficult as DTV. We'll give you detailed instructions on how to tell all your friends about the show! Listen in for all the juicy details on our weekend staycation and why Wilson should never consume liquor again.

So now that the weekend is over, we can talk about our top secret trip...to Atlantic City! It's always good to get away for a little bit, even if it's just for a day, so we packed up our bags and took off to AC for a little gambling and good times. What was supposed to be a relaxing trip turned out to be 24 hours of "The Hangover"-esque partying. We all indulged in our own vices: Jeff hit the blackjack tables like a white bat out of hell, Justin explored the dark crevices of AC's back alleys, and Wilson Tang ate chicken. That's right, you read it correctly: Wilson Tang finally broke his "vegetarianism" and is now an official chicken chaser. Unfortunately, his bout with poultry at Friday's dinner left him with a mad stomach ache and he party pooped his way out of the trip. What a shrew!

Click here for a full set of pictures from The 404's trip to Atlantic City.

Lots of stories to talk about today, namely two big news items from over the weekend: the DTV official transition and the mad rush for Facebook Vanity URLs. Actually, the long-awaited DTV transition went off without a hitch, which makes sense, because it's been in the works forever now, although we're pretty sure someone in Florida tried to eat her converter box. Facebook Vanity also had little to no effect on real life, although there did seem to be a slight flux in traffic on Thursday night as people rushed to reserve their own Facebook URLs. In the spirit of American sportsmanship, some of the landgrabs were a little disingenuous; for example, check out the profile for our own Molly Wood. In fact, my own name got snaked by another Justin Yu, so feel free to add him and let him know how much you love The 404. In the meantime, check out the Facebook profiles for the Real Justin Yu, Wilson Tang, and Jeff Bakalar.

EPISODE 362 Download today's podcast Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

DTV transition update: New York City TV goes post-analog

Updated Monday, June 15, at 9 a.m. PDT with post-weekend channel status.

When we last checked in with the local analog TV band, it was the afternoon of Friday, June 12 (scroll down for the original post). Some analog channels had dropped off the grid, while others were flagging their imminent demise. About 72 hours later, with the DTV transition deadline firmly behind us, we rescanned the spectrum to see what we could pull in. Only a handful of analog channels are still standing:

Channel 2 (WCBS): Running a public service announcement in English and Spanish on how to obtain and set up a DTV converter box. (This programming is only on the analog station; the digital one is running the standard CBS feed.)

Channel 4 (WNBC): Running the same public service announcement as WCBS. (This programming is only on the analog station; the digital one is running the standard NBC feed.)

Channel 17 (WEBR): This affiliate of religious broadcaster Global Christian Network is up and running. (It may be a low-power broadcaster, meaning it's exempt from the shutdown for the time being.)

Channel 46 (WMBQ): This affiliate of religious broadcaster Cornerstone TV is a low-power broadcaster, and thus currently exempt from the shutdown.

Channel 60 (W60AI): This Home Shopping Network affiliate is a low-power broadcaster, and thus currently exempt from the shutdown.

It's also worth noting that some of the digital stations have moved. For instance, the WABC digital stations are now broadcasting on RF channel 7 (where the analog station used to be located) instead of channel 45. Likewise, many stations seem to have boosted their digital signal strength, now that they don't have to worry about interfering with their analog counterparts.

Both cases reinforce the importance of rescanning your available channels, so those changes can be detected by the digital tuner. Also, as some stations move from UHF to VHF locations, you may need to reorient your antenna--or you may need to get a new one that pulls in both frequencies. (Indeed, while DTV converter boxes seem to be in plentiful supply, antenna issues and shortages have been one of the notable problems of the transition.)

The original post--which includes links to resources for anyone who remains confused about the transition--follows:… Read more

Good-bye, rabbit ears? Not so fast

Congratulations! You've successfully made the switch from analog to digital TV. So is it good-bye to rabbit ears? Not quite!

Whatever your view of television, be it couch potato casual or flat-screen fanatic, Friday was a special occasion. And even if you didn't give it the kind of warm reception some Chicago students did on Friday night, complete with champagne toasts, you knew it was the end of an era, if for no other reason than all those incessant reminders we've been giving you, like "The Big Switch From Analog To Digital TV" or "Flipping The Switch To Digital TV".

In these days of cable and satellite, you probably thought it was time for a requiem for the old rabbit ears. Not so fast.

"The antenna is alive and well," said Michael Godar, who runs one of the nation's few handmade antenna companies out of a TV repair shop in Gilbert, Ariz.

And he says that, even at the dawn of the Digital Age, there's plenty of life in that old antenna.

"There was almost a sport (in) adjusting your antenna on your TV," Sieberg said.

"Oh yeah, battling it--you know, especially when you had a remote control," Godar laughed. "You'd change the channel and then get up, adjust the antenna!"

… Read more

The day after the DTV transition

Americans have survived the transition to digital television without incident.

The sky did not fall and there was no major shortage of digital converter boxes Friday when full-power broadcasters across the nation turned off their analog TV signals and started broadcasting only in digital. Calls to broadcasters and the Federal Communications Commission have been heavy the past few days, but officials say that the volume is within what the agency had expected.

"The digital TV transition is looking more like Y2K than the Bay of Pigs," Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said during a press conference on Saturday.

While the … Read more