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DTV Transition

DTV Transition Sports

So I Bought A New Camera…

Smart phones keep improving, but they still can't match a dedicated camera's optical zoom range or low-light performance. After years of relying on Nikon CoolPix models for trade show coverage and product photography, a visit to one of the few remaining local camera stores revealed a surprising shift in the retail landscape. A hands-on comparison of several models - including an impressive Sony mirrorless - led to one clear winner that fits both the budget and a jacket pocket.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Digital Cinema DTV Transition Projection HD

HDTV Expert - Aereo And The Law Of Unintended Consequences

Aereo's Internet retransmission service, which re-encodes terrestrial digital TV broadcasts using AVC coding over IP, faces mounting legal and technical scrutiny as a 10th Circuit judge ruled its operation indistinguishable from a cable company under the 1976 Copyright Act. The service's antenna-per-subscriber architecture, while designed to sidestep copyright liability, likely contributed to catastrophic buffering failures during the Oscars and Golden Globes broadcasts. For cord-cutters, alternatives like the Channel Master DVR+ with dual tuners and USB-expandable storage, or Hauppauge WinTV USB receivers, may offer more reliable local HD reception without the legal uncertainty.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Digital Cinema DTV Transition Mobile HD

HDTV Expert - "Antenna" Digital TV: When All Else Fails...

Terrestrial digital TV proved its resilience during a severe ice storm in southeastern Pennsylvania, where a three-antenna home setup covering roughly 55 channels in the Philadelphia metro market delivered uninterrupted broadcasts while Comcast cable, Verizon mobile data, and VoIP all failed simultaneously. A TiVo HD DVR with a built-in terrestrial DTV tuner remained fully functional, underscoring the practical advantage of maintaining an over-the-air setup alongside subscription services. The experience also frames the ongoing FCC UHF spectrum auction debate, questioning whether reallocating broadcast frequencies to mobile carriers is wise given how reliably the one-to-many broadcast model performs when cellular networks collapse under disaster-driven traffic loads.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Digital Cinema DTV Transition

HDTV Expert - Once More, Back to the - Window??

A comparative field test of nine indoor TV antennas, both passive and amplified, evaluates real-world ATSC digital signal reception at a New Jersey test site using an AVCOM PSA-2500C spectrum analyzer and Hauppauge Aero-M USB receiver. The $4 UHF bow tie outscored all passive competitors with nine YES grades, while the Mohu Leaf Ultimate led the amplified category with ten clean receptions, and the ClearStream Micron XG preamp required capping gain at the '15' setting to avoid noise floor degradation. Readers considering cord-cutting can use TVFool.com to assess local signal strength before investing in any antenna, since reliable indoor reception is achievable for under $50.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Digital Cinema DTV Transition Laser TVs

HDTV Adoption - Not as High in Number of HDTV Sets

CEA data shows 244 million DTVs shipped since 1998, representing 68% penetration of the estimated 357 million TV sets in U.S. households (119 million households at 3 TVs each), yet Leichtman Research Group survey data extrapolates to as many as 198 million analog TVs still in use, or 55% of all sets. The gap between household-level adoption figures (CEA's 68-88%) and actual TV-set-level penetration reveals a more sobering picture of the DTV transition. At the current shipping rate of roughly 33 million DTVs per year, full analog replacement could take 4 to 6 additional years, excluding sets that replace already-digital units.

Rodolfo La Maestra •
Articles
DTV Transition HD Camcorders

Panasonic Introduces Full Lineup of Full-HD Camcorders

Panasonic unveiled five Full-HD camcorders at CES 2013, headlined by the HC-X920, which features a 3MOS System PRO with BSI sensor that reduces noise to 50% of previous models and delivers 1080 TV lines of horizontal resolution. The lineup spans from the X920's 20.4-megapixel still capture and 5-Axis HYBRID O.I.S. to the V520's optical 50x zoom and the V210's F1.8 wide-angle lens with 1920x1080/60p recording. Built-in Wi-Fi with Ustream broadcasting, NFC remote control, and DLNA compatibility across multiple models make sharing and live streaming practical for everyday users.

Bulletins
HD Media Centers IPTV 4K Ultra HD

Is Cord-cutting Hurting the Pay TV Market?

Strategy Analytics forecasts digital TV subscriptions growing from 114M in 2011 to 129M in 2016 at a 2.36% CAGR, but their methodology bundles IPTV with traditional pay-TV, obscuring meaningful subscriber trends. When IPTV subscribers are subtracted, combined digital cable and satellite subscribers barely grow from 106M to 109M over the same period. Deloitte's survey data reinforces the concern, finding 9 percent of Americans have already cut the cord and 11 percent are actively considering it, signaling real pressure on traditional pay-TV providers.

Ken Werner •
Columns
Projection HD Streaming HD Digital Cinema

HDTV Expert - Guess What? You Can Get Away With It!

Aereo's service streams over-the-air broadcast TV as MPEG4 video to subscribers for $12/month by assigning each user a dedicated dime-sized antenna, converting 8VSB RF signals to baseband and encoding for Apple and Roku devices. A federal court denied the major networks' preliminary injunction after the plaintiffs' expert witness failed to testify in person or provide a credible test methodology, while Aereo's witnesses successfully challenged claims that individual antenna elements cannot function independently. The ruling has practical implications for cord-cutters, though the underlying copyright and retransmission disputes remain unresolved as broadcasters vow to continue litigation.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Digital Cinema DTV Transition

HDTV Expert - Useful Gadgets: Wall-Mounted DTV Antennas Revisited

A follow-up field test of wall-mounted indoor DTV antennas, conducted with a spectrum analyzer and Samsung DTB-H260F tuner at Turner Engineering in Mountain Lakes, NJ, pits the Mohu Leaf, Winegard FlatWave, ClearStream Micron XG, and a $4 Radio Shack bow tie against each other across UHF and high-band VHF channels. The Mohu Leaf led unamplified results at 7-2, while the $100 Micron XG required its inline preamp (up to 20 dB boost) to match the basic Leaf's performance. Practically, the $36 Mohu Leaf Plus remains the recommended choice, outperforming antennas costing nearly three times as much.

Pete Putman •
Columns
DTV Transition HD Camcorders DLNA

HDTV Expert - NAB 2012: The Show It Is A-Changin'...

NAB 2012 showcased a broadcast industry transformed by consumer electronics, where 4K camcorders like the JVC GY-HMQ10 with an 8.3-megapixel CMOS sensor now retail for $5,500 and Black Magic Design's 2.5K cinema camera with 13 stops of dynamic range sells for $3,000. Thunderbolt connectivity emerged as a dominant theme, with Intel, Black Magic, MOTU, and others demonstrating 4K mobile editing workflows using HD-SDI and HDMI breakout solutions. For working video professionals, the collapse in production gear pricing and the rise of platform-agnostic tools means broadcast-quality acquisition and post-production are now accessible without the six-figure budgets that defined the industry 17 years ago.

Pete Putman •
Columns
Digital Cinema DTV Transition

HDTV Expert - Useful Gadgets: Wall-Mounted Indoor DTV Antennas

A controlled comparison of wall-mounted indoor DTV antennas tested at a professional RF facility using an AVCOM PSA-2500C spectrum analyzer and TS Reader MPEG stream analyzer to measure bit error rates across seven broadcast signals ranging from 11.7 to 24.9 miles away. The $74.99 amplified Mohu Leaf Plus outperformed all non-powered competitors by reliably receiving 2-Edge path signals that other antennas missed, while the $39.99 Winegard FlatWave performed no better than a $3.99 Radio Shack bowtie. Readers choosing between indoor antennas will find clear guidance tied to transmitter distance and signal path complexity.

Pete Putman •
Columns
DTV Transition HD Camcorders

Panasonic Announces Pricing for 2012 Line of High Definition Camcorders, all Available in March 2012

Panasonic's 2012 camcorder lineup spans nine models launching in March, led by the HC-X900M at $1,199.99, which records 1080 60p video using a 3MOS System Pro imaging system for improved low-light performance. The range extends down to the waterproof HX-WA2 (IPX8-rated to 9 feet 8 inches, $279.99) and the HC-V10 with a 70x enhanced optical zoom at $249.99. Buyers across budgets can find options with AVCHD 3D recording, 5.1-channel surround sound, and MP4/iFrame output for streamlined editing workflows.

Bulletins
4K Ultra HD Cable HD Digital Cinema

HDTV Almanac - FCC to Revisit "Must Carry" Rules

The FCC is preparing to revisit 'must carry' rules as a three-year waiver, which permitted cable operators to downscale high-definition digital broadcast signals for analog distribution networks, approaches its June expiration. If the waiver is not renewed, cable companies may face pressure to accelerate costly infrastructure upgrades to all-digital systems, requiring converter boxes for subscribers without digital tuners. For consumers, the outcome could reshape which local broadcast channels remain accessible and whether smaller-audience stations survive on pay-TV platforms.

Alfred Poor •
Columns
JVC Unveils World's First Handheld 4K Camcorder
DTV Transition HD Camcorders 4K Ultra HD

JVC Unveils World's First Handheld 4K Camcorder

JVC's GY-HMQ10 claims the title of world's first handheld 4K camcorder, capturing real-time 3840x2160 footage at 24p, 50p, or 60p via the proprietary Falconbrid LSI chip paired with a 1/2-inch, 8.3-megapixel CMOS imager. The camera records up to two hours of 4K video using an H.264 codec at up to 144 Mbps onto standard SDHC/SDXC cards, and outputs live 4K via four HDMI terminals with virtually no latency. Priced at $4,995, it brings full real-time 4K acquisition to a portable form factor previously unavailable outside high-end cinema rigs.

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4K Ultra HD Cable HD Digital Cinema

HDTV Expert - Goodbye, Free Cable TV

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association has petitioned the FCC to permit fully digital cable systems to apply conditional access encryption to every channel tier, including local broadcast channels currently receivable in the clear on QAM-tuner-equipped televisions. The FCC tentatively concluded this change would not substantially affect cable-to-consumer-electronics compatibility, while acknowledging that basic-only subscribers and households running second or third sets without set-top boxes would require new equipment such as a digital terminal adapter (DTA). For viewers considering cord-cutting, this shift removes one of the last remaining incentives to maintain a basic cable subscription over free over-the-air reception.

Pete Putman •
Columns