HDTV Magazine Articles

Early HDTV Supporter Dies at 93

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:03:48 -0800

Frances Cripps died yesterday, May 8th 2008, at high-noon in Corvallis, Oregon. She was 93 years old. She had suffered a long illness.

Why is this news in HDTV Magazine, you should rightly ask? Frances was one of many unsung heroes who played key roles in furthering HDTV. Always far-seeing and an engineer by nature, she...

A Comparison of Movie Download Services

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:53:17 -0800

Over the past two years, we have seen a number of video download services hit the market from major players like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Netflix. There have also been some new companies entering this category, such as XStreamHD and VUDU. Some are available only via a software client, meaning a PC (or Mac) would be required to enjoy them, while others work with dedicated hardware connected to your TV. They vary in quality, selection, delivery methods and cost and this article will hit the highlights of what each of the major players are offering their would-be customers in this burgeoning market.

Let's set the stage. This article covers products and services that provide movie downloads via the internet. Specifically...

Will Internet Video Replace Blu-ray?

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:35:24 -0800

With one war over and Blu-ray taking victory, there is yet another war brewing in the background ... or is there? The new question being asked by the rank and file is whether or not there is even a future for packaged media. Can you imagine a day where nobody physically rents a movie? Some are.

Historically, this battle has been ongoing via your local cable system or satellite service; it is called Pay Per View (PPV) and Video On Demand (VOD). While the providers have found great profits in this service and their customers have enjoyed the convenience, it didn't ...

Blu-ray Wins: A Bittersweet Celebration

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:15:02 -0800

I suppose I should be jubilant with Toshiba's announcement saying the end of the high def DVD format war has come. If you have not yet heard, Toshiba has tossed in the towel on their HD DVD format.

Oddly enough, I am not all that thrilled. It's not that I miss the fist pounding, name calling, and back biting from the combatants, for I don't. My sadness, if it is that, is because both contenders were so well suited for the job they were vying for. It is just unfortunate to me that one had to fail in the public eye. It is, after all, a bit of a public humiliation. Neither candidate deserved that fate, but, then again, the consumers didn't deserve an industry knock down, drag out street fight either! Both formats had elegant-enough technology to support their candidacy. In the end, only the belief that...

The Wonderful and Sometimes Confusing World of HDMI Connections

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:03:48 -0800

HDMI (which stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface) was developed to accommodate the emerging HD digital technologies which have now entered the mainstream of home entertainment. It was planned as a "one wire" digital solution to both audio and video requirements. It is also one of the most confusing connection technologies available to the general public - especially when people hdmi(3)are used to more traditional interconnectivity. As HDMI attempts to do what it was designed to do, part of the process involves the pieces of the puzzle communicating with each other (sometimes referred to as "handshaking"). This two way communication causes...

2008 HDTV Buyers Guide, Part 4

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 09:35:53 -0800

The last in a four-part series of articles on buying an HDTV. The following topics are covered in this segment:

HDTV as a System, not Just a TV Set
Recording and Digital Connections
Analyze the Connectivity Issues
HD Integrated Tuners
Controls, Cables, Screen Shields, ISF, Stores, etc.

2008 HDTV Buyers Guide, Part 3

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:29:56 -0800

The third in a four-part series of articles on buying an HDTV. The following topics are covered in this segment:

Viewing Factors
The Aspect Ratios
The Viewing Experience at the Store

2008 HDTV Buyers Guide, Part 2

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 09:25:36 -0800

The second in a four-part series of articles on buying an HDTV. The following topics are covered in this segment:

Decision to Go with HDTV
Research
The HDTV for Your Viewing Objectives
Your Consumer Electronic Habits

2008 HDTV Buyers Guide, Part 1

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 08:50:37 -0800

I wrote this article originally for the HDTVetc magazine for the August 2003 issue, and it was later published on the HDTV Magazine in 2006. Consumers still go through the same struggle at national-chain stores today. I updated the article to include current HD equipment and technologies. Its tutorial substance and analysis are still applicable today, and are intended to help consumers in making the right purchasing decisions. Enjoy the reading.

The following topics are covered in this segment:

H/DTV and NTSC TV Systems, What are they?
The First Effort of the DTV Transition
Quality HDTV, or Quantity DTV, or Both?
Backward Compatibility with Legacy Analog TV for Digital Broadcast
Satellite/Cable, and the DTV Transition
Tuner Integration
The Effect DVD had for DTV
The Rush for Knowledge

You have been hearing about HDTV and decided to start looking for one...

Ed's View - Hail to the Glitches!

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:17:39 -0800

The digital/HDTV transition now in pregress by the television industry is arguably (certainly by that industry) the most complex ever experienced, though likely not since the evolvement of radio communications from Morse coded pulses to commercial broadcast radio. That took about 15 years and with a lot of glitches along the way, But they were overlooked and corrected as the...

LCD Specs Playing with Your Eyes

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:16:31 -0800

A recent question by one of our HDTV Magazine readers regarding LCD was: What does 4ms really mean? And how would that reconcile with the fact that a typical 60Hz frame rate would display each frame every 16ms? (8ms on a 120Hz display).

To accurately respond to these questions would take more than just a few sentences. The answers are not black and white, as I explain in the following article.

There seems to be a contradiction in the way these specs are expressed or interpreted for LCDs, and they are actually two different subjects that interact for the objective of display quality...

CES 2008: New HDTV Products and Technology Overview

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:28:05 -0800

For those of you who have been receiving the bulletins from CES over the past two weeks, you will recognize many of the topics below. I've picked some of the highlights and popular themes from this year's show and included a brief comment or two on each. This is not a comprehensive overview, but rather a "highlight reel" from the event. Here is a list of topics covered in this article. These are in no particular order:

Warner Brothers Chooses to go Blu-ray Exclusive
Blu-ray Getting "Bonus View"
LaserTV
The Shift to Wireless HD
The Rise of Video Download Services
Netflix and LG to Partner on Streaming Video
Dish Network Commits to 100 HD Channels in 2008
Slingbox Pro-HD
Microsoft Mediaroom Getting Traction
JVC Lineup
LG Lineup
Panasonic Lineup
Pioneer Lineup
Sharp Lineup
Sony Lineup
Toshiba Lineup

Gigabit Communication Challenges Cable Technology: Semiconductors to the Rescue

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:20:52 -0800

Multi-gigabit communications present many challenges to cable manufacturers. How can bandwidths higher than 10Gbps required by new standards such as HDMI™ and DisplayPort be achieved over low cost cables? What are the core technical problems with achieving these high data rates and what technologies can be used to address them? How can manufacturers achieve solutions which are less dependent on copper pricing? How can reliability issues be resolved without the need to use thicker cables? Cable manufacturing techniques have evolved to try to meet the challenge, but semiconductor solutions are emerging as promising alternatives and can be expected to play a significant role in solving these issues.

This article explains the physical problems faced by cable manufacturers, in particular...

A New Approach to Components in a Digital Audio/Video World

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 07:23:20 -0800

Remember when Home Entertainment life was much simpler? All you did was to sit back and turn on the TV to watch programs. Or, if you remember TV before the days of remotes you turned on the TV and then sat back unless you had a young son who was your human remote. Carrying this one step further back (as this writer remembers) there was actually a time when you only listened to programs for your nightly entertainment. Fibber McGee and Molly anyone? In any event, in the 1950's to somewhere in the 1980's "Home Theater in a Box" was just that for most people - the family television.

A handful of audiophiles (I was building kits in the early days) had stereos by the late 50's and we knew about audio components - a pre-amplifier, an amplifier and speakers which produced wonderful sounds from our sources - usually records and reel to reel tapes. (Yes, I also had a wire recorder for a time. I also have an Edison cylinder or two gathering dust.) But as interest in components grew so did the demand for a one box solution to audio as well - and the audio receiver was born. Nirvana for the "I don' need no steenkin' wires!" set!

Fast forwarding a bit (through LPs, Audio Cassette Tapes, 8 Track Players, Cable TV, VCRs, PCs, CDs, Satellite TV, DVDs, SACDs, DVD-As and similar) we arrive at the present...

Wired vs. Wireless Multimedia Connectivity

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 09:19:16 -0800

The advent of high definition content with Blu-Ray and HD DVD, HD broadcast and stunning real time HD console gaming continue to drive the bandwidth requirements at a dramatic pace. The most recent specifications for supporting current and future HD content requires a bandwidth as high as 10.8Gbps (in the case of Display Port) and 10.2Gbps (in the case of HDMI). The first part of this article examines the driving forces behind the requirement for ever-increasing bandwidth. The second part of the article compares the bandwidth available with wired solutions and various wireless bands including UWB and 60GHz bands.

The key factors driving the requirement for increased bandwidth are...