TV rabbit ears to go digital for the elderly
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Pending changes to free over-the-air analog TV may leave the elderly in the dark come February 2009.
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Half of the 21 million  Americans who do not have cable or satellite TV will probably  continue to use rabbit ears after the switch to digital TV in  February 2009, according to a new study.
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NEW YORK -- TV's big switch from analog to digital broadcasts will be complete in just one year, on Feb. 17, 2009, and many consumers are puzzling over how the shift will affect them: Do they need a new converter box, a new TV, a better antenna?
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In case music, games, and video weren't enough, vendors are now vying for the opportunity to send digital television signals to your mobile phones.
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Nearly six million people with digital receivers may still lose TV signals when digital-only broadcasts begin next February, a new study says.
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Personal TV Channel system is making its debut at IFA consumer electronics show.
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It could be the answer to grandmaÃÂÃÂs prayers: a mobile phone designed specifically for the over-65s that aims to take the fear out of technology and get the elderly connected.
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Beginning Feb. 18, 2009, television stations will stop broadcasting analog signals. An older, non-digital television without cable or satellite service will need a special converter box to receive a picture.
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Prepares to enter broadband era with Wi-Fi adaptor
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A device due out next year will wirelessly stream video and music from a Macintosh computer to a television.
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With over-the-air television broadcasts switching from analog to digital in just over a year, converter boxes are expected to be among the hot devices on display at next week's CES.
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Here's the pitch from the cable TV industry: One way or another, all subscribers will still be able to tune in their favorite shows when broadcasters shift to digital-only transmission in 2009.
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In a broad discussion at the Consumer Electronics Show, U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)&#160;Chairman Kevin Martin on Tuesday confirmed that the deadline for the country&#39;s switch to digital TV next year will not be postponed, explained the rationale behind the requirements for the current 700MHz auction, and gave hints about his thinking regarding various communications megamergers.Interviewed at the show by Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro, Martin said the February 2009 deadline for the digital TV switch is a &quot;hard deadline.&quot; He said a postponement would &quot;dis-incentivize&quot; industry to make the transition.&quot;After all of our efforts we couldn&#39;t just turn around and say &#39;We&#39;re just kidding,&#39;&quot; he said.About 50 percent of all homes in the U.S. now have digital TVs, and the CEA forecasts that some 28 million digital TVs will be bought in the U.S. this year, Shapiro noted.The transition to digital will not only improve picture quality for consumers, but also free up spectrum that can be used for wireless broadband, Martin stressed. He also noted that the extra spectrum provided by the switch would be used to improve public safety, allowing for better communications between fire departments and police. The need for better coordination among law enforcement and safety officials was a major point made in the 9/11 Commission report, he noted.Requirements related to the auction for 700MHz spectrum blocks in the U.S. will play an important part in bringing broadband access to more people, such as inhabitants in rural areas, who have limited wireless options now, he said.The spectrum auction has been broken up into blocks. One block, for example, has open-access rules and is broken up into 12 regional licenses across the U.S. There are also &quot;buildout&quot; requirements that will ensure that auction winners will actually put the spectrum to use in a reasonable timeframe, Martin said.He declined to comment directly on the planned merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, currently under review by the Department of Justice. But he noted that the companies have been talking about a la carte pricing plans for shows, which would give consumers a wide range of options to choose different bundles of programs and prices. Martin said he would encourage content providers -- especially cable TV companies -- to offer this type of program-options plan.One disappointment in the wake of communications industry deregulation has been the rising price of cable TV, he said.Martin stopped short of saying that approval of the Sirius-XM merger would set a regulatory precedent for a rumored merger deal between satellite TV companies Echostar and DirecTV. But he did say that it would be important for the satellite TV companies to give consumers more pricing and program bundle options as part of any merger plan.&quot;This is the type of thing we&#39;d be looking at,&quot; he said.
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Motorola introduced a portable broadcast TV player that will also let users take recorded programs with them on the go.The DH01 receives DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld) mobile TV programming, so it won&#39;t be useful to U.S. consumers any time soon. DVB-H is a mobile TV standard being used in Europe and other parts of the world.While watching live broadcasts, users will be able to pause for five minutes. The DH01&#39;s high-resolution screen measures 4.3 inches and supports 16 million colors. It displays 25 frames per second and provides about four hours of playback time on a battery charge.In addition to watching live broadcasts, users will be able to upload programs that they&#39;ve recorded on their home DVRs (digital video recorders). A 256M byte Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard, which users can insert into the device, will save about 90 minutes of TV, Motorola said.The DH01 is expected to be available this month. Motorola expects broadcasters and DVB-H service providers to sell it, and the device may become available in retail stores too. Motorola did not reveal an expected retail price.Motorola will display the device next week at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.Unless the DH01 becomes available with support for Qualcomm&#39;s MediaFlo technology, it won&#39;t be useful in the U.S., where it is unclear if any company will build a DVB-H network. In late 2007, AT&amp;T announced plans to buy the spectrum that was to be used by Hiwire, the last remaining company that planned to build such a network. AT&amp;T, which has already committed to using Qualcomm&#39;s MediaFlo for a mobile TV offering, has not said if it plans to continue Hiwire&#39;s DVB-H plans.
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Device allows viewers to operate on/off switch, change channels or volume by simple hand gestures.
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The government will offer households as much as $80 to convert TVs to receive digital broadcasts before the end of analog broadcasts in 2009.
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The US Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday approved a measure that would provide up to $1 billion to ensure consumers can still watch television when broadcasters switch to new, crisp digital signals.