Luxembourg-based SES Astra is preparing to launch Ultra-HDTV channels in “two to three years”. This is much earlier than previously anticipated. The news emerged from an analysts briefing and is to be further explained this coming week when SES holds its Investors Day in London on May 22.

Specifically, SES president/CEO Romain Bausch told analysts that the global satellite operator is ready to help pioneers such as BSkyB, for example, with the launch of U-HDTV “which could happen two or three years from now”.

“U-HDTV is still in its early days but NHK’s approach is for full 8K [transmission] but the other U-HDTV is 4K and we see this as being more commercially focussed and could be a reality only two or three years from now. We are very confident that U-HDTV will happen. BSkyB lead the introduction of HDTV in Europe so do not be surprised if you see us partnering with BSkyB in order to pioneer the introduction of Ultra-HDTV in the next two to three years. We are in close cooperation with our customers on their plans,” said Bausch.

Bausch added that as far as the UK and Ireland is concerned there is plenty of capacity available at 28.2 degrees East for U-HDTV, and this is also the case with mainland Europe where 19.2 degrees East also has capacity available. “SES is well prepared, and as soon as our customers are ready we are ready and without any additional capacity investment needed on our behalf.”

Coincidentally, the news emerged as Japanese public broadcaster NHK confirmed that it had successfully test-transmitted U-HDTV (at 8,000 lines) over regular UHF bandwidth. The transmission was sent some 4.2 km across Tokyo and utilised multiple-channel transmission.

This week is NHK’s Public Open Day at its Research Development centre in Tokyo (May 24-27) when the latest versions of U-HDTV will be demonstrated. This includes an 8K camera sensor chip which can capture at 120 frames/second (considered ideal in reducing flicker). NHK has already shown a 145” TV set (developed with Panasonic) that can receive 8K images

Related posts:

1. DirecTV planning for Ultra HDTV
2. Ultra-HDTV on WRC agenda
3. RAI, BBC and NHK to develop Ultra-HDTV
4. HDTV sets in a third of US homes
5. MBC looks to HDTV, and pay-TV

Posted by Chris Forrester
on May 20 2012. Filed under Broadcast, DTH/Satellite, Guest Blog, Inside Satellite.

Article source: http://advanced-television.com/index.php/2012/05/20/ses-astra-actively-planning-for-ultra-hdtv/

Thanks for Asking answers questions from readers about everyday matters. If there's something you'd like to ask our team of reporters and editors, here's how: in person or by U.S. mail, 4984 Palm Coast Parkway, NW Suite 5-6, Palm Coast, 32137; by email, barbara.salter@news-jrnl.com; by phone, 386-283-4944. We may not be able to answer all of your questions, but we'll try -- and we'll publish our favorites in this column.

Jim Rosevear of Palm Coast asked why The News-Journal doesn't publish the program schedule for high definition television channels. He said that he and his wife don't watch regular television anymore. He also said that while much of the programming is the same on the regular channels, there are occasions when the high def channels will have different shows or movies.

Thanks for asking, Jim. We presented that question to Dave Wersinger, Assistant Managing Editor -- Features, whose team is responsible for the television listings.

"It boils down to a matter of space. That's the same reason that we don't include all 'premium' channels," he said. "With hundreds of channels being offered through cable and satellite networks, it's impossible for us to run comprehensive TV listings, so we try to boil it down to the channels received by the greatest number of people, including those without HD TVs or HD service."

Article source: http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/flagler/2012/05/19/thanks-for-asking-why-doesnt-the-paper-publish-hdtv-schedule.html

3 minutes ago

Article source: http://www.soompi.com/blog/leinster-vs-ulster-live-stream-heineken-cup-rugby-online-hdtv-19-may-2012

Geoff Morrison
, HD Guru

Courtesy of HD Guru

Every TV has one: a button that zooms in on the picture, or changes the
aspect ratio. Sometimes called View Mode, Format, Size, Zoom, or something
similar, these modes have a variety of names, but all have the same purpose.

In reality, most of the time there is only one “correct” mode, the other modes
offering less resolution, possible artifacts, and in a few limited cases, a
better picture.

Overscan
One of the primary reasons why these controls exist is a “feature” called
Overscan. In the olden days, TV makers had a lot of wiggle room in defining the
edges of the image. So two TVs, of the same size, might show slightly more or
less of the broadcast image. At the edges of the image, there was frequently a
lot of noise (some of which was part of the image, some not).

Even in the early days of HD, many stations broadcast a few pixels of noise,
so a TV was better off showing, let’s say, 1900 x 1060 of the original signal,
than blowing it up to fill the 1920 x 1080 screen.

And that “blowing up” is the problem.

Scaling
Every pixel on your TV is active, regardless of the resolution of the source.
With DVDs, the TV upconverts (aka scales) the image to fill the
screen. It is creating information that is not in the original source, in order
to have data for every pixel.

To a lesser extent, the same is happening when you view an HDTV with any
amount of overscan active, or when in one of the modes listed earlier. The TV is
zooming in slightly on the original image, which requires it to modify every
pixel in the image to fit. Look at it this way, if you’re watching a Blu-ray, or
a 1080i image from cable/satellite, that image has a specific pixel for
every one of the actual pixels on your TV. A 1:1 map, if you will. If
the TV has overscan active, or is zooming in slightly, now it’s more like a
1:0.9 map. The TV has to scale the image.

Regardless of how good the scaler is in the TV, this is going to increase
noise and artifacts, and potentially reduce resolution (if it can’t scale the
image well).

Find this control on your TV, and for the best picture, set it to Just Scan,
1:1, Full, Native, Dot-by-Dot and so on. You’ll be able to tell which is the
right one, as when you’re watching a 1080i or 1080p image, it will appear to
zoom out slightly, and you’ll see more of the picture’s edges.

A few exceptions
Occasionally, you’ll find a channel or program that has some weird,
non-picture data on the edge of the screen, usually only a few pixels wide. If
this bothers you, well, now you know where the control is to zoom in and clip
it off. But this is pretty rare these days.

One other use for this control is zooming in on a 16x9 image that resides in
a 4x3 window. For example, on my ATT U-verse, BBC America is available only in standard definition (thanks a lot ATT). So if I want to watch the 16x9 "Top Gear" it’s only viewable with black bars on the sides (SD is 4x3)
and on the top and bottom (because it’s 16x9 within the 4x3). Obviously
I don’t, I buy the show in HD on iTunes, but you get my point. In this case, you
could zoom in on the image, to better fill the screen with the tiny program.
Keep in mind, this will likely look like crap.

However, and this is a HUGE deal, you should only be doing this rarely and
for the few channels not available in HD. If you are doing this a lot,
especially with network shows, you are likely not set up correctly for HD. (Check
out my article on How
to Set Aspect Ratio on Your TV.)

If you’re black-bar-ophobic, there are often modes that stretch the entire
4x3 standard definition image to fill the screen, or the more, uh, clever of these
modes that keep the center of the image at the correct aspect ratio, and only
stretch the edges. It’s worth noting that using either of these modes is quite
possibly the worst your TV will ever look, and should be avoided if at all
possible.

This is almost always the default setting for TVs in hotels, which is one of
the main reasons hotel TVs look so terrible.

Source boxes
All cable/satellite boxes and Blu-ray players have aspect ratio settings,  too. The wrong setting will provide a distorted, lower resolution image. Most
on-screen menus ask you to select your TV aspect ratio. For all current HDTVs
this would be 16:9. If set to 4:3, the image will be badly distorted. Make sure your source box is set to the 16:9 image
setting.

Most boxes also will ask for an output resolution setting. Choices will 
include 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. With 1080p TVs (most current models), this
control should be set to 1080i (some cable/satellite boxes also allow 1080p
output, but it only applies to pay per view movies).

Blu-ray players should be set to 1080p. Many offer a 1080p/24 setting, though
not all TVs can do anything with this frame rate. Most Blu-ray players will have
a test mode to verify that your TV can accept the resolution prior to making the
final setting.

If you have a 720p TV, you can set the cablebox to either 720p or 1080i,
though the latter is probably better. If you choose 720p, the signal will be
ideal for 720p content such as ABC and Fox but 1080i content (used by CBS, NBC,
HBO and others) will be down converted in the box. It’s likely your TV will do a
better job de-interlacing and downconverting 1080i content than your cablebox,
so choosing 1080i output is likely better. Also, most non-1080p TVs these days
are actually 1,024 x 768, slightly more vertical resolution than 720p. So you
may squeeze a few extra lines of resolution when watching 1080i content by
choosing the 1080i output.

Conclusion
The short version? Ideally you’d watch all HD content set to fill the screen,
with no overscan. Check your settings, there may be aspect ratio controls, and
separate overscan controls.

 While most Blu-ray players will auto-detect the
correct aspect ratio (nearly always 16x9), DVD players and cable/satellite boxes
do not. Check the settings of these as well to make sure they’re sending your TV
the correct aspect ratio (and resolution!). I always watch TV with the overscan
off and in a 1:1 pixel mapping mode, and it has been years since I’ve seen noise
on the edges of the screen. Check both controls, your TV may look better … for
free!

Reach Geoff Morrison on Twitter at @TechWriterGeoff. Have a question for the HD Guru? Send an email.

More frorm HD Guru:

• How to improve your HDTV image
• How to avoid online HDTV dealer scams: HD Guru investigates
• New HDTV buying checklist

Close post

Article source: http://www.gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/technology/gadgetbox/your-hdtv-underperforming-here-s-really-quick-fix-780535

Geoff Morrison
, HD Guru

Courtesy of HD Guru

Every TV has one: a button that zooms in on the picture, or changes the
aspect ratio. Sometimes called View Mode, Format, Size, Zoom, or something
similar, these modes have a variety of names, but all have the same purpose.

In reality, most of the time there is only one “correct” mode, the other modes
offering less resolution, possible artifacts, and in a few limited cases, a
better picture.

Overscan
One of the primary reasons why these controls exist is a “feature” called
Overscan. In the olden days, TV makers had a lot of wiggle room in defining the
edges of the image. So two TVs, of the same size, might show slightly more or
less of the broadcast image. At the edges of the image, there was frequently a
lot of noise (some of which was part of the image, some not).

Even in the early days of HD, many stations broadcast a few pixels of noise,
so a TV was better off showing, let’s say, 1900 x 1060 of the original signal,
than blowing it up to fill the 1920 x 1080 screen.

And that “blowing up” is the problem.

Scaling
Every pixel on your TV is active, regardless of the resolution of the source.
With DVDs, the TV upconverts (aka scales) the image to fill the
screen. It is creating information that is not in the original source, in order
to have data for every pixel.

To a lesser extent, the same is happening when you view an HDTV with any
amount of overscan active, or when in one of the modes listed earlier. The TV is
zooming in slightly on the original image, which requires it to modify every
pixel in the image to fit. Look at it this way, if you’re watching a Blu-ray, or
a 1080i image from cable/satellite, that image has a specific pixel for
every one of the actual pixels on your TV. A 1:1 map, if you will. If
the TV has overscan active, or is zooming in slightly, now it’s more like a
1:0.9 map. The TV has to scale the image.

Regardless of how good the scaler is in the TV, this is going to increase
noise and artifacts, and potentially reduce resolution (if it can’t scale the
image well).

Find this control on your TV, and for the best picture, set it to Just Scan,
1:1, Full, Native, Dot-by-Dot and so on. You’ll be able to tell which is the
right one, as when you’re watching a 1080i or 1080p image, it will appear to
zoom out slightly, and you’ll see more of the picture’s edges.

A few exceptions
Occasionally, you’ll find a channel or program that has some weird,
non-picture data on the edge of the screen, usually only a few pixels wide. If
this bothers you, well, now you know where the control is to zoom in and clip
it off. But this is pretty rare these days.

One other use for this control is zooming in on a 16x9 image that resides in
a 4x3 window. For example, on my ATT U-verse, BBC America is available only in standard definition (thanks a lot ATT). So if I want to watch the 16x9 "Top Gear" it’s only viewable with black bars on the sides (SD is 4x3)
and on the top and bottom (because it’s 16x9 within the 4x3). Obviously
I don’t, I buy the show in HD on iTunes, but you get my point. In this case, you
could zoom in on the image, to better fill the screen with the tiny program.
Keep in mind, this will likely look like crap.

However, and this is a HUGE deal, you should only be doing this rarely and
for the few channels not available in HD. If you are doing this a lot,
especially with network shows, you are likely not set up correctly for HD. (Check
out my article on How
to Set Aspect Ratio on Your TV.)

If you’re black-bar-ophobic, there are often modes that stretch the entire
4x3 standard definition image to fill the screen, or the more, uh, clever of these
modes that keep the center of the image at the correct aspect ratio, and only
stretch the edges. It’s worth noting that using either of these modes is quite
possibly the worst your TV will ever look, and should be avoided if at all
possible.

This is almost always the default setting for TVs in hotels, which is one of
the main reasons hotel TVs look so terrible.

Source boxes
All cable/satellite boxes and Blu-ray players have aspect ratio settings,  too. The wrong setting will provide a distorted, lower resolution image. Most
on-screen menus ask you to select your TV aspect ratio. For all current HDTVs
this would be 16:9. If set to 4:3, the image will be badly distorted. Make sure your source box is set to the 16:9 image
setting.

Most boxes also will ask for an output resolution setting. Choices will 
include 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. With 1080p TVs (most current models), this
control should be set to 1080i (some cable/satellite boxes also allow 1080p
output, but it only applies to pay per view movies).

Blu-ray players should be set to 1080p. Many offer a 1080p/24 setting, though
not all TVs can do anything with this frame rate. Most Blu-ray players will have
a test mode to verify that your TV can accept the resolution prior to making the
final setting.

If you have a 720p TV, you can set the cablebox to either 720p or 1080i,
though the latter is probably better. If you choose 720p, the signal will be
ideal for 720p content such as ABC and Fox but 1080i content (used by CBS, NBC,
HBO and others) will be down converted in the box. It’s likely your TV will do a
better job de-interlacing and downconverting 1080i content than your cablebox,
so choosing 1080i output is likely better. Also, most non-1080p TVs these days
are actually 1,024 x 768, slightly more vertical resolution than 720p. So you
may squeeze a few extra lines of resolution when watching 1080i content by
choosing the 1080i output.

Conclusion
The short version? Ideally you’d watch all HD content set to fill the screen,
with no overscan. Check your settings, there may be aspect ratio controls, and
separate overscan controls.

 While most Blu-ray players will auto-detect the
correct aspect ratio (nearly always 16x9), DVD players and cable/satellite boxes
do not. Check the settings of these as well to make sure they’re sending your TV
the correct aspect ratio (and resolution!). I always watch TV with the overscan
off and in a 1:1 pixel mapping mode, and it has been years since I’ve seen noise
on the edges of the screen. Check both controls, your TV may look better … for
free!

Reach Geoff Morrison on Twitter at @TechWriterGeoff. Have a question for the HD Guru? Send an email.

More frorm HD Guru:

• How to improve your HDTV image
• How to avoid online HDTV dealer scams: HD Guru investigates
• New HDTV buying checklist

Close post

Article source: http://www.gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/technology/gadgetbox/your-hdtv-underperforming-here-s-really-quick-fix-780535

The iPad was a logical extension of the iPhone. The iPhone was a logical extension of the iPod touch. If there had never been an iPod or an iPhone, customers would not have seen an out-of-the-blue iPad as fitting into a familiar family. Without infrastructure, services and products, the iPad in 2006 would have been one of those head scratching products: “What do I do with it?”

Of course, that’s exactly where many competing tablets are. They’re not a coherent part of a family of products with the identical look and feel of the OS.

So when we ask ourselves about the prospects of an Apple HDTV, we have to consider not only the price, the picture, and the presumed new way of interfacing to an HDTV, the UI, but we also have to include the notion that this new product will be a familiar friend. If you know how to operate an iPhone and an iPad, the Apple HDTV will be a no brainer to use.

That will be a huge factor when it comes to making a personal buying decision.

Another factor will be the irritation customers have with their current TV service providers and the interfaces. The TV industry imposes on us in ways that get under our skin. For example, I remember when I had my Standard Definition Replay TV unit from 2002-2007, it would skip forward 30 seconds instantly. Poof. Right now.

However, my DIRECTV DVR does a fast scan on those 30 seconds on purpose. Why? Because there just might be a flicker of an image in the commercial, perhaps an attractive woman, that will draw me back to watch the commercial. Another example is how customers are used as pawns when a technology that looks like it will serve them is really developed as a weapon to be used in negotiations with content providers. There are more of these kinds of issues, but I’ve made the point.

So when we think about the prospects for success of an Apple TV, we have, of course, to look at traditional factors that influence customers:

• Price.
• Screen size.
• Quality of the display. (contrast, black values, off-axis view, reflections, etc.)
• Warranty.
• Value compared to competing products.

These items are what analysts have been looking at, and some are not optimistic because of the cut-throat mentality in the already huge and powerful TV industry. But. Now we have to take into account the Apple Mentality Factor.

• It’s (again!) beautifully integrated into the iOS family.
• We’ll automatically know how to use it. (Just how a remote screen will achieve that? We shall see.)
• There’s the pleasure of using a fine Apple product.
• Many have a cord cutter mentality.

When you ponder those additional factors, it’s easy to see why the sales of a possible Apple HDTV could be a lot higher than one would expect from the price alone, and the prospects for success will be a lot better than the nay-sayers might guestimate.

And that leads up to the theme article for this discussion by Ryan Faas: “Analyst: Nearly Half Of All iPhone Owners Would Buy An Apple HDTV.” All of a sudden, the reaction of iPhone owners looks rather sane and highly motivated instead of just being ridiculous fanboi stuff. That’s what Apple knows right now but a lot of other nay-sayers do not.

Tech News Debris

If you love business analysis and the forces that make our industry tick, here’s a great story. “How Yahoo Killed Flickr and Lost the Internet.” It’s a long article, but the more you read, the more tickled you’ll be with the insights. Think of it as great story telling, like a epic movie.

Ever since Apple started the consistent theme of naming OS X versions after big cats, we’ve pondered what will come next. Apple pulled, forgive the mixed image, a rabbit out of the hat with Mountain Lion. What’s left? Cult of Mac’s John Brownlee lays it out in a light-hearted way: “Why The Next Version Of OS X After Mountain Lion Won’t Be Named After A Cat.”

Here it is, 2012, and programmers are still writing silly, limited algorithms to answer our questions. Why do we insist on having computers tell us how to think?

Google seems to have figured out why Apple customers are attracted to a coherent family of products instead of a mish-mash of products and technologies. But can the search company pull it off? “Google’s grand Android plan: Finally, it all makes sense.” Related: Google has gotten itself into a fine fragmentation mess, and something has to be done.

Is that a Linux computer in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me? What could one do with that!? I’ll bet Michael Westen could figure out some cool uses.

Finally, some of you may have noticed that you won’t find me on Facebook. LinkedIn, yes. Twitter, definitely. But not Facebook. I have my reasons, but I figured that with 800 million customers, I was just being inordinately stubborn. Then I read this: “As Facebook grows, millions say, ‘no, thanks’.”

I feel much better now. Thanks.

Article source: http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/yes_but_will_anyone_actually_buy_an_apple_hdtv/

The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of KOKI FOX23 - Tulsa

Article source: http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Tulsa-man-robbed-in-his-home/yi2PvgzSgUSkTm-EFq3xjg.cspx