All About HDTV TCF April 2008 1

All About HDTV TCF April 2008 1

They Look Great n 50” Vizio

All About HDTV - Outline n n n n 3 Digital TV (DTV) and High Definition (HDTV) Frequency Allocation What are Broadcasters Doing Where are the Signals Coming from Plasma, LCD and DLP Displays How to Hook Up HDTV to Your System HD Recording Consumer Guide

Digital TV and HDTV n n n 4 OTA Analog transmissions to cease in 2009 after over 50 years. DTV offers better picture quality – no snowy or degraded picture, no convergence problems Each pixel separately generated Stereo and surround sound (5. 1) built-in MPEG-2 compresses 1 Gb/s video stream One 6 MHz Channel can carry 20 Mbits/sec or several DTV (HDTV and SDTV) sub channels and other data (8 -VSB and QAM)

Digital TV and HDTV (cont. ) n n n 5 DTV Formats – 480 i, 576 i, 720 p, 1080 i, 1080 p (1080 p Blue-Ray, HD-DVD only) Native HDTV Formats - 720 p or 1080 i, up or down conversion is required Aspect Ratios – 4: 3, 16: 9 – black stripes, missing foreheads or 300 lbs bodies On-Screen Daily Schedules

2008 TV Receivers n n n Sets with HD display and no tuners (HD ready or HD monitor) Sets with HD display, NTSC/ATSC and QAM tuners with or without cable cards (most common) Sets with SD display (LCD or CRT) and NTSC/ATSC tuner (least expensive)

Frequency Allocation n 7 Old Assignments: VHF (Ch. 2 -13) and UHF (Ch. 14 -68) New Assignments: Upper VHF, lower UHF (Ch. 7 -53) Government Will Auction the Vacated Channels for $$ Billions, is issuing rebate coupons for converter boxes

What are Broadcasters Doing n n n 8 n Broadcasters take advantage of uninformed public Saving on Quality for Profits – more channels, less HD Few Broadcasters provide a consistent true HD Signal Basic Cable May or May not Include Digital Channels Cable and satellite providers degrade the HD signal by further compressing it Over-the-air still the best – not publicized and

Transmission and Modulation NTSC/ATSC/QAM Tuners QAM (Cable) 6 MHz + Video Stream 1 Gbit/sec MPEG-2 20 Mbits/sec 8 -VSB (OTA) 6 MHz

Digital Transmission n 6 MHz Channel

Are You Watching HDTV? n n n 11 Sleeping in the Garage Doesn't Make You a Car Nearly half of the 24 million households with HDTVs don't actually watch highdefinition programs HDTV Material Doesn't Grow on Trees

Where are the Digital Signals Coming from n n 12 Digital Cable Satellite (Dish Network) Over the Air – A well kept secret. An old antenna, even rabbit ears will often do Blue Ray DVDs and other new formats

Plasma, LCD and DLP Displays n n 13 Plasma – Generates its own light, vivid colors, best viewing angle, but subject to burn-in, ambient light a problem (glare, reflections) LCD – Backlit, (Venetian blinds) good pastel colors, poor blacks, low power consumption, low weight, good in lighted areas, 42” or less DLP – Reflected light (Rear projection), bright colors, relatively expensive, fragile, 50” and up, www. howstuffworks. com/lcd 2. htm

Plasma Display n 14 Panel Cross Section

Plasma Display n 15 Cell arrangement

LCD Display n 16 Polarization

LCD Display n 17 More Details

DLP (Projection) Display n 18 How it works

How to Hook Up HDTV to Your System (A/V Components) n n n n 19 Over-the-air and cable combination Analog vs. digital cable (cable cards, boxes) Use of additional tuners (VCR, ATSC) Analog and digital audio to your Hi. Fi Use with Laptop as Monitor DVD Player Games, computer and other components

How to Hook Up HDTV to Your System (Inputs and Outputs) n n n n 20 Varies between Manufacturers and Models Composite - AVI (3 RCA cables) Component (5 RCA cables) HDMI Svideo + audio RGB (15 pins) + audio Analog Audio (Stereo) Digital Audio (5. 1)

How to Hook Up HDTV to Your System (Cable Types) n 21 HDMI, RCA, Svideo, RGB

How to Hook Up HDTV to Your System (OTA and Analog Cable) n Combining Over-the –air with analog cable Cable VCR AV 1 HDTV Antenna 22 DTV/TV

Recording of HD/SD Programs n n n 23 Lack of video outputs on most HDTV sets makes recording difficult (DRM raises its ugly head) Recording to PC hard drive with external ATSC tuner Regular VCR if analog output available from HDTV or digital cable box Ti. Vo recording to hard drive DVRs with built-in ATSC/QAM tuners and DVD recording media coming down in price

Pinnacle PCTV HD Stick.

HD Picture on PC Screen n .

Current HD/SD Programming n n Networks simulcast their main analog channel Plenty of weather channels News, sports, specials and some shows in HD PBS carries a separate HD channel with high quality documentaries, cultural and science programs (3 hour operas from the MET, full concerts, etc)

Government Coupon Program Analog OTA transmission will cease on 2/17/2009 n Between 1/1/08 and 3/31/09 you can call 1 -888 -388 -2009 to apply n 1 -2 $40 Rebate coupons per household n Coupons expire 90 days after issue n ATSC to analog converters will give new life to old TVs and VCRs n

Consumer Guide n n n 28 Fit Size to Your Viewing Area Built-in ATSC/QAM tuner or HD-Ready Plasma. LCD or DLP Availability of Inputs and Outputs Price, warranties, repair cost Ask questions on alt. tv. tech. hdtv and check http: //www. avsforum. com

Additional Resources n n n Converter box site: www. dtv 2009. gov: Find out about OTA reception at your home: www. antennaweb. org Quiz to tell if you are ready for HDTV: www. dtvtransition. org: