SPONSORS:
- - - - - -
 |
 |
September 6, 2007
CNN Officially Embraces HD
HD news received another national kick-start when CNN Worldwide launched the first 24-hour domestic news network in high definition on Sept. 1.
The move by CNN, which has been a long-time project, will also bring more attention to the business side of HD as advertisers have a new outlet.
CNN will receive HD ratings data in the coming months once Nielsen finalizes its HD ratings system.
“Essentially, what we're discussing with all of the new media options is extending the reach of an advertiser's message through integrated strategic partnerships that blend digital technologies, such as HD, broadband and wireless, with traditional television advertising,” explains CNN’s Jennifer Martin. “Reach is essential to grow market share, more so than ratings, and that alone potentially provides advertisers with enough incentive to look at delivering ads in an HD format.”
CNN will potentially have some ad-sales opportunities exclusively for CNN HD (based on the idea and concept) but for the immediate future the majority of the spots will run on both CNN and CNN HD in HD. Unlike advertisements on fellow Turner network TNT CNN HD will not stretch SD advertisements. They will be seen in 4:3 with pillars on the side.
HD field production will be completed with Sony XDCAM and HDV camcorders and Apple Final Cut Pro HD editing systems will be available in the field. All New York-based programs plus select CNN documentaries and the presidential debates will all be in HD. HD newsgathering equipment is currently being deployed across the operation however not every crew will be outfitted with HD equipment.
[back to top]
HTN Readies New Nationwide Fiber Network
It will be a busy few weeks for HTN Communications as it readies a new all-digital national fiber optic network that will make it easier for national and regional sports networks as well as professional leagues to send HD game coverage from far-flung arenas and stadiums.
The company says the network will be up and running by October, in time for the upcoming NBA and NHL seasons and will connect each NHL, NBA, and MLB venue to HTN clients.
HTN takes a slightly different approach from other signal transport operators is that it not only offers the pipes but also the encoding and decoding equipment necessary to ready the content for delivery.
“HTN is able to select any of facilities offered by numerous carriers that best suits our customer’s requirements,” says John Rourke, HTN executive vice president and COO.
“We do not provide just Vyvx Level 3 services capacity but rather what is “best of breed” necessary to deliver services to the end-user,” he says. “Similarly, on the satellite side, we have arrangements to utilize the Intelsat/PanAmsat and SES Americom transponder inventory to package facilities for our customers.” Two HTN customers that are expected to benefit most from the new network are the NBA and Rainbow Network Communications, the company responsible for transporting all of the Fox Sports Regional Network games from the venue to the network operations center.
In terms of technology the new network is based on Dynamic Synchronous Transfer Mode (DTM). Joseph Cohen, HTN chairman and CEO, says boadcast clients have shown a tremendous desire to take advantage of the reliability and quality benefits of a DTM network.
“Our new DTM fiber optic network service will enhance existing fiber optic transmission delivery technology, vastly improving upon current network offerings,” he says.
And that improvement comes just in time for networks. With DirecTV ready to expand its HD channel offering to upwards of 100 channels regional sports networks will be under more pressure to deliver more HD content than ever.
One of the more exciting offerings of the new network is the opportunity to add two-way transport between the venues and operations centers.
In the past HTN’s network could only send outbound traffic from the arena or stadium. But now it will be able to send content to the venues, an important enhancement for scoreboard video operators.
[back to top]
IFA Berlin Hints at Europe’s HD Future
The European broadcast technology community is gathering at IBC in Amsterdam this weekend, completing a very-HD couple of weeks in Europe. The IBC follows by days the IFA Internationale Funkausstellung, the world’s largest consumer electronics show, just ended in Berlin.
IFA began on August 31 and didn’t disappoint in terms of HD news. Sony Corp. unveiled 15 new flat TVs and a new remote control for the domestic market on Wednesday, as a part of a world-wide effort to win back market share during the year-end shopping season.
Sony hopes its new 40-inch to 70-inch high definition TVs and a new remote that does not have to be pointed at the TV will help its Bravia-brand LCD TVs turn a profit this year.
“The year-end shopping season is going to be very tough,” Sony Senior Vice President Takashi Fukuda told a news conference. Part of the tough sledding are gains made by Samsung which has seen sale jump 54% from April-June over last year, according to DisplaySearch, a consumer electronics research company. DisplaySearch says Sony's global share fell to 13.2% in April-June from 17.1 percent in January-March.
Samsung isn’t sitting still. It hit IFA with a new range of home entertainment products, including a 70-inch LED LCD TV and the BD-UP5000, its first ever Duo HD disc player, the BD-UP5000, a $1,049 DVD player that supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD. Previously the company had backed Blu-ray.
A key component in all Samsung DVD players is the Reon-VX HQV video processor. The HQV technology in Samsung’s BD-UP5000 and BD-P2400 provides true 1080i-to-1080p HD deinterlacing with the help of per-pixel, motion- adaptive algorithms and a sophisticated multidirectional diagonal filter that ensures video free from jagged edges.
The HQV processing engine also provides per-pixel, motion-adaptive noise reduction, detail enhancement, and advanced scaling, to deliver premium-quality upconversion of standard-definition material.
Meanwhile Panasonic introduced the full Viera line-up of full-HD plasma and LCD Tvs. It now includes the 65-inch PZ/PY700 series, 58-inch PZ/PY700 series, 50-inch PZ/PY70 series and 42-inch PZ/PY70 series plasma TVs and a 37-inch LCD TV. Panasonic said the models feature higher-quality reproduction of fast action scenes and render brilliant images with outstanding precision and natural, vivid colors.
The new Panasonic Viera full-HD plasma displays offers a 100,000-hour lifetime, marking a new standard for flat-panel TVs in line with Panasonic new eco thinking. It is also aiming to reduce the materials used to make its products, as well as increase energy efficiency.
LG Electronics offered two display technologies that will be welcome news to consumers in the UK looking to go digital. First, new LG TVs now feature MPEG-4 HD receivers meaning the TV sets could receive over-the-air MPEG-4 HD signals which could mean twice as many HD networks compared to other technologies. The company also introduced TV sets with built-in Freeview Playback functionality, the growing digital TV service in the UK.
[back to top]
HD Productions Think Small
|
|
|
Steve Stubelt
National Accounts Manager
Sony Broadcast |
The Big Ten Network launched last week and, increasingly, the ability to deliver smaller sports events in HD is becoming a focus of networks like ESPN, CSTV, local TV stations that produce local HD content and other regional sports networks. Steve Stubelt, National Accounts Manager for Sony Broadcast, discussed the current trends that are shaping HD sports programming.
Q: One of the challenges for the sports industry is how to cost-effectively produce smaller scale events in HD. How is Sony helping them do that?
A: In almost all of our product categories we have a wide range of cost effective options that allow customers to match performance and budget. It was only a few years ago that our only HD acquisition option was HDCAM and now we have everything from HDV camcorders at $4,000 to $20,000 XDCAM HD camcorders. The same thing has happened with Studio cameras where we have expanded the line to include the HDC-1400 series at a significant cost savings. These are just examples but all of the product categories have a similar scalability.
Q: But cameras are only part of the production equation. How are you helping fill the rest of the production gap?
A: On more of a total production side Sony created the MVP (Mobile Video Producer), an all inclusive production unit targeted to provide cost-effective HD production for smaller scale events. The industry has done an excellent job responding to the need for major production vehicles at the highest end but how do you cover the practice the day before or the college lacrosse game in HD? This production system was designed to address that secondary lower cost market with a production unit that is 20% the cost of a regional mobile unit. Keeping in mind that some smaller productions don't require 10 cameras and can be done with 4 cameras, in that case a typical production unit would be overkill.
Q: You're obviously in the market every day and hearing a steady stream of questions and opinions. What are some of the more popular HD questions and are there any misconceptions in the market with respect to HD?
A: I've stopped hearing about 720P and 1080I but now I hear questions about 1080P. The consumer organizations talking about full HD and 1080P have changed the playing field.
But the biggest difficulty most customers face is legacy compatibility and living through the transition. One source is only SD and the other HD one is in 4:3 and the other in 16:9
Q: February 2009 is when the broadcast stations go digital (but not HD). Do you think that switch will drive more HD productions?
A: I don't think the mandate to go digital will have a significant impact on HD production. My opinion is that the demand for HD programming will continue to slightly outstrip the production truck market’s ability to provide it. The number of major trucks has been relatively consistent over the last several years at about 150 units over the past five years and a substantial percentage of those units have become HD. It would be difficult for the market to respond quickly to a large increase in the number HD productions.
--Interviewed by Ken Kerschbaumer
[back to top]
Starz Picks Motorola
(From an Aug. 30 article at BroadcastingCable.com)
Starz Entertainment has selected advanced compression gear from Motorola to support the launch of new high-definition services Starz Comedy, Starz Edge and Starz Kids & Family. Starz is buying a Motorola four-channel, HD MPEG-2 encoding system that will compress, encrypt, and modulate the HD signals within a single integrated transmission system. The new HD system is designed to support Starz’s planned future migration to MPEG-4 compression technology, and will use MPEG-4 AVC technology originally developed by Modulus Video, which Motorola acquired in May and integrated into its Home & Network Mobility Group.
For more…
Comcast's Brian Roberts to Keynote CES
(From a Sept. 1 article at BroadcastingCable.com)
In a sign of the increasing convergence of the broadcast, cable and consumer electronics industries, Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts has agreed to deliver a keynote address at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January. Roberts will be speaking on the second day of CES, which drew some 143,000 attendees last year, on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 9 am.
For more…
Time Warner, Cisco Team Up For Online HD Primer
(From an Aug. 23 article at BroadcastingCable.com)
Time Warner Cable and Cisco Systems teamed up on a new Web site to prep viewers on buying an HDTV and actually tuning in to an HD channel. The site asks questions about screen size, type of use (sports, gaming, movies), what room it will be in and how far away it will be viewed, then provides a recommendation. It also pitches the advantages of cable over satellite and says viewers will need an HD service to get those crystal-clear pictures, although it makes no mention of over-the-air HD as an option.
For more…
DirecTV Debuts Local HD in Minn. Market
(From an August 29 article at MultichannelNews.com)
DirecTV Wednesday began offering local HD programming to customers in the Mankato, Minn., TV market, according to officials.
The nation’s largest satellite provider had made KEYC, KARE, KMSP and KSTP available in HD. With the addition of Mankato, DirecTV now offers local HD broadcast channels in 61 cities, representing more than 70% U.S. TV households.
For more…
Harmonic Adds 'Full HD' Compression
(From an August 29 article at MultichannelNews.com)
Harmonic has added support to its video-encoding platform for the 1080p high-definition format -- but the feature is available only in MPEG-4 format, which most digital-cable set-tops in the field today don’t support.
The company said its DiviCom Electra 7000 platform will encode 1080p HD video at 24 frames per second, in MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (H.264) format, through a firmware upgrade. The 1080p spec is the so-called full HD specification, which is used by high-definition DVD formats.
For more…
AT&T Touts Big Ten Network Deal
(From an August 27 article in MultichannelNews.com)
Leading up to the Aug. 30 launch of the Big Ten Network, AT&T tried to capitalize on its deal to carry the football-oriented channel in its standard lineups as large cable operators have resisted playing ball. AT&T, in its carriage announcement, alluded to the impasse between top cable companies and the network: “When it comes to catching the excitement of Big Ten football, AT&T U-verse TV customers won't be left on the sidelines.”
For more…
Not Just for Kids Anymore
(From an August 27 article in MultichannelNews.com)
Children’s networks are eying HD as a way to reach males more easily. Nick, for example, plans to produce entirely in HD by the end of 2008. Some networks are already using HD as a market-differentiator. “Viewers particularly enjoy the wide range of programming, which offers something for everyone in the family, and the experience of viewing true HD,” said Keith O'Connell, vice president of programming for Voom HD Networks. “Animania HD and Family Room HD are the only kids and family true HD channels that are available 24/7 and commercial-free, which is a huge hit with parents.”
For more…
Martin Pushes Dual Carriage
(From an August 27 article in MultichannelNews.com)
Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin is seeking support for rules that would require cable operators, starting in early 2009, to carry so-called must-carry TV stations in analog and digital formats on cable systems that had not converted to digital-only transmission. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association lobbied hard to frustrate Martin’s design, which would have forced cable operators to carry multiple digital signals transmitted by TV stations that elect must-carry. Today, FCC rules require carriage of just one programming service for each must-carry station.
For more…
Philips Unveils Aurea 1080p LCD TV
(From an August 30 article at TWICE.com)
Philips formally announced at the IFA Show here its new “Aurea” LCD TV technology which builds on the company’s Ambilight rear-panel lighting system for select LCD TVs by extending the surrounding light to the front of the screen. The system builds on the Ambilight experience by placing an LED lighting array in the face of the TV frame to “Seduce by Light” those watching programming on the screen. The system is designed to expand on the immersive viewing experience of the Ambilight system by surrounding the entire picture with a brightness- and color-coordinated glow.
For more…
HD DVD Camp Touts Advanced Features, Low Cost
(From an August 31 article at TWICE.com)
Not to be outdone by the Blu-ray Disc Association, the HD DVD Promotions Group held its own press conference at IFA to laud the HD DVD format. HD DVD is strong in Europe, representing 75% of all studio HD releases, said Ken Graffeo, HD DVD Promotions Group co-chair and Universal Studios strategic marketing executive VP. In addition, in stand-alone players, the format has a 70 percent share and a 4-to-1 attach rate of movies to hardware sales, seven times that of Blu-ray.
For more…
DEG Forms Global Alliance
(From an August 31 article at TWICE.com)
The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) will ally with its European counterpart to form a “working association” to promote DVD and high-definition products in the United States and Europe, the groups announced at the IFA tradeshow, here, today. The U.K.-based Digital Entertainment Group Europe (DEGE) and U.S.-based DEG will share sales figures and develop educational resources for consumers and retailers. The first such initiative will be the HDTV Guide, which was originally developed by the DEG for the U.S. market and has since been adapted for DEGE’s target market. “It’s a valuable partnership for us because the U.S. market gives us a good perspective on future trends in Europe,” said Yves Caillaud, Warner Home Video senior VP.
For more…
Mitsubishi Evolves 3D DLP Technology
(From an August 23 article in TWICE.com)
The Barclays PGA Tournament at the Westchester Country Club, here, was the setting for Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, a key event sponsor, to unveil the next evolution in consumer-level 3DTV coming to 1080p DLP HDTVs next year. Unlike a 2D to 3D conversion system the company presented at its April line show and at the E3 video game show, the new system uses specially produced or mastered 3D images to create dynamic effects for viewers wearing special “stereoscopic” eye glasses.
For more…
[back to top]
TiVo Takes Hit From HDTV Growth
USA Today reports that TiVo's failure to anticipate how quickly consumers and retailers would fall in love with HDTV products led to an $11.2 million write-down in the quarter ended in July for leftover standard DVRs. "We're at a turning point in the retail environment," CEO Tom Rogers told analysts. HDTV growth "progressed at a pace that surprised many in the industry, including us." That contributed to a 145,000 drop in TiVo subscriptions, to 4.2 million.
For more…
Not All HDTVs Can Keep Up With the Action
The New York Times reports on HDTV “marketing malarkey” as manufacturers of TV sets look to position plasma, LCD, and DLP technologies against each other. David Carnoy, executive editor of Cnet.com, said manufacturers fall back on such terms to overcome the idea that liquid crystal display TVs are not good for gaming or home theater. “Now, with all the talk of faster refresh rates, L.C.D. TVs are losing that knock against them,” he said. “It’s similar to the problem that plasma makers have had vis-à-vis burn-in. They’ve never been able to completely escape that rap.”
For more…
HD Become Mainstream
Broadcast Engineering reports that this is the year that HD became real, zeroing in on HD newscasts, consumer adoption and the move to 1080p/60 fps production. And recent announcements illuminate market trends. HBO plans to convert all 26 of its distribution feeds to HD by the second quarter of 2008. In September, Turner's TBS HD will join TNT HD, which has been on the air for two years, and in the fall, CNN HD will launch. In January at CES, DIRECTV announced the pending launch of 60 new HD channels, including the Turner properties, the Sci-Fi Channel, FX, USA Network, Speed and Turner's Cartoon Network, among others.
For more…
Devices Fail FCC White Space Tests
TV Technology reports that FCC tests of wireless consumer devices designed to reside in White Spaces spectrum found that those devices could interfere with DTV over-the-air reception. Charlie Rhodes, columnist for TV Technology and a television industry veteran, said that the tests reinforced that intermodulation within television tuners is a serious problem. “Co-channel interference is being manufactured in the tuner,” he said. “As the white space devices will probably use TV tuners to look for spaces in which to operate, why wouldn’t this happen to them also?”
For more…
You are receiving this email at because you are a subscriber to Broadcasting & Cable Today or Multichannel Newswire or because you have specifically requested it.
TO SUBSCRIBE:
www.broadcastingcable.com/newsletters or e-mail BCBcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
Customer Service Manager
Reed Business Information
225 Wyman Street
Waltham, MA 02451
EDITOR:
PJ Bednarski
646-746-6965
AD SALES:
RB Interactive
1-888-7RBI WEB
646 746 7661
TO CONTACT US:
E-mail information to
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
All rights reserved. |
|
