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Special Section on the Digital TV
Transition
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Media Confusion
about the Transition to Digital Television Broadcasting
There appears to be much misunderstanding
amongst consumers and even in the news media about the upcoming
transition to digital television broadcasting (DTV) and it's
ramifications. In a recent story regarding DTV, Boston area TV station
WBZ made several serious errors. Les Tyler responded to the story in
an email to WBZ. Here is his response...
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THAT responds to NTIA letter
In a point by point rebuttal to NTIA
Assistant Secretary Kneur's correspondence expressing his position
on the stereo audio capabilities of digital-to-analog converter boxes,
THAT Corporation President Les Tyler corrects the record and reasserts
the shortcomings of the NTIA's technical requirements for coupon
eligible converter boxes (CECBs). See
the full text of THAT's letter...
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Confused about the DTV Transition?
For more
information follow these links:
www.dtvtransition.org
www.dtvanswers.com
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NTIA
refuses to consider labeling regulations. THAT
believes proper converter box labeling is essential to preventing
consumer confusion. In their latest response, the NTIA asserts that
"Such regulations are beyond the perview of this program". Read
the full text of their letter...
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PRESS
RELEASE
Consumers and Retailers to Bear Burden of Stereo-Optional Converter
Boxes during DTV Transition
In a July 24th letter addressed to the
Assistant Secretary for Communication and Information at the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U.S.
Department of Commerce, THAT Corporation Chief Executive Officer
Leslie Tyler called for full disclosure in the form of prominent
labeling of the capabilities and more importantly-the limitations-of
the hotly anticipated digital television transition (DTV) converter
boxes. Continued...
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THAT's July 24th letter to the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration...
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DTV News links
Warren's Consumer Electronics Daily
Broadcasting
and Cable
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THAT Rallies the Government to Reconsider Technical
Specs for Eligible
Converter Boxes In a letter addressed to
members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, THAT CEO Leslie Tyler rallied the government to consider the
television viewing experience of the more than 75 million Americans who
own analog televisions that rely on rooftop antennas, that
will be adversely affected by the transition, if stereo sound is not
made mandatory in eligible
converter boxes. More...
Go directly to THAT's letter to the House Committee...
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Consumer
Advocates Take Stand on Americans Overlooked by DTV Transition
 On
Wednesday, July 25th, representatives from AARP, Consumer Electronics
Association, Consumers Union, the Minority Media &
Telecommunications Council and THAT Corporation took a hard look
at the impact of the looming DTV transition on millions of low-income
and minority communities who have been overlooked in governmental
preparation. More...
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BTSC: The Stereo Sound You Enjoy, But Often Take for Granted
Two decades after
revolutionizing television viewing, BTSC, the technology necessary to
provide stereo sound, is at risk. Congress has mandated that all
broadcasting stations must convert from analog to digital on February
17, 2009. Analog TVs receiving over-the-air programming will still
work after that date, but owners of these TVs will need to buy
converter boxes to change digital broadcasts into analog format.
Unfortunately, the converter box for analog televisions does not
contain BTSC. Millions of viewers will be affected. Read
on...
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Don't be caught short when analog TV broadcasts go dark. You
need dbx-TV BTSC encoding technology.
Up through late 2008, analog broadcasts will continue in the US.
But, after February 2009, broadcasters will be forced to turn
off analog transmissions, causing millions of TV sets to display
nothing but snow. The US Congress has enacted legislation
authorizing a $1.4 Billion assistance program for the purchase
of digital-to-analog TV conversion boxes to help ease the
transition. Without dbx-TV BTSC encoders inside, those converter
boxes will deliver only mono audio to legacy TV sets. The
National Telecommunications and Information Agency, who has been
tasked with administering the converter box assistance program,
allows for the inclusion of BTSC in eligible
converter boxes. THAT Corporation offers the winning combination
of technology and intellectual property rights in its dbx-TV
BTSC encoder licenses. dbx-TV enables all IC makers to deliver
the right product at the right time to satisfy this need. For
more information about the transition to digital television visit the NTIA
website.
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The dbx-TV Brochure
outlines the
program.
Open
it!
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What
is dbx-TV?
dbx-TV
(from THAT Corporation) offers a substantial portfolio of Intellectual Property (IP)
related to the generation and reception of legacy TV-audio standards.
For over a decade now, we have offered exclusive access to a significant
portfolio of patents covering the BTSC system -- the standard for TV
audio broadcasts in North America since 1984. Some of THAT's employees
were key players in bringing this standard to life. Our pool of BTSC-related
patents has since been licensed worldwide to most every major IC and
equipment maker in the TV industry, both in the pro and consumer
markets, enabling hundreds of millions of BTSC implementations. As part
of this very successful licensing program, we have maintained Standard
of Quality (SOQ) guidelines and a specialized test lab to ensure the
integrity of all BTSC-enabled products. Most every BTSC-enabled product
ever realized has been certified against this SOQ.
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dbx-TV
Field Testing in Malaysia |
Analog
vs. Digital Licensing Programs
THAT has had two distinct licensing programs, the original and the
digital. The original program was based on several fundamental patents
based on inventions by engineers at the former dbx, Inc. during the
1980s, most significantly US Patent 4,539,526 ("Adaptive Signal
Weighting System"). These patents and this licensing program were
focused on the dbx noise reduction system which is an integral part of
the BTSC standard. This program concluded in January of 2004, when the
last of the fundamental analog patents expired worldwide. Our digital
licensing program began in the mid 1990s when we developed the first DSP-based
implementations of BTSC. This pioneering work led to several patents,
which were licensed separately from the original portfolio of dbx
patents. As the name implies, the digital program covers digital
implementations only. However, this program also applies to many aspects
of BTSC (not just the dbx noise reduction).
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dbx-TV Digital TV-Audio Licensing Lab |
Verilog
Code for BTSC Implementations
Since 2002, we have added several Verilog-based BTSC licensed solutions
for implementing encoders and decoders for both professional and
consumer applications, and we have continued to expand our patent
portfolio. Our Verilog code now includes everything necessary to
generate the 4.5MHz BTSC audio subcarrier from L, R, and SAP input
signals, as well as demodulate L, R, and SAP audio from a 4.5MHz
subcarrier. Our Verilog code makes it easy for an IC maker to add BTSC
to chip designs, either as standalone chips or in conjunction with other
digital audio and video functions. The code runs in several modest-sized
Xilinx FPGAs which are suitable for limited volume applications (i.e.
TV-broadcast equipment). Additionally, we now offer licenses to our
patent portfolio with or without access to our Verilog code. While
THAT's digital licensing program was well underway when the Analog dbx-TV
patent expired, the rise of the digital program was somewhat
overshadowed by the fall of the original program. The industry is now
coming to terms with THAT's position in digital BTSC, fueled by the
growing realization that digital receivers must coexist with analog
broadcasts for some time to come.
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Hiroko Haraoka,
Executive Assistant &
Masaya Ishikawa, Far East Manager
from our Tokyo Office |
Extending
our Solutions to Other Legacy Audio Standards
After a very strong response to THAT's Verilog-based BTSC solutions, we
have now extended our Verilog offerings to cover consumer decoding of
the rest of the legacy audio reception standards worldwide, including
NICAM, A2, EIAJ, and FM stereo. We and our licensees brand products made
using our intellectual property using the dbx-TV trademark, in order to
make it easy for consumers to identify our technology in products.
Manufacturers
interested in providing dbx-TV legacy TV-audio capability in their
products should follow this link to the licensing contact
information
page.
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