DID YOU KNOW
The Consumer Electronics Association is asking the Federal Communications Commission to re-evaluate the broadcast TV spectrum and allocate more unused channels for wireless broadband and other services. Could this impact your ability to receive free digital and HDTV channels in the future? It might!
THE HDTV INBOX
NOVEMBER, 2009
You’ll find answers to HDTV questions from our readers here.
HDTV TUTORIALS AND FAQs
The most common questions about HDTV and DTV are answered here
Hey Kids, Time For A Game Of Musical Chairs! All DTV stations broadcast on UHF channels, right? Wrong! What’s more, on February 17, 2009, many of them will move back to VHF channels.
IPTV: What’s Behind The Acronym? Is it really possible to send HDTV programs to your home without a terrestrial DTV receiver, cable TV set-top box, or satellite dish? Not only is it possible, it may become the preferred way to watch HDTV on everything from your cell phone to your laptop.
1080p: A Year Later A year ago, I sat down and pounded out an article about all the hyperbole, buzzwords, and fallacies surrounding the push for 1080p imaging. It’s time to revisit the subject!
Read This Before Buying a Plasma or LCD TV Ifyou are like many consumers, you’re thinking about purchasing a plasma or LCD flat screen HDTV.
Square Pegs and Round Holes
Don’t Look Now, but the Interfaces to Your Projectors and Monitors are Changing…
LCD, DLP, D-ILA, and Plasma Tutorial
Is 1:1 pixel mapping possible with today's projectors and monitors? Match Me If You Can tells all.
Grayscale and Contrast inProjectors and Monitors Did you know that high contrast ratios don't make the display — grayscales do? Read Contrast, Shmontrast and you'll understand why.
Audio and Video Cable Basics
Don't get caught up in the marketing hype and spend more than you need to on audio and video cables.
Bandwidth and Its Place in the Video Signal Chain I've been working on a multi-part training program that covers, among other things, the "A to Z" of video signal interfacing and distribution.
Have all those projector and monitor acronyms got you confused? Read Seeing Is Believing to clear up the picture.
PRODUCT REVIEW: NOVEMBER 15, 2009
Vizio VF551XVT LED LCD HDTV
Vizio’s LED-powered VF551XVT breaks new ground as the lowest-priced LCD TV in its size category. Even so, its performance comes up short.
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT
Your Guide To Classroom Projection – part 5
• SPONSORED BY SANYO •
THE DTV TRANSITION: NOVEMBER 2009
Up On The Roof…Once Again
Three DTV antenna installations in two weeks — just another “day at the office?” Not for two of the homeowners involved, who are enjoying more free HDTV channels now.
THE FRONT LINE: SEPTEMBER 2009
CEDIA EXPO 2009: Upon Further Reflection…
It’s been a couple of weeks since the Cedia Expo trade show in Atlanta, and while the show was relatively quiet — perhaps reflecting a still-weak market for custom home electronics — there were some clear trends to be seen.
QUICK PICK REVIEW: AUGUST 2009
OPPO BDP-83 Blu-Ray Disc Player
OPPO revolutionized the world of upscaling red laser DVD players with a few reference-quality designs. Now, it’s time for their first Blu-ray player to come to market.
PRODUCT REVIEW: AUGUST 2009
Optoma HD8200 Home Theater Projector
Here’s another sleek, piano-black 1080p home theater projector with a long throw lens, horizontal and vertical lens offset, and dynamic iris. The difference? It uses single-chip DLP technology, and is priced at $5,000. Surprised?
UPDATES FROM THE FIELD: AUGUST 2009
Once More, Out to the DTV Fringe
Recently, I made a third trip to my brother’s house in the hills of southwestern Vermont to finish what I started over two years ago — set up this distant, remote location to receive every digital TV channel from Albany. And I succeeded.
THE PRO PERSPECTIVE: AUGUST 2009
Take It, Or Leave It
HDMI is rapidly becoming a standard interface in the pro AV industry, although not one that’s being greeted with much enthusiasm.
THE FRONT LINE: JULY 2009
INFOCOMM 2009 Report
Attendance was better than expected. Leads were strong. And it finally appears that the professional AV industry is ready to take the digital video plunge.
HDTV TECH TALK: JUNE 2009
I’ve Got The Low-Band DTV Blues…
Did DTV channel 6 disappear on your converter box or digital TV after June 12? Here’s why it may be “MIA”…and what you may be able to do about it.
PRODUCT REVIEW: JUNE 2009
Eviant T7 Card Portable Digital TV
Now that the digital TV transition has passed, the final piece of the puzzle - portable DTV reception — is being solved, thanks to manufacturers like Eviant.
PRO AND CONSUMER – PRODUCT REVIEW:
Kramer Proscale VP-729 Presentation Switcher/Scaler
Kramer’s ProScale VP-729 switcher/scaler packs a bunch of features into an affordable and practical package…and it supports HDMI, too.
HDTV FOR THE PRO — PRODUCT REVIEW:
Aurora Multimedia V-Tune Pro HD
The V-Tune Pro HD is a do-it-all set-top box for systems integrators that receives 8VSB, QAM, NTSC, and even IPTV content.
THE PRO PERSPECTIVE
Resolution Confusion
About a month ago, I received an email from a PRO AV reader that decried the divergent paths display manufacturers often take from established video standards...
THE FRONT LINE
Maybe HDTV Wasn’t
“The Next Big Thing,” After All…
In a few short weeks, “D-Day, Take II” will arrive on June 12. And that day will see the final chapter, the closing credits, the obituary finally written for over 60 years of analog television broadcasting in the United States.
PRODUCT REVIEW
Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD Blu-Ray Player
PRODUCT REVIEW: MARCH 2009
JVC DLA-HD350 Home Theater Projector
They’re not a big player in front projection, but JVC continues to surprise and impress with their D-ILA home theater offerings.
QUICK PICK REVIEW: MARCH 2009
DVDO Edge HD Video Processor
PRODUCT REVIEW: MARCH 2009
Pioneer Elite Pro-111FD
50-Inch Plasma HDTV
QUICK PICK REVIEW: MARCH 2009
LG BD300 Blu-Ray Player
LG’s BD300 made the news last fall for its ability to stream content from Netflix. But how does it handle the seemingly mundane task of playing back Bu-ray discs?
QUICK PICK REVIEW: FEBRUARY 2009
Three For DTV (Reception)
CATCH PETE AT
Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers
New Jersey Chapter
HD from A to Z and Advanced
Consumer Equipment
November 19, 2009
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Clark, NJ 07066
THE DIGITAL TV
TRANSITION
“Hey, Where’d All My Channels Go?” –
A Follow-Up Readers discuss how their local terrestrial DTV channels show up on cable TV systems.
One Year Left To “Hey, Where’d All My Channels Go?” 365 days from now, analog (NTSC) television goes dark. Are basic cable subscribers ready for the day their analog channels disappear?
DTV Reception Out On The Fringe Live in a rural area, without cable TV service? Wish you could receive terrestrial digital TV programming? You just might be able to.
Ever wonder why you have trouble with off-air digital TV reception? It might be the weather, or it might be your antenna. It might even have nothing to do with RF at all, but rather with the digital video, audio, and program data sent by the TV station.
Spectrum analyzers should be an essential part of your toolkit! Find out why.
Indoor HDTV/DTV Reception Yes, you can receive 8VSB signals indoors with cheap antennas.
Modifying the Channel Master 3022 UHF Yagi The 3022/4308 is a good antenna for HDTV/DTV reception that can work better with some simple modifications.
Outdoor HDTV/DTV Antenna Performance I took a bunch of outdoor TV antennas and conducted a side-by-side test of analog and DTV reception with each.
Indoor HDTV/DTV Antenna Performance In this test, I rounded up a few popular indoor TV antennas and checked them out for analog and DTV reception.
ARCHIVES
WEB SITE DESIGN
HDTVEXPERT.COM:
WHO WE ARE
HDTVExpert.com is your Web resource for product reviews, news, tutorials, and frequently asked questions (FAQs) about high definition television (HDTV).
You’ll also find news about and reviews of related consumer and professional products, including LCD and plasma HDTVs, home theater projectors, DTV set-top boxes, DVD and Blu-ray players, indoor and outdoor TV antennas and accessories, and new media delivery and playback systems, including IPTV and direct downloads of TV shows and movies.
In short, if it has anything to do with HDTV, there’s a good chance you’ll read about it in these pages! We also maintain an archive of HDTVexpert.com articles that goes back to 2004 and you can find it here.
Some of the articles on HDTVExpert.com have also appeared or will appear in other trade and consumer magazines. Credit for those editions and links to each magazine’s web sites are provided where appropriate.
Every effort has been made to assure the material on this site is accurate. If you find discrepancies or technical inaccuracies, you are encouraged to contact me at pete@hdtvexpert.com with your comments and notations, as well as letters to the editor.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to support our loyal advertisers who make it possible to bring you HDTVexpert.com every month!
