Transcript Slide 1

How's It Going?
The Truth About the H/DTV Transition
and Things to Bear in Mind at NAB
Mark Schubin, Consultant
Which transition?
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not the digital video transition:
> character generators since 1967
> timebase correctors since 1972
> frame synchronizers since 1973
1974 - 6 Presidents ago
so virtually all TV seen since then has been digital
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digital TVs on sale in the U.S. since 1984 ?!?!?
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
What’s “Digital Television” (“DTV”)?
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TV sets using all-digital processing (1984)?
broadcasts that were at some point digital (1972/3)?
DBS (1994)? digital cable (1996)? DVD (1997)?
digital terrestrial TV transmission (1996)? “DTT”
home screens capable of at least 480p or DTT (CEA)?
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Which transition? – Part II
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mandatory from NTSC broadcasting to ATSC DTT
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It’s the law!
inevitable from NTSC/601 video to HDTV
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8 lines to 12, 30, 60, 120, 240, 480, 720/1080,…
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…oversampled cameras, D-cinema, SHDTV, UHDTV (16x!)
voluntary from NTSC/BTSC audio to 5.1 surround
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21 years after MTS, many shows & TVs mono (27% HH)
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
U.S. NTSC to ATSC DTT transition - I
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began as FCC HDTV-broadcasting inquiry in 1987
switched to digital in 1990
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perfect reception (if any reception)
spectrum efficiency (closer channel packing)
19.4 Mbps payload vs. NTSC+ (4.5 Mbps) analog
HDTV requirement dropped in 1997
MPEG-2 mandatory for primary video (sigh)
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
U.S. NTSC to ATSC DTT transition - II
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7/96 - first stations on-air
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(very first had no encoders)
11/98 - 40 “volunteer” stations on-air
5/99 - top-10-market ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC
11/99 – markets 11-30
5/02 - all commercial, 5/03 all
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Number of U.S. TV stations
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FCC analog – 12/31/04
> Full-power –--------- 1748
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(412 non-commercial)
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FCC DTT – 04/07/05
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Slots – 1722 (34 non-NTSC)
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CPs - 1697
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Class A –--------------- 603
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On-air - 1497
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LPTV –---------------- 2034
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Full-power – 689
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TV translators ----- 4454
NTSC transmitters ---- 8839
(non-commercial 56% of slots,
commercial just 36% of slots)
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CEA–122 (none PBS) 10/04
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
U.S. ATSC to NTSC transition - III
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mandatory reception circuitry in TVs:
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(no performance specifications)
7/04 – 50% 36-inch & up
7/05 – 100% 36-inch & up, 50% 25-to-35-inch
(could change to 3/06)
7/06 – 100% 25-inch & up (could be 3/06)
7/07 – 100% of 13-inch & up plus other devices
with NTSC tuner
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Official analog shutdown – 12/31/06
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Balanced Budget Act of 1997 is still the law
three exceptions on a market-by-market basis:
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ABC, CBS, Fox, or NBC outlet legitimately not DTT
“converter technology” not “generally available”
15% or more not subs of an MVPD carrying each DTT
and not “capable of receiving” the DTTs
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
What’s a “market”? FCC asking
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stations in SLC market
separated by 358 miles
(Boston to Baltimore)
even in NY and LA DMAs,
no cable operator carries
each full-power station
satellite subs receiving
OTA don’t count
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
DTT transition: bear in mind at NAB
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get on the air
maximize coverage
PSIP kills
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get appropriate generators and test equipment
get different consumer receivers (inexpensive)
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no reception
is no fun
$300 RCA integrated 27-inch later this year
$229 Humax set-top box now
plan for the “broadcast flag”
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
DTT receivers (integrated & STB)
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first sold to U.S. consumers November 1998
factory sales through 12/31/2003 – 1.2 million
factory sales through 12/31/2004 – 3 million
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LG/Zenith 5 -generation conquers Schubin site
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demonstrated NAB 2003 (Welcome to NAB 2005!)
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LG 5 -gen. set-top boxes go on sale ? Not yet
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LG 5 -gen. chip in non-LG STB fails Schubin site
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
DTT transition caution
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watch out for the other guy
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increased power = increased interference
another station’s bad PSIP can kill your reception
keep track of receiver developments
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newer is not necessarily better
track and distribute receiver anomaly information
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Transition from NTSC/601 to HDTV
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HDTV is said to be:
> digital
> much more detail
> wider aspect ratio
> 5.1-channel sound
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HDTV is:
> much sharper pictures
> different color space
> much more data
> scary to rights holders
CEA 3/22/05: “nearly half… plan” to make their next TV HDTV
CEA 4/04/05: “7 in 10…plan” to make their next TV an HDTV
Harris Interactive: 27% (no price) or 19% (price) likely in a year
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Myths about HDTV
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it must be digital
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high definition tripod
high definition rack
high definition stand
world’s first regularly scheduled modern HDTV
service, still carried in Japan, is analog
most HDTV owners can see HD resolution at home
most HDTV viewers demand HDTV
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but, on fixed-pixel HD displays, they do prefer it
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Can viewers see HD detail at home?
"In our tests of 22 plasma TV models, the best ED
set looked just as good with HD content as the HD
sets. (One note: Sit closer than 8 feet away from
an ED set and you're likely to see individual
pixels, making the image appear coarse)"
- Consumer Reports, March 2005
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Visual Acuity: Can you read this?
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How about this?
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What about this?
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Can you still read it?
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limit to human visual
perception: about 30
cycles/degree (cpd)
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And this?
many factors affect limit
Can you read this? This?
How about this?
for contrast sensitivity and
visual acuity, 22 cpd is used
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Retinal angle: screen size & distance
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U.S. – RCA Labs
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Lechner Distance
Lechner Distance – 9 feet
UK – Philips Labs
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Jackson Distance – 3 m
Japan – 4 feet?
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9 feet
motivation for HDTV
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
At the Lechner Distance – 9 feet
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480 lines just visible:
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4:3
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HDTV fully visible:
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30 cpd – 46-inch TV
> 22 cpd – 63-inch TV
30 cpd – 25-inch TV
> 22 cpd – 34-inch TV
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16:9
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30 cpd – 31-inch TV
> 22 cpd – 42-inch TV
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720-line
1080-line
30 cpd – 70-inch TV
> 22 cpd – 96-inch TV
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thus Consumer Reports
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
eight-foot diagonal
Exceptions to the Lechner Distance
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TV shoppers stand much
closer than the Lechner
Distance
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control-room viewing
distance might be 4 feet
at that distance, 1080 lines
demand a >31-inch screen
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Vision-based monitor shopping
Sony BVM-D14H5U
U.S. List Price
$5,925.00
Sony BVM-D32E1WU
U.S. List Price $39,065.00
Sony PVM-14L1
U.S. List Price $697.00
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Reason for more display resolution
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NTSC on a CRT:
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active line time – 52.5 µs
video bandwidth – 4.2 MHz
4.2x52.5=220.5cycles/line
441 TV lines/picture width
half-pixel shift works
fixed-pixel displays:
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nominal 16:9 ED – 852 pels
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half-pixel shift fails
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426 maximum to prevent
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Pixel matching vs. scaling
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Pixel matching:
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Theoretically, a 1920x1080
camera feeding a display
of 1920x1080 would have a
pixel-for-pixel match, and
there would be no halfpixel shifts.
5% overscan changes to
1824x1026
Scaling (it will happen):
overscan
> 1080i vs. 720p
> fixed-pixel counts (J&R):
1365/6 x 768
1920 x 1080
1280 x 768
1280 x 1024
1024 x 768
1024 x 1024
1280 x 720
800 x 600
852/3 x 480
640 x 480
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Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Consumer demand for HDTV
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Voom (RIP)-35 HD channels
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began October 2003
~40,000 subscribers 4/05
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Japan –plasma 80% HDTV
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Australia – 3/29/05:
plasma TVs – huge growth
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2003 – about 70% HDTV
2004 – about 40% HDTV
conclusions: thin is in,
cheap is nice
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small rooms
STB models – 67 SD, 19 HD
iDTT TVs – 21 SD, 5 HD
ABC2 - ABC 1080 to 576
CEA – 3/22 – half want HD
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DTV “term used” for HDTV
consumers prefer HD but won’t pay for it
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
What about the numbers?
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Nielsen TVHH – 109.6M
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homes
2003 surveys – 20-40M HD
CEA 12/31/04 – 16.1M ‘DTV’
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+ multi-, dorms,
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factory sales, not in homes
~85% HD, 66% wide, 12% DTT
12/31/04 HH estimates:
~10M HD-screen,~3M HD
CEA ‘DTV’ = 480p-up or DTT
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NTSC H-rate = 15,734 Hz
‘DTV’ = 31,468 Hz for CRT
ATSC ‘HDTV’=1920x1080*
HDCAM,D9HD,DVCPROHD NG
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CEA ‘HDTV’ = 1080 lines*
‘HDTV’=33,716 Hz for CRT
* also 720-line versions
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Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
It is important to shoot HDTV
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MTF Curve
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affected by lens,
camera, & filtering;
not by recording,
editing, & distribution
detail fineness
- more contrast
- finer detail
sharpness is proportional
to the square of the area
under a curve plotting
contrast ratio against
detail resolution fineness
(modulation-transfer
function)
which looks sharper?
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
HDTV lenses and cameras lift MTF
c
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exaggerated
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little area under the toe
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SD
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HD
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detail fineness
nominal 1080i: 1920 H pels
HDCAM: 1440 luma
D9HD, DVCPROHD: 1280
much area under
shoulder
HD sharpness visible even
on analog VHS
CNet: viewers find NTSC on
fixed-pixel HD displays “awful”
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Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Aspect ratio
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CEA: 66% of “digital TVs”
are widescreen (growing)
wide: 16:9, 5:3, 8:5, 3:2
HDTV screens are also 4:3
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27-, 32-, 36-, & 40-inch CRT
many LCD
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letterbox lacks overscan
no standard signaling:
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fat/skinny pictures
chopped pictures
framed pictures
Samsung
TX-P2764X
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
HDTV transition: bear in mind at NAB
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Buying cameras or lenses? Go HD!
Buying a master monitor? Probably go HD
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Buying anything else? Consider all factors
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need to see impolite animals
price, politics, pass-through, etc. (Passion in “HD”)
for recorders, editing, routing, master control, etc.
Monitor non-HD & 4:3.
Consider Rec. 709 vs. Rec. 601 colorimetry.
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
5.1-channel surround is good, but…
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CEA 1/1/05 – 33% HTS
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up from 32% on 1/1/04
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could be 5.1
could also be 4, 4.1, etc.
67% non-home-theater
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may lack center speaker
access issue (as with HD)
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Dinosaur movie
VHS problem:
tiptoes instead
of thuds
4-channel surround:
center & surround have
opposite stereo polarities
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
sound transition: bear in mind at NAB
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be prepared for “dialnorm” (required by law)
look for conversion systems, multichannel
encoders (for recording and distribution),
monitoring equipment
remember there is no urgency (except dialnorm)
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no rule, regulation, or deadline requires 5.1
consumer equipment will change whatever you do
Mark Schubin, 2005 April 15
Remember the A.L.A.M.O.
(audience left after mythology’s over)
and Enjoy NAB!