Dolby Podcast Episode 38, April 10, 2008
Craig shares how to transition to digital television in the U.S. in 2009. Listener, Joshua, phones in with a question about home videos in MiniDV on his TV.
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Mentioned in this Episode
[music]
Jack Buser: Hello, and welcome to Dolbycast, the insider's guide to entertainment technology from the experts at Dolby Laboratories. I'm Jack Buser.
Craig Eggers: And I'm Craig Eggers.
Jack: We're here to give you the straight talk on everything you need to please your ears.
Craig: Everything you need to please your ears. I love the way you say that, man.
Jack: You love that intro.
Craig: That's good stuff.
Jack: What's up, Craig? How are you doing today?
Craig: I'm doing good. How are you, Jack?
Jack: I'm doing good. Definitely, I'm hanging in there.
Craig: We want to remind all of our listeners that there's two ways to contact us.
Jack: Yes, dolbycast@dolby.com.
Craig: That's one way.
Jack: And everyone's favorite phone number.
Craig: 1-888-6DOLBYC.
Jack: That's the letter C. That is the weirdest phone number.
Craig: It so weird. You wouldn't think people would get it, but actually they do.
Jack: I know. It's just one of those things that just roll off the tongue: 1-888-6DOLBYC. We just thought we'd throw that 6 in there.
Craig: We'd like to thank our IT group for that wonderful number.
Jack: Thank you very much. Well, listen, big shout-out to everybody out there, all our listeners. IT group, whoop-whoop, thanks for the phone number.
If you got any questions, please give us a call, please send us an email. We love to get your questions. Actually, the phone questions are quickly becoming my favorite.
Craig: Are they? It's a new toy.
Jack: Yes, it's kind of cool. It's like a new toy. Again, that's 1-888-6DOLBYC.
Craig: And we actually have...
Jack: We have another one, don't we?
Craig: We have another one.
Jack: A lright, let's let it play.
Caller 1: Hey guys love the show. I have a question for Jack. Jack, I've got, I think, it was the first Sony hi-def camera that records to the hard drive in the AVCHD format. What I'm looking for is a media extender to get that content to my TV.
I've got a ton of home movies my daughters would love to watch, but the only alternative right now to get it on my TV is either to put it all back on the camera that I've downloaded, and hook the camera to the TV, or burn it to Blu-ray disc and then you need a Blu-ray player.
Thanks, I love the show, guys. I found you guys from the HT Guys. Keep up the good work. Bye now.
Craig: So, Jack, I'm not going to answer the question.
Jack: Because it was specifically for me.
Craig: It was specifically addressed for Jack. So, ladies and gentleman, Mr. Interactivity. Take it away, Jack.
Jack: Listen, Joshua, we did some research. I have one of the first Sony hi-def cameras, but I went with MiniDV. So, I don't have direct experience with AVCHD hard drive-based camcorders, but I feel your pain.
We did some research on the Internet, and we think we found a couple of media extenders for you. To be honest with you, I'm not too familiar with these brands. But, you might want to check out the Tomacro. They've got a model, the LIM HD200I. There's another brand, Tvix. They have the Tvix HD M-4100SH.
But I've got to tell you, I love that you asked this question to me, because the third solution I have for you is literally the solution I have for everything, including world hunger, at this point.
[laughter]
Craig: What's that, Jack?
Jack: And that is a Playstation 3, because the Playstation 3...
Craig: Not only gives you BD-Live interactivity …
Jack: Not only gives you BD-Live interactivity, but the Playstation 3, as I understand, supports AVCHD. Again, I haven't done this myself, but you should be able to fire up your computer and install some kind of UPnP or DLNA client on there, like TwonkyVision or anything like that.
That basically allows your computer to be seen by the home network. I'm sure that if you're looking at media center extenders, you already know all about this. Your Playstation 3 will just see your computer, and then you should be able to just play those AVCHD files over your home network through your Playstation 3 as a media extender.
Now, a couple of points here, though. Number 1: AVCHD files are big. We're talking really big. So, if you're trying to do a Wi-Fi-based home network, wireless, it probably won't be able to handle the size of these files. You'll have to copy them over to your Playstation 3 hard drive and then play them. Or, if you have a wired home network that's fast enough, you might be able to play them directly off the PC.
But again, I've never done any of this. So, at you're at your own risk, I guess, but I can't imagine the Playstation 3 wouldn't be able to do this.
Craig: We should tell our listener to try all those things and then call us back.
Jack: Let us know.
Craig: Talk to Jack when he calls.
[laughter]
Jack: Listen, Joshua. That's a great question. It's definitely stretching the limits of what I know. But, I think, the answer to your problem, like the answer to so many problems, is the Playstation 3.
Craig: It sounds like Joshua really has it going on there. It's very cool.
Jack: Absolutely. Enjoy that camera. And it makes me want to actually buy one of those cameras, because now that I'm thinking about this, I really just want to set that up at my house and do that.
Craig: The wheels are turning.
Jack: Yeah, totally, because all my stuff is on DV tape. So, it would just be cool to film on a hard drive-based camcorder, then copy the files over to your PC and just stream them over your home network to your PS3. That's perfect.
Craig: So, Jack, February 17, 2009 is a big, big date here in the United States. We're going to come back and talk about that in just a minute.
Jack: A lright, we're going to find out why.
[music]
Braden Russell: Hi, I'm Braden Russell.
Ara Derderian: And I'm Ara Derderian. Together we're the HT Guys.
Braden: You're listening to the Dolbycast, and if you've got a question about audio, where do you sent it?
Ara: To dolbycast@dolby.com.
[music]
Jack: And we're back here at Dolbycast. Craig, you threw out a date earlier. What was that date?
Craig: That date was February 17, 2009.
Jack: So, right after Valentine's Day next year.
Craig: Right after Valentine's Day. A good Valentine's Day gift would be to purchase for your honey...
Jack: A set-top box. And why would you ever want to do that?
[laughter]
Craig: Actually, the fact is, on February 17, 2009, the majority of the analog broadcasting here in the United States is actually going to cease.
Jack: They're going to shut it off.
Craig: They're going to shut it off.
Jack: So, what does that mean? Let's say I've got an old TV set with the rabbit ears.
Craig: The rabbit ears and the bow-tie.
Jack: Right. I'm picking up TV over the air. Maybe that TV is up in the kids' bedroom or whatever. I'm just picking up over the air TV. You're telling me next year, right after Valentine's Day, it'll just turn to fuzz?
Craig: February 17. It'll just turn to fuzz.
Jack: What's going on?
Craig: Well, here in the United States, we're transitioning from an analog broadcasting standard to digital. There are lots of benefits to that. Obviously with digital you're going to get better picture. For the broadcasters and the government, you're utilizing less bandwidth, so we can open up more frequencies for emergency services.
Jack: Emergency services and stuff like that.
Craig: New technologies that deliver data and picture to handheld devices, GPS in the future.
Jack: Because the digital television broadcasting is much more efficient than the old analog standard. So, they figure let's free up some bandwidth, we'll shut off the old analog stuff, and then flip on digital TV, or DTV.
Craig: Broadcasters have been broadcasting digital signals for the past couple of years, simultaneous with their analog signals. But, on February 17 next year, all of the analog broadcasting for the most part goes away with one exception. We'll talk about that later.
Jack: Is DTV HDTV? That's my question.
Craig: Well, HDTV is part of DTV, the standard is digital television and you have x amount of bandwidth that's allocated for delivering a picture and complimentary sound, which happens to be Dolby Digital, by the way.
Jack: Right. Right. Right. Right.
Craig: Exactly. So what you do with that bandwidth is really up to the broadcaster. There is something called simulcasting, or actually it's called multi-casting where potentially you could have 4 standard definition DVD quality programs being broadcast at the same time.
Jack: Right.
Craig: Or in place of that you could have one big fat HDTV signal delivering huge picture quality.
Jack: So, today, you can buy a TV that's capable of picking up these DTV stations that are already being broadcast...
Craig: Over the air.
Jack: What do you look for? How do you know that you got a TV that can do that?
Craig: Well, it's going to have a DTV-certified sticker on it. It's going to have an ATSC tuner. Advanced Television Standards Committee. That's our format for high definition here in the United States.
Jack: Yes.
Jack: So I'm hearing 1,600 TV stations already up and running. So you just put up rabbit ears and you can pick up HDTV over the air.
Craig: And some people really rave about the quality of it. It's really good.
Jack: When you say really...really good?
Craig: It's really good over the air. If definitely is and not only do you get...
Jack: OK. Look I'm like I guess most people. I have cable or satellite or whatever. Why do I want over the air? How many people are actually watching TV over the air?
Craig: Some of your enthusiasts that live in the city that live very, very close to an antenna, because you are receiving that signal direct off that antenna. When you send it to a DBS provider or potentially to a cable provider, they are taking that signal, re-modulating and sending it back out again.
Jack: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Craig: So, you are getting that signal direct from the tower itself…
Jack: That's pretty cool.
Craig:... so in a lot instances you can get a better picture quality through a broadcast environment than you might get through a different type of transmission standard.
Jack: Now I bet there are a lot of people and I wonder if there are any of our listeners here who do have like a second TV in another room, maybe in the kitchen or whatever with the rabbit ears. Do they throw that TV away next February or what's the deal?
Craig: Good question. What's happening is, to make this transition go a lot smoother, the government is helping the consumer to acquire converter boxes…
Jack: Yes.
Craig:... that will receive the digital signal over the air and convert it to a signal that can be displayed on a traditional analog television set.
Jack: Right, Right. Now, this is my favorite part.
Craig: OK.
Jack: Tell me about how I get the check from the government.
[laughter]
Craig: It's not a check. It's not a check.
Jack: What's going on? What's the deal?
Craig: It's a coupon.
Jack: Tell me what the deal is. How do I get, because I just paid taxes and I'm ready to....
Craig: Ready to collect.
[laughter]
Jack: I'm ready to collect here. What' going on? What's the government doing?
Craig: The government is giving you a $40 coupon.
Jack: This is the US government, we should say.
Jack: All of what we are talking about here let me be very clear. These are United States issues.
Craig: It's not a check. Right? It's a coupon. Right?
Jack: It is a coupon. So, for our overseas listeners, some countries have already shut off the analog broadcasts. Is that true?
Craig: That's true. That's true.
Jack: So they've already gone through this.
Craig: Some countries have gone through it and other countries in Europe are in this transition period.
Jack: OK.
Jack: Now let's get back to the important part which is: how do I get my check?
Craig: How do you get your check? You're not going to get a check.
Jack: What's the deal?
Craig: So, there are set-top boxes already in the market place here in the United States that are converter boxes that, as I said earlier will take that high definition signal and...
Jack: Or digital.
Craig: …d igital signal that's probably the best thing.
Jack: Because remember high definition is different.
Craig: Yes. Exactly.
Jack: It's not different but...
Craig: It's a form of digital.
Jack: Right.
Craig: It's a form of the digital broadcast standard. It's...
Jack: Some of the boxes, yes, will do HDTV, but not all of them, right?
Craig: Well, all of the boxes will receive a digital television signal. And they will convert that signal into a manageable signal that we can display on a regular analog television set.
So you would connect your antenna to this converter box and the converter box would have an output on it. It might be composite video, it might be S-video or it might be just standard RF channel 2 or channel 3, channel 4.
So you'll connect that to your television set. What happens is the digital set-top box will take that digital signal coming in, convert it to an analog signal for display on our television set. You'll actually get a better picture than you would have received if you were still connected to a regular receiver receiving analog broadcasts.
Jack: Interesting, but it still doesn't answer my question which is: how do I get my money?
[laughter]
Craig: How do you get your money?
Jack: What's the deal here?
Craig: A couple ways.
Jack: I keep hearing this thing about how I can get...
Craig: OK. So the set...
Jack: …get 40 bucks of whatever.
Craig: The set-top boxes are in the marketplace. There...
Jack: I just saw one at Radio Shack, already.
Craig: Yes, Radio Shack, Circuit City, Best Buy. They are going to be carrying the boxes. Your...
Jack: Amazon has them.
Craig: Yeah. And your local retailer, the.
Jack: Target...
Craig: Yeah...
Your favorite retailer will most likely have these set-top boxes and there's a number of them from a number of different providers.
OK, the set-top boxes average around $50-60 and they go north of that also, depending on the feature set.
Jack: OK, so if I...
Craig: The government has basically said, we're going to give you a coupon for $40 that you can redeem against the purchase price of these set-top boxes.
Jack: So I get to get gear... Let me get this straight. Because this is just too cool.
[laughter]
Craig: If it's gear and it's free, huh...
Jack: The government is going to essentially subsidize my gear lust.
Craig: No, it's not free. Exactly.
Jack: Whoa.
Craig: Yeah.
Jack: Why doesn't this happen more often?
Craig: They're not going to do that for your PS3 by the way.
Jack: I was going to say.
Craig: No, they're not going to do that. They're not going to do that.
Jack: I just really need a new game console. So what do you do? How do you get your $40? How do you get your... I guess what is it? Is it a check? Is it a coupon? It's a coupon. How do I get my coupon?
Craig: You're going to get a coupon, you're going to take it in to your local retailer. You're give that to the retailer and based upon the price of the actual set-top box, you are going to pay the difference. It could be $9. It could be $19. It could be something more.
Jack: It depends what is on the box. Where do I go to get my coupon?
Craig: For the analog people in our audience, they have a phone. [The phone number is: 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009). All options are listed on the DTV2009 FAQ page under “Coupon Program: Getting a Coupon”. –Ed.]
Jack: Yeah.
Craig: The phone number is much better than ours, by the way.
[laughter]
Jack: Which by the way is 888-6DOLBYC.
Craig: There you go. Had to work that in.
Jack: Yes, had to work that in.
Craig: So, for people who want to contact the government, it's 888-DTV-2009.
Jack: Ooh, that's the year. 888-DTV-2009.
Craig: Isn't that cool?
Jack: 1-888-DTV-2009.
Craig: Yeah, that works. Now...
Jack: It's not as cool as 1-888-6DOLBYC. That is like the greatest phone number ever.
Craig: Now, if you are interactive Jack Buser and you happen to own a PC.
Jack: Yes. Yes. Yes.
Craig: You are listening to this Podcast.
Jack: I was going to say. I was about to say.
Craig: www.dtv2009.gov.
Jack: Oh.
Craig: OK. Go to the website and you can fill out an application form and you can get as many as 2 set-top boxes.
Jack: Two coupons.
Craig: Two coupons, yeah.
Jack: Each household gets 2 coupons worth $40 each.
Craig: Exactly.
Jack: So if I got two TV sets, I can... Now, can I use both coupons for one set-top box.
Craig: No.
Jack: Dang.
Craig: One coupon for one box, Jack.
Jack: OK. I really like this. This is like trend that I hope to see more of.
Craig: I don't think so.
Jack: I like this. This is very cool. And you are saying if I get the right kind of box I can actually get enthusiast-quality picture.
Craig: Well, that's... Yeah, you are going to get... First of all you are going to get picture quality that potentially has the same quality as a DVD.
Jack: Wow.
Craig: You know? Because you digital broadcast over the air is going to be converted to higher resolution analog signal. So better picture quality. I expect and I really hope, Jack, that some of the more high-end versions of these boxes will have a digital audio output on them. Because as you remember, as you recall, Dolby Digital is part of the broadcast standard for high definition in the United States.
Jack: It is the audio standard.
Craig: It is. Yeah.
Jack: It is the audio standard.
Craig: It is, it is. Yeah. So you might have a stereo single, it would be Dolby Digital, but more importantly...
Jack: You can get 5.1 Dolby Digital.
Craig:... you can watch Lost in 5.1. Yeah.
Jack: This blows me away. How do you get high-definition picture and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound over the air to a set of rabbit ears?
Craig: It's magic.
Jack: That's magic!
Craig: It's magic. Yeah.
Jack: I mean, I do enough home networking to know that that's no joke, and they're shooting this through the air.
Craig: Yeah. You're looking at data rates of almost 20 megabits per second for this. Yeah.
Jack: How do you do that?
Craig: I don't know, ask the broadcast guys.
Jack: [laughter] That's pretty amazing, if you think about it.
Craig: We'll bring them in, right?
Jack: Not to mention there's more than one channel of it, right?
Craig: Yeah. Yeah.
Jack: Man, that is too cool.
Craig: So back to my point...
Jack: I mean, it's a bunch of channels of HDTV.
Craig: Yeah.
Jack: All 5.1 audio.
Craig: Ladies and gentlemen, this guy is fascinated.
Jack: I'm absolutely fascinated. I mean, I have an electrical engineering degree and I studied some RF, enough to know that is... wow.
Craig: Yeah.
Jack: That's very cool.
Craig: That's very cool.
Jack: OK, so...
Craig: All right, so let's go back. As I said earlier, Dolby Digital is the broadcast audio standard, so hopefully in the future these set-top boxes that you might be able to choose from will have a digital audio output. For those of you who are still receiving signals over the air, you can take that box, connect it up to your home theatre system, and enjoy Lost in 5.1.
Jack: Very cool.
Craig: Yeah.
Jack: Very cool. So, give a set-top box...
Craig: Now...
Jack: OK.
Craig: Let's be clear, one thing. The basic set-top boxes that you buy are not going to afford you that opportunity. They're just going to take the signal, convert it to an analog stereo pair and analog video.
Jack: But not for me. Are there any with HDMI?
[laughter]
Jack: That's too cool. I'm totally going to do this; I'm going to get my coupon.
Craig: I did. Eight million people have already got their coupon, so get in line, buddy.
Jack: Is that true?
Craig: Yeah, it's true.
Jack: Oh my gosh, this is like the coolest thing.
Craig: Yeah. And the government and PBS and the broadcasters and everybody are really getting involved. The retailers are in this huge campaign to inform the consumer out there. So if you have a friend out there that's attached to rabbit ears and bowties and all the rest of that stuff, make sure you get out there and tell them that hey, next year things are going to change.
Jack: Listen, we're going to go to a break. When we come back, we're going to talk more about the DTV transition, what it means to you, what happens, what should you do, and how to get your money.
Jack: OK.
Craig: When we get right back.
Jack: How to get your coupon.
[laughter]
[music]
Announcer: You're listening to Dolbycast with Craig Eggers and Jack Buser. Email your questions to dolbycast@dolby.com. That's D-O-L-B-Y-C-A-S-T at dolby.com.
Jack: And we are back here at Dolbycast. We're talking about the DTV, digital TV transition. The analog TV that you know and love is getting shut off.
Craig: Well, the analog signal is getting shut off. Whether or not the TV gets shut off is up to you, Jack Buser.
Jack: Good point, good point.
Craig: Yes.
Jack: Well, after this podcast I tell you what. I am going to get my $40 coupon, two of them at that, and you know what? I've already decided that I'm going to try to find a set-top box...
Craig: Yes.
Jack:... with HDMI just so when I have my Super Bowl party, right? Because I am near, kind of near Sutro, I got line of sight to Sutro Tower, which is our big TV antenna here in San Francisco.
Craig: Yes.
Jack: If you see a photo of San Francisco, if you're not a San Francisco resident, you'll see this huge TV tower over the top of San Francisco up on a hill.
Craig: Yes.
Jack: Anyway. For the Super Bowl.
Craig: Why?
Jack: So I can get the really great over-the-air HD...
Craig: Do you have an analog TV set in your house?
Jack: No, no, no, but I'll be using...
Craig: Then you don't need this box.
Jack: No, no, no! You said... Look, here's why. This was the big debate. This is the big debate.
Craig: I said an analog TV. I didn't say HDTV. If you've got an HD television set, you could go out and buy a box today from Samsung. Sony used to offer them...
Jack: Yeah.
Craig:... that receives the ATSC signal and then outputs it like component video...
Jack: HDMI. That's what I want.
Craig:... directly into your HD television set. That's what you want.
Jack: Now, can I use my coupon for that one?
Craig: [laughs] No, you can't use your coupon for that!
Jack: Why?
Craig: Because you already own an HDTV set.
Jack: OK, OK, OK. All right. OK. Explain it to me.
Craig: Jack, you have enough money to purchase an HDTV set.
Jack: Correct.
Craig: You already have. The government is not going to subsidize your high-resolution, high-checkbook demands for video.
Jack: [laughs]
Craig: The purpose of this program, Jack, is to help those people who own analog television sets who traditionally have been connected to over-the-air broadcasts...
Jack: Oh.
Craig:... who have not invested yet into an HDTV set to enable them to still have a great picture, get signal transmission, as we make this transition from analog broadcasting to digital. OK?
Jack: So you can't use the coupon for... [laughs]
Craig: The government's not going to subsidize your interactive, you know, cutting-edge, leading-edge desires for high technology.
Jack: That's so depressing! This is depressing now. [laughs]
Craig: OK? Have you got it? Have you got it?
Jack: I think, I got it.
Craig: OK.
Jack: That's not nearly as cool as I thought it would be.
Craig: All right. So for your projector, Jack, there are ATSC tuners out there that you could purchase...
Jack: Oh, man.
Craig:... and connect to your projector via component video and get a great HD signal coming off the tower.
Jack: I'm going HDMI. I'm going HDMI, you know me.
Craig: OK. Well.
Jack: And especially if you're going to go through the trouble of setting up the antenna just for those two events, you've got to go HDMI.
Craig: OK.
Jack: But I can't use my coupon.
Craig: You can't use your coupon.
Jack: Well listen, Craig. I have learned a lot.
Craig: There is no free money for Jack Buser.
Jack: [laughs] I have learned a lot here. I know, I was really excited about that, too.
Craig: So we got to talk about one other thing.
Jack: Well, there is...
Craig: A couple of other things, actually.
Jack: OK. Go ahead. Couple other things. I just wanted to clarify for folks out there, if you're worried about, you've got analog cable, let's say.
Craig: Yes.
Jack: And you're worried about, are they going to shut off my... This has nothing to do with cable and satellite.
Craig: Nothing to do with cable and satellite.
Jack: This only has to do with over-the-air transmission, right? So if you're a cable customer or you're a satellite customer, you have nothing to worry about, right?
Craig: Exactly. And the other thing we do want to clarify also is, in some communities they have low-power television.
Jack: Right.
Craig: And this analog cutoff does not apply to low-power television currently.
Jack: So, like local stations?
Craig: Well, very low power local stations. Sometimes they have repeater stations that bring the signal out to a more rural environment, et cetera.
Jack: Yeah. I see. OK, OK.
Craig: So if you live in an environment…and you probably know you have a low-power TV station in your neighborhood if you live in that neighborhood.
Jack: Yeah.
Craig: Now, low-power TV is expected to transition in the year 2011. Now, what you still want to do is you still want to go out and get that converter box.
Jack: Yeah. Get the box.
Craig: But what you're going to ask for is a box with analog pass-through. This is very important. Some of the boxes out there will not pass the analog signal through for you to receive the low-power TV signal.
Jack: Oh.
Craig: They'll only take the digital signal, convert it to analog. So if you live in an environment where you do have low-power television sets, or, low-power television broadcasters...
Jack: Oh.
Craig:... they may very well continue to send out that analog signal, and when you go shopping for your converter box make sure you look for a converter box that has analog pass-through.
Jack: Cool.
Craig: OK? That makes sense?
Jack: It does, it does. I got to say, this podcast has been bittersweet.
Craig: Because?
Jack: Because I thought I was going to get a coupon to go and get cool stuff.
Craig: At least you say "coupon", you didn't say "check" this time. [laughs]
Jack: That's true, that is true. But, you know, OK, I get it. I get what's going on. You know? See, I've already put 1080p's all around my house, so that means no free ride for me, huh?
Craig: No free ride.
Jack: Dang! Dang! Bittersweet, man.
Craig: But to our listeners, if you know somebody that has an analog television set, they're receiving over-the-air signals, one of the best things you could do is get out there and tell them about this transition.
Jack: Absolutely, and when I think, about it, my folks have a TV that.... and I bet they don't know about this. I'm going to make sure I give them a call after this and let them know.
So again, it's www.dtv2009.gov.
Craig: Yes.
Jack: And the number is, and I'm going to remember it off the top of my head...
Craig: The number is... You've got the number?
Jack:... because the number is so much better than ours. [laughs]
Craig: Yeah, it's so much better than ours.
Jack: Which is (888) DTV-2009, isn't it?
Craig: Yes. And what's our number?
Jack: And our number is (888) 6-DOLBYC.
Craig: DOLBYC. [laughs]
Jack: Give us a call, write us at dolbycast@dolby.com. We want to hear your questions and we want to hear your comments. And we'll see you next time.
[music]
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