Tech Talk

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HDTV SETS NOW IN OVER TWO-THIRDS
OF U.S. HOUSEHOLDS
Over Half of all Households Adopted HDTV in the Past Five Years


Durham, NH -- January 4, 2012 -- New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) found that 69% of households in the United States have at least one high definition television (HDTV) set -- up from 17% in 2006. Over the past five years, 52% of US households adopted HDTV.

In addition, 48% of HDTV households have more than one HDTV. Overall, about one-third of all US households now have multiple HDTV sets -- up from about one-sixth of all households two years ago, and 4% five years ago. Yet, about 45% of TV sets in HD households, and close to 60% of all TV sets in the US, are not HDTVs.

These findings are based on a survey of 1,302 households throughout the United States, and are part of a new LRG study, HDTV and 3D TV 2011. This is LRG's ninth annual study related to HDTV.

Other findings include:

• 85% with annual household incomes over $75,000 have an HDTV -- compared to 67% with annual household incomes of $30,000-$75,000, and 48% with annual household incomes under $30,000
• Mean reported spending on an HDTV set was about $940 -- 23% less than two years ago, and about half the reported spending five years ago
• Among those getting HD programming from a cable, satellite, or Telco TV provider, the perceived mean number of channels of HD programming is 75 -- up from 53 two years ago, and 28 five years ago
• Less than 3% of all US households currently have an HDTV set that is 3D-capable -- and 45% of this group do not watch any content in 3D
• Nearly 80% of adults in the US have heard of 3D TV -- of those who have heard of 3D TV, 5% are very interested in getting a 3D TV
• 21% of all households purchased a new TV set in the past 12 months, and 19% of all households plan to purchase a new TV set in the next 12 months

"In just the past five years, over half of all US households have adopted HDTV, bringing the total to nearly 70% of all households having at least one HDTV set" said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. "While lower prices have helped to expand the base of HD households, and those who have multiple HDTV sets, still close to 60% of all TV sets in US households are not HDTVs -- this provides ample opportunity for the sale of more HDTV sets going forward."

About Leichtman Research Group, Inc.

Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) specializes in research and analysis on broadband, media and entertainment industries. LRG combines on-going surveys and analysis with years of hands-on industry experience to provide companies with a richer understanding of the potential impact and adoption of new products and services. For more information about LRG, please call (603) 397-5400 or visitwww.LeichtmanResearch.com.

HDTV and 3D TV 2011 is based on a telephone survey of 1,302 adults age 18+ from throughout the continental US that was conducted in November 2011. The random sample of respondents was distributed and weighted to best reflect the demographic and geographic make-up of the US. The overall sample has a statistical margin of error of +/- 2.7%.

Click here to download a printable version (in PDF® format).

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Charter CEO: We're an ISP
Non-Video Subs More Than Double in Q3
Mike Farrell -- Multichannel News, 11/1/2011 2:49:16 PM

Mike Lovett

Charter Communications CEO Mike Lovett, in his first quarterly earnings conference call since announcing he will step down in April, added his voice to the growing throng of cable CEOs anointing broadband as their core business, telling analysts Tuesday morning that the St. Louis-based MSO sees itself more as an Internet service provider.

Charter CEO Mike LovettCharter has been one of the pioneers of selling voice and data-only service to households. And in the third quarter, that leadership was even more prominent, with non-video subscribers rising by 54,900 while basic video customers fell by 65,000.

In a research note, ISI Group media analyst Vijay Jayant wrote the rise in non-video customers shows that the MSO is "taking a pragmatic approach to the continued headwinds it's seeing in selling video products."

That approach appears to be continuing with Charter's announcement Tuesday that it will launch a product later this month that will allow customers to search for content on Netflix, Amazon and Hulu as well as video available directly from the cable operator.

Lovett added that a test in the second quarter with Dish Network to sell voice and data service to Dish satellite TV customers in certain markets has been successful and Charter began marketing the Dish partnership across its entire footprint at the end of the third quarter.

"The video business has its challenges," Lovett said on the call. "It's still a significant part of our business, so we're not abandoning it by any means. We do see ourselves, and the mantra inside the company is to think of ourselves, as an ISP. I think that not only drives the strength of our superior broadband product but also supports the video business and other services over time, particularly as the infrastructure evolves to all IP."

Lovett isn't exactly alone. Video subscribers have been declining across the cable industry since 2002. At the same time broadband customers have been rising at a rapid pace.

Last May, Time Warner Cable chairman and CEO Glenn Britt declared broadband its core product.

In the third quarter, video revenue accounted for about half of overall revenue, according to chief financial officer Christopher Winfrey. Most analysts suspect that video will fall below 50% of total revenue for Charter by 2013.

On the financial front, Charter had a solid quarter. Revenue of $1.81 billion slightly beat consensus estimates of $1.8 billion and cash flow of $653 million was in-line with expectations.

The St. Louis MSO soundly beat consensus estimates for high-speed Internet growth, adding 53,000 in the period versus expectations of 45,000 additions. Phone additions of 10,900 were below expectations, but in line with the performance of its peers.

Investors seemed to be encouraged by the results, especially in the wake of disappointing third quarter performance from Time Warner Cable and Cablevision last week, driving Charter shares up 2.4% ($1.08) to $47.02 in afternoon trading.

*The above article was published by Research Brief and reflects the opinion of the author www.mediapost.com.

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NOTE FROM HEP: The above article was published by Multichannel News and reflects the opinion of the author Mike Farrell.

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Hal Protter, Chairperson
NATAS Technology & Engineering Committee
Office 805-529-0742  Cell 314-708-3696     
[email protected]

ATSC 3.0 Plans for Television's Future
by Bob Kovacs, 10.18.2011

WASHINGTON—It was just two years ago that high-powered TV stations in the U.S. turned off their analog transmitters for good and rode the digital wave into the future. Much of the dust from that event has settled and, although the past two years haven't been stellar for broadcasters, the transition was not nearly as painful as some had predicted.

Mark Richer, ATSC President

One of the forces behind the transition is the standards body once known as the Advanced Television Standards Committee and now known as the Advanced Television Systems Committee. The ATSC, based in Washington, has turned its attention again to the future of television by working on a new standard called ATSC 2.0—and is looking beyond that to an ATSC 3.0 standard.

MITIGATING FACTORS

Technology of the future is a rapidly moving target, so there is not yet a definite date for the completion of ATSC 2.0, and ATSC 3.0 is much further out.

"Based upon the work of our planning team on Next Generation Broadcast Television (NGBT) led by Jim Kutzner [of PBS], the ATSC board has formed a new technology group to develop the NGBT suite of standards," said Mark Richer, president of the ATSC. "The time frame for completion and implementation is highly dependent on the regulatory, technology and business environment."

Richer had some thoughts on how a final standard might shape up.

"ATSC 3.0 is not likely to be backwards compatible and therefore must provide improvements in performance, functionality and efficiency significant enough to warrant the transition to a new system," he said.

Kutzner is the senior director for advanced technology at PBS, with decades of broadcast experience. He will work with broadcasters and engineers across the U.S. and the world to put together a team to study the issues and ultimately produce a standard. The ATSC 3.0 committee will be known as the Technology and Standards Group 3 or "TG3" for short, and membership in TG3 is open to all participating ATSC members.

Jim Kutzner

An early idea of what the future might hold for the process of developing new standards is likely to happen at the "Future of Broadcast Television Summit," to be held next month in Shanghai, China. Both Richer and Kutzner are expected to be among the leaders at that conference, which will be attended by top-echelon planners and engineers from major broadcasters and TV standards bodies from around the world.

ARC OF THE PROCESS

Without a team assembled or formal meetings scheduled, Kutzner knows that it's impossible to pin down the end of a process that has yet to begin, but he has some thoughts on the arc that the process will take.

"We first need to establish the system requirements, i.e., what do we [collectively] want and need this new system to do?," he said. "Then we need to establish a set of potential candidate technologies for the various portions of the new system that can meet the requirements, and the new system will build in layers in the same manner as the current system."

 

Most of the big cellular carriers now provide television services to their customers in direct competition to over-the-air broadcasters, and ATSC 3.0 will take time to examine that shifting relationship between broadcasters and viewers.

"The current ATSC standard already includes broadcast to mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablets, and this will be an important aspect of any new system," Kutzner said. "Whether we should move the physical layer [the transmission system] toward other mobile services is a topic that the planning team began to address, but TG3 needs to explore further. There is tremendous efficiency in broadcast (one to everyone) and we don't want to abandon that ideal, but there may be good reasons to incorporate physical layer elements or concepts from other delivery technologies."

Verizon, AT&T and other wireless carriers are too big to go away anytime soon and they see delivery of programming as another revenue stream for their growing networks. Some in the industry would like the ATSC 3.0 committee to invite these wireless carriers to the conference table.

Gregory J. Herman

"We believe that there is an exceptionally bright future for collaborative services, provided by existing broadcasters, in concert with other wireless services, if we as an industry are able to quickly embrace the concept and begin deploying the transmission infrastructure," said Gregory J. Herman, president of Spectrum Evolution, an organization formed by a combination of low-power broadcasters and telecom executives.

"Much has been written about the absolute need for a broadcast architecture to be included in any next generation mobile broadband deployment, to create real efficiencies in the transmission of live video and/or commonly consumed content." Herman said. "As opposed to eviscerating the broadcast industry with oppressive re-packing and auction strategies that may yield no tangible benefits to the public for a decade or more, imagine the real benefits if existing broadcasters were in effect, broadcasting local content, commonly consumed data and video to all devices, both fixed and mobile."

No matter how ATSC 3.0 develops, Herman sees the need to make a clean break with the current ATSC 1.0 standard.

"Given the how, when and why, the existing ATSC standard was developed, departing from any attempt to maintain backwards compatibility with it is probably essential for it to be truly successful," he said. "ATSC 3.0, whatever it actually becomes, needs to represent the absolute best-of-the-best in technology, features and performance."

As he looks into a future process of meetings, reports, investigations and testing, Kutzner also recognizes the promise and the quicksand that lay hidden on either path. When do you abandon something familiar and functional, and how can you promise that a laboratory-tested technology can meet real-world expectations?

"A new non-backward-compatible system must be worth the expense, the time, and the effort," Kutzner said. "We believe that significant bandwidth efficiency can be achieved through a number of means, that image and aural quality can leap well past HD, and that new features can be implemented."

"Whether these add up to a new system worthy of the effort is something that the industry will need to decide," he said.

*The above article was published by TV Technology and reflects the opinion of the author Bob Kovacs is a television engineer and video producer. He can be reached at [email protected].

Hal Protter, Chairperson
NATAS Technology & Engineering Committee
Office 805-529-0742  Cell 314-708-3696     
[email protected]

90% of TV Viewing Live Even With
DVRs in 44% of Households
Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011

A According to new consumer research from Leichtman Research Group, about 44% of American TV households now have at least one digital video recorder, up from 8% in 2005, and 62% digital cable subscribers now use video-on-demand at least monthly versus 52% a year ago. However, about 90% of all TV viewing in the U.S. is still via live TV, says the report.

In addition, 73% of all digital cable subscribers have ever used Video on-Demand, with 87% of this group having watched an on-Demand program or movie in the past month. Overall, about 62% of digital cable subscribers used on-Demand in the past month, compared to 52% last year.

Additional significant findings show that:

• 80% of DVR owners rate the service 8-10 (with 10 being excellent), compared to 80% last year, and 77% two years ago
• 62% of cable VOD users rate the service 8-10 compared to 60% last year, and 55% two years ago
• 74% of Premium on-Demand users rate VOD 8-10, compared to 54% of non-POD users
• 63% of all Netflix subscribers rate the Watch Instantly feature 10 (on a 1-10 scale with 10 being an extremely important feature or benefit of the Netflix service), compared to 48% last year, and 37% two years ago
• 20% of Netflix subscribers use Watch Instantly daily, and 57% weekly, while last year 10% used Watch Instantly daily, and 43% weekly
• 78% of Watch Instantly users use it to watch movies and TV shows on a TV set
• 86% of Netflix households subscribe to a multi-channel video service, and 43% with a multi-channel video service subscribe to a premium service, similar to all households in the sample, and similar to Netflix households last year
• These findings are based on a survey of over 1,300 households throughout the United States, and are part of LRG’s study, On-Demand TV 2011: A Nationwide Study on VOD and DVRs.

More information may be found in the LRG PDF file available here.

We use the term research in the broadest possible sense. We do not perform an audit, nor do we analyze the data for accuracy or reliability. Our intention is to inform you of the existence of research materials and so we present reports as they are presented to us. The only requirements we impose are that they are potentially useful and relevant to our readers and that they pass the rudimentary test of relying on acceptable industry standards. We explicitly do not take responsibility for the findings. Please be aware of this and check the source for yourself if you intend to rely on any of the data we present.

*The above article was published by Research Brief and reflects the opinion of the author www.mediapost.com.

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NOTE FROM HEP: The data below shows that the percentage of households who view television “on demand” have a growing satisfaction of the offerings.

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Hal Protter, Chairperson
NATAS Technology & Engineering Committee
Office 805-529-0742  Cell 314-708-3696     
[email protected]

A ‘Contrived’ Broadband Crisis, Indeed
October 13th, 2011 | Author: phputman

A news story in the Wednesday 10/12 edition of the New York Times announced that the Federal Communications Commission is partnering with Best Buy’s Geek Squad to teach Americans how to use the Internet and take full advantage of broadband services that are available to them.

According to the story, only 68% of Americans are taking advantage of broadband access. The author of the article compares that rate unfavorably to South Korea, where over 90% of Koreans use available broadband services.

The source of that statistic is not provided. But it’s a big “Uh Oh!” for the FCC, whose chairman Julius Genachowski has been on a one-man crusade to convince everyone that we have a wireless broadband spectrum crisis in the United States, and that TV stations should willingly give up 120 MHz of UHF TV channels (basically everything above channel 31) to address this ‘crisis.’

His clarion calls have also been parroted by the head of the Consumer Electronics Association, Gary Shapiro. Neither individual has provided substantive proof to back up their claims, leading many of us industry analysts to believe that the impetus for this fabricated crisis is being driven by telecoms like Verizon and AT&T at the expense of millions of Americans who rely on free, over-the-air digital TV as a counter to high-priced cable TV subscription plans.

Three reasons were cited in the article for the reluctance or refusal of 32% of Americans to sign up for and take advantage of ‘available’ broadband services to surf the Web. The first was the cost of Internet services and the cost of computers. Number two was not knowing how to use a computer, and number three was ‘not understanding why the Internet is relevant.’

The plan is for Geek Squad staff to partner with service organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs, Goodwill and 4-H in 20 cities to offer training in basic computer literacy. Microsoft is also on-board, and will offer training in stores, schools, and libraries.

Now, I am not not by nature a political animal. But this seems like a waste of taxpayer money to me, particularly if Best Buy is deriving any benefit from the program.

Mr. Chairman: Have you not been reading the papers lately? (Sorry, I should have said ‘reading the on-line news sites.’) There are hundreds of thousands of newly-minted college graduates who cannot find jobs that pay decently, and are taking whatever work they can find to cover their monthly bills and student loans.

I’ll bet a sizable number are quite computer-literate and would be quite happy to instruct Americans about the ecstasies of ordering from Amazon, friending on Facebook, and streaming from Netflix, in return for a modest stipend from Washington, DC. Sort of a “Bits Corps” program, if you will. Why not put them to work? Best Buy doesn’t need the money.

I’d also like to mention that I know a few people who spend little or no time on the Internet, and have acquaintances that don’t even own a computer. They have no interest in surfing the Web and are quite happy functioning in what to them is a ‘normal’ world. Call them Luddites if you will, but they are co-existing with us ‘connected’ folks quite nicely.

It should not be the federal government’s job to make sure 100% of Americans know how to use a computer and do so on a regular basis. That is a choice for individual citizens to make. If Washington wants to establish an outreach program to help citizens get over a technology learning curve ‘hump’ so they can then make use of broadband connectivity, fine. But let it be run by volunteers in the finest spirit of our country, not government-subsidized employees of a big box retailer.

As for the ‘wireless spectrum crisis;’ we’ve called you out on it, Mr. Genachowski. It is a claim fabricated out of whole cloth and you should just drop it and leave what’s left of the free broadcast TV spectrum alone. Stop penalizing financially-pressed Americans by taking away one of the very few really good deals left out there…free HDTV.

Nuff said!

*The above article was published by Peter Putman News and reflects the opinion of the author, http://www.hdtvexpert.com/?p=1516.

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NOTE FROM HEP: FCC Policy on broadband will influence broadcast television, especially employment levels. It is another case where the government is picking winners and losers, with broadcast television being the loser. The “crisis” assumes that every download and query has to be made on mobile broadband. If consumers are educated that large downloads are better done at home using WiFi to access their home internet connection, there would be even less chance of a broadband crisis and consumers would have lower wireless bills (in my opinion).

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Hal Protter, Chairperson
NATAS Technology & Engineering Committee
Office 805-529-0742  Cell 314-708-3696     
[email protected]

Cleveland Fox affiliate wants to go home
11 October, 2011 01:06:00

Local TV’s Fox WJW in Cleveland used to live on Channel 31, but it moved to Channel 8 during the DTV transition. Unfortunately, not all of the station’s over-the-air viewers were able to follow it there, particularly to the southeast of the transmitter, and it has asked the FCC to allow it to go back to Channel 31.

In making the request, the company said, “Viewers throughout the service area have complained about reception difficulties, and, consistent with viewer ratings, many of these complaints come from areas southeast of the Station’s transmitter.” Meanwhile, there have been no reported problems at all for the UHF channels in the Cleveland market.

Local TV, which operates the station under licensee name Community Television of Ohio License LLC, said that it is requesting Channel 31 because it still holds much of the equipment it used before to transmit at that dial location.

The FCC said it believes the request has merit and is putting it out for comment. The move would require an amendment to the Post-Transition Table of DTV Allotments, which comes under the heading of a rule-making. There is a 90-day window for mutually exclusive proposals. There will also be a comment period once notice of the proposal makes it into the Federal Register.

An earlier snag – interference with Class A WRAP-CA Cleveland on Channel 32, was averted when the licensee of that station requested a downgrade to low-power status and thereby surrendered its right to protection from interference.

*The above article was published in RBR-TVBR News and reflects to opinion of the author.

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NOTE FROM HEP: To the Cleveland over-the-air viewer, WJW will still be 8-1 due to PSIP, however viewers will have to re-scan. I would expect that some other stations that have previously elected to stay on their actual VHF frequencies will now elect to move to UHF if the spectrum is still available.

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Hal Protter, Chairperson
NATAS Technology & Engineering Committee
Office 805-529-0742  Cell 314-708-3696     
[email protected]

Visible World Upgrades To Deliver
Targeted Ads In HDVendor Works with Comcast Spotlight, Time Warner Cable Media

By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 7/28/2011 12:01:00 AM

Addressable-advertising vendor Visible World has largely completed an HD upgrade to its geographically targeted ad system, which reaches 55 million cable households, in cooperation with Comcast Spotlight, Time Warner Cable Media and other operators.

With the update, advertisers can now deliver HD commercials targeted to different ad zones within 76 of the top 100 largest TV markets. Before, the Visible World system was limited to standard-definition ads that needed to be upconverted to HD resulting in the letterbox effect.

Most of the work involved collaborating with cable operators to make sure an ad in one of three formats -- standard-definition, 720p HD or 1080i HD -- was correctly mapped to the right network in each individual system's traffic and billing system, said Walt Horstman, Visible World senior vice president of media solutions.

Visible World operates the Adtag and Adcopy services for cable operators. Adtag allows advertisers take a single commercial and customize it based on a geographic location according to cable ad zones (for example, letting a retailer add the address or telephone number of each location based on where the segment is shown). Adcopy allows advertisers to simultaneously run different spots within a campaign, across separate zones in a market or region.

Visible World now has more than 90% of the Adtag and Adcopy markets upgraded to HD, Horstman said. New York-based Visible World also upgraded its central processing facility, where it performs automated tagging, production work and encoding.

Advertisers can buy zone-targeted campaigns through NCC Media, the spot-cable sales firm that sells local inventory on behalf of cable, satellite and telco TV providers, as well as the national sales organizations of the operators.

Horstman said the targeted HD ads have been adopted by programmers for tune-in spots and premium auto advertisers.

Auto advertisers typically target different car models to different zones in a market, based on demographic data such as average income for a given zone. Tune-in promo advertisers target using different channel positions, day and date, and other criteria.

Cablevision is using the household-addressable capabilities of Visible World's system -- which is separate from the Adtag and Adcopy service -- to deliver different ads to individual subscribers based on demographic data. The MSO worked with GroupM and Visible World to deliver five different TV spots, in the same 30-second ad break across 25 cable networks, on behalf of unspecified brands in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The household-addressable system also now is capable of serving HD ads, Horstman said.

*The article above was published by Multichannel News and reflects personal opinions of the author. 

Hal Protter, Chairperson
NATAS Technology & Engineering Committee
Office 805-529-0742  Cell 314-708-3696     
[email protected]

Mixed Signals: Majority Not Ready For Internet-Connected TV
By Wayne Friedman, Yesterday, 11:44 AM

Consumers may be as indifferent to Internet-connected TVs as they are about 3D TVs.

A new study suggests a majority of consumers, 62%, "are not connected or not capable" and "most plan to stay that way," according to Knowledge Networks.

But those who are connected or fervent fans plan to dig deeper into new technology -- 21% of those capable plan to connect to a digital capable device next year. 8% of those who are not capable plan to get a connected device in the next year.

Of those already connected, Knowledge Networks says, two-thirds believe the quality of connected TVs are about the same, or better, than their regular TV reception. One-quarter of those cite watching TV shows through connected devices as their No. 1 choice.

But connected-TV viewers still have a yearning for old TV ways. Knowledge Networks say watching TV shows at their regular time is still their preference among all viewers.

As has been determined from other surveys, consumers of connected TV tend to be younger, better-educated, higher-income, heavy-technology users, as well as owning a diverse number of technologies/devices.

When using Internet-connected TVs, 10% of those consumers 13-64 watch TV programs; 11% watch movies (at least monthly) using a streaming service through a TV set. This increases to 17% to 18% among young viewers 13-31.

While video is most popular for connected TVs, search and Facebook are most frequently used Internet services. News services rank lower but still have good usage levels.

*The article above was published by Media Post and reflects personal opinions of the author. 

Hal Protter, Chairperson
NATAS Technology & Engineering Committee
Office 805-529-0742  Cell 314-708-3696     
[email protected]

NCTA 2011 CABLE SHOW
By Hal Protter -- NATAS-LGL, 6/20/2011

Last week I attended the NCTA Convention, also known as “The Cable Show” in Chicago. The found that the competitive positioning between the over-the-air broadcasters and the cable business has clearly changed with forward momentum being held by cable (my personal opinion). This is a result of both cable technology and of marketing and other business decisions made by the cable MSO’s. One highly visible indication of the change in competitive positioning is that the upfront dollars garnered by cable networks for the 2011-2012 season is the equivalent to or greater than the dollars garnered by the broadcast network (upfront dollars are not precisely measured by an impartial group and is a tally of network press releases and estimates by the press and the NCTA). The gains for cable are as a result of a combination of technical, marketing and even customer service reasons.

Cable systems are now actually selling interactivity to advertisers. The term for this is “advanced advertising”. A transparent partial overlay appears on the subscribers screen allowing the cable viewer to click on their remote control to request more information on a product and get discount coupons. The additional information can be multi-page presentations in PDF form (sent to the subscribers email account) and additional video sent to the subscribers PVR that can be viewed at the subscribers convince. The “lead” can be available to the advertiser and the technology is moving (at advertiser request) to “click to purchase”. Response to advertisers using cable interactivity in markets as large as New York and Philadelphia have be above expectations.

Project Canoe will soon be in 20,000,000 subscribers homes with a single national solution for interactivity for advertisers using several cable networks. Interactive cable adverting is downloaded by the cable systems to the cable subscribers existing set top boxes without a specific request from the cable subscriber. This happens both for Canoe and for interactive applications for individual MSOs.

I+ (NCC Media) is allowing an advertiser to combine in a single advertising order the cable systems in a DMA (using the interconnect) along with Telco TV (FIOS, Uverse) and Direct Tv. The effectively raises the footprint available to the cable advertiser from the 40—50% range to the 70- 80% range. This varies DMA to DMA based on the cable, telco video and satellite penetration in each market. In many most cases the percentage of the television households available to the advertiser (footprint) is approximately double what the cable penetration is for the market. I expect that Dish Network will join in this combination sales system sometime in the future, possibly after technical upgrades at Dish take place.

Local cable is getting much better at selling the inherent advantages available to cable including geographic clusters and selling cable networks being tailored with specific lifestyles, demographics and interests. Advertisers are being encouraged to use channel specific creative and offers with and are finding increased results when they do so.

Cable channel programming bundles are being made available to tablet users at no additional cost. Time Warner Cable seems to be the leader in this service. The tablet, which is being sold to American consumers incredibly well , with its HD screen, is emerging as much more than a big cell phone. I-Pad and other tablet owners find it a good device to view long form programs on as well as useful for communication.

Competition has been good for cable. Cable has moved from the monopolistic utility in terms of customer service to operators focusing on sales organizations, better customer interaction, and increased reliability. Cable operators are focused on reducing their churn rate and increasing subscriber trust.

Cable is being accepted as a place to find original programming and may original programming debuts during the summer when the broadcast networks are in reruns.

Cable technology is moving forward at a fast pace. Comcast showed both download speeds over 1 billion bites per second , which is 100 times faster than today’s high end internet package and “cloud” cable set-top boxes, which can be upgraded in their graphics and search functions by changes in the Comcast technical center. These set top boxes will find options from the internet that are not part of the Comcast video packages. Their capabilities will further increase in the future without hardware upgrades.

Bright House and Cablevision as well as the other operators seem very focused on technology designed to increase advertising effectiveness and revenue.

It was clear to me at NCTA that cable is very focused on the dollars going to broadcast. Revenue is growing as therefore funds available for improvement is growing. Cable will continue to increase programming diversity as well as adverting effectiveness and therefore increasing opportunity for people in the television industry to find employment.

The article above was written solely by me and reflects my personal opinions.

Hal Protter, Chairperson
NATAS Technology & Engineering Committee
Office 805-529-0742  Cell 314-708-3696     
[email protected]

3DTV HDTV READER COMMENTS
Nielsen sends trained meter installers to homes to install meters and revisits every 6 months. The installers check each TV, lineups, etc. They know if it is an HD TV and if there's an HD signal. They provide the estimates..

Nielsen has reliable estimates of households with HD set vs those who have HD set and HD signal.

Nielsen’s latest Media Related UE’s for May 2011. 

67.1 % of US homes have an HD Display set.

63.3 % of US homes have are HD Receivable (they have a set, a tuner and receive at least one HD source).

The differences used to be much bigger.

Jack Wakshlag – Chief Research Officer, Turner Broadcasting

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My personal opinion.  3-D is more of a novelty.  It will be many years before it is in most homes.  Your point regarding the recent switch to HD and digital is right on the mark.  Many people forgot just how long it took to reach the 50% mark in color TV.  And you didn't need glasses for that.

Norm Felsenthal - Professor emeritus of communications at Temple University.

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pretty even handed and stern!

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As you know, I purchased a 50" Samsung Plasma 3D in November.  I wrote you, I think in January, to report that Comcast had quietly introduced a 3D section to their On Demand menu.  Equally unheralded, about six weeks ago they added 3D on demand for HBO subscribers and Starz subscribers.  Now there's a free Comcast 3D channel (with mostly the same stuff that's in the free Comcast 3D on demand) and a subscription ESPN 3D.

I really wasn't expecting to use the 3D function much for a couple of years, because of the scarcity of programming; it's amazing how quickly it's being ramped-up.

This week an old buddy visited and asked for a 3D demo.  We watched "Avatar" in 3D on HBO.  He had previously seen the movie in 2D (I'd already seen it in IMAX 3D) -- and the quality was astounding.  The 3D effect was as thrilling as in the theater.  My friend was surprised and delighted -- he hadn't expected the glasses to be so lightweight and comfortable, and he never thought he would be interested in the technology.  But he left with plans to buy a 3D set of his own.

If the TV manufacturers want to make headway with this technology, they only need to increase in-store demos and send their reps into the field to make sure those demos are operating properly. 

And Hollywood needs to get on board -- and make more live action (as opposed to animated) 3D product.  HBO spent a boatload on "Game of Thrones,"  and it would not have added much to the cost to shoot it in 3D.

As for the broadcasters, I think they have much bigger worries with the efforts to grab their slice of the spectrum.  But eventually they'll have to find a way to join the 3D party, too.

I signed up for Netflix when I bought the Samsung, but quickly realized there was virtually no 3D content available through them.  Once the HBO 3D content materialized, I ditched Netflix entirely

Just my 2 cents.  Best to you and all of my NATAS friends.

Bill Becker
www.photographymuseum.com

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HDTV was an overnight success… after 30 years.

Chris Cookson, President, Sony Technology

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Hello Mr. Protter,

First of all, let me say that I find your newsletter to be very useful and interesting to read.  Thank you for your time/effort.

I'm interested to know your personal opinion on whether the health effects of 3D could significantly impact the growth of 3D.

I and a great many people still experience nausea watching a 3D movie.   In addition, I've read reports that people have experienced headache, disorientation, and even seizures from watching 3D.

As a salesperson of components/systems for the broadcast market, I've seen certain medical applications (HD 3D surgery equipment for example) that have rendered doctors unable to complete simulated surgeries due to the 3D aspect.

While I don't believe that 3D is or will be a "failure", I remain skeptical.

PS:  I'm planning to see the movie "Thor", but not in 3D.  Besides making me ill, I'm not so keen about the price premium on the movie ticket

Monica Degnan/Area Sales Manager
Hitachi High Technologies America, Advanced Materials Division (AMD)

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Hi Hal,

I look forward to reading your missives. 

In our home, we have 5 recent vintage HDTV sets.  All are wired to Dish; but only one is hooked up for HDTV.  On the others, the pictures are incredible and the people are only a little fatter.

Hope life is treating you well.

Your retired friend,

Larry xxxxx

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Hal Protter, Chairperson
NATAS Technology & Engineering Committee
Office 805-529-0742  Cell 314-708-3696     
[email protected]