Category: Tech

NextGen TV Comes to Boston

This Thursday morning at 9 is supposed to be when the major Boston TV stations will flip the switch to enable ATSC 3.0 broadcasting.

https://www.wcvb.com/article/next-gen-tv-signal-launch-announcement-january-2023/42655417

For all of its potential advantages over ATSC 1.0, including 4K resolution, the only one that matters to me is improved reception. Specifically, freedom from the multipath interference that plagues UHF signals. This relative immunity, as seen in otherwise inferior VHF signals, is made possible by borrowing the modulation technology that’s used in cellular networks.

The problem is, where are the ubiquitous and affordable NextGen TV tuners and, especially, DVR’s? Without an FCC mandate like there was for ATSC 1.0, electronics manufacturers continue to drag their feet. As soon as TiVo has an ATSC 3.0 USB dongle available, I’ll get one. If I have to buy a new TiVo, that’s okay too.

https://www.techhive.com/article/1470564/atsc-3-0-in-2023-why-nextgen-tv-still-needs-another-year.html

The National Association of Broadcasters has met with the FCC to voice its concern about the slow adoption of NextGen TV tuners by manufacturers.

https://www.nexttv.com/news/nab-to-fcc-atsc-30-transition-is-in-peril

William Cameraman Menzies

Had a blast at my buddy Bismo’s place, sharing beers and watching the restored Invaders From Mars in 4K UHD. Before directing that 1953 Sci-Fi classic, William Cameron Menzies designed and directed Things to Come in 1936.

Written for the screen by H.G. Wells, with some of the worst dialogue this side of Ayn Rand, Things to Come is a Sci-Fi classic for its impressive design and visual effects. Some of what Menzies envisioned for the future became reality, such as widescreen, flat-panel HDTV.

App Hazard

Another First World Retired Guy complaint. Everybody who has more than one Internet device knows that online services have different options, depending on the application playing them. For example, SiriusXM on a Web browser isn’t that same as on Roku, and the Roku app has a “view all segments” option I haven’t noticed before when playing a podcast.

It’s called a segment but also called a chapter, which shows a lack of consistency. Worse, when using the segment feature it’s easy to lock up the app. This is my big complaint about new features. They are often added at the expense of stability and, worse, security. “Let the users be the beta testers” has become standard in the industry.

Oh, well. Back to the Web browser. It’s proven itself to be solid and reliable…

… and it works with Chromecast.

Tech Tidbits

A some point, back when Windows XP was the standard system, it became standard practice that to fix a problem on one PC, a second PC was needed for research. Technology was becoming ubiquitous. XP was introduced in October, 2001. At that same time, work on remodeling my kitchen was wrapping up.

Thanks to tastewar lending me his toolkit, I had wired two of the bedrooms with Ethernet jacks. The way the basement is arranged made that an easy project. Installing Ethernet in the kitchen? Not so easy. There had been some trouble with the electrician the general contractor was using, so I dropped the idea.

Not too many years later my concern about kitchen connectivity disappeared when Wi-Fi replaced the need for Ethernet. These days in the kitchen I use a Fire HD 10 tablet, which has an excellent screen. Amazon has occasionally put it on sale for half price, $75.

Those headphones hanging on the book holder are the Sony MDR-W08. I bought two pairs in 2011 for $15. The MDR-W08 has a large following, but I can understand why Sony discontinued it. The market has, regrettably in my opinion, moved away from wired headphones for portable use. For that matter, portable headphones have fallen out of favor compared to earbuds.

https://us.community.sony.com/s/question/0D50B00004IKvxTSAT/why-discontinue-the-mdrw08l-headphones

A hardcore fan of Sony’s gone-but-not-forgotten product had this to say recently.

https://mrmarc.com/the-venerable-sony-mdr-w08-headphones/

On the subject of headphones, in my post about WION a couple of days ago, I mentioned that as a radio DJ I used my AKG K-140’s (that I no longer have). I had a LOL moment when spotting a pair of AKG K-140’s in the WION broadcast studio.