FCC vs. Cable TV, C-SPAN Airs Today’s Meeting Live

At 11 PM (EST) C-SPAN airs the public meeting that the Federal Communications Commission, FCC will hold in D.C. You can check the agenda here. Much interest will be focused on the future of cable TV. Among else AP reports - “Communications regulators will vote Tuesday on whether greater regulation of cable television providers is needed, given how widespread pay-television has become.”

In connection with the transition to digital TV it is interesting how and if cable TV might be limited in ways that makes over the air TV a more attractive choice, especially when it might be easier and cheaper with great picture quality and more channels than before. One piece of the context is included in this meeting and it will be interesting to follow the outcome.

Please tune in.

Anders Bjers

State Of The World – And Digital Media

It´s alway’s fascinating to learn something. Today I found a video that shows how new media has developed during the past ten years or less. Also, it tells a lot about the context the DTV transition is taking place in. How different we communicate today compared to only ten years ago and how different a transition would be communicated ten years back.

Have a look and a smile while you watch facts stream by.

Anders Bjers

Top Search – DTV Answer(s)

Something is about to happen among consumers in the US. The past week I have noticed a increased interest in answers about the DTV transition. When it comes to searches on the web, my guess is that NABs campaigns and their efforts to reach out is making a slow progress but with important effects. And desirable, not the least to say. NAB reports that 1,000 broadcasters are participating in the ongoing campaigns to educate consumers. And the theme is: DTV answers…

The top Q on Google got to be searches about practical answers for the DTV transition. When I punch in “DTV Answer” on Google this blog makes the top two searches. hmmm… Maybe NAB didn’t think of all us who forget to spell the question with an “S” in the end. The site and service NAB have set up is DTV Answers. Boy what a difference one syllable makes in the web world.. However let’s get moving about those question..

What are everybody looking for in terms of answers?

Let me guess:

- When is the DTV transition taking place?

- Where will it happen and when?

- What is the DTV transition?

- Do I need to do something?

- What should I do?

- Who is really affected?

- What about those coupons that I think I heard of somewhere, can I get one?

- What about one of those converterboxes…?

Please – make a comment what you are looking for when you stumble into this blog. I am happy to serve you with some answers and links to pass you on to other good sources of information and action. And I am curious about what you are looking for.

But until then – here are some of the answers that you may be looking for.

Q. When is the DTV transition taking place?

A. On the 17 of February 2009 all the analog tv-signals will be shut down and digital only tv-signals will continue to be broadcasted to your rooftop antenna. (If you use cable-TV or satellite-TV: that TV-set wont be affected).

Q. Where will it happen?

A. Throughout the whole United States at the very same day (as of now, no more information have been disclosed yet).

Q. What is the DTV transition?

A. It is the end of analog TV and the continuation for digital TV, OTA – over the air. Thats is if you use an antenna to recieve TV-signals to your TV-set. To make the transition is to get a converter box or choose any other way to recieve TV.

Q. Do I need to do something? And what should I do?

A. If you want to continue to use your TV and a rooftop antenna you should get a converter box for digital TV.

Q. Who is really affected?

A. TV sets connected to a rooftop antenna. And dont forget the TV set in your car, truck, summerhouse or trailer.

Q. What about those coupons that I think I heard of somewhere, can I get one?

A. Yes, there will be coupons to use when you buy a converter box. Check out NTIAs website.

Q. What about one of those converterboxes…?

A. No boxes in stores yet. But there will be…

If you need more answers, check out the blogroll to your right or go to www.dtvanswers.org

Anders Bjers

Today Sweden Completed Nations Transition To Digital TV

Today at 9.45 AM the Swedish Secretary of Culture, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, switched off the last analog TV-transmitter in Sweden. During two years time and in five phases, Sweden has converted all it’s analog tv-transmitters to digital. A process that has been smoother than anyone anticipated in the beginning of the transition. Allthough consumers have been able to recieve digital-tv since 1999 in Sweden, many waited until the last hour to convert. However, it is a minority left who were still using analog only reception. The main part of Swedens consumers affected by the transition has allready made the transition. During the two years many more made the step to buy a converterbox than to wait and see until the very last minute.

The transition is overall a success, both for the Swedish government, the stakeholders and the consumers. TV viewers in Sweden has more than doubled the number of channels compared to analog broadcasts and the quality is superior. Even if many complain about the pricetag for a converter box, during the first phase of the transition, the prices has decined steadily during the remaining phases. Today it is possible to buy a converter box in Sweden for $80. And the market is fairy well developed with a great selection of different brands and capabilities and the price range varies.

So, today a fairly important piece of television history was written in a corner far up north of Scandinavia. And less than 500 days from now TV- viewers in the U.S has to be as ready as Swedes are today to be able to watch TV as usual, even if the TV-land is going through changes at the same time that are hard to imagine the outcome of. How TV as the main media will be transformed in a not too far away future. That is a major piece of history to be written – and we are a part of it, right now.

Anders Bjers, in Stockholm Sweden, for the moment.

IBM To Manage DTV Transition Coupons For NTIA

IBM will, together with three partners, manage the DTV transition coupons program for NTIA.

In a flash newsrelease via PR Agency CrosbyVolmer, NAB comments NTIAs choice. “This is an important step in a process that will bring digital television (DTV) to all Americans,”says Jonathan Collegio, Vice President of the NAB’s digital television transition unit.

NTIA Administrator John Kneuer stated earlier: “This is a major milestone toward implementing a successful Coupon Program to ensure the switch from analog to digital television is completed smoothly and as planned,” according to PC magazine. CNNMoney / DowJones reports that IBM will work together with Corporate Lodging Consultants, Epiq Systems and Ketchum. Multichannel news reports that the contract is worth $120 million. IBM’s John Nyland concludes in a pressrelease that “A complex initiative like this requires innovative thinking, leading technologies and cooperation among retailers, broadcasters and government agencies”.

I think it is a very interesting and surprising move! IBM will have the capability to manage the coupons program logistically but will it have the brains to come up with the smart ways to bring the information out to the ones who is in need? Most needy of the converter box coupons will probably are the ones with low-tech tools and knowledge. So IBMs challenge will be to go from high-tech to low-tech with a high-tech message… And it has to be in sync with the DTV coalition’s campaigns. Confusion is high and consumers are in most need with clear and well designed messages to be able to grasp the value of the coupons.

Let’s keep track of how IBM will carry this one out…

More comments on this will follow…

Anders Bjers

How Will The DTV Transition Spur Innovation?

The transition to DTV is a challenge in itself for many stakeholders. But what will come out of the transition? Often the reports focus on the “dark” side of the transition. In other words what happens if consumers don’t manage to install or buy converter box in time for the acutal transition in 2009. But if we focus for a moment on the “side effects” of a transition. Effects that are really the motivation and opportunities made possible by the transition, when we have cut loose from the analog braodcast limitations. One insight is John Kneuers presentation from SuperNova 2007 presented at PodTech. Mr. Kneuer is an expert on technology policy at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Lean back, let your imagination loose and enjoy.

Anders Bjers

[podtech content=http://media1.podtech.net/media/2007/07/PID_011826/Podtech_kneuer.flv&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/home/3526/john-kneuer-a-supernova-2007-spotlight &totalTime=467000&breadcrumb=67cd4451236c442ebee3d8fe205e2c0b]

P.S Turn up the volume D.S

Coming up: DTV on-line trends

Public Meeting About DTV Coupons In D.C

On September 25 at 9 A.M. NTIA will hold a public meeting about the DTV Coupons program that will be launched in connection with the U.S. transition to digital TV. The meeting will also offer a chance to discuss the progress of the efforts to educate the public about the Digital-to-Analog-Converter Box Coupon. The public meeting is to be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C.
Anders Bjers

Is Politics Good For A Transition To DTV?

Yesterday the blog Digital TV facts reported about the DTV caucus in the Congress, led by Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va). The caucus focuses on the evolving transition to DTV. This was also reported by The Bend bulletin and earlier in april by Tech Daily Dose, when the caucus was first announced. But it is interesting that a caucus has set out to be part of the efforts to bring the DTV message out to the consumers.

Mixing politics with the transition to digital TV is a difficult exercise that you want to handle with care. My own experience from Sweden is that politics can blur the information and reasons for a transition to digital TV. Politics brings in values and ways that both the audience / consumers and stakeholders have to take in and process. That itself may make it harder to communicate a transition than easier. In my view, a transition is easier for consumers to embrace if it is kept as a practical step to improve the television as they know it.

So my question is if politics are good for a smooth transition?

The flip side of the coin is about responsibility. Who is responsible for the different parts of a transition if it backfires. Since TV is the prime information source for the public it can be a disaster if a transition would stall. In that case maybe politicians would like to keep a transition at arms lenght. What would the caucuses standpoint be in that case? Hopefully they would still embrace the transition and make it work great.

In any case, media will be tracking a caucus about DTV in a different way than caucus’s about potatoes and other commodities. Why? Because media loves media and a transition is a milestone not to be missed to report about. That will probably put a DTV caucus in the local limelight.

Bring the shades dear Representatives – you may be out for a ride.

Anders Bjers

P.S. Digital TV facts is one of the best sources for interesting news about DTV. I have it on my Google reader and check it out on a regular basis. Often Steven Sande picks up and writes about DTV stuff that no one else have tracked. They work hard to put out clear and good information about the basics of digital television. D.S.

Tivo can become the smartest way to bridge the DTV transition

Today Tivo relaunched an improved service with Amazon.com – the Unbox. Bringing movies on-demand and smarter search tools to Tivo users.

But will your Tivo be able to work as a converterbox if you are an analog OTA TV-viewer? Think about it!

There isn’t one line telling on Tivos site, yet. But think about it. Its February 17 2009. You connect your antenna to your Tivo – do a search and new channels will pop-up. Atop of that connect the Tivo to your broadband and you will have an on-demand service and free channels with great picture quality. Even in HD -for free! With a roof top antenna – simple as that.

Plus – you don’t need to buy another converterbox! (If your Tivo has a digital OTA-tuner built in).

That would be great news for Tivo users with analog reception over the air only.

But, will Tivo care about the upcoming market of 30 million households making a shift in their behaviour how they want to receive TV? And would you be able to use one of the coupons from NTIA to fund part of the Tivo?

I think the greatest war among platform operators wont be the last couple of months prior the actual transition. It is from now and 6 months before February 2009. To build the relationships and start to spread the news and understanding to every analog TV-set owner who is about to make a change. To reach out to media and retailers. It is a bit more complicated to explain for someone in a hurry who scrambles to Best buy to get a converterbox, in a mission to save the TV from going black.

Tivo could become one of the smartest and most valuable ways of bridging the gap or jump from analog to digital TV.

Anders Bjers

PS Maybe someone at Tivo will laugh when they read this, sitting on top of the box I am writing about. That’s on me. I think the transition to DTV in the US will bring many more good laughs, sweat, tears and rollercoaster like experiences than in a long time DS

PS2 Techmeme and bloggers picked up the story – check them out: Engadget, Tivoblog, Profy, The Register, TechSpot and last but not least the Reuters blog. DS

DTV Stats vs Medias Attention

Many consumers in the US do not know anyting about the upcoming transition to DTV and its implications for them. The vast majority is totaly unaware. I read Dean Takahashi´s TechTalk in San José Mercury News with great interest. I love to pick up the paper every morning from our driveway and take a first sniff of the soft and fresh morning air in Menlo Park. Dean wrote an article about the DTV transition the other day. I enjoyed it mostly because he put together the basic statistics of transition. Here are some of the stats that Dean gathered.

About 60 percent of the consumers do not know anything att all about the transition today. About 20 million households are affected by the transition with an antenna as primary reciever of TV-signals. Another 14.6 million households have secondary TV-sets that are also affected. All in all around 70 million TV-sets need a converterbox to function properly, but no one really knows for sure how many TV-sets that are analog today. About 92 percent of broadcasters are transmitting both analog and digital TV as of today.

In comparison, Digital Media Europe reports that 38 percent of the viewers in the UK are not aware of the DTV transition and approximately 26 million TV sets are analog only today. And only 7 percent is aware of when the actual transition will take place in their region. I think the US has an easier task communicating the transition. Since its the same day for the whole country. But the common knowledge about the transition in the US is way to low right now. How do you bring that up? One thing that really matters is medias attention. UK media has covered the transition for a long time. and not only from a technical perspective. I think medias focus on technical aspects of digital television to often overshadows the consumers little interest in technology.

There is a widespread confusion about DTV – digital TV and HDTV. Most of the people I have met thinks this is all about HDTV. I think that is unique for the transition in the US compared to european countries. In Europe HDTV is not that common. Its starting to take of on platforms like satellite and cable but it is mostly for premium content. In that way it is easier to conduct a transition to digital TV in Europe since the improvement is a bigger bang for the TV viewer and you dont have to be dealing with another confusing acronym. Even if the US is in the early hours of the operations preparing for the actual transition, I am astonished about how poorly mainstream media is covering digital TV or ways of recieving TV. Tech media knows much about the subject but I still miss discussions about antennas, converterboxes and how to deal with reception for apartmentbuildings or buildings with central antenna. That are issues that needs more attention and more time to manage to be prepared in time for the transition date.

Anders Bjers