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Digital TV Converter
The United States and Japan are leading the consumer shift to HDTV televisions. Recent studies have shown that the two countries will lead worldwide HDTV penetration to triple from 48 million households currently to 151 million households by 2011.The United States is doing its part to push customer to the digital era by discontinuing all analog television broadcasts on February 17, 2009. At that time, those using external antennas or rabbit ears to feed over-the-air (OTA) analog content into their outdated TVs will see nothing but static.In an effort to help Americans that are still using televisions without digital tuners onboard, the U.S. government is allotting households two $40 coupons which can be used towards the purchase of an digital-to-analog box. The program will start on January 1, 2008 and will end on March 31, 2009.LG Electronics, one of three companies manufacturing digital-to-analog boxes for analog TVs, says that the converter boxes will retail for roughly $60 USD in stores.
Mitac to introduce new UWB wireless hub for HD streaming
It seems as if everyone is looking to get into wireless media streaming, and if that includes high definition content, so much the better. The latest manufacturer to announce a streaming media hub is Taiwanese firm Mitac, who will begin production of a UWB (Ultra Wide Band) hub capable of wirelessly streaming high definition content from a portable hard disc to a computer. The MUH-4100 UWB hub works via USB. A portable hard disc is connected to the hub via USB, and a receiving PC has a MUD-4100 USB dongle for receiving the signal. Whether there will be the possibility of streaming directly to a HDTV, either via a built-in USB port or via an HDMI converter, isn't clear, though I'm sure that is something Mitac will consider developing to make the system more living room friendly.
Media Conversion Tool supports multiple formats.
March 1, 2007 - Via wizard-based interface, Digital Media Converter v2.75 lets users convert media files to play on Microsoft Zune, PocketPC, Portable Media Center, and other mobile devices. Conversion is possible between range of media formats, including DVR MS, 3GP, and MPEG-1/2/4. In addition to automatically correcting any errors with media file during conversion process, software can also perform audio CD conversion and supports widescreen (HDTV) screen aspects in all video formats.
Related categories: Software .
Rationalise excise duty, Vat on TV, STBs: Planning Commission
NEW DELHI: Acknowledging that the major hurdle in digitization presently is the absence of digital receiver sets and the fact that about 45 per cent TV sets are Black and White, a sub-group of the Planning Commission has recommended rationalization of the total taxation level to 12 per cent.
The sub-group on 'Going Digital' set up by the Planning Commission and headed by Rajeeva Ratna Shah, member secretary in the Planning Commission and a former CEO of Prasar Bharati, said this will mean the excise duty on digital TV set, set top boxes (STBs) and its inputs be rationalized to 8 per cent and there should be a state VAT of 4 per cent. This will give impetus to the indigenous STB industry, which would generate economic activity and employment in the country. .
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