FCC Launches Consumer Help Center.
Friday, July 30, 2010

The Federal Communications Commission has announced that consumers now have an easy-to-use, Consumer Help Center that puts them within one click of all the information they want from the FCC. The new portal launched this week at www.fcc.gov/consumers allows consumers to learn about different issues in telecommunications, make it easy for consumers to find out what’s going on at the FCC, get tips for making the best choices in purchasing communications devices and services, have their voices heard by filing comments on issues that interest them, and file a complaint when there are problems. “Our new Consumer Help Center makes it easy for consumers to learn about our work and take action,” says Joel Gurin, Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the FCC. “Here, in one place, consumers can do a number of things such as read about consumer issues, get practical advice for avoiding problems, file a complaint, comment on our rulemakings, or read what our FCC experts are saying in our Consumer Blog.” The Consumer Help Center is produced by the FCC’s Consumer Task Force, an inter-bureau group established by Chairman Julius Genachowski at the beginning of 2010. The Task Force has led several recent initiatives on major consumer issues. The Consumer Help Center includes:

- Everything consumers need to know about Bill Shock and
Early Termination Fees -- two common issues that affect wireless customers
- Savvy Traveler tips -- advice on making phone calls when travelling abroad
- Broadband Speed Test -- consumers can test the speed of their broadband service
- Fact Sheet Library – more than 150 consumer Fact Sheets on telecom subjects
- Links to additional resources on a range of issues, including privacy
- Links to file a complaint to the FCC or comment on our rulemakings
- Blog posts about consumer issues -- with consumer comments welcome
- News releases, statements, and FCC actions

The site is scheduled to be updated to include new FCC consumer initiatives as they are launched.

Internet-Enabled TV Trumps 3-D TV in 2010.
Thursday, July 29, 2010

While the consumer electronics headlines this year have been dominated by 3-D television news, the real story in 2010 is about Internet-Enabled TVs (IETVs), according to iSuppli Corp. Global shipments of IETVs—i.e., TV sets with built-in Internet capability—will amount to 27.7 million units in 2010. In contrast, 3-D set shipments will total only 4.2 million this year. While 3-D television shipments are set to soar in the coming years, iSuppli’s forecast shows the biggest near-term growth story is in IETV. “Despite aggressive promotions from the industry and intense consumer interest generated by the blockbuster Avatar and other titles, the 3-D TV market in 2010 will be limited to a small pool of enthusiastic early adopters,” said Riddhi Patel, director and principal analyst for television systems at iSuppli. “In contrast, IETV is entering the mainstream in 2010. This is because 3-D is still dealing with a number of barriers, including cost, content availability and interoperability, while IETV provides immediate benefits by allowing TV viewers to access a range of content readily available on the Internet.” Shipments of IETVs in 2010 will rise by a remarkable 124.9 percent from 12.3 million units last year. Significant growth will continue during the following years. All told, IETV shipments will expand at rates north of 50 percent for the next two years, and then continue to increase at solid double-digit rates until the end of 2014. By then, global IETV shipments are anticipated to reach 148.3 million units, accounting for 54 percent of the total flat-panel TV market. With IETV, Patel noted, viewers can connect to the Internet at all times by using their TV’s built-in feature, bypassing the need for a bridge device such as a set-top box, game console or Internet media adapter like Apple Inc.’s TV console. Such connectivity allows viewers to access content from a wide spectrum of providers—ranging from movie peddlers like Netflix and Amazon, to content aggregators such as Hulu, to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. At the same time, TV brands and manufacturers are working aggressively to create partnerships with the content providers in order to keep consumers interested and happy with continually updated material, Patel added. “The arrival of Internet-enabled TV models is part of the ongoing evolution and enhancement of TV sets,” Patel said. “Because innovation is a must in order to drive consumer adoption and replacement, the TV industry has embarked on a path of enhancing the consumer experience through interaction with their TV sets.” Among regions, North America and Western Europe will make up the largest consumption market for IETVs from 2010 to 2014. Japan will lay claim as the third largest market only until 2012, after which it will drop to fifth place, ranking behind both China and the collective area designated as Rest of Asia-Pacific—two distinct territories counted separately in the tallies.

Panasonic Introduces World's First 3D Consumer Camcorder.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Panasonic today announced the launch of the Panasonic HDC-SDT750, the world's first consumer 3D camcorder. In addition to shooting 3D, the SDT750 can record full 1080p High Definition (HD) in AVCHD, when the 3D conversion lens is unattached, and includes features such as a 3MOS system, a Leica Dicomar lens and a 12x optical zoom. To shoot 3D video with the new camcorder, the user needs to attach the 3D conversion lens that comes included, to record dynamic images. The 3D conversion lens records right-eye and left-eye images simultaneously through its two lenses, thus resulting in video that can be viewed in 3D. The right and left images (each with 960 x 1080 pixels) that enter through the lenses are recorded using the side-by-side method. The high-sensitivity 3MOS System has 7.59 million effective motion image pixels (2.53 megapixels x 3), so this advanced image sensor separates the light received through the lens into the three primary colors - red, green and blue - and processes each color independently. Adding to the quality, the SDT750 also features a large-diameter (46mm) F1.5 Leica Dicomar lens and Crystal Engine PRO, a high-speed processing unit - both components which contribute to the effectiveness of the camcorder's light gathering, increased sensitivity, and reduced noise when shooting, even in dim lighting. According to the company, users can play back 3D videos recorded on the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 on 3D-capable televisions. In addition, it is also possible to play 3D images recorded on SD Memory Cards by using an AVCHD compatible player. The Panasonic HDC-SDT750 will be available in October 2010 with a suggested retail price of $1,399.95.

Univision Radio Pays $1 Million to Resolve "Pay-For-Play" Investigation.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau this week released a Consent Decree entered into with Univision Radio, Inc. to resolve allegations that Univision radio stations or their employees secretly accepted payment from a record label in exchange for the radio stations giving more frequent airplay to the label’s artists, without making the disclosures to listeners required by section 507 of the Communications Act. In a companion criminal action, a federal district court has accepted the plea of Univision Services, Inc. to charges filed by the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ"), based on the same facts. The FCC and the DOJ coordinated their respective investigations and enforcement actions. "Payola -- the idea of pay-for-play -- misleads the listening public," said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. "This agreement with Univision underscores the FCC’s focus on consumer protection and our commitment to ensuring that broadcasters play it straight with the public." As part of the FCC settlement and the DOJ action, the Univision companies will pay $1 million to the U.S. Treasury. The FCC-Univision Consent Decree also obligates Univision to implement certain business reforms and compliance measures designed to ensure future compliance with the Commission’s rules. Key provisions of the settlement include:

- General prohibition on Univision stations and employees exchanging airplay for cash or other items of value, except under specified conditions, and provided that such exchanges comply with sponsorship identification laws;
- Limits on the size of gifts, concert tickets, and other valuable items that Univision stations and employees can accept from record labels;
- Appointment of a Compliance Officer and regional Compliance Contacts responsible for monitoring and reporting company performance under the settlement; and
- Regular training of programming personnel on payola restrictions.

FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Michele Ellison stated, "Broadcasters play a critical role in educating and entertaining the public and along with that special role comes some fundamental obligations. We will continue to work with other government agencies, including criminal law enforcement authorities where appropriate, leveraging all the tools at our disposal to protect consumers and prevent them from being misled." The FCC’s Media Bureau concurred in the settlement, and the FCC’s Office of Inspector General coordinated with DOJ on the criminal proceeding.

Sony Develops Blue-violet Semiconductor Laser With An Output Of 100 Watt.
Monday, July 26, 2010

Professor Hiroyuki Yokoyama of the New Industry Creation Hatchery Center (NICHe), Tohoku University and Advanced Materials Laboratories, Sony, have jointly developed a blue-violet semiconductor laser that could be used in large-capacity optical disc storage and for nano-fabrication. The new laser features a dramatically improved peak laser beam output level, which is almost 100 times higher than the output provided by the currently available lasers. The 405 nanometer laser is capable of generating optical pulses with a duration of just 3 picoseconds (1 picosecond = one-trillionth of a second), with an ultrahigh output peak power of 100 watts and a repetition frequency of 1 gigahertz. To achieve these impressive performance, Tohoku University and Sony have developed a proprietarily GaN-based mode-locked semiconductor laser as well as a new semiconductor optical amplifier. A mode-locked semiconductor laser is a type of semiconductor laser that emits ultrafast optical pulses. It operates by sending optical pulses with an ultrafast duration in the order of picoseconds (or less) back and forth within the laser cavity. A semiconductor optical amplifier is an optical amplifier that can amplify the laser beam directly using a semiconductor. Although the structure is similar to that of a semiconductor laser, the beam-amplifying functionality is enhanced through antireflective fabrication of the laser facets. Until now, only solid-state lasers could offer such a high outputs. These lasers use solid crystals such as rubies as the laser medium and they were mainly used for leading-edge chemical research applications. However,the light source box of these laser units was bulky and more further engineering was required to ensure the stable operation of the laser. The high-output, ultrafast pulsed semiconductor laser light source is capable of using a nonlinear optical process known as two-photon absorption (TPA), which occurs only as a result of high intensity optical pulses: When a substance interacts with extremely intense light, the substance does not always respond in proportion to the electromagnetic field of the light, thus creating a prismatic effect. TPA is the phenomenon of absorbing two photons simultaneously to excite the eigenstate corresponding to the resulting sum of photon energy. Using this phenomenon to focus light from an intense laser beam on a lens will result in an extremely high density of power in the vicinity of the focus point. When light from the laser beam is concentrated on the lens, it creates chemical and thermal changes in the vicinity of the lens focus spot which is narrower than even the diameter of the focus spot of the lens itself. It is anticipated that application of these properties will be possible in a wide range of fields such as three-dimensional (3D) nano-fabrication of inorganic/organic materials in the order of nanometers, and next-generation large-capacity optical disc storage. Sony tested the principles for applying this technology in next-generation large-capacity optical disc-storage by creating void marks with a diameter of approximately 300 nanometers at intervals of 3 micrometers on the interior of plastic material, and successfully read these marks with the laser beam. The research findings were published in the latest edition of the U.S. academic journal, ‘Applied Physics Letters’ (volume 97, issue 2).

Blu-ray Player Shipments to Exceed 62.5 Million in 2011.
Friday, July 23, 2010

Worldwide Blu-ray player shipments are expected to more than double between now and the end of 2010, and the numbers from ABI Research forecast continued growth next year, for a total of more than 62.5 million shipments in 2011. In North America standalone Blu-ray players are expected to reach almost 18% penetration among TV-owning households, up from just over 7% in 2009. As interesting as this estimate is, it is just part of a larger picture. According to industry analyst Mike Inouye, "The solid growth in Blu-ray player shipments highlights a trend within the wider consumer electronics market. Larger, fixed-location devices such as Blu-ray players and flat panel TVs are enjoying rapid adoption relative to many classes of small, portable devices. Specifically, portable gaming devices are leveling out, while we are seeing actual declines in shipments of portable audio players. Digital picture frames are showing only mild growth, and compact digital camera shipments are declining in North America and Japan, though they continue modest growth elsewhere." What is behind these shifts? "In addition to price declines, the greater growth potential of TV-centric devices may be due to some of the recent exciting innovations in TV technologies: larger, flatter panels, Internet connectivity, and 3D," says Inouye. "Aside from the economic/job environment it could be that dedicated portable device markets are simply maturing, or it could be due to the greater competition they face from smartphones and other multi-function portable devices." According to ABI Research, CE device vendors can improve their chances of success in this very competitive marketplace by, on one hand, continuing efforts to educate consumers about what they can do with the latest devices, and on the other by striving to keep the user-experience as seamless and painless as possible. Meanwhile, consumer purchases of Blu-ray titles increased 107% in major markets in Western Europe/Japan during the first half of 2010 while combined DVD/Blu-ray units sold were near par with last year, at (-) 1.2%. These are among the findings of the Media Control GfK International research firm, based on actual point-of-sale retail data for the first half of 2010. "The major retail markets for DVD & Blu-ray sales in Western Europe and Japan are showing positive signs of stabilization due to improving declines in DVD sales and growing consumer adoption of the Blu-ray format," said Brad Hackley, President of Media Control GfK USA.

LG Electronics and Toshiba Join ZigBee Alliance.
Thursday, July 22, 2010

Consumer electronics giants, LG Electronics and Toshiba have joined the ZigBee RF4CE Steering Committee. A global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions supporting energy management in residential, commercial and consumer electronics applications, the ZigBee RF4CE Steering Committee is focused on driving ZigBee RF4CE standardized solutions throughout the consumer electronics industry. First announced in March 2009, ZigBee RF4CE is a standardized specification for radio-frequency communications that enables faster, more reliable and greater flexibility for devices to operate from larger distances. It removes the line-of-sight and field-of-vision barriers in today’s IR (infrared) remotes. With its two-way communication, ZigBee RF4CE opens the door to a whole new set of capabilities and consumer experiences. The ZigBee RF4CE specification is designed for a wide range of consumer electronic products, including home entertainment devices. "We view ZigBee RF4CE as an industry-changing solution that dramatically improves upon the old infrared remote control user experience that is very limited in coverage, direction and data reliability," said Ho Jun Nam, principle research engineer at LG Electronics. "As new functionalities are being added to TV sets every day, we believe that ZigBee RF4CE will enable us to design low power interface devices that offer bi-directional communications, with agile response times and flexible human interface design to accommodate these new functionalities." ZigBee Remote Control™, made publicly available in December 2009, is the first ZigBee RF4CE based solution for consumer electronics and more applications for the consumer world are in development. "ZigBee RF4CE is helping CE manufacturers create products that not only work better, but also have features that bring a unique and new user experience to their consumer audience," said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. "The addition of LG Electronics and Toshiba to the steering committee is a testament to the growing influence that the ZigBee RF4CE standard is making on the CE industry." LG Electronics and Toshiba join Philips, Freescale Semiconductor, Texas Instruments, Samsung and Sony on the Steering Committee.

A*STAR Achieves World's Thinnest Metallic Lines.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Scientists from Singapore A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), University of Cambridge (UK) and Sungkyunkwan University (South Korea) have created metallic lines so thin and smooth that they can only be seen using powerful electron microscopes. At line widths of just 7 nm, their line width roughness , which are the variations in thickness along the line itself, stands at 2.9 nm, a value which is below the 2010 target of 3.2 nm and closer to 2011’s target line width roughness of 2.8 nm indicated in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors. The ability to create such distinct lines and patterns on a sub-10 nm scale level is essential in the further miniaturisation of electronic components. Rough, undefined patterns and lines results in poorly made, energy-inefficient devices. The process is very delicate and precise because of the scale at which the work is done. For comparison, the width of the average human hair is 100 µm, which is about 14,000 times the width of a single 7 nm-wide metal line. "Our thin, unbroken and smooth lines are important in ensuring the efficiency of ever shrinking electronic devices and may lead to more powerful processors. Furthermore, our work shows that continuous metallic lines as small as 4 nm are possible to make", says Dr MSM Saifullah, a Research Scientist with IMRE. The method could be potentially used to make interconnects, the ‘highways’ that carry electrical pulses and data in extremely small integrated circuits (ICs). The smoother and uninterrupted ‘highways’ lead to faster data transfer rates and less energy wasted, in the form of heat. The novelty of the method was in the material and the technique that was used. The current "lift-off" approach for making metal lines at this scale requires more steps, uses more materials and results in rough, and quite often broken lines on a sub-10 nm scale. The researchers used an organometallic material which is made up of a metallic and an organic component. Using a combination of electron beam lithography and subsequent gas treatment, the researchers were able to easily chip away the organic portions in a uniform manner, leaving the desired metallic patterns, in this case, thin metal lines. "The published results is a testament to the cutting-edge nanotechnology research that is done in Singapore, where we push, and sometimes lead, the rest of the world", says Prof Andy Hor, IMRE’s new Executive Director, who took the helm of Singapore’s materials research institute in June 2010. The research on the metal lines is featured on the inside front cover of Issue 14 (July 2010) of the Advanced Functional Materials journal.

Registration Opens for 2011 International CES.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has announced that registration is now open for the 2011 International CES, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow, scheduled January 6-9, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The International CES attracts more than 120,000 of the top executives, retail buyers, content providers, entertainment executives, venture capitalists, engineers, government officials and media from more than 130 countries. Registration for the show is free to industry professionals through September 30. A registration fee of $100 will go into effect starting October 1, and the fee will be $200 effective 5:01 p.m. EST December 31. "The energy and buzz surrounding the 2011 International CES is already in motion, as we prepare for dynamic new exhibit areas that reflect the vibrant CE industry," said Karen Chupka, senior vice president, events and conferences, CEA. "The new Connected Home Appliances and Broadband Telecommunications TechZones are two of many new attractions at the 2011 CES, demonstrating why CES is the most powerful event in the world for conducting global technology business." Attendees, exhibitors and media can register and find more information about the show at www.CESweb.org.

Canon Unveils Latest VIXIA Camcorder.
Monday, July 19, 2010

Canon U.S.A., Inc., this week introduced the new VIXIA HF M32 Dual Flash Memory camcorder. Equipped with 64GB of internal flash memory, the new camcorder can record up to 24 hours of HD video and also includes an SD memory card slot that is fully compatible with latest generation SDXC memory cards. The new SDXC memory card specification increases storage capacity from 32GB up to 2TB and enhances data transfer speeds. Like its predecessors in the VIXIA HF M-series (VIXIA HF M31, HF M30, HF M300), the VIXIA HF M32 offers HD video in a compact and lightweight body. The VIXIA HF M32 retains Canon’s proprietary imaging technologies – a Genuine Canon HD Video Lens, HD CMOS Image Sensor and DIGIC DV III Image Processor – and like other VIXIA HF M-series camcorders, features a Touch Panel LCD and a host of features including:

Smart Auto: Makes shooting great video even easier by utilizing Canon’s DIGIC DV III Image Processor to intelligently detect and analyze brightness, color, distance and movement and automatically select the best setting for the scene being recorded.
Touch & Track: Enables users to select a subject on the Touch Panel LCD which will then be recognized and tracked. This sophisticated technology recognizes faces, objects, and even animals, ensuring the subject will always be in focus and properly exposed.
Relay Recording: Allows users to capture uninterrupted video when the primary recording media is full. The camcorder will continue to record a scene by switching from one memory source to the other as it fills up, so that a moment of action will not be missed.
Powered IS: In addition to Canon’s Dynamic SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization, Powered IS provides an even higher level of compensation for subtle hand movement at the telephoto end of the zoom range. This new enhancement can be engaged by pressing the Powered IS button on the LCD panel.
HD-to-SD Downconversion: Enables users to convert recorded HD video to standard-definition files while preserving the original HD video. These standard-definition files make it even more convenient to share video online or create a DVD.
Advanced Video Snapshot: Provides the flexibility of capturing two, four, or eight second video clips while recording or during playback.

The VIXIA HF M32 is compatible with Eye-Fi SD memory cards, which makes it easy to wirelessly transfer video content and photos to a computer or sharing site. Eye-Fi SD memory cards feature a built-in Wi-Fi that uses a wireless network to effortlessly transfer photos and videos directly from the camcorder. The VIXIA HF M32 Dual Flash Memory camcorder is scheduled to be available in September for an estimated retail price of $999.99.

More News from the Markertek News Channel...

LIN Stations Pick Markertek Production Trailer for HD Sports

Markertek Saves the Day for LPTV Station

Markertek VPTR-1 Mobile Production Trailer a Big Hit at Minnesota's Bethany Lutheran College

Markertek's Custom Cable and Metal Shop Goes Green

Markertek Expands Operation Center to 137,000 Square Feet

Markertek Sponsors Hospice Benefit with the Doobie Brothers