Wilmington to Pull Analog Plug Early.

According to an industry source, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin will announce today that he has selected a TV market to conduct a test of the digital switch. Wilmington, N.C., mayor William Saffo, said he had been contacted by the local ABC affiliate and that the network affiliates in his market are planning to pull the plug on analog TV on Monday, Sept. 8, 2008, five months before the Feb. 17, 2009, transition date. The Wilmington market, served by affiliates of all the major networks, is the 135th largest measured by Nielsen Media Research, which says 179,760 of the 182,500 homes in the area have televisions. Launching a DTV test market has been encouraged by Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps, who suggested it would be beneficial to test switch early to get an advance read on what will happen Feb. 17, 2009, when the plug is pulled on full-power analog. "This is very good news for the DTV transition," said Copps. "Real-world experience is an extremely important step—although only one of many—that will help minimize consumer disruption next February. Broadway shows open on the road to work out the kinks before opening night. The DTV transition deserves no less."

JVC Announces Super Hi-Vision Device.

Victor Company of Japan Ltd. (JVC) has developed a 1.75-inch micro display the company calls the "1.75-inch 8K4K D-ILA Device," with a display resolution of 8192 x 4320 (about 35 million) pixels. Used in a projector, the D-ILA can display images at a resolution of 7680 x 4320, which is defined by the ITU-R BT.1769 and SMPTE 2036 standards as "Super Hi-Vision". According to the company, the resolution, 16 times greater than the 1920 x 1080 resolution of Full HD (1080p), the new device can be used for a wide range of leading-edge ultra-high-definition imaging applications. JVC embarked on the development of ultra-high-definition image systems in 1996, and has been contributing to research and development of ultra-high-definition image systems domestically and internationally through cooperation with the standardization of the Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) 4K2K specifications and by providing projectors for the Super Hi-Vision 8K4K system being developed by NHK. Commercial release of the new device is expected to be sometime in January 2009.

Hyde Street Studios - Legendary Bay Area Recorders Get Connected with Markertek !

San Francisco, CA - Markertek is first on the industry source list for supplying world class recording studios with all the technology essentials. We recently supplied audio connectivity products to Hyde Street Studios at their headquarters in San Francisco, California. Hyde Street was one of the first recording studios to emerge in the late 60's at the tail of the Bay Area psychedelic era and quickly became 'the' place to record. Many gold and platinum albums have come from Hyde Street by: CSNY, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead as well as newer artists, Spearhead, Chris Issak, Green Day and dozens more. Hyde Street has become legendary with almost 40 years of experience within traditional analog and digital domains. Markertek is proud to serve recording studios both large and small to provide technology solutions to the houses that make the hits.

Zero Energy Media Wall from GreenPix.

Brooklyn-based architect Simone Giostra, has created the world's largest color LED display. The groundbreaking project, named 'GreenPix', applies sustainable and digital media technology to the curtain wall of Xicui entertainment complex in Beijing, near the site of the 2008 Olympic Games. According to the company, the wall features the largest color LED display worldwide and the first photovoltaic system integrated into a glass curtain wall in China. The building performs as a self-sufficient organic system, harvesting solar energy by day and using it to illuminate the screen after dark, mirroring a day’s climatic cycle. The building is scheduled to have its grand opening this month. To kick things off, an opening video program consisting of 6 videos (5 min circa each) will be screened in loop from 7pm to 9pm every day for six weeks. If you can't make it to China for the opening, check out the GreenPix videos here.

DTV-Transition Awareness Contest.

In an effort to get over-the-air analog viewers thinking about the upcoming digital transition, the National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Electronics Association have launched a new contest. The Rabbit Ears Pioneers contest invites you to nominate your favorite "Rabbit Ears Pioneers" with a picture and anecdote about a viewer who uses an analog set and antenna. One grand-prize winner will receive a home entertainment center, while others will get digital-to-analog converter boxes and digital antennas so that they can keep on using those older analog sets. Brady Bunch mom, Florence Henderson, announced the competition this week while on a promotional tour for the DTV switch, according to the NAB. The digital transition is scheduled for February 2009.

Intelligent Memory from HP.

Based on a theory that is nearly 40 years old, researchers at Hewlett-Packard have developed a memory circuit that may eventually replace RAM. The technology, called Memristor, is the fourth fundamental circuit element after resistor, capacitor and inductor. Implementing memristors could allow computers to make decisions based on understanding patterns of past data collected. This approach is similar to human brains collecting and understanding a series of events. With lower voltage requirements and a faster start time then DRAM and flash memory, memristors use less power while storing more data. According to Stanley Williams, senior fellow at HP, "What we have done is confirmed a concept for a new electronic device that was originally proposed nearly 40 years ago." Williams said that HP is now trying to build a simple computing device that uses memristors to operate on a different principal than today's computers. The prototype will first be introduced to academia to show circuit designers what memristors are capable of. Commercial availability of the technology could be possible in five years, Williams said.

Warner Bros. Resurrects The WB.

Warner Bros. Television Group has announced it will resurrect its former broadcast network, The WB, as a new ad-supported Web video-based interactive site. Featuring some of the studio’s most popular shows from its library, TheWB.com is targeted at the 16 to 34-year-old demographic. Warner Bros. will also launch KidsWB.com, a site aimed at ages 6-11, featuring the studio’s collection of animated favorites, including classics as well as new material. In an effort to incorporate a social network element, Warner had teamed up with Facebook.com to allow users to view content through an application on the popular social networking site. WB.com users will also be able to check their Facebook accounts without leaving the WB site. The WB ended its run as a broadcast network when it merged with UPN to create The CW in 2006. KidsWB.com launches this week with a rollout of programming. TheWB.com is currently in beta, and will launch publicly by the end of August.

Markertek Welcomes to the Family this Week:

CS Networks Inc.
Waterman Broadcasting
Delta Airlines
IBC Worldwide
City Of Macon
Eastern Kentucky University
KPTM Fox 42
Proctors Theatre
Bobsyouruncle.com
Tennis Canada
WECN-TV Puerto Rico
Miracle TV Corp.
Latinworks
FBI - Media Div. Quantico
SC Johnson Family Co.

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