NTIA Awards More Grants for Broadband Mapping.
Friday, November 06, 2009

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced that it has awarded grants to fund broadband mapping and planning activities in Alabama, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming under NTIA’s State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program. The program, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will increase broadband access and adoption through better data collection and broadband planning. The data will be displayed in NTIA’s national broadband map, a tool that will inform policymakers' efforts and provide consumers with improved information on the broadband Internet services available to them. NTIA received applications representing all 50 states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia to participate in the program, meaning that all governments that were eligible to apply for grants did so, whether directly or through a designated entity. The first eight grants under this program were announced last month and the agency expects to continue announcing awards on a rolling basis throughout the fall. “This program will advance efforts to expand broadband access and adoption nationwide, which is vital to job creation and economic recovery,” said Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling. “NTIA will continue to provide guidance to applicants where necessary to help them improve their proposed projects, so that all states and territories can soon participate in this initiative.” Awardees are required to contribute at least 20 percent non-federal matching funds toward project costs. In addition, while the BDIA mandates that each state may designate only one eligible entity to receive funds under the program, each state's applicant will be carefully evaluated and must meet the standards described in NTIA's Notice of Funds Availability for this program in order to receive funding. The national broadband map will publicly display the geographic areas where broadband service is available; the technology used to provide the service; the speeds of the service; and broadband service availability at public schools, libraries, hospitals, colleges, universities, and public buildings. The national map will also be searchable by address and show the broadband providers offering service in the corresponding census block or street segment.

NAB Seeks Entries for 2010 International Broadcasting Excellence Awards.
Thursday, November 05, 2009

Entries are now being accepted for the 2010 National Association of Broadcasters International Broadcasting Excellence Awards. The awards will be presented during the NAB Show in Las Vegas, 10-15 April 2010. Established in 1995, the International Broadcasting Excellence Awards recognize international broadcasters who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing the broadcast industry and the services they provide to their communities and audiences. To enter, international broadcasters must submit an entry form by Friday, 12 February 2010. Additional information, including the online nomination form and a list of previous award recipients, is available here. The NAB Show will take place 10-15 April, 2010 in Las Vegas (exhibits open 12 April). The show is the world's largest electronic media show covering filmed entertainment and the development, management and delivery of content across all mediums.

CASBAA Announces Asia Subscription TV Figures Higher than Rest-Of-World Combined.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009

The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) this week announced new data for subscription TV penetration across the Asia Pacific, noting that the region now has 326 million pay-TV, up 26 million homes in 2009. According to CASBAA estimates, backed by global data, subscription television in Asia Pacific now reaches more homes than the rest of the world (ROW) combined. Digital pay-TV subscription households now account for over 115 million homes. According to the CASBAA, China and India have spearheaded much of the growth, accounting for 90% of all Asian pay-TV subscribers in 2009. India now has 19 million digital pay-TV households, while China represents 69 million digital video connections. Overall Asian digital penetration stands at 35% across 14 markets. "These are very encouraging figures," said Simon Twiston Davies, the CEO of CASBAA. "Much of the digital promise of the last five years is now being delivered." Meanwhile, CASBAA's annual pay-TV piracy survey of 15 Asia Pacific markets conducted in association with Standard Chartered Bank reflects the regional growth but also generating an updated estimate of US$1.94 billion in annual revenue losses to the industry. As new markets open, previously hidden pockets of piracy have become apparent as in Indonesia, for instance, where the local industry and government have paid increasing attention to pay-TV signal theft in the last year. Tax specialists at PricewaterhouseCoopers participated in the analytical exercise, and came to the conclusion that the biggest revenue losers were the governments in Thailand (US$76 million), Pakistan (US$56 million) and the Philippines (US$39 million). At the same time, in some places piracy has declined as investment in digital technology make signals more difficult to steal. Thus, piracy numbers in Hong Kong and Manila have declined as cable operators have deployed new digital transmission systems.

Denver Broncos - Top NFL Team Goes Mile High in HD with Markertek !
Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Denver CO - Markertek is the leading professional sports supplier for team and media support. We recently supplied the Denver Broncos with grip and media accessories at their home base of Denver, Colorado. Playing at Invesco Field at Mile High to a huge fan base, the Denver Broncos are currently a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) Western Division in the National Football League (NFL). The Broncos began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League and joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. Today, the media support staff for NFL teams encompass large amounts of talent and manpower for the current transitioning to an all HD format for broadcast. Markertek salutes the NFL and send our regards to the Broncos and all of the league's teams for a successful season and all those involved in bringing it to us from a Mile High in HD!

ICANN Approves International Alphabet Internet Addresses.
Monday, November 02, 2009

The first Internet addresses containing non-Latin characters from start to finish will soon be online thanks to last weeks approval of the new Internationalized Domain Name Fast Track Process by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers board (ICANN). The internationally organized, public benefit non-profit company is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers and domain names (like .org, .museum and country codes like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help computers reach each other over the Internet. Launching on November 16, 2009, ICANN's Fast Track Process will allow nations and territories to apply for Internet extensions reflecting their name – and made up of characters from their national language. If the applications meet criteria that includes government and community support and a stability evaluation, the applicants will be approved to start accepting registrations. "The coming introduction of non-Latin characters represents the biggest technical change to the Internet since it was created four decades ago," said ICANN chairman Peter Dengate Thrush. "Right now Internet address endings are limited to Latin characters – A to Z. But the Fast Track Process is the first step in bringing the 100,000 characters of the languages of the world online for domain names." IDNs have been a topic of discussion since before ICANN's inception. It's taken years of intense technical testing, policy development, and global co-operation to prepare the Fast Track process for its coming launch. "This is only the first step, but it is an incredibly big one and an historic move toward the internationalization of the Internet ," said Rod Beckstrom, ICANN's President and CEO. "The first countries that participate will not only be providing valuable information of the operation of IDNs in the domain name system, they are also going to help to bring the first of billions more people online – people who never use Roman characters in their daily lives." More information of the Fast Track program is available online at: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/fast-track/

Large-Area TFT LCD Shipments Reach Record Highs.
Friday, October 30, 2009

According to recent data from DisplaySearch, September 2009 shipments of large-area TFT LCD panels reached 52 million units, up 2% M/M and 25% Y/Y. This sets a new record for monthly large-area TFT LCD shipments. Large-area TFT LCD revenues reached US$6.8 billion, up 6% M/M and 15% Y/Y. The overall market grew despite the fact that shipments of monitor panels declined 8% M/M to 16.8 million units, the first time this segment has experienced a M/M decline since February of this year. Samsung shipped more than 5 million panels for portable PCs (notebook and mini-note/netbook) in September, which is the first time a supplier shipped that many panels in a month for this application. According to David Hsieh, vice president of DisplaySearch, "September was a record-breaking month for large-area TFT LCD panels in several segments, including total shipments, shipment area, notebook PC, TV and mini-note panel shipments. However, inventory adjustment and seasonal slowdown obviously influenced monitor panel demand, so for the first time since February, monitor panel shipments were down from the previous month." Hsieh added, "Sales of LCD TVs in China during the golden week holiday were very strong, indicating that the LCD TV boom in China is not over yet and many brands continue to purchase panels to refill inventories. Moreover, LCD TV demand is picking up in Europe and North America, driving panel shipments to a record high of 15.6 million in September." On a unit basis, Samsung was the leader with 24.3% market share, followed closely by LG Display with 24%, AUO with 17.9%, and CMO with 14.1%. LCD shipments for portable PCs (including notebook and mini-note) and TVs showed M/M growth—reaching record highs of 18.6 and 15.6 million units, respectively. In terms of area, large-area TFT LCD shipments reached 8.1 million square meters in September, up 6% M/M and 28% Y/Y, another record high for LCDs. Mini-note PC (5 to 11.6-inch) panel shipments were 4.4 million in September, achieving an all-time high. AUO and HannStar led this segment with each shipping more than 1 million mini-note panels in September.

Mantis Shrimps Could Show the Way for New CD /DVD Technology.
Thursday, October 29, 2009

The remarkable eyes of a marine crustacean could inspire the next generation of DVD and CD players, according to a new study from the University of Bristol published this week in Nature Photonics. The mantis shrimps in the study are found on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and have the most complex vision systems known to science. They can see in twelve colors (humans see in only three) and can distinguish between different forms of polarized light. Special light-sensitive cells in mantis shrimp eyes act as quarter-wave plates – which can rotate the plane of the oscillations (the polarization) of a light wave as it travels through it. This capability makes it possible for mantis shrimps to convert linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light and vice versa. Manmade quarter-wave plates perform this essential function in CD and DVD players and in circular polarizing filters for cameras. However, these artificial devices only tend to work well for one color of light while the natural mechanism in the mantis shrimp’s eyes works almost perfectly across the whole visible spectrum – from near-ultra violet to infra-red. Dr Nicholas Roberts, lead author of the Nature Photonics paper said: “Our work reveals for the first time the unique design and mechanism of the quarter-wave plate in the mantis shrimp’s eye. It really is exceptional – out-performing anything we humans have so far been able to create.” This would not be the first time humans have looked to the natural world for new ideas, for example the lobster’s compound eye recently inspired the design of an X-ray detector for an astronomical telescope. The mantis shrimp research was conducted at the University of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences in collaboration with colleagues at UMBC, USA and the University of Queensland, Australia.

Hitachi, Toshiba, Sony Receive Subpoenas in Optical Disk Inquiry.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Electronics manufacturers Hitachi, Toshiba and Sony said this week that the company's optical disk drive operations in the U.S. have received subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Justice in an investigation into potential antitrust violations. According to cdrinfo.com, Sony Optiarc America, which supplies a lineup of optical disc drives, has received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust division. The company, which is the result of a joint venture between Sony and NEC in the optical disc drive field, did not comment on whether the investigation included Blu-ray products. Japanese giants Hitachi and Toshiba also said separately Tuesday that their optical disk drive businesses in the U.S. would fully cooperate with the inquiry. Hitachi has a 51%-owned optical storage joint venture with LG, in a company called Hitachi-LG Data Storage. In addition, Toshiba's is a 51%-owned joint venture with Samsung called Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corp. Although none of the companies provided details on the subpoenas, the WSJ wrote on Tuesday that the criminal antitrust probe into the market for optical disk drives had been started by the U.S. Department of Justice some months ago, investigating disc-drive makers for possible price-fixing, bid-rigging and allocation of markets.

White Spaces Network goes Live in Rural Virginia.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Deployed by wireless solutions company, Spectrum Bridge in the rural town of Claudville, Virginia, unused TV broadcast channels freed up by the transition to digital TV are being used to wirelessly deliver high-speed Internet connectivity to business, education and community users for the first time in the U.S. TV white spaces are vacant channels in the television band and are ideal for sending broadband signals across long distances and for penetrating walls, trees and other objects. These TV white spaces hold enormous potential for expanding broadband access, particularly in rural and other under served areas. Signals delivered over TV white spaces can cover large areas and are unlicensed in keeping with a November 2008 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision, so device-makers and network operators using TV white spaces frequencies take precautions to prevent interference with licensed television broadcasts. To ensure that the use of TV white spaces in Claudville does not cause interference with local TV signals, the network is controlled by Spectrum Bridge’s intelligent TV white spaces database system. This database assigns non-interfering frequencies to white spaces devices, and can adapt in real time to new TV broadcasts, as well as to other protected TV band users operating in the area. Under an experimental license granted by the FCC, Spectrum Bridge designed and deployed a wireless TV white spaces network to distribute broadband Internet connectivity in Claudville. The new TV white spaces network is providing the “middle mile” link between the wired back haul and the WiFi hot spot networks deployed in Claudville’s business area as well as the school. The same network is also providing last mile broadband connectivity directly to end users. Roger Hayden, Director of Claudville Computer Center and Chairman of the Patrick County Broadband Task Force said, “We have been working for many years to help the people of Claudville get high-speed data services that urban areas take for granted. The citizens here are directly benefiting from the digital dividend created by availability of TV white spaces frequencies. Being able to leverage a TV white spaces network that covers Claudville’s residential, business and the surrounding areas is a major step towards meeting this goal.” According to Hayden, Dell, Microsoft and the TDF Foundation contributed state-of-the-art computer systems and software applications to the local school, as well as the town’s new computer center.

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