We've talked about "smart antennas" before in the context of DTV converter-box coupons. We're pretty big on the idea of self-aligning OTA antennas -- when you consider reports of HDTV misunderstandings, anything that reduces the knowledge necessary to get HD signal into the home is a good thing, in our book. Enter CEA-774-A, which puts forth standardized testing for these magical antennas that self-align for optimum reception like some DTV dowsing rod. We're hoping that these smart antennas get some sort of special CEA-standardized designation to differentiate them from standard multi-directional antennas, perhaps even a special color code along the lines of those already in use by the CEA.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has tapped Florence Henderson (a.k.a. Carol Brady) to launch its "Convert Your Mom" DTV transition campaign. It's true that awareness of the digital switchover is spreading; but we also know that there's a big difference between being aware and knowledgeable. And we're all familiar with how preparations The spots will encourage baby-boomers to help older family members make sense of converter boxes, antennas and other gear necessary to keep the health TV glow burning in the living room. And seriously, how could anyone not help Mrs. Brady? As the HD intelligentsia class, we encourage EHD readers to pick up the cause (some of us have already done our part). Even if the person you overhear at the local big-box store isn't family (or even a Brady), try to lend a hand. No need to launch into HD-esoterica (which we love), just keep it simple and ease them into DTV.

Granted, almost half of OTA-only households in America (48-percent, to be precise) are planning on picking up a digital converter box in order to get a few more years of life out of their old set, but for those taking other routes -- like spending their stimulus checks on a new flat-panel -- it seems as if tossing 'em in the garbage is a last resort. According to new research from the Consumer Electronics Association, fewer than 15 million NTSC-only TVs will be removed from homes through 2010. Of those, 95-percent will be resold, donated or recycled -- or so the owners say. We can also remember a time when Salvation Army accepted bulky, inefficient CRT computer monitors with open arms, but trying to hand one over today can be a lesson in futility depending on the store. All in all, we figure it's easy for respondents to voice good intentions, but shortly after these sets become useless in the OTA realm without a DTV converter, we have our doubts about the vast majority of them dodging the dump for very long.

Sure, this year's Super Bowl was said to be responsible for some two million HDTV purchases, but driving another million just a month later isn't anything to sneeze at. According to a new release from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament "will help inspire the purchase of nearly 1 million HDTVs (934,000), which represents slightly more than $1 billion in retail sales." Beyond that, the data also found that over half of existing HDTV-owning sports fans would end up turning their attention to the internet in order to fetch highlights and statistics. Of course, it also discovered that the amount of fans viewing whole games online is on the rise, and considering that The Man will likely have you right where he wants you tomorrow (read: nowhere near a TV), we don't find that surprising at all.

For years now, folks have been surfing over to AntennaWeb.org in order to find out what stations they could pull in over-the-air from their exact address. Thankfully, the Consumer Electronics Association and the National Association of Broadcasters have teamed up to make the site even more useful and informative. Most notably, the two have developed "an online antenna mapping program designed to help consumers and electronics retailers determine the proper outdoor antenna to use in order to receive free local broadcast channels." Additionally, the partnership includes "infrastructure and site capacity upgrades, site design improvements, and database upgrades that will further improve the user experience." Head on over to the site to see what's changed, and be sure to check back often to monitor if these two keep their promises.

We've no idea if Panasonic's sudden urge to decrease the power consumption of its plasmas has anything to do with this, but nevertheless, the Environmental Protection Agency has announced an updated ENERGY STAR specification for digital televisions that will hopefully "lead to further reductions in the amount of energy consumed by DTVs." The new standard will reportedly grant the coveted ENERGY STAR label only to "the top 25- to 30-percent most energy efficient TV models," and furthermore, it will (for the first time) "take into account active mode or 'On' mode power consumption in addition to standby mode energy use." Needless to say, the CEA found a moment to applaud the new spec, and as far as we can tell, it's being instituted immediately.

[Via Widescreen Review]

We've already heard the NTIA's plans to educate consumers as the digital TV transition draws ever closer here in America, and apparently, the efforts so far have been fairly successful. According to new research released by the Consumer Electronics Association, consumer awareness of the looming switchover is up 80-percent since 2006. The study also points out that 72-percent of respondents were schooled courtesy of ads seen on television, while 39-percent heard it through the grapevine (read: "friends and family") and 26-percent found out from the intarwebs. 'Course, we also heard that a whopping 22-percent of folks "had no plans" for the cutover last November, so we're sure there's still a few OTA-only homes out there that have a real shocker comin'.

[Via Widescreen Review]

Wow, that was really quick. The CEA just turned down the proposal of adding 1080p to the component video spec. Apparently, television and movie industry suits were totally against the idea - big surprise. We're sorry if we got anyone's hopes but it doesn't look like there is going to officially be 1080p over component anytime soon. It sounds like there is a plan B however, but something tells us not to hold our breaths.

The members of the National Association of Broadcasters have spend some big bucks -- mostly against their will -- to upgrade their transmission equipment in preparation for the analog shutoff, and now that we are getting closer to the wire, the lack of ATSC-to-analog converter boxes available is starting to make them nervous. David Rehr of the NAB is concerned that if the tuners are not widely available on January 1st 2008, (when consumers can begin applying for those federal rebates) it will cause "significant consumer confusion" and "negatively impact the overall success of the transition." Even the above pictured tuner seems less available today then a few months ago, either way we agree it's about time LG and the rest start delivering on their promise.

You don't have look too awfully far to find at least a couple of pals who have made the leap to HDTV, and according a recent survey by the Consumer Electronics Association, over one-fourth of American households now sport a high-definition set. The pie chunk represents around 35 million displays in all, with more than half of 'em coming in at 40-inches or larger, and while these current figures might be satisfying, the CEA is estimating that another "16 million HDTVs will ship into the marketplace this year alone." Additionally, the survey found that just 86-percent of owners were "highly satisfied" with their purchase, while we assume the other 14-percent are still left wondering why they're watching large moving blocks instead of a legible image. Interestingly, traditional means of broadcasting weren't the only mediums getting utilized, as a substantial amount of customers were noted as actually turning to the internet to get their programming fix, which leaves us to ponder just how rapidly the broadcasting ways of days past will transform in the years to come.

[Via TGDaily]

Two major manufacturing and broadcasting trade associations both endorsed a plan to help the government ensure an easy transition to over-the-air Digital TV today, drafting a resolution to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA -- yeah, we hadn't heard of them either) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which counts as its members basically every manufacturer of electronics; and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), who has representatives from almost every television broadcaster; combined with the Association for Maximum Service Television, Inc. (MSTV), a more technically-focused group of local stations. The three organizations submitted a proposal for the NTIA to take into consideration as it attempts to make rules for providing digital converter boxes to the American public for receiving DTV after the February 2009 cut-off date for analog broadcasts.

Some interesting sections of their proposal include not limiting digital-to-analog box coupons to strictly those who get their programming over-the-air (which should include those with satellite and an OTA antenna for local channels), and calls for both simplicity in the program, and the availability of low-cost, high-quality components. Waaait a minute, a call for plainly-marketed, well-built electronics at a low cost? What are we missing here? Oh right, Congress authorized five million dollars for educational campaigns, might as well get in on that now and put it to some good use. As an owner of an OTA set-top box, I can say they have huge potential for making the transition to DTV painless for even the most ancient of televisions, and will hopefully spur most Americans to buy a real HD-capable set, which in turn will push broadcasters and networks to produce all their content in HD so we don't have to worry about turning off channels during football.

It seems that Circuit City was ahead of their time when posting notices to customers concerning the analog shutoff. We applaud them for it and are equally excited that the Consumer electronics Association is increasing efforts to get the word out.

They are basically asking for labels on analog TVs and signs posted so that consumers understand that the TV's integrated tuner has a limited life span. The notice is long and I am sure that it will cause some confusion, but just like the Circuit City notice it will help sell some DTVs.

Speaking of selling DTVs, the CEA is also predicting that 2006 will be the first year that DTVs outsell analog TVs. They also note that DTV sales are expected to see a 50% increase over 2005.
 
via [Broadcast Newsroom]

Is it me or do the same people win this thing every year? Some of the previous year's winners are obviously the true Pioneers in Digital TV.

The biggest missing player in this year's nominees is DISH Network; I mean how many channels do you have to add to get nominated? I think they have done more in the last year than the 3 companies that were nominated, well maybe not three times as much as DIRECTV.

My favorite is Lost, a nominee for the "People's choice" award. I think this is the best show on TV right now and it's one of the only shows that I watch 15 minutes after it starts, the rest of the shows get better with age on my HDTivo. I am a bit disappointed that none of my Representatives were nominated for "Best DTV Leadership", I guess I will have to email them to tell them they are slacking!

Or at least thats what the Sports Video Group's survey has uncovered (big surprise, with that name I really doubt the result was going to be most people get high definition for Discovery channel). The "Inside the mind of the HD sports fan" uncovered several statistics that will probably surprise very few of you.

• 39% of sports viewers are extremely disappointed when an event they want to watch is not in HD
• 22% will watch an event they otherwise would not have watched because it is in high definition
• Nearly 50% of HDTV owners cited sports as the reason for their purchase

Hopefully the NBA is paying attention to studies like this, far too many times this season I've had to watch games in SD because they were not broadcast in high definition, or were not broadcast in HD nationally.