----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
After a long and detailed conversation with the person who wrote the "press
release heard 'round the world" about how the government is going to turn
off "analog HD broadcasts", I get the latest Modern Home Theater email
magazine.
"When They Pull The Plug On Analog HD Broadcasts, Will You Be Ready?
The countdown has started. In just 36 short months, analog broadcasting will
end and un-protected analog HD programs will no longer be available. Analog
component outputs will be "down-rezzed" to 480p, the same resolution as
today's DVD. HDMI will be the only way to see HDTV from HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, HD
cable/satellite, and HD Gaming Consoles at 720p, 1080i, or 1080p beginning
Jan 1, 2009. For pure digital HDMI connectivity, you are going to need a
PureLinkT."
This is blatantly not true and they know it. I am copying both AV Revolution
and the author of the press release, and not pulling any punches. Allow me
to rip into these false statements one at a time. I apologize in advance if
the tone is someone less than friendly. But when marketing people write
press releases that represent a company involved in selling a product to fix
a problem that they grossly overstate AND a reputable company that should
know better publishes this advertisement repeatedly, even after being told
the claims are false, I lose my patience.
False claim #1: "pull the plug on analog HD broadcasts". In the United
States, there is no such thing as an analog HD broadcast. First, the word
'broadcast' means over the air (OTA). Even if you misuse the word to include
cable and/or satellite, the transmission of HD content from provider to
customer is not analog - it is by definition digital. Second, what is being
pulled is analog OTA broadcasts. Put another way, High Definition is a
subset of something called Digital Television, which is not Analog
Television. This seems obvious. To call the act of displaying a signal from
a high definition cable box 'broadcasting' is simply unacceptable.
Furthermore, while HD-DVD/Blu-ray have all said it's possible that you can't
watch hd content over component, cable/satellite have NEVER made this claim.
False claim #2: The cut off date is February 17, 2009, not January 1, 2009.
Google for 'analog cut off' and you will find this is true. Bush signed this
into law weeks ago, and this advertisement came out today.
False claim #3: Analog component outputs will NOT be down-rezzed to 480p for
over the air broadcasting, cable, satellites, and certainly not games. How
in the world is someone going to come into my home and stop me from playing
Halo 2 for XBOX in 1080i in 2009?? There is zero evidence to support this.
Now, it's true that HD DVD and Blu-ray have the potential to down-rez to
480p over component video, and many people (rightly) fear that the studios
will exercise this option, at least eventually if not right out of the gate.
But to extrapolate this into a claim that nobody gets to see HD content over
component video after January 1, 2009 is not only absurd, it's insulting.
False claim #4: "For pure digital HDMI connectivity, you are going to need a
PureLinkT." Ok, so now that we know there will be no analog HD viewing, we
need a solution. In comes PureLink to save the day! Let me plug in a
PureLink DVI to VGA converter. Well, shoot, the statement says "for pure
digital HDMI..." but this is DVI. Oh I need to buy a $30 converter cable.
Not exactly "pure HDMI" but it will work. That is, IF the content is not
HDCP protected. And interestingly, that is the one type of content they are
promoting as the problem, yet they offer no solution.
Misleading claim #1: "HDMI will be the only way..." - Even if everything
were true (which it is not), DVI is pin-compatible with HDMI. Therefore, to
say HDMI is the only way to get this content is to leave out an important
technical detail which would confuse customers even further - especially
those with DVI connectors who know wonder if their TV will work. Many people
with DVI have HDCP compliant interfaces. So you have to give consumers the
whole picture.
Misleading claim #2: "down-rezzed to 480p" - Actually, there is talk of both
480p and 540p (960x540) for HD DVD and blu-ray. Again, check facts before
publishing.
Here's the real story: you have a guy who is non-technical. He reads some
scary stuff about HD. He hears that studios are planning nasty things behind
the scenes to end our decades old fair use of copied material. He finds
testimony from consumer advocates giving a worst-case scenario to Congress.
All these ideas swirl around in his head. Then he realizes the company he
works for (or is contracted by) makes a product that would make all those
problems disappear. What a great marketing opportunity! Well sure, if that
product takes in the protected content and spits it out over analog
component. The problem is, their product does not, which they freely admit.
So you have this company advertising a product that does little or nothing
to the signal (in my testing, the picture looked much worse when using the
device than simply going through component video). Then you have a major
online audio/video publisher letting this advertisement clear their vetting
process. What you wind up with is a lot of consumers even more confused and
mislead than they were before. How does this help anyone?
I believe the content above has been thoroughly researched by myself as well
as the hundreds of HDTV enthusiasts I've talked to over the years -
including many people who work in the industry. If I have a single
inaccuracy, please let me know. Otherwise, companies like PureLink and
Modern Home Theater (aka Audio Revolution) need to hear from people like us
that they must do better than this. I will not buy a product out of fear any
more than I will agree to lose my civil liberties out of fear. Publishing a
vague and misleading press release to scare people with what MAY happen
someday violates every ethical standard I can think of. Please join me in
holding these companies accountable for their actions.
Jason Burroughs
To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same day) send an email to:
[email protected]
After a long and detailed conversation with the person who wrote the "press
release heard 'round the world" about how the government is going to turn
off "analog HD broadcasts", I get the latest Modern Home Theater email
magazine.
"When They Pull The Plug On Analog HD Broadcasts, Will You Be Ready?
The countdown has started. In just 36 short months, analog broadcasting will
end and un-protected analog HD programs will no longer be available. Analog
component outputs will be "down-rezzed" to 480p, the same resolution as
today's DVD. HDMI will be the only way to see HDTV from HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, HD
cable/satellite, and HD Gaming Consoles at 720p, 1080i, or 1080p beginning
Jan 1, 2009. For pure digital HDMI connectivity, you are going to need a
PureLinkT."
This is blatantly not true and they know it. I am copying both AV Revolution
and the author of the press release, and not pulling any punches. Allow me
to rip into these false statements one at a time. I apologize in advance if
the tone is someone less than friendly. But when marketing people write
press releases that represent a company involved in selling a product to fix
a problem that they grossly overstate AND a reputable company that should
know better publishes this advertisement repeatedly, even after being told
the claims are false, I lose my patience.
False claim #1: "pull the plug on analog HD broadcasts". In the United
States, there is no such thing as an analog HD broadcast. First, the word
'broadcast' means over the air (OTA). Even if you misuse the word to include
cable and/or satellite, the transmission of HD content from provider to
customer is not analog - it is by definition digital. Second, what is being
pulled is analog OTA broadcasts. Put another way, High Definition is a
subset of something called Digital Television, which is not Analog
Television. This seems obvious. To call the act of displaying a signal from
a high definition cable box 'broadcasting' is simply unacceptable.
Furthermore, while HD-DVD/Blu-ray have all said it's possible that you can't
watch hd content over component, cable/satellite have NEVER made this claim.
False claim #2: The cut off date is February 17, 2009, not January 1, 2009.
Google for 'analog cut off' and you will find this is true. Bush signed this
into law weeks ago, and this advertisement came out today.
False claim #3: Analog component outputs will NOT be down-rezzed to 480p for
over the air broadcasting, cable, satellites, and certainly not games. How
in the world is someone going to come into my home and stop me from playing
Halo 2 for XBOX in 1080i in 2009?? There is zero evidence to support this.
Now, it's true that HD DVD and Blu-ray have the potential to down-rez to
480p over component video, and many people (rightly) fear that the studios
will exercise this option, at least eventually if not right out of the gate.
But to extrapolate this into a claim that nobody gets to see HD content over
component video after January 1, 2009 is not only absurd, it's insulting.
False claim #4: "For pure digital HDMI connectivity, you are going to need a
PureLinkT." Ok, so now that we know there will be no analog HD viewing, we
need a solution. In comes PureLink to save the day! Let me plug in a
PureLink DVI to VGA converter. Well, shoot, the statement says "for pure
digital HDMI..." but this is DVI. Oh I need to buy a $30 converter cable.
Not exactly "pure HDMI" but it will work. That is, IF the content is not
HDCP protected. And interestingly, that is the one type of content they are
promoting as the problem, yet they offer no solution.
Misleading claim #1: "HDMI will be the only way..." - Even if everything
were true (which it is not), DVI is pin-compatible with HDMI. Therefore, to
say HDMI is the only way to get this content is to leave out an important
technical detail which would confuse customers even further - especially
those with DVI connectors who know wonder if their TV will work. Many people
with DVI have HDCP compliant interfaces. So you have to give consumers the
whole picture.
Misleading claim #2: "down-rezzed to 480p" - Actually, there is talk of both
480p and 540p (960x540) for HD DVD and blu-ray. Again, check facts before
publishing.
Here's the real story: you have a guy who is non-technical. He reads some
scary stuff about HD. He hears that studios are planning nasty things behind
the scenes to end our decades old fair use of copied material. He finds
testimony from consumer advocates giving a worst-case scenario to Congress.
All these ideas swirl around in his head. Then he realizes the company he
works for (or is contracted by) makes a product that would make all those
problems disappear. What a great marketing opportunity! Well sure, if that
product takes in the protected content and spits it out over analog
component. The problem is, their product does not, which they freely admit.
So you have this company advertising a product that does little or nothing
to the signal (in my testing, the picture looked much worse when using the
device than simply going through component video). Then you have a major
online audio/video publisher letting this advertisement clear their vetting
process. What you wind up with is a lot of consumers even more confused and
mislead than they were before. How does this help anyone?
I believe the content above has been thoroughly researched by myself as well
as the hundreds of HDTV enthusiasts I've talked to over the years -
including many people who work in the industry. If I have a single
inaccuracy, please let me know. Otherwise, companies like PureLink and
Modern Home Theater (aka Audio Revolution) need to hear from people like us
that they must do better than this. I will not buy a product out of fear any
more than I will agree to lose my civil liberties out of fear. Publishing a
vague and misleading press release to scare people with what MAY happen
someday violates every ethical standard I can think of. Please join me in
holding these companies accountable for their actions.
Jason Burroughs
To unsubscribe please click: [email protected]
To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same day) send an email to:
[email protected]