ATSC tuner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An ATSC receiver, often called an ATSC tuner or HDTV tuner, allows reception of digital television (DTV) signals broadcast over-the-air by TV stations in North America and South Korea. Such tuners may be integrated into the television, VCR, digital video recorder, and set-top box which provides audio/video output-connectors of various types.
Contents |
[edit] Technical overview
The terms "tuner" and "receiver" are used loosely, and it is perhaps more appropriately called an ATSC receiver, with the tuner being part of the receiver (see Metonymy). The receiver generates the audio and video (AV) signals needed for television, and performs the following tasks: demodulation, error correction, transport stream demultiplexing, decompression, analog to digital conversion, AV synchronization, and media reformatting to match what is optimal input for one's TV. Examples of media reformatting include: interlace to progressive scan or vice versa, picture resolutions, aspect ratio conversions (16:9 to or from 4:3), frame rate conversion, even scaling. Zooming is an example of resolution change. Commonly used to convert a low resolution picture to a high resolution display.
[edit] U.S Government mandates
The FCC has issued the following mandates for devices entering the US:[1][2][3]
- By March 1, 2007 all televisions regardless of screen size, and all interface devices which include a tuner (VCR, DVD player/recorder, DVR) must include a built-in ATSC DTV tuner
The current regulations are specified in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).[4]
[edit] Analog TV broadcast switch-off
In early 2006 the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005[5] became law, which calls for over-the-air television stations to cease their analog broadcasts by February 17th, 2009[6] (this cut-off date has been moved forward several times previously). Following that date, TVs and other equipment with legacy NTSC tuners would be unable to receive over-the-air broadcasts. This switch-off would cause tens of thousands of TVs to go dark and would cut off many lower-income viewers from their only source of television. A Congressional bill has authorized subsidizing converter boxes that would allow people to receive the new digital broadcasts on their old TVs. The final plan[7] is to make two $40 coupons available from January 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009 for all households with the initial $990 million allocated, after which an additional $510 million in coupons will be available for each household that relies exclusively on over-the-air television reception.
[edit] References
- ^ FCC INTRODUCES PHASE-IN PLAN FOR DTV TUNERS (PDF). FCC (2002-08-08). Retrieved on June 5, 2006.
- ^ Requirements for Digital Television Receiving Capability (PDF). FCC (2005-11-08). Retrieved on June 5, 2006.
- ^ FCC Moves Up DTV Tuner Date, Broadens Scope. TWICE (2005-11-21). Retrieved on August 30, 2006.
- ^ CFR Title 47: Telecommunication; PART 15—RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES; § 15.117 TV broadcast receivers (PDF). FCC (2006-10-01). Retrieved on February 11, 2007.
- ^ Pub. L. No. 109-171, 120 Stat. 4 (Feb. 8, 2006).
- ^ Senate approves 2009 for end of analog TV. MSNBC (2005-11-04). Retrieved on June 5, 2006. Section 3002 of the Act amends 47 U.S.C. section 309(j)(14) to provide for the February 17, 2009 deadline.
- ^ Commerce Department Issues Final Rule To Launch Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program. NTIA (2007-03-12). Retrieved on March 12, 2007.
[edit] See also
- ATSC DVD recorders
- Digital terrestrial television
- Digital broadcasting
- High-definition television in the United States
- QAM tuner
- Virtual channel
[edit] External links
- 5th generation ATSC Receiver review (2006-12-17). Retrieved on December 17, 2006.
- Over the air digital television reception FAQ. AVS forum. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.
- Patent and royalty info 2006-12-27
- Understanding broadband silicon tuners for broadband cable and TV apps: A Tutorial. Digital TV Designline (2006-05-17). Retrieved on June 5, 2006.
