01/03, 12:00am
Company still in legal battle with networks
FilmOn, which has been engaged in a legal battle with major networks over the licensing of content, has announced an end-run around the issues with the announcement of FilmOn AIR, an ATSC digital antenna that plugs into either computers or mobile devices and displays legal "over-the-air" digital signals from the major networks and any other local broadcasters. The device is free with every annual US-based subscription to FilmOn's service.
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12/26, 10:25pm
LG LZ9700 to be first 72-inch 3D LCD TV
LG tonight gave another preview of its CES 2011 mix by showing what it said would be the largest 3D-capable TV yet as well as a portable 3D TV for the new mobile ATSC format. At 72 inches, the LZ9700 is much larger than the previous best 60-inch 3D sets and should provide a more immersive effect. Most details aren't known, but it will have a full 480Hz refresh rate, LED backlighting and LG's usual Internet video and TV app store support.
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03/09, 11:45am
Elgato remakes digital and analog USB TV tuner
Elgato on Tuesday rolled out a redesigned version of the EyeTV Hybrid. The USB tuner is now considerably smaller than the old model and uses an aluminum shell that looks more appropriate plugged into the unibody MacBook Pro. It can still catch over-the-air ATSC broadcasts in HD and can take any unprotected analog or digital cable signals. An RCA input adapter is bundled and accepts input from old analog sources like VCRs.
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12/29, 9:45am
LG Lotus, DVD player to get Mobile DTV
LG today teased some of its plans for CES by showing the first two devices to use the new Mobile DTV standard for free over-the-air broadcasts in the US. Headlining these is a modified version of the LG Lotus messaging phone that adds an antenna and tuner to pick up live TV. Also on tap is a portable DVD player, the DP570MH, that will show as much as four hours of digital TV when on battery.
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10/16, 10:00am
ATSC Mobile DTV gets matching chip
The TV standards group ATSC today said its members have approved Mobile DTV, its over-the-air format made just for portable devices in North America. The gesture should let notebooks, smartphones and in-car units tune into free, live broadcasts of H.264 video even while moving at high speed. Although not HD, the format can run on existing digital TV networks without significant complications and is built to consume little power on the viewer's end.
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04/20, 12:10pm
Wash gets ATSC Mobile TV
The outline the early launch plans for ATSC Mobile DTV, the first free over-the-air TV standard meant for portable devices in the US. Washington, DC will be the first city to get coverage and will be supported by 5 stations owned by CBS, Fox, Ion, NBC and PBS when service starts sometime in the late summer. About 39 percent of the US will be covered by the end of 2009 and should include major cities like Chicago, New York, San Francisco and several others.
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11/27, 8:00am
ATSC Approves Mobile DTV
The ATSC TV standards company today said it has approved a candidate version of the Mobile DTV standard. The technology will give American cellphones, notebooks, portable media players and other devices a more universal way of watching over-the-air mobile digital TV provided by regular broadcasters rather than through proprietary, subscription-only services such as the MediaFLO network used by AT&T and Verizon.
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05/14, 9:40am
LG Samsung Mobile TV in US
LG and Samsung this morning jointly said they would team up to promote a new standard for digital mobile TV in the US. Already submitted to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) that governs HDTV, the unnamed format would use the existing wireless spectrum already in place for digital over-the-air broadcasts to conventional tuners. The choice would not only make adding portable TV simple for existing providers but would do so without impacting the bandwidth available for full-size digital broadcasts, the companies say.
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