I recently read an article in a well-known consumer-facing technical hobby magazine, where the author used the phrase, “watts per day.” This is an erroneous concept (the technically-trained author should have known better), which illustrates a matter that is often confusing to the average person.
“Watts per day” is not a meaningful unit of measurement.
The watt (W) is a unit of power, which is defined as the rate at which energy is transferred or used. One watt is equal to one joule per second (J/s).
The unit of energy is typically measured in joules (J), but it is also commonly measured in watt-hours (Wh) or kilowatt-hours (kWh). One watt-hour is equal to one watt of power used for one hour, and one kilowatt-hour is equal to one kilowatt (1000 watts) of power used for one hour.
In other words, the “watt” conveys the notion of the rate of energy consumption. When we pay for energy consumed, we pay for kilowatt-hours.
Therefore, if you see the phrase “watts per day,” it is likely that the author was trying to convey the notion of power used over a period of one day, and the correct usage would be to express it in terms of watt-hours (or kilowatt-hours) per day.
As an example: if a piece of equipment is rated at 100 watts, and the equipment is used for 8 hours every day, then we can say that the equipment consumes 800 watt-hours of energy (not power) per day.
AGC Systems’ President Aldo Cugnini will deliver an online talk, entitled “New Audio/Video/Wireless Technologies For Home Entertainment.” Scheduled for Thursday, November 18, 2021, 6:30PM EST, and hosted by the IEEE Consultantsâ Network of Northern New Jersey, the talk will explain how new technologies like UHDTV, HDR, and HEVC enable audio and video devices to efficiently deliver the latest entertainment to consumers.
The talk is free, and can be accessed by registering here.
This presentation is partly sponsored by Elecard. Click here for more information on their video and stream analysis tools.
Twenty-five years ago this week, the world’s first HDTV broadcast system was unveiled in Las Vegas at the 1995 NAB Show. AGC Systems’ Aldo Cugnini was there, as one of the many engineers who developed the “Grand Alliance” digital HDTV system.  Then at Philips, Aldo had a leadership role in the system’s development, which went on to become the ATSC digital television system.
Click here to see historic videos of the debut of HDTV.
Many consumers have long admired the Android operating system as a more “open” alternative to the closed iOS ecosystem. But more and more, Google seems intent on ruining this past advantage. Already, highly-admired features, like running apps from an SD card (and getting add-on storage), have been dropped from most phones. And while Google has claimed that change was for “better security,” many observers felt it was simply to upsell more storage.
Now, with its latest rev — Android 10 — Google adds more than 60 new features to the OS. And while some of these again are “security updates,” you can find gobs of information elsewhere that runs them down. BTW, rumor has it they didn’t give this “Q” release a food-name, because of lack of a good candidate. Really? What’s wrong with “quince,” or “quinoa”?
The rev does come with a host of new issues, however, such as the following:
Dark Mode. Introduced on Android 9 (Pie), Dark Mode provides a more-sexy theme based on blacks and dark colors. But amazingly, it doesn’t work with Google’s own Gmail or Maps apps. Duh.
Non-erasable Location Cards. This is a really annoying problem: visited location cards can’t be stopped from re-appearing in the Android Auto startup screen, even if you don’t have any interest in going to that location. One user complained about the dreadful situation where she was at a funeral for her mother, and now the damn phone keeps reminding her about that visit ad nauseum. While it may be possible to delete this by blocking all location history, that’s somewhat akin to using a sledgehammer to hang a picture.
Pixel Sensor Broken Issue — Many users are finding that the sensors on their Pixel phones stopped working after the update.
A Memory Leak has been reported that allows a closed app to remain resident in RAM.
Of course, any software update will have its growing pains, along with some workarounds. But when you build a feature like Location Cards and don’t think through something that would be obvious to any user, you’ve got a serious problem somewhere in the product development process. And what’s really inexcusable is that, from the posts on Google Help, it seems that issues like the Location Card problem have been known to Google even with Android Pie — and their staff responds by saying the behavior is “subjective.”
You’d think Google would have the resources to develop features that are useful and not annoying. Perhaps 10.1?
More than 100 NAB Show sessions and more than 50 exhibitors will feature Next Gen TV technology that is now voluntarily spreading to cities throughout the country. Powered by the ATSC 3.0 next-generation broadcast standard, Next Gen TV promises to deliver sharper, more detailed pictures and lifelike multichannel audio with upgraded broadcasts that will be transmitted and received in the same Internet Protocol language as Internet-delivered content.
Jointly sponsored by the Advanced Television Systems Committee, the Consumer Technology Association and NAB, the âRide the Road to ATSC 3.0â exhibit will be featuring a series of free presentations about all facets of the ATSC 3.0 standard. And attendees can pick up a free Guide to 3.0 at the Show in the Central Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center during the show.
Single Frequency Network Demonstrations
The NAB, with support from a number of technology companies, will demonstrate the Single Frequency Network (SFN) capabilities of the Next-Gen TV standard, showing how reception can be improved in difficult locations and in moving vehicles by deploying multiple broadcast towers transmitting the broadcast signal on the same channel.
Using several local transmissions, special SFN viewing kiosks will showcase the flexibility of the ATSC 3.0 standard. Dozens of sessions planned in the exhibit will include updates on the Dallas, Phoenix, Santa Barbara, East Lansing, Cleveland, and Korea ATSC 3.0 deployments.
Scores of papers and sessions will be presented about Next-Gen TV during the 2019 NAB Show, with session topics that will cover consumer research, consumer device plans, conformance testing, audio enhancements, station build-out advice, watermarking, advanced emergency information, channel security, advanced advertising and interactivity. In addition to ATSC, CTA and NAB, exhibit sponsors include Pearl TV, Sinclair Broadcast Group, LG Electronics, Dolby, Sony, Samsung and the AWARN Alliance. The centerpiece of the Ride the Road stage is a giant new LED videowall optimized for broadcast applications, provided by LG Business Solutions.
AGC Systems president Aldo Cugnini will be at the show, and available for discussions regarding support for ATSC and other related ventures. If you’d like to meet up, please contact us.
This month, the Federal Communications Commission allowed a plan to make the spectrum above 95 GHz more readily accessible for new innovative services and technologies. Calling the initiative “Spectrum Horizons Experimental Radio Licenses,” the plan is outlined in a First Report and Order, which allows a number of changes to existing rules, including:
a new category of experimental licenses, to increase opportunities for entities to develop new services and technologies from 95 GHz to 3 THz, with no limits on geography or technology; and
making 15.2 gigahertz of spectrum available for unlicensed use.
The Order specifically allows two types of operations:
A Spectrum Horizons experimental radio license can be issued for the purpose of testing and marketing devices on frequencies above 95 GHz, where there are no existing service rules. Licenses are issued for a term of 10 years and may not be renewed.
Unlicensed operations are allowed in the bands 116-123 GHz, 174.8-182 GHz, 185-190 GHz, and 244-246 GHz, that are consistent with the rules proposed in the Spectrum Horizons, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order.
Part 15 of the FCC Rules was also amended to extend operational limitations and interference measurements covering frequencies above 95 GHz.
The new rules provide that the Commission may, at any time without notice or hearing, modify or cancel a Spectrum Horizons License, if, in its discretion, the need for such action arises. Some commenters raised the issue that this could result in an abuse of the complaint process, but the Commission pushed back, saying they “routinely work with parties to resolve potential or actual issues…”
The Commission withheld action on their proposal for licensed fixed point-to-point operations in a total of 102.2 gigahertz of spectrum, and opposed the concerns of the ham-radio organization ARRL regarding protection from interference. In defending the latter position, the Commission states, “both the amateur radio service and the experimental licensing program are designed to contribute to the advancement of radio knowledge,” and goes on to say that “we will instead require all Spectrum Horizons License applicants to submit an interference analysis that would address the potential effects of the experimental operation on existing services.” Â
In addition to Chairman Ajit Pai, the proposal has general support — albeit with certain cautions — from all four of the other commissioners, who evenly represent both sides of the political aisle.Â
With the ATSC 3.0 standard essentially finished last year, the casual observer might have expected to see new product at this yearâs CES Show in Las Vegas.
Indeed, while there were a few 3.0 TVs scattered about â including at invitation-only showings by well-known TV manufacturers at suites and hotels â they were only early prototypes, since we shouldnât expect to see real product announcements until the 2020 show â which just happens to be when broadcasters have said they will crank up transmissions using the new standard.
Echoing this at the show was the VP of Communications at LG, John Taylor, who said, âWe expect that the launch pad is really 2020,â which is consistent with the typical 18 to 24 month silicon design cycle for chips to follow a new standard.
ATSC 3.0 Software Stack
ATSC 3.0 is, of course, the latest version of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standard. It will support several advances including mobile viewing, 3D television, 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD), high dynamic range (HDR), high frame rate (HFR), and wide color gamut (WCG) picture quality, as well as immersive audio and interactivity.
Until we see those new products emerge, the news we’re more likely to see will be from broadcasters.
Industry Leaders Collaborate to Launch ATSC 3.0 Chip for Broadcast and Mobile Applications
The universal demodulator chip is based on Saankhyaâs patented Software Defined Radio Platform, and supports 12 DTV standards including ATSC 3.0, DVB-T2, ISDB-T, and satellite and cable standards for TV, set-top boxes, and home gateways, as well for automotive and mobile applications.
This announcement follows Sinclair Broadcast Groupâs recent commitment to a nationwide roll-out of ATSC 3.0 service and its past announcement to fund millions of chipset giveaways for wireless operators.
Two variants of the chip were announced: a âDemod-onlyâ variant, SL3000, is designed for TV applications such as in HDTV sets, Set-top Boxes (STB) and home gateways. A âDemod-plusâ Tuner variant, SL4000, is designed for mobile and portable devices, possibly making it the worldâs first mobile-ready ATSC 3.0 chip. The mobile device is targeted to accelerate the adoption of the ATSC 3.0 standard across markets with both Direct-To-Mobile TV capabilities and Broadcast/Broadband convergence solutions.
The demodulator SoC was designed and developed by Saankhya Labs with ASIC turnkey design and manufacturing services from VeriSilicon, using Samsung Foundryâs state-of-the-art 28FDS (Fully Depleted SOI) process technology), chosen for its low-power capabilities.
Mark Aitken, President of ONE Media 3.0, said,
These mobile 3.0 chips validate the âsea changeâ in over-the-air distribution of not only television, but all digital data. Broadcasters are doing their part by deploying the NextGen transmission facilities, and now there will be devices enabled to receive that data, personalized and in mobile form. This chip is the key to that disruptive future in a 5G world.”
Broadcasters and Mobile Operators Partner to Deploy ATSC 3.0 â Harman Separately Partnering in Mobile Applications
SK Telecom and Sinclair Broadcast Group announced in Las Vegas that the companies signed a joint venture agreement to lead next-generation broadcasting solutions market in the U.S. and globally. The two companies will jointly fund and manage a joint venture company within the first quarter of this year. The joint venture company will develop innovative broadcasting solutions based on ATSC 3.0.
The commercialization of broadcasting solutions based on ATSC 3.0 – which enables data communications in broadcasting bands – will give rise to new services such as personalized advertisement and in-vehicle terrestrial TV broadcasting and map updates. It will also support two-way communication between broadcasting companies and userâs smartphone/vehicle/TV by recognizing userâs personal IP address.
SK Telecom and Sinclair anticipate all television broadcasting stations throughout the U.S. will adopt broadcasting solutions based on ATSC 3.0 within the next decade. Through the joint venture company, the two companies plan to actively provide ATSC 3.0 standards-based solutions to all U.S. broadcasting companies and seek other opportunities globally. The joint venture agreement follows last yearâs memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between SK Telecom and Sinclair at CES 2018 to jointly develop leading technology for ATSC 3.0 broadcasting.
Separately, the two companies also announced at the 2019 CES Show that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Harman International, a subsidiary of Samsung, to jointly develop and commercialize digital broadcasting network-based automotive electronics technology for global markets.
The companies intend to unveil their automotive platform and related equipment and services for the first time at the 2019 National Association of Broadcasters Show (NAB Show) in Las Vegas in April 2019.
AGC Systems’ Aldo Cugnini has been featured in the ATSC website and Newsletter as “Someone You Should Know.”
Separately, the two companies also announced at the 2019 CES Show that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with