Where Did My Stations Go?

I have been getting questions about why some or all of the TV stations are disappearing from TVs that receive the channels over-the-air using an antenna. The stories are all the same. One day the person can watch all the local channels and change channels using the Up / Down button on the remote. The next day all or some of the channels are gone and the screen has a message indicating that “no signal is found.” This can be frustrating and very inconvenient if you are sitting down after a long day ready to relax with your favorite TV program.

The problem is not with the local broadcasters. The problem is indeed in your set.
Once you understand what has happened it is easily fixed.

Digital TVs and DTV set top converters all have a built-in memory. For the devices to tune in the over-the-air stations they must have in that memory certain information about the individual TV stations. This information, once gathered, is stored in memory circuits built into the devices. Some TVs have memory chips that must have electrical power to retain the information. Since power is required, if there is an interruption in the power the chip loses its memory. I know at my house hardly a week goes by without some interruption in Duke’s service. We had two last week. Often the outages are short but there are occasions when they do last an hour or more.

You don’t have to have a power failure. I know of one person who used the outlet supplying power to her TV for her vacuum cleaner. Each time she cleaned her living room she would unplug her DTV converter box. When she wanted to watch TV, the channels were gone.

Another person was very conscientious about saving energy so every time he was done watching TV he turned off all the power by using a power strip with an on/off switch. His laudable green lifestyle did not mesh well with his digital TV set as he lost all his channels every time he finished watching for the night.

Fixing this problem is simple. All you need do is rescan for channels. On most digital TVs and DTV converters, this “scan function” will be found by pressing “menu” on your remote. Every TV has different terms for this function but if you look for terms like “channel set up” or “auto program” I am sure you will find it.

Most high quality TVs and set top converters have memory chips that do not require them to be powered all the time. These models not only more reliably maintain the memory, they also save energy.

More Than A New Gadget

It has been hard to pick up a magazine or newspaper, watch a TV news program or listen to the radio without hearing some report about the release of the new iPad. Even Steven Colbert took the opportunity on his program to use an iPad to dice vegetables for salsa. As much as I would like to, I can’t make salsa with it and I really can’t review the iPad since I don’t have one and the chances of getting one soon are not good. But the major gurus of all things high tech like Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal and David Pogue of the New York Times have given the iPod their imprimatur.

The excitement over the release of the iPad, and not too long ago the release of its older sibling the iPhone, is really demonstrative of radical changes that have been happening in the way we do things in every day life. Not long ago these new electronic devices took years to become commonplace. For sure there were always the techies or geeks that would stand in line to buy anything new that had batteries and beeped. For most of us we waited. Today the time period from the release of a new device to the time it becomes indispensable has been reduced to a New York minute.

Just look around your house or office. How did you ever keep track of family members and their ever changing schedules and whereabouts without your cell phone? Need to take the dog to the new vet clinic? Where did I put that GPS? Term paper due Friday on the French Revolution? Google to the rescue. And of course keeping track of family members far from home is made easy with Facebook, email and Skype.

How long did it take from the time you first learned about the existence of the new technologies listed above to the time that they became essential to your daily routine? I am sure that it was much quicker than the time it took for you to get your first PC or even CD player once they were first introduced. Let’s not even think about the time it took for more than one or two people to use that invention of those two bicycle mechanics in Dayton.

So as the iPad and all the other tablet devices come to market, don’t be surprised how quickly they become a familiar and commonplace tool.

US Broadband Plan Overdue

Recently the FCC released its much anticipated strategy for addressing the United State’s failure to provide universally available and affordable high speed broadband services. It may come as a surprise to many that US citizens have much slower access to the Internet than many much smaller and less affluent nations. The RoadRunner or Zoomtown offerings that we have available from Time Warner or Cincinnati Bell would seem like “dial up” to someone in South Korea, France or even Portugal.

There are many reasons why many of these countries are ahead of us. Some governments have been quicker than others to see the importance of universally available high speed access to the Internet for their economies to prosper. Other countries are ahead of us since they do not have in place an extensive legacy infrastructure which must be integrated into any new one. This is certainly a big issue in our country. In fact many developing counties will never have a hard wired telephone system since the installation of a cellular system is more economical and quicker to deploy.

No matter the reasons for our current less-than-adequate system, the new FCC Broadband initiative does a good job of identifying the problems and suggesting steps that need to be taken to address them. It also articulates the tremendous importance to our economy to be leaders in the digital era. While the FCC can make recommendations, it will be up to the Congress to find the funds to actually make the changes.

There are four major areas of concentration in the FCC’s Broadband plan. The first calls for policies to ensure robust competition and investment in the private sector.

The second calls for the efficient allocation and management of government controlled assets, such as spectrum, poles, and rights-of-way, to encourage network upgrades to these assets. This includes examining the wireless bandwidth now allocated to broadcasters to see if some of those channels would be better used for wireless broadband instead of radio and TV transmissions.

The third recommendation calls for reform of current Universal Service policies so that broadband services will be made available in high cost areas; and ensure that low-income Americans can afford broadband. It also supports efforts to boost adoption and utilization. The Universal Service concept began some 60 years ago to make sure telephone service was available in rural parts of the country. Expanding it to broadband seems only logical.

Finally, the FCC plan calls for the reform of laws, policies, standards and incentives to maximize the benefits of broadband in sectors that the government influences significantly, such as public education, health care and government operations.

The release of this plan is only the beginning. Over the next few years much discussion and debate will center on improving the availability and speed of our Broadband networks. I’ll try to give you updates on this critical issue.

Smart Phone Execs Seek Lighter Apps

The explosion in the sale and use of smart phones has spawned a new cottage industry among computer programmers. The slogan, “There’s an App for that!” has never been more true. Whether you use a Blackberry, an iPhone, or a Palm Pre, the list of programs (or apps) that will run on your new phone grows daily.

There are apps that allow you to surf the web, check the weather and book reservations at a local eatery. You can use you iPhone as a carpenter’s level, a geographer’s compass, musical instruments of all stripes and even a video camera.

Most of these applications are free or cost less than two bucks each and can be downloaded to your smart phone using the 3G network. The cost of the purchased apps is added to your phone bill, or in the case of iPhone apps, charged to your iTunes account.

While the proliferation of these apps is welcome news to the folks at Apple and the other smart phone manufacturers, there is one concern being raised by almost all of the major players in this smart phone game.

On Wednesday of this week, Apple executives are inviting application software developers to a special meeting at the sprawling Apple Corporate Headquarters in Cupertino, CA. The meeting is open to all smart phone application developers, not just those writing software for the iPhone. Executives from Apple will be sharing the results of some new market research that shows that the interest in new apps and in new phones is beginning to dwindle and if that trend continues the brisk sales of smart phones may dwindle as well.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, will report that the increased number and complexity of the apps installed on the average smart phone are having serious negative unintended consequences. The phones are getting heavier and heavier with the installation of each new app. Jobs will urge programmers to use more efficient coding in order to keep of the files lighter.

In a recent press release, Jobs points out that a fully loaded iPhone with 100 Apps can weigh eight ounces, or a half a pound, more than the same iPhone weighs in without
the apps. “The software developers need to be more attentive to how many bits and bytes are really required for each app,” said Jobs. “If we don’t do something to address these overweight apps, before long the iPhone will feel like a brick in your pocket.”

You can read the summary of the discussions on the Apple.com web page. It will be released on Thursday, April 1st.

More on "Gs" and Smart Phones

This is the second installment of our discussion about cellular data networks and smart phones. Last week we discussed the development of the high speed wireless data networks expanding the applications available on today’s smart phones. The smart phone is not only a mobile telephone but can handle many of the tasks once requiring a computer.

Smart phones began to hit the market in the late 1990s and were essentially a mobile phone with a few applications like a personal calendar and address book built in. The explosion in popularity came with the release of the Blackberry in 2002. The Blackberry was one of the first devices that were designed to take advantage of the new high speed mobile networks. That particular device was so popular, for many the name “Blackberry” has become the moniker used for any brand of smart phone. In less than 6 years the user base for Blackberries has topped 32 million. In 2007 Apple released the first iPhone and like so many Apple products, its design (both physical and technical) and applications changed the industry.

Smart phones now can do a host of tasks from the ridiculous (there is an app that turns your iPhone into a harmonica) to mind blowing (Shazam, a smart phone app can recognize music being played on the radio informing the user of the name of the song, the artist performing the song and how one can purchase a copy of the song.) There are apps that turn your smart phone into a GPS. Others will find a good restaurant close by and even make reservations.

Most now have very good digital cameras built in as well as video recorders. You can capture Billy’s dance recital on video and email it to Aunt Esmerelda. Or you can download the pictures or video to your computer and edit a masterpiece to upload to YouTube for the whole world to see. In some countries, smart phones are replacing the credit or debit card. Waving your phone in front of a soft drink machine replaces the need for cash.

With more and more of us using these devices, the 3G networks are getting overloaded. There are already instances in some of the larger metropolitan areas of the country when the networks are so overloaded that none of the subscribers can get service. While these outages last only a short time, for those truly addicted to their smart phones, a few seconds being off the net seems like an eternity.

Are Three "Gs" Better then Two "Gs"?

The battle continues between AT&T and Verizon. “My 3G network is better than your 3G network!” Maps fill the pages of TV Screens, newspapers and magazines comparing the networks’ coverage. Both promise a more robust and universal network. A week or so ago I was invited to speak before the Harrison Historical Society about new technology. Among the very insightful questions was one about this very issue. The question began with a request to define the term “smart phone.” To answer that question we need to define what all these “Gs” really mean.

Back in the dark ages of mobile phones when the smallest of the available devices was briefcase-size and had a battery that weighed a pound, all mobile or “cell” phones used a network dubbed “1G.” The “G” stands for generation and this network technology was the first generation. It was developed in the early 1980s and was fine for the analog devices in service at that time. It did require phones with protruding antennas and many cars required a little black antenna to be affixed to the rear window. In fact, in the early days that antenna was a sort of status symbol indicating that the driver had a cool new cell phone. You could even buy fake antennas to fool your neighbors that you were part of the cell generation.

The 1G networks were soon replaced by 2G, the first of the digital networks. With the number of mobile phone users exploding in the USA and around the world, the old analog system just could not handle the traffic. 2G systems could accommodate 50 or more simultaneous conversations on the same frequency and allowed for smaller phones with built in antennas. It was not, however, capable of efficiently handling data.

As more and more people wanted to be able to be connected while on the go, not only with voice but with email, the web, navigation services, and now even social networking, the carriers like Verizon and AT&T needed a revolutionary upgrade and that resulted in the current 3G, and soon to be prevalent, 4G networks.

The smart phone requires these networks as it essentially is not only a mobile telephone but can handle many of the tasks once requiring a computer. Next week we will look at smart phones in more depth and answer the question about who has the better G.

Movies From NETFLIX Online

In 1997 when the fledgling company NETFLIX began shipping movies on DVDs to subscribers nationwide, few would have predicted how fast the service would grow into an icon of electronic entertainment. The success of the company, which was then based on a very old business model of a physical library and 250 year old distribution system, the US Postal Service, was extraordinary. For those unfamiliar with NETFLIX, subscribers set up on line a list of movies they would like to see and, depending on the type of subscription, a selection of movies on DVDs is sent to the subscriber’s home each month. When you return one, another from your list is automatically sent. The DVDs are mailed back and forth. This system has been in place now for more than 10 years but its is about to change.

Just like the sale and distribution processes of music quickly changed from a physical product and physical distribution system, the distribution of movies is quickly following suit. Remember when CDs were once purchased in “Record” stores? Now we have a system that distributes music as MP3 files bought from on line stores like iTunes or Amazon.com.

NETFLIX now offers a complete online service that sends movies to your home using the internet. No DVDs, no trudging to the post office, no loosing the DVDs under the couch. Just like the original service, subscribers set up a list of movies they would like to see and one by one the selections are sent.

There are various ways of receiving these online movies but the one common denominator is a high speed Internet connection like Road Runner or ZoomTown. There are many devices available that can receive, store and play out the movies. For example, many of the new gaming devices such as the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3 can be used. There are several DVD players that are NETFLIX compatible. Sony and LG have HDTV sets that can receive, store and play out the movies directly from the Internet. You can also use a desktop or laptop computer.

The cost of the service runs from about $10 per month to $20. The number of movies you wish to receive dictates the price.

While the online delivery of movies is still only a small part of the NETFLIX business right now, if it develops as quickly as iTunes and Amazon MP3, it wont be long before the DVD may be as scarce at an LP.