Wired

Whether you author DVDs for a living, or analyze HD encoded video for archiving, the Mason IP will impress you with its superb playback and advanced features.

Designed as the ultimate proofing tool for checking HD encoded video or verifying DVD projects, the Mason IP plays your files from any available network volume, just as if it was already burned to a disc. CONTINUED »

Man, it’s been a long time coming. For those of us that have followed the NTSC to ATSC changeover here in the US, it’s been years. Rewind your history tapes people and look back at 1996. Yes, that’s right…..1996 !! That is when the FCC approved and adopted the ATSC format for broadcast TV and told everyone that the transition would begin immediately and be completed by 2006.

How wrong they were. People do not like change, even for the better. With the general public completely confused and the TV station owners screaming at the FCC, Congress decided to step in to move the digital transition date to Feb 2009. Then when that delayed date came closer, Congress again decided to delay the DTV exclusive broadcast date to June 2009. I’m amazed that the DTV transition even took place with all the Congress members and FCC rulings involved.

But it’s past now and we can say ‘Goodbye’ to the old Analog broadcast television system. Thank you Philo Farnsworth and Vladimir Zworykin for decades of Analog TV.

- Mark Bain

Ok, so we are about to arrive at another DTV switchover date. That being June 12, 2009. As you recall, the last date was delayed by Congress because they determined some people were not prepared to have the analog broadcast signals turned off. Well, here we are at the latest transition date and are those people now ready? Of course not.

The latest survey shows that 3.3 million people are still relying on analog TV broadcasts. Myself, along with countless others, believe that you will always have millions of people not ready for the transition. No matter how much additional tax money is spent, you will always have millions of TV sets going dark on the analog cut off date.

So I am hoping that this latest analog cut off date is finally the last one. I am tired of years of delays for the adoption of DTV in the U.S. That’s right….years. We have had many cut off dates over the past decade, and all of them have been postponed. No more! Let’s turn off these inefficient analog transmitters and get going with pure digital.

-mark

As I type this, Congress is getting ready to pass a bill that would delay the television broadcast transition from analog to digital. They say a large number of people do not have digital TV receivers or set top boxes, so moving to complete digital broadcasts would leave those people without any watchable TV signals. I say, don’t delay. The move to digital broadcasts has already been delayed for years now. The transition was supposed to have happened years ago, but it was delayed again and again. I say, no more delays.
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Everyone at Wired is wishing all of you the very best this holiday season. And remember, this coming February 18, 2009, all TV broadcasts will be Digital Only. Your old analog tv set will no longer be able to pick up regular broadcast stations. So if you have not made the transition to a new Digital TV set, you might want to pick up a new TV set at a xmas sale. For more information, make sure you go to http://www.dtv2009.gov.

The Olympic games are over and I really enjoyed watching the HD OTA (Over The Air) broadcast from NBC. I chose to watch the games OTA instead of over Cable because I do not want to watch low bitrate Cable HDTV. My local TV station broadcasts a fairly high datarate HD signal for NBC and it was very enjoyable to watch FREE HD with only an inexpensive rooftop antenna.
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We have a new firmware download (0.98e) available for the MasonIP decoder. This version adds a lot more functionality for DVD verification and testing. You can get the latest download by clicking HERE.

We’ve just posted an updated version of the MasonIP User Guide. It covers installation, setup and operation, as well as the new features added with the latest firmware update.

It’s a 2MB PDF file that you can download here.

The MasonIP Video Player is the best thing since sliced bread. Really. But it’s pretty difficult to describe all it’s features and functions because it fits into really distinct categories. So to better explain the MasonIP, I will break out the features and applications by popular markets. First up, DVD Authoring. If you author or create DVD’s, read on below:

MasonIP for DVD Creators……. CONTINUED »

Next up, HD content. If you create HD content or need to verify HD files, see below for how MasonIP applies to you:

MasonIP for HD Playback……… CONTINUED »

OK, next up is how MasonIP can be used in a Broadcast environment. Read on below if you are a broadcast person and want to know how useful the MasonIP is in a broadcasting environment.

MasonIP for Broadcast……… CONTINUED »

We’ve switched over to a new Knowledge Base system that makes it a lot easier to find just the info you need. Here’s the direct link: Wired Knowledge Base