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<strong>Veritas</strong> <strong>et</strong> <strong>Visus</strong> <strong>Display</strong> <strong>Standard</strong> February 2009<br />
Mirics FlexiTV receiver achieves NorDig 2.0 compliance<br />
Mirics FlexiTV has become the world’s first broadcast TV receiver utilizing software demodulation to comply with<br />
the latest NorDig 2.0 specifications for digital terrestrial TV reception. Typically applied to consumer television<br />
and s<strong>et</strong>-top box products, the NorDig test specifications ensure that compliant, quality products are developed for<br />
robust DVB-T signal reception. Launched in 2008, FlexiTV targ<strong>et</strong>s host processor-based platforms such as<br />
notebook PCs, and was the world’s first global standards broadcast receiver to leverage the flexibility and cost<br />
benefits of software-based demodulation. Mirics FlexiTV is the only commercially available software demodulatorbased<br />
receiver conforming to applicable broadcast TV and radio specifications. FlexiTV exceeds NorDig 2.0<br />
performance requirements on a standard consumer notebook with very modest system resource requirements. For<br />
example, a FlexiTV-enabled notebook is capable of receiving live <strong>Standard</strong>-Definition DVB-T signals with just<br />
30% CPU load. However, it is the move towards reception of HD signals that is really driving CPU resource<br />
requirements, where H.264 decoding presents a significantly greater burden than the requirements for software<br />
demodulation. Mirics FlexiTV can comfortably accommodate even the most demanding case of High Definition<br />
H.264 DVB-T reception within the resources of an entry-level dual-core x86-based PC. http://www.mirics.com<br />
Obama signs bill delaying switch to digital TV<br />
President Obama made the digital TV delay official earlier February, signing legislation to put off the switch until<br />
June 12. He and Congress hope to give millions of unprepared viewers four more months to upgrade their<br />
equipment so they don’t lose over-the-air programming. Although the major TV stations in Los Angeles won’t turn<br />
off their analog signals until the new deadline, the law allows stations to apply to switch on the original date<br />
(February 19) or any time before June 12. More than a quarter of the nation's 1,749 full-power stations have applied<br />
for permission to turn off their analog signals on the original date. They include Fox, CBS and ABC affiliates in<br />
San Diego; NBC, ABC, CBS and Telemundo affiliates in Santa Barbara; and KJLA and KHIZ, independent<br />
stations in Los Angeles. But there is a requirement that at least one station in the mark<strong>et</strong> continue analog broadcasts<br />
of local news and public affairs programming, as well as emergency and digital TV transition information for at<br />
least 60 days.<br />
New Year lawsuit targ<strong>et</strong>s Apple over lines on iMac displays<br />
Another class-action lawsuit has been filed against Apple (it was filed on New Year's Eve) over unwanted vertical<br />
lines on iMac screens. The lawsuit was brought by Florida resident Aram Hovsepian after his iMac, purchased in<br />
October of 2006, began showing vertical lines on the display in March of 2008. In his complaint, Hovsepian alleges<br />
that Apple failed to disclose material facts about the displays in its iMac line, and that there were “common<br />
manufacturing defects” that would cause the vertical line phenomenon to happen. “Instead, Apple remained silent<br />
knowing its iMac display screens would malfunction while consumers purchased iMacs, made warranty claims<br />
arising from the vertical lines on display screens, and made out of warranty repairs related to the vertical line<br />
problem,” reads the complaint. Because of this, the lawsuit says Apple is in violation of the California Unfair<br />
Business Practices Act, as well as the California Consumers Legal Remedy Act. The company has also supposedly<br />
breached its implied warranty by not disclosing these flaws, and has received unjust enrichment as a result.<br />
CPT, Sharp, and LG <strong>Display</strong> executives jailed in LCD price fixing case<br />
Executives from CPT, Sharp, and LG <strong>Display</strong> pled guilty to conspiring to fix prices. The price fixing led to inflated<br />
costs for displays used by firms like Dell in its notebook computers. In November of 2008, executives from Sharp,<br />
LG, and Chunghwa Picture Tubes all pled guilty to price fixing. The largest fine imposed was placed on LG and<br />
totaled $400 million with Sharp said to be paying $85 million in fines. DigitalTrends reports that the former<br />
chairman and CEO of Chunghwa, Chieng-Hon Lin was hit with an individual fine of $50,000 and a sentence of 9months<br />
in an American prison. The other executives involved in the scandal received prison terms ranging from six<br />
to nine months each. Deborah A. Garza, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, said in a statement, “The<br />
Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable all conspirators who harm American consumers, no<br />
matter where they live or where they commit the crime.”<br />
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