The most common mistake made by people trying to put together their first resume is that they put in too much information. They want to describe everything they have done since the moment of conception to the present. The resume ends up being too long and nobody reads it.
The most important piece of information you need to remember is that your curriculum vitae, no matter how it is put together, will do a review of 15 to 30 seconds by the person conducting the initial review.
This person is usually someone in human resources whose task is to watch hundreds of CVs a day. You must create your resume in such a way that gives all the information they need within a maximum of 30 seconds.
There is information that, under most circumstances, should not be in a curriculum vitae. This includes:
• your age or date of birth
• Religious or political affiliation
• why you left your last job
• Your Social Security Number
• Health restrictions or physical limitations
• Any sentence that has "not", "can not" or "incapable"
Age or date of birth
Again, you should not put your age or date of birth in a curriculum vitae. In the United States, an employer has no right to know your age. An employer may ask you if you are aged over 18 years for reasons of liability insurance or if local, state or federal law requires that employees be more of a certain age.
Therefore, if you fear that your age is a factor, does not mention the date of your high school diploma or years that you've received one of your diplomas. I received my undergraduate degree in 1962. One of you guess my age?
Religious affiliations or political affiliations
It is generally recommended to stay away from the inclusion of a particular religion or belonging to a political party. However, being active in your community or your church can sometimes be a positive factor in many large companies, so you should make general statements about your involvement in activities that support the community. Volunteer work for a charity group would be a positive example, but active support for an environmental group might raise some eyebrows.
Reasons for leaving previous jobs
We have become a mobile society and longevity in a position is currently considered two years. People accept new jobs for many reasons. If you left your last job because of differences with your supervisor or your business philosophy, I do not recommend you put this information in your CV. The reader may have a negative impression of you. If you could not get along with your last company, you probably will not get here.
If the job application asks you to give reasons for leaving your last job, a safe and truthful answer is possible that you were offered a better position. "Better" could mean a pay rise, better hours, better desktop environment or newer equipment.
Your Social Security Number (SSN)
The exceptions that resumes are sent to the federal public service positions. A future employer may ask for your Social Security number in an application - which is normally a condition for employment. However, putting your SSN on a summary could lead to disaster.
You'll send CV number, you will not know who will read them. This does not cost much money to put an ad in the newspaper or on an Internet job site, and a dishonest person may publish a fraudulent listing.
If someone knows your SSN, it may request credit card or other important documents, such as duplicate SSN cards with information that you provide a resume normally. Be careful if someone in the public asks for your SSN.
Information on health and disability
The Americans with Disabilities Act has changed between firms in the recruitment of United States and hire an employee. Generally, an employer has no right to know your health status. The only health-related questions that an employer can ask are job related.
If job description requires that you lift 50 lbs, the employer has the legal right and legitimate to ask in the interview if you can. He may also mention the requirement in its listing. It may ask you if you have back problems, diabetes, or have had a heart attack unless the job as an airline pilot, requires perfect health.
Learn your rights if you live outside the United States.
Marital Status
I added the status, because that is another issue that can turn against you, especially if you are a single parent. I know some people will disagree, but single parents have the highest rate of absenteeism in the workforce.
Companies will try to avoid hiring a single parent, if possible. However, the United States they can not ask your marital status or if you have any children. Do not volunteer this information on the resume.
If asked this question in an interview, the answer might be: "Can you tell me what this has to do with the position I'm going to ask?" Who should stop questioning on this issue if the interviewer does will not face prosecution.
Articles
A legacy of food and family online
Have you secretly wanted to be recognized for your hard work daily in the kitchen? Do you imagine a chef was the talented Martha Stewart (without the ankle bracelet)? Well, guess what? There is a quick and easy way to showcase your culinary skills and display your special recipes.
Although some people claim it is a piece of cake to make meals each day, the truth is, it can be exhausting and monotonous work. For example, after a long day at the office, sometimes you're too tired to comment on a TV show to watch, let alone to choose what type of meals to prepare. Moreover, not all are naturally gifted in the culinary arts for some baking might as well be rocket science. But here's the good news - with modern communication systems, high technology (ie, personal computers), you do not need to be a master chef! Those who need a nudge, and some creative ideas to simmer pots can access thousands of recipes and cooking tips online. Even a beginner can find what they need to get started in the kitchen.
There is no time like now to download your family recipes and write your stuff in the art of cooking. The reason for this approach is twofold. First, you can stop worrying about losing a receipt because they will all be stored in the memory of your computer. Secondly, you will be doing a great service to the online community of "foodies" who are always hungry for new dishes and new techniques to try.
Put your family recipes online is a great way to organize your recipes, too. On your site you will be able to distribute food types in different categories such as:
- Breakfast Foods
- Breakfast Food
- Dinners
- Snacks
- Meat Cocktail
- Food Barbeque
- Vegetarian Menus
- Diabetic Meals
- Summer treats
- Holiday Foods
- Rich Desserts and options "low calorie
Your viewers will be able to pick and choose among these categories and within seconds, they will be armed with more a detailed recipe. You can take it a step further and offer a shopping list for each meal and cooking tips for helping to ensure that preparation goes as smoothly as possible.
For the novice cooks and experts like you can get a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) and also encourage users to email you directly with unusual requests. Maybe you even want to have an online forum where your audience and you can conduct lively conversations about a variety of topics ranging from where to get fresh produce, to search before buying fish costs, and the best kind of spices for use in a gumbo.
The display of your family recipes online and create an interactive Web site has a lot of sense. You will create a legacy mail for members of your family to enjoy, and you will also reach out to the wider community of the Internet. In the troubled world of today, where multitasking is almost over and for the people tend to eat on the fly, in May reflected recipes give another family exactly what they need to get closer.
Chinese Tea Types with Explain
Probably you know the Chinese saying, "Firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea are the seven necessities to begin a day." Although tea is last on the list, you can still see how tea is for the Chinese.
There are currently thousands of varieties of Chinese tea. They are usually classified by procedure, quality and methods of preparation and so on. However, if we consider tea in terms of quality, there are currently eight classes of Chinese tea. These include green tea, oolong, black, red, white, yellow, flower, and compressed tea.
Now let's look at these classes one by one.
Green Tea
Green tea is considered the most natural form of Chinese tea. It is generally chosen, naturally dried and fried briefly to get rid of the smell of grass. Unlike other types, green tea jumped fermentation process.
According to some experts, green tea has the value of most drugs and less caffeine content of all classes of Chinese tea. The aroma of this type of Chinese type range from medium to high, while the flavor is usually mild to moderate. Today, approximately 50% of China's tea is green tea.
Oolong Tea
This type of Chinese tea is halfway between green tea and black tea in a sense it is half fermented. Also called Chinese "Qing Cha" and its typical leaves are green in the middle and red on the edges as a result of the process to soften the tea leaves.
The oolong tea leaves are basically withered and spread before undergoing a process of fermentation of short duration. Then it is fried, rolled and roasted.
Black tea
The Chinese black tea produces full-bodied amber when brewed. Also, this type of Chinese tea undergoes withering, then left to ferment for a long time, then roast. The leaves of this variety become completely oxidized after processing.
Red Tea
As its name implies, this type of Chinese tea has red leaves and red tea. This color is strongly highlighted during the fermentation process. It is also considered that red tea has the aroma and flavor from low to medium, and is now divided into three subclasses: Kung Fu Red Tea, Ted Tea Bits, and smaller species of red tea.
White Tea
This type of Chinese tea is sometimes considered as subclass of green tea. Maybe for the fact that it is only withered and then roasted. Like green tea, white tea escaped fermentation process. And it is low in caffeine.
Yellow tea
Apparently, yellow tea has yellow leaves and yellow tea. According to some experts, this type of Chinese tea is an uncommon class of Chinese tea. The flavor of yellow tea is usually light and refreshing.
Flower Tea
Here is a unique type of Chinese tea - the tea flower. It is actually divided into a fragrant tea and flower tea. Well, tea flower rests on a simple concept that dried flowers are used without much treatment, to make tea. The fragrant tea, on the other hand, uses green tea and red tea as base and mix with the scent of flowers. In general, this class has a light flavor for medium and medium-sized companies with strong aroma.
Compressed Tea
The last type of Chinese tea is the compressed tea. This class uses black tea as the tea base. It is steamed and compressed into bricks, cakes, columns and other forms. Also, compressed tea has all the characteristics of black tea. It can be stored for years and decades.
Dodge Challenger 2010
2010 Dodge Challenger : Back to the Future!
Blogs, car sites, and auto shows have been hyping up the concept Dodge Challenger to the point where one might think that the car is almost ready to get out of a DCX assembly line. To say that the prototype is well received is an understatement - quite frankly if the Challenger was offered for sale today the waiting list is long months. Such is the demand of a retro car that takes its style buttons from the '71 Challenger.
In its current version, the car will be built as DaimlerChrysler has given its blessing to the new Challenger. But the Challenger is more than three years to be built because it is likely to be released some time during the year 2009 as 2010 model. Yes, the wait will be difficult for many, but if the hype equals the performance, then the wait will be definitely worth your time.
Some people are against the whole retro car revolution. Indicating that Detroit should return in time to come to make vehicles in question is testimony to the evils of the automobile each. Instead, I believe that many models currently listed under consideration or already in our streets is a clear testimony of Detroit finally listening to its customers: we want cars that are of unique style and we want them perform exactly the way you say they will perform. No fake hood scoops, no model name announced slap on a car that is nothing compared to the original. No, we do not want you to build the original model, we want to build the original model better. Take the styling cues and run with them and integrate modern technologies to improve the original design. That's all we ask.
So what can fans expect when they take possession of their Challenger? Well, as I said the car is still at the planning stage, but what I gleaned from the various sites have the following information:
NEWS Updated Platform - If you like the Mercedes based LX platform currently used to run the Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum and Dodge Charger then the LY platform will suit you well. DCX plans to change the LX platform for its next generation of vehicles and Ly based Challenger will be one of the many cars built upon it. Some have suggested that Ly be the LX on steroids, whatever that means.
NEWS You said "HEMI? - Every Mopar product importance will have optional Hemi power and the Challenger is no exception. Expect a V6 series with the optional Hemi V8 for performance versions of the car. Some have suggested that the SRT 425 HP 6.1L V8 will also be made available for the Challenger.
NEWS Ragtop Regalia - Chrysler Sebring said that its offer will be convertible only, but that leaves Dodge dealers without a car hood on the market [other than the Viper, of course]. Despite this lack of information, looking for a Challenger convertible occur one or two years after the debut of the car. Heck, if DCX does not build, bodybuilders and Aftermarket will work for them. You can bet that Dodge dealers will make these arrangements if DCX does not.
Yes, the Challenger will not be in the showrooms new car anytime soon. For those of us waiting with "baited breath" we must console ourselves with the many blogs, websites, car shows and hype around the car. Other than that, imagine your very new Challenger stopped at a traffic movement with a Mustang on one side and a Camaro on the other side ...
3 Exceptional European Automakers
When you think of exceptional cars that are built in Europe, your mind run strictly cars manufactured by Rolls Royce, BMW or Mercedes? Perhaps Jaguar and Lamborghini come to mind too. Each of these makes deserve all the praise given to them. However, there are three brands that are, for various reasons, exceptional. Let's take a look at Volvo, Volkswagen and Audi, the three brands featured in this article.
For a country of just nine million to produce one automaker would be quite surprising. To claim two automakers is simply phenomenal. Volvo and Saab are from this particular country which is Sweden. Now, part of Ford Motor Company, Volvo has greatly influenced the automobile industry over the years. The safety standards that were universally low elsewhere are much more appreciated with Volvo. Front crumple zones, reinforced roofs and specially designed interiors have all had their origin with Volvo. Outside these high safety standards have come a line of cars that are, in fact, some of the best and safest cars on the road built. Fortunately, thanks to the leadership of Volvo car manufacturers around the world have incorporated the high safety standards of Volvo. This makes Volvo's unique in my eyes.
The company that brought the world the First Peoples' car, the Beetle, is also exceptional. First developed in Germany during the 1930s, the Beetle survived World War II and was one of the most mass produced and loved cars in the world. Between the 1950s before the Beetle managed to motorized transportation available to people who otherwise could not afford a car. Students from colleges in the United States to migrant workers in Mexico and the gritty cities of Holland to the Irish agricultural land, the mountain is that owning a car affordable to the majority of the masses. Even after importing the United States ceased in the 1970s, the Beetle was produced for another generation and sold in Mexico.
Without drawing out the point too far, the word that best describes the Audi quattro technology is "superior handling." Perhaps that is an understatement but when Audi introduced Quattro All Wheel Drive society has thrown the gauntlet down and told the rest of the car make the world that quattro was the standard by which all sedans Luxury will be judged. The Audi quattro technology has given the company a considerable advantage over its competitors during the years he has been banned in certain types of races. Indeed, Audi quattro technology provides continuous traction long past when other road behavior patterns have reached their threshold.
So, there you have it. Three truly exceptional automobiles from the European continent, in an exceptional way, perhaps it should be labeled as extraordinary.
How to buy your first digital camera ?
If this is your first time to buy a digital camera and you're just beginning your foray into digital photography, it is understandable that you're a little baffled when choosing what to buy your first digital camera. After all, if you're not so confused and if you already know what camera you should buy, then you would not see an article like this.
When you start with digital photography, you need the best digital camera that is best suited to your level of expertise. Using a digital camera that is just right for you to guide you as you learn your way around the field of photography, and help you develop an appreciation for art. The digital camera that you use must be perfect for you. Use a camera that is too advanced for you and you will end up being frustrated with the opportunity to lead you to give up photography. It is important that the camera you choose should be just for you.
How do you get to choose your first digital camera, the camera is perfect for you? Everything depends on your reasons for wanting to learn photography and the amount of time and money you're willing to invest on such a tool. Here's a quick guide on how you choose your first digital camera.
1. Go for digital SLR cameras. When choosing whether to go for a point-and-shoot camera or a digital SLR camera, take the SLR. An SLR is easier to handle than a point-and-shoot camera. It is also the best decision if you are thinking of becoming a point-and-shoot camera, then switch to SLR, later, simply because it is more profitable.
2. Get a camera that loves you. Beautiful pictures are created if there is a good relationship between the photographer and his digital camera. So when you go to buy a digital camera, buy something you know you'll love the help, no matter how many years pass. It's like a marriage - you want your camera is something that will grow old with you.
3. Opt for the latter model. If you can afford to buy the latest digital camera available. Buy the latest model is a better investment than buying a camera, second-hand obsolete. You do not know if there are broken parts in the camera used, and if there are broken parts, it would actually cost more to repair because the old pieces are harder to find that new .
4. Buy a spare memory card to go with your digital camera. You never know when you need extra memory for your digital camera and it is impossible for you to transfer all the images from your camera to your computer. Compact Flash cards are the best and most reliable memory cards around to suit your digital camera. You can also use SD cards, MMC cards and other types of memory cards as long as they are compatible with your camera.
5. Get a battery life decent. Digital cameras are known to suck the juice from the battery very quickly. Then you will not find yourself in the middle of a shoot with a dead camera, which can be very frustrating, buy batteries that have a decent life. Also, remember to recharge your batteries after use and keep some spare batteries in case you forget.
6. Your goals and your style of shooting. There are many different lenses designed for different shooting conditions. There are glasses for lighting and poor shooting night. There are lenses to take photos at faster speeds. Get a set of lenses that suits you the kind of photography you want to develop and will focus on.
7. Megapixel count. Cameras with more megapixels to take pictures with higher resolutions, thus better quality. Pictures with higher resolutions are easy to play with, and you can reduce the size of these images without worrying that they are blurred. Choose a digital camera that has the highest megapixel rating you can afford.
8. The design and feel. Never buy a digital camera online, unless you are sure the camera has the features you want and you will use, and unless you are sure of how the device could hold in your hands. Always opt for a camera that does not feel too heavy when you lift and has features that you are not losing support.
Your first digital camera must be a camera that will love you always use, so advanced that you get with photography.
Guide for Buying HDTV
Its tutorial substance and analysis are still applicable today, and are intended to help consumers in making the right purchasing decisions. Enjoy the reading.
The following topics are covered in this segment:
H/DTV and NTSC TV Systems, What are they?
The First Effort of the DTV Transition
Quality HDTV, or Quantity DTV, or Both?
Backward Compatibility with Legacy Analog TV for Digital Broadcast
Satellite/Cable, and the DTV Transition
Tuner Integration
The Effect DVD had for DTV
The Rush for Knowledge
You have been hearing about HDTV and decided to start looking for one. A friend of yours reminds you that the general knowledge about buying regular TVs from the CRT analog era is not sufficient to select a digital product today, so you quickly review what you read about widescreen, black bars, digital tuners and resolution, and hope things would clear out at the store.
You get into the typical nationwide consumer electronic store most people go to, and suddenly see several dozens of HDTV demo sets staring back at you. A salesperson is approaching you, the person's face is familiar; the salesperson is the one that sold you the new dishwasher two weeks ago; now the person is selling HDTVs with authority. At that point you start feeling worried, but you hang in there.
Obviously this store is not a quality dedicated A/V retail place. Many consumers make their purchases based on the uninformed advice of untrained staff from typical nationwide consumer electronic chains.
In the near past, a typical store could only have one of those HDTVs actually displaying HD, the only one that had an HD tuner; the rest were showing the same image from a video distribution loop not suitable for HD quality.
Today perhaps the whole store feed is all HD, and the sets that are staring at you show the same picture, but with different colors, contrast, image enhancements, blacks, whites, etc. because no one bothered to set them correctly. So you start wondering why HDTV is not consistently perfect as is being preached, is that what HDTV is about?
The sales person turns toward you and, in the middle of your consumer panic attack, tells you: "trust me, buy this TV, it would look much better at home once connected to an HD tuner". Would you buy a car without test-driving it?
Millions of people went through similar experiences since HDTV was introduced in November 1998. Fortunately, some improvement is gradually seen in the stores, especially in dedicated A/V retail stores, which should take more time to help consumers understand the concepts behind each display technology, and not just quickly sell the HDTV inventory with the red tags, as most national consumer electronic chains do.
Most consumers love red tag savings, and many leave the stores wallet-happy with a product they do not understand. Perhaps many of those do not actually want to understand because the HDTV technology has been introduced with a complexity level they refuse to deal with to just get a TV.
To illustrate the complexity of an HDTV purchase decision you might want to read Is HDTV Complex Enough?
The objective of the article you are reading is to help you make your purchase with more confidence, but first allow me to cover the following basic subjects about HDTV:
H/DTV and NTSC TV Systems, What are they?
You might already know of the US plan to replace our current analog interlaced TV system (NTSC) dated from the 1940's by a digital DTV system, by February 17, 2009. Curiously enough the idea started as "analog" HDTV until General Instruments proposed an all-digital system in 1990.
The DTV standard is composed of 18 digital formats grouped into two levels of quality, as approved by the ATSC (American Television Systems Committee) in 1995:
1) SD: Standard Definition, with 480i/p (i:interlaced, p:progressive) viewable horizontal lines of vertical resolution (rows counted from top to bottom), each line with up to 704 total pixels of horizontal resolution (counted from left to right), and with an aspect ratio (relation of width to height in units) of 4x3 (as regular TV), or widescreen 16x9.
2) HD: High Definition, with 720p and 1080i/p viewable horizontal lines of vertical resolution (rows counted from top to bottom), each line with respectively 1280 (for 720p) or 1920 (for 1080i/p) total pixels of horizontal resolution (counted from left to right), and only in widescreen 16x9 aspect ratio.
Note that, because is not complex enough, the horizontal lines (rows) are expressed as "vertical" resolution (480, 720, 1080), and the vertical columns made of the aligned pixels on the horizontal lines are expressed as "horizontal" resolution (704, 1280, 1920).
DTV was 15 years in the making before it went on the air in November 1998. HDTV is the quality part of DTV, but its implementation is not mandatory, SD is. I will use the term DTV only when addressing the digital TV system in general.
Later in 2000, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), allegedly to help confused consumers, created another resolution level in between: ED (enhanced definition).
This promoted the 480p SD format to ED level, leaving only the 480i format in the SD level. It also granted any TV the right to be labeled HDTV if capable to display only 810i lines of vertical resolution within the displayed image, rather than 1080i.
One can argue how much this intervention from the CEA helped consumers more than helped manufacturers getting rid of mediocre sets. But that was back when CRT based DTV sets were the strength of the market; now most DTV sets are fixed pixel displays and their resolution is clearly specified as a pixel count in both directions.
Our current NTSC over-the-air (OTA) TV system is 480i analog interlaced (actually 525i with 480i viewable horizontal lines of vertical resolution). The regular channels of digital satellite and digital cable could be compared to digital SD of broadcast DTV, but they are also transmitting dozens of channels in HDTV.
To facilitate the transition, broadcasters were given one extra channel slot from the FCC for the simultaneous broadcasting of the analog and digital versions of their programming. It is a large investment for TV stations to build a DTV facility with new cameras, production, equipment, etc.
When DTV is fully implemented, broadcasters have to return one of the two channels, analog over-the-air broadcasting will stop, and current analog TVs, VCRs, TiVos with analog tuners would stop "tuning" as well (but they will still work as display devices if fed with a 480i analog signal from a converter, VHS tape, DVD player, etc). This date was originally set for January 2007 but has been extended to February 17, 2009. Once DTV is implemented, the FCC will auction that spectrum of airwaves.
Most OTA terrestrial TV stations are already broadcasting DTV in SD and HD widescreen, and consumers are buying HDTV sets at accelerated pace every year.
The First Effort of the DTV Transition
Just a look back at CEA's 2003 statistics, on the first 5 years of HDTV approximately 6 million DTVs (of which only 300,000 where integrated with DTV tuners) and 400,000 tuner set-top-boxes (STBs), were sold between 1999 and 2003. By the end of 2007, the HDTV count was 8 times fold, and about 50% of households have digital TV sets, according to the CEA.
Back in 1998/9 it was not unusual for first generation HDTV monitors to cost $10,000, and HD STB tuners to cost from $700 to $3,000. It was expensive for early adopters.
By the end of 2007, a huge variety in technologies and TV sets was available for every viewing environment. DTV sets are much better in quality, and sell for a small fraction of the price they sold back in 1998.
Quality HDTV, or Quantity DTV, or Both?
We all love the incredible video quality of HD, however, since HD is not mandated within the DTV plan, it allows a broadcasting station to use the allotted 6 MHz space (for the HD channel), to multicast instead several sub-channels of lower SD quality, as it is actually happening on many stations across the US.
When sharing the same 6MHz total bandwidth, SD sub-channels rob about 2-3 Mbps each from the needed bandwidth of an HD channel that by itself should broadcast at 19.4 Mbps (if the station also multicasts an HD sub-channel). The parallel broadcast forces further compression of the 19.4 Mbps HD signal to a lower bit rate to make room for the SD sub-channel, compromising HD quality.
In many cases, more than one SD sub-channel is multicast together with the HD sub-channel. When the reduced HD bit rate compresses the signal beyond acceptable limits, it renders a lower quality image with noticeable artifacts, especially on fast moving images in sports, which are more evident, and unacceptable, on large screens (more on it later).
It might also be possible that the TV station desires to share some of the bandwidth for data-casting interactive services, or for mobile DTV applications for hand-held portable devices (because there will be no analog broadcasting to those portable devices as well). For more information, check the articles I wrote on the "Mobile DTV" series, where I analyze the potential impact of mobile applications on the quality of an HD channel when robbing from its bandwidth.
We all hope that HD will reign, and HD quality will prevail over the digital-quantity business models, and you have to encourage DTV broadcasters to do so, besides, most consumers bought an HDTV not a SDTV.
Backward Compatibility with Legacy Analog TV for Digital Broadcast
When the DTV broadcast is fully implemented in February 17, 2009, there would be backward compatibility with your current analog equipment, but there is a catch, in order for you to watch DTV terrestrial digital channels on your current analog TV you would need a digital over-the-air STB tuner connected to it. Your current analog TV would display an analog interlaced 480i version of the digital image.
There is no need to rush for the replacement of an analog TV that might be in good working condition if you just want to continue watching similar quality TV, but you would have to buy a STB digital tuner for broadcast DTV.
This applies also to your analog VCR, DVD recorder, TiVo, etc., if you want them to have broadcast tuning independence. A few years ago, DTV STB tuners were relatively expensive, in the $400-$1000 price range, imagine buying a $400 digital tuner for a $30 analog VCR, but they are gradually coming down in price.
The US government has approved a subsidy coupon program to help people purchase DTV tuners to facilitate the analog-to-digital transition so existing analog TV sets can continue to be used for broadcast digital DTV.
For that purpose, Congress approved a fund of $1.5 billion dollars, with an initial allocation of $990 million dollars to subsidize up to two $40 coupons per household. The coupons became available in January 2008 and can be requested by consumers until March 2009, to use them toward the purchase of two DTV tuners.
The two coupons cannot be used together to purchase only one DTV tuner, neither they can be used to buy another type of OTA tuner/DVR STBs, satellite STBs with broadcast DTV tuners into them, or cable STBs.
The tuners offered by this program are expected to cost in the $50-$70 range each; the consumer would have to pay the difference after applying the $40 coupon. According to the plan, the tuners would become available by mid February 2008 through the national chains of Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.
Although the subsidized tuners are designed to tune digital SD and HD channels, they cannot output the tuned signal other than 480i analog resolution to an analog TV. In other words, the subsidized tuners would not perform as typical HD tuners passing resolutions of 480p, 720p, or 1080i to HDTV devices for HD viewing. Their functionality is just to downconvert because their purpose is backward compatibility to analog TVs, but their price is lower than typical ATSC HDTV tuners with variable output resolutions and digital outputs.
Satellite/Cable, and the DTV Transition
If you are a satellite subscriber you already have the satellite STB you need for their digital SD/HD services. Additionally, most satellite boxes also have a terrestrial ATSC tuner if you want to get free local channels using a VHF/UHF antenna. However, DirecTV introduced a new model in late 2007 without antenna input; the local channels would have to be viewed from the satellite feed, a service they have already for most major cities.
If you are a cable subscriber, when the cable company decides to disable the analog feed to your household and supply only the digital feed, you would need a digital-to-analog cable STB to view the digital channels on each analog TV in your house, similar to the approach of the coupon program for broadcast DTV above, but you would have to lease or buy the cable STB, no coupons.
Cable companies were authorized by the FCC in late 2007 to continue their analog feed service for another 5 years (up to 2012) if they prefer, but they are not obliged to do so. Cable STBs do not have DTV digital terrestrial tuners into them so you cannot use their STB connected to a UHF/VHF antenna to receive free local channels.
Cable companies face at least two alternatives on the analog-to-digital transition between 2007 and 2012:
a) If their subscriber base is mostly digital, a cable company might have the incentive to make a large up front investment to acquire enough digital STBs to convert all the remaining analog subscribers as soon as possible to digital tier services, who would have to lease one digital STB for each analog TV. That would release the bandwidth occupied by the analog broadcast channels on the cable feed, which could be used for additional digital channels, and receive an increased revenue if those are premium, VOD, PPV, etc. paid services.
b) If the subscriber's base is mostly analog, a cable company might prefer to keep the existing mix of analog and digital STBs, and maintain the analog tier as long as needed until 2012. Since the cable feed bandwidth allocation for the analog broadcast channels must continue with this alternative, the company would have to postpone the potential growth of digital channels and services, but there will not be a need for an up front large investment for expensive digital STBs because there is no forced conversion. This option seems economical for both the company and the subscriber, because a subscriber would not be forced to lease a digital STB for each analog TVs that might be currently connected to the wall coax without a STB, as many non-primary TVs are in most households.
While the up front investment of a large number of digital STBs could be expensive to a cable company, there could be a partial offset with the potential revenue received from additional digital pay services such as VOD, PPV, or premium channels. Additionally, the number of digital STBs required for a full digital conversion of the cable feed might be further reduced when considering the growing base of integrated HDTVs with CableCARD tuners expected to increase in 2008 and 2009.
However, since the integrated CableCARD tuners within HDTV sets are only unidirectional, there might still be a cable subscriber's base that would still require the bi-directional capabilities of cable HD-STBs for VOD, PPV, and cable supplied programming guide. Each cable company would have to balance those factors until 2012.
Tuner Integration
In 2002 the FCC issued a "mandatory" plan to gradually integrate digital broadcast tuners into DTV monitors and other tuning devices, such HD DVRs. The plan has been already implemented in 2007 for all the sets larger than 13", and all DTVs on sale today are mandated to include digital terrestrial tuners (except for some industrial/professional models). In most cases they also include a cable on-the-clear tuner for non-premium unscrambled channels, or even include a CableCARD tuner for premium channels and services.
As mentioned above, the CableCARD tuners are unidirectional only, and lack the bi-directional features of Video-on-Demand, Impulse Pay-per-View, and cable-company supplied programming guide, for which a separate set-top-box from the cable company would still be needed until integrated TV sets are designed to have bi-directional capabilities on their integrated CableCARD tuners.
Industry analysts commented for years that economies of scale would bring down the price of digital tuners to the level of today's very low price analog NTSC tuners within TVs, but the reality is that STBs for ATSC terrestrial, or for cable, satellite, DVRs, etc. (not the down-converting government-coupon STBs) still have a high price, considering that comparatively, large HDTVs came down from the $5,000-$10,000 in 98/99 to more accessible prices below $1000.
More on this subject is covered further down.
The Effect DVD had for DTV
Most of the 6 million people that bought HDTVs on the first 5 years of the transition (98-03) did so NOT to view HD, but rather to enjoy playing widescreen DVDs at 480p. Even now in 2008, after Hi-Def DVD has been already introduced in early 2006, regular DVDs are still a favorite content for DTV, because they certainly display quite well as progressive 480p, or upscaled to 720p or 1080i/p to the native resolution of the digital set (by either the DVD player or the TV set). The same DVD played on an analog TV would only show the image as a 480i interlaced scanning.
In addition, an HDTV has the capability to show widescreen DVDs in anamorphic format displaying all the original vertical resolution stored on the disc, while 4x3 analog TVs would show the same DVD letterboxing the image between larger top/bottom bars in order to maintain the wider aspect ratio of the movie, and with less vertical resolution for the image itself.
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