Month: September 2023
LG is dropping ATSC 3.0 from its TVs next year
A picture of two LG TVs at CES 2022. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
LG told the FCC it’s pulling support for the ATSC 3.0 standard in its TVs next year because of a “challenging and uncertain patent landscape,” according to LightReading (via ZatzNotFunny). ATSC 3.0, aka Nextgen TV, is the next-generation broadcast format that would bring 4K TV and advanced video and audio formats like HDR and Dolby Atmos, as well as interactive apps, for free.
As we wrote about the standard in 2017:
ATSC 3.0 is the next major version of the broadcast TV format. (Version 2.0 was intended as a backward compatible update that was eventually canceled in favor of the more significant 3.0 update.) Where ATSC 1.0 added digital technology and HD video, ATSC 3.0 is planned to be an IP-based (internet protocol) system. It’s still an over-the-air system, but it’s built on the same protocols as most internet technology, making it possible to easily view broadcast TV on modern connected devices. It’ll be a huge change in the technology that’s underlying our TV systems, and it should greatly expand the capabilities of broadcast TV.
The rollout for ATSC 3.0 has been slowly moving along ever since. Some of the most popular budget brands like Vizio and TCL have refused to support it, and broadcasts still don’t cover the whole of the country.
LG’s decision follows its patent fight loss with a company that holds multiple ATSC 3.0 patents. LG “strongly” urged the FCC to look at how certain companies that own ATSC-related patents but don’t commit to reasonable and non-discriminatory, or RAND, terms can have what it calls a “chilling” effect on companies in bringing “advanced technologies” to market.
If you want a TV with ATSC 3.0 support, options include Sony’s A90K OLED, LG’s own G2, along with certain TVs from Hisense and Samsung.
A picture of two LG TVs at CES 2022. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
LG told the FCC it’s pulling support for the ATSC 3.0 standard in its TVs next year because of a “challenging and uncertain patent landscape,” according to LightReading (via ZatzNotFunny). ATSC 3.0, aka Nextgen TV, is the next-generation broadcast format that would bring 4K TV and advanced video and audio formats like HDR and Dolby Atmos, as well as interactive apps, for free.
As we wrote about the standard in 2017:
ATSC 3.0 is the next major version of the broadcast TV format. (Version 2.0 was intended as a backward compatible update that was eventually canceled in favor of the more significant 3.0 update.) Where ATSC 1.0 added digital technology and HD video, ATSC 3.0 is planned to be an IP-based (internet protocol) system. It’s still an over-the-air system, but it’s built on the same protocols as most internet technology, making it possible to easily view broadcast TV on modern connected devices. It’ll be a huge change in the technology that’s underlying our TV systems, and it should greatly expand the capabilities of broadcast TV.
The rollout for ATSC 3.0 has been slowly moving along ever since. Some of the most popular budget brands like Vizio and TCL have refused to support it, and broadcasts still don’t cover the whole of the country.
LG’s decision follows its patent fight loss with a company that holds multiple ATSC 3.0 patents. LG “strongly” urged the FCC to look at how certain companies that own ATSC-related patents but don’t commit to reasonable and non-discriminatory, or RAND, terms can have what it calls a “chilling” effect on companies in bringing “advanced technologies” to market.
If you want a TV with ATSC 3.0 support, options include Sony’s A90K OLED, LG’s own G2, along with certain TVs from Hisense and Samsung.
The US Is Among the Most Expensive Countries For Mobile Data Plans, Israel the Cheapest
Slashdot reader jjslash writes: The average cost of a gigabyte of mobile data in the U.S. is $6, while the most expensive data plan in the country offers a gig for $83.33. That makes the U.S. one of the most expensive countries in the world for mobile data, even though some plans can still get you a gig for as low as $0.75. The situation in Canada isn’t much better, with an average price of $5.37 per GB, but it’s much cheaper to surf mobile internet in the U.K., thanks to an average price of $0.62 for a gig.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Slashdot reader jjslash writes: The average cost of a gigabyte of mobile data in the U.S. is $6, while the most expensive data plan in the country offers a gig for $83.33. That makes the U.S. one of the most expensive countries in the world for mobile data, even though some plans can still get you a gig for as low as $0.75. The situation in Canada isn’t much better, with an average price of $5.37 per GB, but it’s much cheaper to surf mobile internet in the U.K., thanks to an average price of $0.62 for a gig.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Aston Villa vs. Brighton Livestream: How to Watch Premier League Soccer From Anywhere – CNET
Both sides are looking to bounce back from midweek Carabao Cup defeats.
Both sides are looking to bounce back from midweek Carabao Cup defeats.
Microsoft To Excel Users: Be Careful With That Python
Long-time Slashdot reader theodp spotted a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) this week with the Microsoft engineering team that created Python in Excel, a new feature that makes it possible to natively combine Python and Excel analytics in Excel workbooks. (Copilot integration is coming soon).
Redditors expressed a wish to be able to run Python in environments other than the confines of the locked down, price-to-be-determined Microsoft Azure cloud containers employed by Python in Excel. But “There were three main reasons behind starting with the cloud (as a GDPR Compliant Microsoft 365 Connected experience) first,” MicrosoftExcelTeam explained:
1. Running Python securely on a local machine is a difficult problem. We treat all Python code in the workbook as untrusted, so we execute it in a hypervisor-isolated container on Azure that does not have any outbound network access. Python code and the data that it operates on is sent to be executed in the container. The Microsoft-licensed Python environment in the container is provided by Anaconda and was prepared using their stringent security practices as documented here.
2. Sharing Excel workbooks with others is a really important scenario. We wanted to ensure that the Python code in a workbook you share behaves the same when your teammates open it â” without requiring them to install and manage Python.
3. We need to ensure that the Python in Excel feature always works for our customers. The value of Python is in its ecosystem of libraries, not just in providing a Python interpreter. But managing a local Python environment is challenging even for the most experienced developers. By running on Azure, we remove the need for users or their systems administrators to maintain a local installation of Python on every machine that uses the feature in their organization…
So, how does one balance tradeoffs between increased security and ease-of-maintenance with the loss of functionality and increased costs when it comes to programming language use? Is it okay to just give up on making certain important basic functionality available, as Microsoft is doing here with Python and has done in the past by not supporting Excel VBA in the Cloud and no longer making BASIC available on PCs and Macs?
Microsoft’s team added at one point that “For our initial release, we are targeting data analytics scenarios, and bringing the power of Python analytics libraries into Excel.
“We believe the approach weâ(TM)ve taken will appeal to analysts who use both Excel and Python Notebooks in their workflows. Today, these users need to import/export data and have no way of creating a self-contained artifact that can be easily and securely shared with their colleagues.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Long-time Slashdot reader theodp spotted a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) this week with the Microsoft engineering team that created Python in Excel, a new feature that makes it possible to natively combine Python and Excel analytics in Excel workbooks. (Copilot integration is coming soon).
Redditors expressed a wish to be able to run Python in environments other than the confines of the locked down, price-to-be-determined Microsoft Azure cloud containers employed by Python in Excel. But “There were three main reasons behind starting with the cloud (as a GDPR Compliant Microsoft 365 Connected experience) first,” MicrosoftExcelTeam explained:
1. Running Python securely on a local machine is a difficult problem. We treat all Python code in the workbook as untrusted, so we execute it in a hypervisor-isolated container on Azure that does not have any outbound network access. Python code and the data that it operates on is sent to be executed in the container. The Microsoft-licensed Python environment in the container is provided by Anaconda and was prepared using their stringent security practices as documented here.
2. Sharing Excel workbooks with others is a really important scenario. We wanted to ensure that the Python code in a workbook you share behaves the same when your teammates open it â” without requiring them to install and manage Python.
3. We need to ensure that the Python in Excel feature always works for our customers. The value of Python is in its ecosystem of libraries, not just in providing a Python interpreter. But managing a local Python environment is challenging even for the most experienced developers. By running on Azure, we remove the need for users or their systems administrators to maintain a local installation of Python on every machine that uses the feature in their organization…
So, how does one balance tradeoffs between increased security and ease-of-maintenance with the loss of functionality and increased costs when it comes to programming language use? Is it okay to just give up on making certain important basic functionality available, as Microsoft is doing here with Python and has done in the past by not supporting Excel VBA in the Cloud and no longer making BASIC available on PCs and Macs?
Microsoft’s team added at one point that “For our initial release, we are targeting data analytics scenarios, and bringing the power of Python analytics libraries into Excel.
“We believe the approach weâ(TM)ve taken will appeal to analysts who use both Excel and Python Notebooks in their workflows. Today, these users need to import/export data and have no way of creating a self-contained artifact that can be easily and securely shared with their colleagues.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.