TV watchers in the U.S. are facing the “big switch“-the day when full-power television stations stop analog broadcasts and move to 100% digital broadcasts.  After June 12, 2009, a television receiver with only an analog broadcast tuner will no longer receive over-the-air broadcasts originating from the US with an antenna because of the US transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products.  Nielsen research reported in late 2008 that 6.5 million US households were still unprepared for the switch, but this number has now dropped by more than half, to about 3.1 million households.

One solution being offered by the US Federal Communications Commission is a digital-to-analog converter box that receives over-the-air digital signals with your antenna converts them to analog and sends the signal to your television. This will allow you to watch Digital free-to-air television on an analog TV. In any case, these digital-to-analog converter boxes are primarily intended for standalone TV sets, and may not be well suited for PC use.

It’s not often that we see a huge technological shift that affects each and every American-from those who have never turned on a computer to the most diehard tech enthusiast. For AMD, and in particular, for those with a history in our graphics team, talking about TV encourages us to look back at our own company’s history in changing the way people watch television.  It was 13 years ago, in 1996, that ATI Technologies (now a part of AMD) released the ATI All-In-Wonder^TM, world’s first combination graphics and TV tuner card, giving consumers the ability to play early PC games and watch television on their computer. This paved the way for a series of innovative TV on PC products from AMD that let consumers program and record their favorite TV shows (long before the word TiVo became a household name) and receive free over-the-air TV signals for budget-friendly, high-quality home entertainment.

The newest addition to AMD’s TV-on-PC roster is the just released ATI Theater^TM HD 750 which brings HDTV and digital video recording (DVR) capabilities to desktop and notebook PCs using free-to-air broadcast signals without the need of a converter box. With DTV signals reaching 98% of the US population, anyone can gain access to their favorite hit shows, live sporting events, and a variety of local programming from the major US broadcast networks.  And because we know that watching visually intense shows like Heroes and Lost demands only the best in picture quality, AMD has made further tweaks to the video processing and signal reception technology to help you see clearer, crisper and more vibrant images than any of our previous generation of PCTV products.

AMD has also worked with our technology partners to offer this chip in a variety of form factors that make it easy to add on to existing systems-including: a plug and play USB “stick” that could connect to a laptop computer; a mini PCI Express Card that will fit into a sleek home theater PC in the living room; and the more traditional PCI Express board that fits well in the home computer. For those looking to upgrade to a new laptop or desktop computer with TV tuner capabilities built into the box, stay tuned for anticipated product launches from major manufacturers later this year.

What also makes this product unique, is that it is our first TV tuner that is compatible with both digital and analog TV signals from around the globe-so you could potentially take your laptop on a trip to Hong Kong, power it up and be able to pick up the local free-to-air broadcast. AMD is prepared not just for the US digital transition but also for the global digital transition. Planned broadcast transitions include: October 2009 in Denmark, April 2010 in Spain, July 2010 in Estonia, August 2011 in Canada, January 2012 in Hungary and Romania, December 2012 in Bulgaria and Italy, with many more just around the corner.

Ultimately, the ATI Theater HD 750 is all about bringing affordable and high quality TV watching to PC owners everywhere.  Whether you are a college student who needs a less expensive alternative to cable or a condo owner looking for a space friendly way to add a second TV to the house, the ATI Theater HD 750 really does have something for everyone-especially those who don’t want to be left in the dark when their old school rabbit ears won’t cut it anymore.

Shane Parfitt is Product Marketing Manager, PCTV  Group at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.