News and Events

THAT Corp. Calls for Full-Disclosure Labeling about Lack of Built-in Stereo Sound for Americans Relying on NTIA Subsidy Program

July 25, 2007, Washington, DC – In a letter addressed to the Assistant Secretary for Communication and Information at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, THAT Corporation Chief Executive Officer Leslie Tyler called for full disclosure in the form of prominent labeling of the capabilities and more importantly-the limitations-of the hotly anticipated digital television transition (DTV) converter boxes. Under the current NTIA converter box specifications, stereo sound, also known as BTSC, is optional and will only be included at the discretion of individual manufacturers. In fact, based on these specifications, the DTV transition could result in a degraded television viewing experience for as many as 75 million Americans who will likely rely on the converter boxes to receive digital signals starting in February 2009.

Will the Government Steal Your Stereo?

June 11, 2007, Washington, DC – In a letter addressed to several members of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, THAT Corporation Chief Executive Officer Leslie Tyler rallied the government to consider the television viewing experience of the more than 75 million Americans who own analog televisions, the kinds that rely on rooftop antennas, that will be adversely affected by the transition, if stereo sound is not made a mandatory component of the technical specifications of eligible converter boxes.

Milford, Massachusetts – THAT Corporation today announced the launch of a dbx-tv enabled BTSC TV-sound decoder IC by licensee Asahi Kasei Microsystems Co., Ltd. of Tokyo Japan (AKM). This new chip, the AK4140, is a complete, single-chip, alignment-free digital BTSC TV-sound decoder for BTSC markets such as USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Taiwan. The new chip is a part of AKM's Audio4home™ range.

Devon, Pennsylvania & Milford, Massachusetts – Belar and THAT Corporation today jointly announced Belar's TVM-230 Digital BTSC TV Stereo Monitor/ Analyzer, featuring digital dbx-tv™ decoding technology from THAT. According to Belar's President, Arno Meyer, "The new TVM-230 delivers unprecedented performance by combining Belar's own DSP demodulation with THAT's digital companding technology. With the BTSC Encoder enabled, the TVM-230 reliably delivers over 50dB midband separation and more than 40dB at 14kHz, with 85dB signal-to-noise ratio and <0.1% distortion." THAT's president, Les Tyler, commented "THAT's fully digital dbx-tv expander eliminates the trim adjustments required by previous analog dbx-tv decoders, including THAT's own industry-standard 525 cards. So, performance starts high and stays high over the entire life of the product. We surpass even the tightest broadcast specifications for BTSC transmission."