RabbitEars
Encyclopedia
RabbitEars is a website dedicated to providing information on over-the-air digital television in the United States, its territories and protectorates, and border areas of Canada and Mexico. Aside from merely listing network affiliations and technical data, TVGOS, UpdateTV, Sezmi
, Mobile DTV
, and MediaFLO
are now covered on the site. RabbitEars also maintains a spreadsheet of current television stations.
RabbitEars.Info has been cited by The Washington Post
, the Los Angeles Times
, the Columbus Dispatch, and the Gotham Gazette
for news stories, the Electric Pi Journal, CEOutlook, Sony
's eSupport, and Crutchfield
websites for additional technical information, and WCCB-TV,
WOLO-TV
, and WGHP
television stations in relation to the digital television transition
.
and FM
radio information as well. However, all information on that site, U.S. Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) technical data included, was hand-entered, and ultimately Kelley simply no longer had the time to dedicate to the website. Planning to shut the site down, Clear Channel
/M Street Publications stepped in and purchased it in late 2002, after which it became subscription-only. It was at that time that Trip Ericson decided to develop a replacement.
After the digital television transition
started in 2008, RabbitEars began tracking digital subchannel
s, Digital Transition Reports, and Analog Termination Requests made to the FCC. These pages were attached to an incomplete design that Ericson had begun to implement in 2004, but that had never been finished due to lack of coding knowledge. As the transition related pages in particular received attention, corrections were sent to add to and correct the incomplete data that was kept on the rest of the site, and a notice was posted asking for additional assistance. On , Bruce Myers joined the effort by creating an updated website design, and on RabbitEars launched in its current form. Because of these circumstances, while the web address was registered in 2004, the 2008 date is considered to be the beginning of the organization.
table spreadsheet which includes information such as location, call sign
, network affiliation
, 2009 DTV channel, ERP
& HAAT, and more for full-service DTV stations. The spreadsheet was originally hosted on AVSForum by Mike Mahan, who is better known as "Falcon_77", and was integrated into the RabbitEars project on .
, Sezmi
, and individual datacasts provided by local television stations in addition to providing lists of television station ownership, network affiliations, and some other miscellaneous information. It covered the digital television transition
extensively, and maintains a history of the transition. Also provided is continuing documentation of stations requesting different channels, as well as stations having problems with VHF transmission.
At the end of October 2009, the site added listings for Qualcomm
's MediaFLO
service. In December 2009, the site also added listings for high powered transmitters Echostar would be using to launch its own mobile video service. It is believed that the high-powered transmitters MediaFLO and Echostar use could result in overloading of preamplifiers used to boost television signals, and that these lists could help mitigate those concerns.
. The READS Ranks are based solely on OTA signal coverage of American channels and do not take any demographic data into account. Also, for that reason, border Canadian markets, such as Toronto and Montreal (Canada's top markets), are included in the list, but rank close to the bottom of the list; most other Canadian markets, such as Edmonton, are not included, as American channels are not available over-the-air.
The READS list has been made available for use by anyone who wants to use them, with the only condition being that the ranks are not modified and still listed with the name "READS".
Sezmi
Sezmi is a cloud based video "turnkey" delivery platform for television providers to deliver services over several IP devices like tablet and mobile computing devices....
, Mobile DTV
ATSC-M/H
ATSC-M/H is a standard in the USA for mobile digital TV, that allows TV broadcasts to be received by mobile devices.....
, and MediaFLO
MediaFLO
MediaFLO is a technology developed by Qualcomm for transmitting audio, video and data to portable devices such as mobile phones and personal televisions, used for mobile television...
are now covered on the site. RabbitEars also maintains a spreadsheet of current television stations.
RabbitEars.Info has been cited by The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, the Columbus Dispatch, and the Gotham Gazette
Gotham Gazette
The Gotham Gazette is an online publication of the Citizens Union Foundation of the City of New York, a government watchdog group focusing on issues confronting New York City...
for news stories, the Electric Pi Journal, CEOutlook, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's eSupport, and Crutchfield
Crutchfield
Crutchfield Corporation is a consumer electronics company specializing in many consumer electronics items, including mobile audio and video equipment for the automobile and televisions, speakers, and other electronics for the home....
websites for additional technical information, and WCCB-TV,
WOLO-TV
WOLO-TV
WOLO-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for South Carolina's Midlands licensed to Columbia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter on Rush Road in unincorporated Southwestern Kershaw County. The station can also be seen on Time Warner Cable...
, and WGHP
WGHP
WGHP, channel 8, is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, North Carolina designated market area...
television stations in relation to the digital television transition
Digital television transition
The digital television transition is the process in which analog television broadcasting is converted to and replaced by digital television. This primarily involves both TV stations and over-the-air viewers; however it also involves content providers like TV networks, and cable television...
.
History of RabbitEars
RabbitEars was developed as a replacement for 100000watts.com, which was a website started around 1998 by Chip Kelley. 100000watts started as a listing of every TV station in the US and grew in scope to eventually included AMAM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
and FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
radio information as well. However, all information on that site, U.S. Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) technical data included, was hand-entered, and ultimately Kelley simply no longer had the time to dedicate to the website. Planning to shut the site down, Clear Channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
/M Street Publications stepped in and purchased it in late 2002, after which it became subscription-only. It was at that time that Trip Ericson decided to develop a replacement.
After the digital television transition
Digital television transition
The digital television transition is the process in which analog television broadcasting is converted to and replaced by digital television. This primarily involves both TV stations and over-the-air viewers; however it also involves content providers like TV networks, and cable television...
started in 2008, RabbitEars began tracking digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
s, Digital Transition Reports, and Analog Termination Requests made to the FCC. These pages were attached to an incomplete design that Ericson had begun to implement in 2004, but that had never been finished due to lack of coding knowledge. As the transition related pages in particular received attention, corrections were sent to add to and correct the incomplete data that was kept on the rest of the site, and a notice was posted asking for additional assistance. On , Bruce Myers joined the effort by creating an updated website design, and on RabbitEars launched in its current form. Because of these circumstances, while the web address was registered in 2004, the 2008 date is considered to be the beginning of the organization.
RabbitEars Spreadsheet
RabbitEars maintains a DTV channelDigital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
table spreadsheet which includes information such as location, call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
, network affiliation
Network affiliate
In the broadcasting industry , a network affiliate is a local broadcaster which carries some or all of the television program or radio program line-up of a television or radio network, but is owned by a company other than the owner of the network...
, 2009 DTV channel, ERP
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
& HAAT, and more for full-service DTV stations. The spreadsheet was originally hosted on AVSForum by Mike Mahan, who is better known as "Falcon_77", and was integrated into the RabbitEars project on .
Data Included
RabbitEars tracks stations that use TVGOS, UpdateTV, Mobile TVATSC-M/H
ATSC-M/H is a standard in the USA for mobile digital TV, that allows TV broadcasts to be received by mobile devices.....
, Sezmi
Sezmi
Sezmi is a cloud based video "turnkey" delivery platform for television providers to deliver services over several IP devices like tablet and mobile computing devices....
, and individual datacasts provided by local television stations in addition to providing lists of television station ownership, network affiliations, and some other miscellaneous information. It covered the digital television transition
Digital television transition
The digital television transition is the process in which analog television broadcasting is converted to and replaced by digital television. This primarily involves both TV stations and over-the-air viewers; however it also involves content providers like TV networks, and cable television...
extensively, and maintains a history of the transition. Also provided is continuing documentation of stations requesting different channels, as well as stations having problems with VHF transmission.
At the end of October 2009, the site added listings for Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
's MediaFLO
MediaFLO
MediaFLO is a technology developed by Qualcomm for transmitting audio, video and data to portable devices such as mobile phones and personal televisions, used for mobile television...
service. In December 2009, the site also added listings for high powered transmitters Echostar would be using to launch its own mobile video service. It is believed that the high-powered transmitters MediaFLO and Echostar use could result in overloading of preamplifiers used to boost television signals, and that these lists could help mitigate those concerns.
READS Ranks
The RabbitEars Area Designation System (READS) Ranks were put together in 2008 in order to provide for a market ranking system without utilizing the proprietary Designated Market Area data, which is a registered service mark of Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
. The READS Ranks are based solely on OTA signal coverage of American channels and do not take any demographic data into account. Also, for that reason, border Canadian markets, such as Toronto and Montreal (Canada's top markets), are included in the list, but rank close to the bottom of the list; most other Canadian markets, such as Edmonton, are not included, as American channels are not available over-the-air.
The READS list has been made available for use by anyone who wants to use them, with the only condition being that the ranks are not modified and still listed with the name "READS".
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