RF Shorts: FLO-TV and Arrow of Time Paradox

By Doug Lung
published

  • • With the growing interest in mobile television, it isn't surprising that rumors have surfaced about Qualcomm developing a hand-held TV about the size of an iPhone. The device would allow consumers to view its FLO TV service without going through wireless providers or purchasing the subscription as part of a mobile phone plan. Will the new "'mobile FLO" include the ability to receive ATSC mobile DTV transmissions? That might make it more interesting to consumers. Stories about the rumor are available on several web sites. Crunchgear.com describes it in the article Rumor: Qualcomm FLO TV is coming.
  • • The Web site Physorg.com has an interesting article on the Arrow-of-Time Paradox. This paradox refers the apparent conflict between the laws of physics, which are time-invariant (laws hold true even if time is reversed) and the second law of thermodynamics, which says that entropy always increases or stays the same, but never decreases. Theoretical physicist Lorenzo Maccone, currently a visiting scientist at MIT, offers a solution to this reversibility paradox (also called Loschmidt's paradox) based on quantum mechanics. The short explanation is that entropy can decrease for certain phenomena but these phenomena won't leave any evidence of their happening.
Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.