[opendtv] Re: ATSC STB availability?
- From: "John Willkie" <JohnWillkie@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 17:50:30 -0800
Wouldn't the first and MOST likely reason the sets were returned is that
they were pieces of s**t, unable to reject high signal levels and
insufficient selectivity, and -- shudder -- having serious problems with
adjacent channel NTSC and probably ATSC rejection?
I suspect that few Walmart shoppers have as their top of mind issue the
quality of what they purchase. The typical WalMart shopper (the girlfriend
of one of my brothers just loves "WallyWorld") won't be happy with offered
ATSC boxes there, I figure, for a few more years. This does not appear to
be a receiver problem, but a "driving prices down" issue. We're WAY too
early in the receiver learning curve to be in that mode
John Willkie
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen W. Long" <longsw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 5:07 PM
Subject: [opendtv] Re: ATSC STB availability?
> The USDTV box is no longer being sold by the WalMart nearest my house.
The
> electronics manager said the units kept being returned (the last one on
the
> shelf had been purchased and returned three times). The manager said they
> would not stock the item any more. He thought this was a corporate wide
> decision.
>
> One might speculate about why the units were returned. I asked the
manager
> why he thought the units were returned. He said he thought it was because
> of confusion about HDTV. He said people bought the unit expecting to get
> HDTV on their existing SDTV sets. He did not know about reception
> reliability, did not offer any information.
>
> When my wife and I were on my extended trip (3 months) touring the USA in
> our RV last year, we stopped at many WalMarts, parked overnight in several
> of their parking lots. WalMart is not my favorate store, but I have
> learned to respect their business abilities and I can now see the
> attraction in it by so many people - the prices are lower than most any
> other store, and I made the observation that you can really see a
> significant portion of the so called middle America in the isles. This is
> where many people, particularly in small towns and rural area, do much of
> their shopping. WalMart is an important store in much of this country. I
> think it is telling that WalMart does not appear to be selling a
> stand-alone ATSC set-top box. My sample size is one store, but the manger
> said he thought it was a corporate decision. Has anyone on this list
> attempted to recently purchase (or at least check out) the availability of
> USDTV boxes at their local WalMart? If we confirm that WalMart is not
> selling ATSC boxes, what does that say about the roll out of ATSC to the
> vast bulk of America?
>
> At 07:22 PM 3/7/2005 -0500, you wrote:
> >It may have changed but the last I heard you could still get one of the
> >USDTV non-subscription boxes (under whatever name) at Walmart in cities
> >USDTV does not service.
> >
> >- Tom
> >
> >Dale Kelly wrote:
> >> Does anyone know if ATSC STB receivers, of any make or model, are
> currently available to consumers? I assume that USDTV, DirecTV and other
> "bundled" receivers might still be available but am not certain of even
that.
> >> I believe we (opendtv) recently determined that nothing is available
> utilizing 5G technology, except perhaps for Bob's new project, but is
> anyone aware of anything using even a 4G technology?
> >>
> >>
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