[opendtv] Re: Another CES report
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 09:12:13 -0500
At 6:29 PM -0500 1/12/08, Albert Manfredi wrote:
Makes a lot of sense. My only question is how come this makes sense
to CE manufacturers, and yet built-in OTA/cable/DBS receivers didn't
make sense. Not without FCC mandates.
Because most consumers do not want or need that ATSC tuner and will
never use it. It remains to be seen whether consumers will want
built-in PVRs and Internet connections, but these features are being
offered as options, not being forced down consumer's throats.
The only difference I can come up with is that there is no
monolithic entity out there that controls Internet TV distribution,
so no one to make deals under the table to keep what should be
drop-dead obvious from happening.
There has been intense pressure at all levels to keep the Internet
from becoming a bypass technology for the current mass media
oligopoly. All that has changed, is that the electronics
manufacturers have caught on to the game, and now they are cutting
deals with the conglomerates to bypass the traditional content
distribution infrastructure.
No doubt the media conglomerates will survive this
transition in some diminished form, but the future for
local broadcasters and what Bert calls the umbillcal
services is not looking so bright.
I thought you had coined that term.
Actually, though, what you said about cable and DBS incorporating
OTA receivers in their STBs to tell local broadcasters to "shove it"
should be EXCELLENT news for OTA broadcasting. IMO, this would be
the sort of catalyst required for a good OTA DTT network to evolve.
Time will tell. The major problem is that the current OTA services
are heavily dependent on the content oligopoly for the stuff you want
to watch. If the content community chooses to go direct to the
consumer via the Internet, what will local broadcasters deliver?
Unfortunately, most local TV stations don;t have many skills when it
comes to developing content locally with mass audience appeal.
As I see it, things are looking up.
We agree, but for completely different reasons...
Regards
Craig
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