[opendtv] Re: Digital TV Finds It Hard to be Free
- From: "John Willkie" <johnwillkie@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2004 23:32:49 -0700
Barry;
Could you explain how to accomplish the government-mandated transition to
digital broadcasting without the temporary loan of a second channel? Has
any other country tried something different?
There's extensive comments and analysis by the FCC that may assist you in
answering this in the FCC 1990's proceedings.
I've heard similar arguments to yours from William Safire at the NY Times
and elsewhere. I find them to be without technical or economic merit, but
maybe I missed something important.
Here's two alternatives: no on-air dtv facilities one night, everybody
transmitting analog. Wake up the next morning and no analog facilities, all
digital operating using the same transmitters. (very ugly results at home
and station.)
At the other extreme: no digital TV.
The phased transition (with the top 30 market "front-load") seemed at the
time like a middle road.
We're amidst the transition. If we had to do it all over again, what
lessons can we derive from the U.S., U.K., Berlin, Canada, Taiwan and Korean
experiences. Canada is an interesting point: mandated HDTV, no announced
analog cut off.
Might be an interesting exercise for one and all.
John Willkie
-----Original Message-----
From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of DISMO@xxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2004 8:01 PM
To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [opendtv] Re: Digital TV Finds It Hard to be Free
In a message dated 10/14/2004 9:35:54 AM Pacific Standard Time,
johnwillkie@xxxxxxxxxx writes:
Who is going to read this, when it includes "The push for digital TV
originated with broadcasters as a quest for a marketing edge-a way to endow
over-the-air offerings with features
like multicasting and on-demand programming and thus better compete"
Marketing edge? I thought the marketing types only got involved AFTER the
spec was adopted!
Where does she get "originated with broadcasters" ??? Broadcasters had to
be dragged kicking and screaming into DTV. It took 6MHz of free bandwidth to
convince them. Cable providers have only recently and very reluctantly began
making room for digital. "There's no market for this, no revenue stream . .
." Of
all the industries involved in the changeover to DTV, only consumer
electronics makers and satellite services saw the potential. So did the porn
industry -
the unacknowledged silent partner in technological advancement. Pornsters
jumped into DVD way before the Hollywood studios did. Video-on-demand? Can
you
say "adult entertainment?"
BW
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