[opendtv] Re: Doomed to repeat the lessons of past, present and future with USDTV and DTV System M++....
- From: "negrjp" <negrjp@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 10:00:16 -0300
Hi, all
About lessons of past:
Today we repeat past mistakes:
Remember 50's RCA versus CBS TV color systems battle?
Now, the problem is incompatible DTVs systems.
TTFN,
Jonas
from Brazil
> Having read with interest the latest travails in the US and the forthcoming=
> ones in Brazil its amazing that people never ever learn:
>
> a) The use of DTT as a bearer platform for a commercially credible and comp=
> etitive pay-Tv platform is a non-runner whilst analogue broadcasting contin=
> ues, not enough spectrum vs DBS. RIP ITV-Digital, Quiero and now USDTV. Of =
> course the latter was probably hobbled by 8VSB as well with its delightful =
> reception travails.
>
> b) In the pay-TV wars the platforms with the highest throughput always win.=
> The very same story is being replayed now in mobile TV: the highest throug=
> hput platforms are likely to win hands down (eg DVB-H and FLO) over the oth=
> er pretenders which are narrow bandwidth systems. I also see that American =
> ingenuity, in the form of Texas Instruments, has come up with a clever solu=
> tion to the DVB-H channel change time issue. Just transmit a reference stil=
> l frame occasionally which reduces channel change time to 1.5 seconds from =
> 6.0 seconds. Makes it same as DTV and FLO. A very competitive situation.
>
> C) Brazil. This outcome was entirely predictable given the preferences of t=
> he broadcasters, the desperation of the Japanese to secure another market, =
> and the blandishment of US$ 500 million for a semiconductor factory. ISDB-T=
> continues to lack global scale, and Brazil has compounded the error by goi=
> ng for MPEG4. That adds 40% to STB costs which will have a significant impa=
> ct in a country with low GDP/capita. Elswehere MPEG4 systems are only being=
> deployed in IPTV, DBS, cable, pay-DTV (France..) and MDTV which are all, o=
> f course, subscription funded systems which can subsidise the rollouts. Bra=
> zil appears to be repeating the mistakes of the past by a) choosing a non-s=
> tandard system with only one other market b) compounding the error by going=
> for a high-cost solution. The result is likely to be a replay of the past:=
> DTV System M++ (the ++ referring to high costs, high scale losses and high=
> analogue retention likelihood).
>
> d) Its very interesting to note that in the markets where the Freeview mode=
> l has been adopted take up is phenomenal: 3.0M TNT DTV homes in France, 2.0=
> +M in Spain. Its driven by free content, global economies of scale and scop=
> e, a working modulation system, cheap boxes and the undermining of the basi=
> c cable tier which siphons off many broadcasters to deliver FTA service. Th=
> e latest to go clear in the UK is FilmFour, Channel 4's film service later =
> this month. A very interesting paper has shown that the economics now work =
> far better FTA for many broadcasters than basic tier pay....Distribution, d=
> istribution, distribution.
>
> e) The UK is a very interesting market now: Freeview will shortly overtake =
> Sky, STBs are =C2=A329 for a zapper, and about =C2=A3130 for a decentish PV=
> R box, and virtually all bigger LCDS/plasmas have Freeview tuners, there is=
> also a very interesting omndidirectional outdoor antenna with 15dB gain (o=
> nly works with COFDM standard) which is powered off the STB, on sale for =
> =C2=A329, which is apparently highly effective. A battle royal is expected =
> over what to do with the released UHF spectrum: HDTV, MDTV or both...
>
> f) I have been watching both the Sky MPEG4 HDTV broadcasts and the Freeview=
> DVB-T MPEG4 HDTV tests (the latter via a high-spec PC with fancy codecs et=
> c...): the picture quality is outstanding but there is a way to go with thi=
> ngs like slow motion replay, dealing with multiple sources, concatentation =
> chains, etc, etc... And, apart from the BBC, the main commercial broadcaste=
> rs are not persuaded by the economics of HDTV transmission, preferring to c=
> oncentrate on multichannel FTA offerings. The cost of ownership is high: =
> =C2=A3299 for the Sky box, =C2=A360 installation, an extra =C2=A310 a month=
> , + a suitable HD ready LCD/plasma. Total upfront cost in year one is north=
> of =C2=A31500. at the moment all broadcasts appear to be mostly 1080i, it =
> would be interesting to see 720P comparison soon, and the transition to DV=
> B-S2.
>
> So as opendtv continues it seems some hard lessons are being learnt all ove=
> r again...
>
> Kind Regards,
>
> Dermot Nolan
>
>
>
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