[opendtv] Re: Engineers: May 30 PSIP Compliance Costs $10,000 With No Benefit

The cost is actually more than $10,000, since it requires an updated PSIP
generator and -- for many stations -- a (more expensive) updated automation
system.

Triveni, NAB, Harris and Cohen Dippell (MSTV) supported an earlier deadline.
I didn't support the FCC's move.  Now, WITH NO NEW INFORMATION, they want a
later deadline.

I opposed this at the FCC; waivers are actually more appropriate.  I am also
the only party that pointed out to the FCC that their new PSIP rules
actually require every tv station to have an automation system.

Now, notice that the crappiest radio station in your market, on the
crappiest car radio you can find, can tell you the title of the new song
they play within a second of a change.  (Using voluntary technology.)

But, "somehow" we are told that some TV stations -- using the NAB's words --
will never be able to tell us of the name of a tv show that was scheduled
weeks in advance.  

The dirty little secret here is that my PSIP generator -- EtherGuide
Emissary -- http://www.EtherGuideSystems.com/systems/Emissary/Default.aspx
-- already complies with the technical rules.  I don't sell automation
systems.

"No benefit" means that misinforming viewers is a neutral position.  

I talked with virtually all the automation and traffic system vendors at NAB
about this issue.  

Here's the list of automation system vendors who identified an issue with
the new rules:

Harris

Harris and Triveni were partners until earlier this year.  Perhaps they are
again.

"While last-minute updates can be made to PSIP manually via the PSIP 
generator user interface, this creates several problems, including 
the possibility of error, the effects of the change on later 
programming, and integration with automation."

Gee, I solved that particular issue over a year ago.  (Aside from operator
error.)

John Willkie

P.S.  Another weasel is hidden in this item.  The CURRENT (ATSC A/65b) rules
require identification of television programs.  The FCC merely 'clarified'
this, and the clarification is what has caused all the 'problem.'

-----Mensaje original-----
De: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] En
nombre de Craig Birkmaier
Enviado el: Saturday, April 26, 2008 6:23 AM
Para: OpenDTV Mail List
Asunto: [opendtv] Engineers: May 30 PSIP Compliance Costs $10,000 With No
Benefit

http://www.tvtechnology.com/pages/s.0015/t.13189.html

Engineers: May 30 PSIP Compliance Costs $10,000 With No Benefit

April 25, 2008

For months, broadcasters have been wondering how they'll meet a May 
30 FCC deadline for deployment of PSIP systems that will provide 
accurate TV program information, even when that information changes 
on the fly. NAB, the Association for Maximum Service Television and 
Harris Corp. have all argued to the commission that the deadline 
should be extended.

With the deadline still looming, the Washington, D.C.-based 
engineering consultancy Cohen, Dippell and Everist sought 
clarification on the applicability of the requirement for small- and 
medium-market stations, both educational and commercial. 
Specifically, the firm asked the FCC in an April 9 meeting about 
additions to the ATSC PSIP standard regarding language bytes-a pair 
of formerly reserved bits in the AC-3 audio stream descriptor that 
have been redefined to allow broadcasters to specify which audio 
track (English or Spanish, for example) is to be considered primary.

"It is believed that updating legacy equipment to meet this new 
requirement will create a financial burden on small and medium market 
broadcasters in the range of $10,000 to $15,000," the firm said in an 
FCC filing. "This new requirement represents a financial and 
technical burden for these stations to implement the equipment 
upgrade which will have no known immediate benefits."

Separately, Triveni Digital, a top vendor of PSIP generation systems, 
said in an April filing to the FCC that it supported the extension 
requested by NAB, MSTV and Harris. Triveni also addressed a comment 
opposing the extension that claimed real-time updates to program 
information could be done manually.

"The requirement for real-time updates to Event Information Tables 
(EITs) poses a number of issues, which are only now able to be 
addressed by some systems," Triveni Chief Technology Officer Richard 
Chernock wrote in the filing.

While last-minute updates can be made to PSIP manually via the PSIP 
generator user interface, this creates several problems, including 
the possibility of error, the effects of the change on later 
programming, and integration with automation.

"When a last-minute update occurs, the master control operator 
implements the change via the automation system," Chernock wrote. 
"Until recently, few automation systems directly fed information to 
PSIP generators. While the communications protocols to carry this 
information exist (the standardized PMCP protocol plus other 
proprietary protocols), automation systems typically did not have 
enough PSIP related information to allow successful 
population/modification of PSIP events."

Triveni said it has been working with a number of automation systems 
vendors on the problem and showed some such systems at the NAB Show.


 
 
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