[opendtv] Re: Food for thought
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 17:21:17 -0500
John Shutt wrote:
> I ask you, is it in a broadcaster's best interest to deliberately
> choose a standard that cannot be received by their viewers?
> Therefore, Table 3, although rejected by the FCC, still controls
> which formats a broadcaster uses, and in all practicality, is left
> with four choices: 480i29.97, 480p59.94, 720p59.94, and 1080i29.97.
>
> Broadcast stations being set up the way they are, I don't know of
> a single broadcaster using 24, 30, or 60 fps even though they are
> in the infamous "Table 3."
I would expect that after STBs with NTSC outputs, for older sets that
have no baseband video and audio inputs, have lived out their useful
lives, and everyone either has a new integrated set or a monitor with
baseband inputs, the 29.97 and 59.94 stuff can quietly become a footnote
in history books. It will have no reason to continue.
In any event, the point is that clear direction does exist, whether it
was the FCC or someone else providing it.
> The marketplace does on occasion work when given a chance. That is
> why the Sinclair petition of 2000 was so dangerous.
I'm not sure how you managed to dredge that up again.
The analog stereo AM example you mentioned, where broadcasters were
given leeway, failed miserably. And whether this is absolute truth or
partly hype, the problem with allowing different modulation schemes for
TV is that the planning factors are different. So, potentially, this
creates a lot more interference or, the alternative, a lot poorer
coverage area.
I see this much like a big corporate intranet. A lot of standards are
imposed in these, to ensure complete compatibility. For example, you
don't allow a ton of different spreasheet and word processor formats.
You don't allow even multiple e-mail clients. Same happens here. OTA TV
is not a walled garden, so someone other than a single company has to
impose the standards.
Of course, these guys don't have to be obtuse about it, either. Imagine
what would have happened to the Internet if the IETF took the position
that any change to the IP suite would have signaled "failure." That's
truly absurd. Changes were being introduced from day 1.
Bert
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