[opendtv] Re: How About Portable ATSC Receivers?
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 1 Apr 2005 07:01:04 -0500
At 9:44 PM -0700 3/31/05, Terry Harvey wrote:
>One consideration was left out of the flawed thought process below. As with
>Cable and Satellite STBs: why would anyone want one of those? The answer,
>of course, is to receive services one cannot receive with an integrated
>receiving device. Perhaps the real problem with DTV OTA is that there is
>very little which is compelling to watch which would justify the expenditure.
There is much to be said for Terry's reasoning here. To be fair, the
ONLY thing that has changed with the ATSC OTA offering is the
addition of HDTV content (when available). Programming choice has not
changed in any significant way. And reception of the OTA service
STILL requires more hassle and investment than most consumers are
willing to put up with - this is ONE of the reasons that they stopped
using the OTA service at some point during the past few decades.
>Blaming the 8VSB transmission system to me is a cop out: there is little
>mention of the struggle many local broadcaster's are facing with having to
>manipulate the DTV stream BEFORE 8VSB modulation.
When there is little or no interest in something - as is the case
with DTV broadcasting - it is not surprising that there will be a
litany of problems. I agree that most consumers do not know that
there are problems with the modulation system. More important, they
could care less that DTV is problematic for the broadcaster. If they
call the cable company there is a 100% chance that they will receive
reliable service and that the consumer premises equipment will
function as intended. With DBS the situation is much the same unless
they are in a location where it is difficult to receive the signals
with adequate link margins (trees, buildings etc.).
But the shortcomings of 8VSB are not a cop out. They are very real
and very problematic. They are simply less visible at the moment as
this problem is masked by others. Wopuld you spend a bunch of time
and money promoting something that you know does not work reliably?
Broadcasters do not need a reliable transmission infrastructure, when
most of their viewers get their content via a reliable multi-channel
service.
>I can tell you from
>experience that many broadcasters are having problems with the elements of
>their stream which prevent clear reception and seamless channel navigation.
>Matching MPEG-2 PSI tables with the PSIP TVCT, ensuring descriptors are
>correct, that the TSID is inserted correctly in the PAT and TVCT etc, etc
>will greatly affect the way the variety of DTV receivers will function.
>Unfortunately, many local broadcasters are not investing in proper stream
>management as well as proper 8VSB monitoring tools.
This is a huge cop out. There is NO REASON that these problems should
persist other than benign negligence. This is a prime example of why
broadcasters do not deserve the opportunity to keep all of this prime
spectrum tied up. It is an easy problem to fix.l; it's just not worth
the bother.
Just imagine how much chaos there would be if every broadcasters
immediately started running their DTV facilities at full authorized
power. Interference would be rampant into other DTV signals and
especially NTSC. Multipath problems would be much more severe. We are
just seeing the tip of the iceberg that ran into ATSC years ago.
Broadcasters are not invested in the whole idea of DTV broadcasting.
Most do not want it, and could care less about doing it right.
>The bottom line is that many broadcasters do not take DTV OTA seriously: in
>many cases, the transmitter was installed four years ago and the
>manufacturer has to be called to make routine adjustments. Bear in mind
>that any sophisticated digital modulation scheme depends upon a proper
>analog setup adjustment to ensure adequate audience reach.
The analogy of protection payments to the mob comes to mind. Its a
cheap option to keep those old NTSC oil wells pumping.
>
>So before jumping to superficial conclusions, please consider the above.
Here is a realistic conclusion.
We are making NO PROGESS in the Broadcast DTV transition...as intended.
Regards
Craig
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