[opendtv] Re: How About Portable ATSC Receivers?
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 1 Apr 2005 07:23:06 -0500
At 11:13 PM -0500 3/31/05, Mark Schubin wrote:
>BenWebber@xxxxxxx wrote:
>
>>LG's decision not to manufacture a 5th-gen ATSC STB arises from the
>>obvious fact that demand for ATSC settop boxes is not significantly
>>different from zero.
>>
>According to the Consumer Electronics Association, factory sales of
>integrated DTT sets and DTT STBs have been nearly identical
>(cumulative to the end of 2004), about 1.5 million of each.
Divide the total of cable ready sets by one year.
Take the total number of ATSC capable STBs and subtract all of those
that are DBS receivers (not attached to an off-air antenna) then
divide what's left by 7 years.
It is still nearly impossible to find a stand alone ATSC receiver
here in Gainesville.
Now let's look at the REAL DTV transition.
I am working on a ten year old house with an "ATSC like" problem-
putting new siding on it. The old particle board siding didn't work -
it is no longer manufactured as there were so many law suits when it
started rotting after a few years.
The new owner chose a cable bundle (The DirecTV dish from the
previous owner is still on the roof). For the past two days the Cable
guys (contract installers for Cox Cable) have been establishing
service. They were complaining about how bad the DBS installer had
screwed up the system - many trips up into the attic to restore the
original cable wiring in the home.
They installed a Scientific Atlanta HD set top box and a cable modem.
They indicated that most of their new installs are based on product
bundling.
Most important, they are installing a lot of HD service. Each
installer is doing at least two HD homes per day (some days 4-5).
There are 7 contract installer crews in the Gainesville/Ocala markets
- I presume that this is in addition to regular Cox installation
crews and the self installs that are now routine.
They are also installing some cable cards in integrated sets - they
have yet to see one of these sets attached to an off-air antenna;
this is not surprising, since Cox is carrying all local DTV
broadcasts that are available (the local ABC affiliate still in not
on the air due to a challenge to a distant broadcasters operating on
the DTV channel to which they are assigned).
One of the installers I spoke with has DirecTV and was talking about
the announcement that they will be delivering HD signals to local
markets in the next year. DISH is delivering analog locals in
Gainesville now, and they are gaining market share, even as Cox is
deploying digital services at a healthy rate.
Meanwhile local broadcasters spend their time making certain that
there is no duplication of their signals on the dozens of cable
systems that serve the Gainesville/Ocala markets and surrounding
areas, and denying requests of DBS subscribers to receive the
national HD feeds that are NOT being offered by the local affiliates.
Regards
Craig
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