[opendtv] Latin America Goes its Own Way on DTV


Looks like some of the same strange notions being recycled in Latin America, 
wrt DTV adoption. Namely, it's not about HDTV, it's more about interactivity. 
Instead, it eventually turns out to be more about HDTV and far less about 
interactivity, and starting out without HDTV only creates a problem shortly 
after the transition completes.

It seems to me that HDTV receiver costs to consumers are very low these days. 
For new markets, stand-alone STBs normally do not need to be HD-capable, since 
they would be connected to old analog TVs anyway. And the built-in HDTV 
receivers in HDTV sets now are just not a big cost item. HDTV sets of similar 
size to previous analog sets won't cost significantly more nowadays.

In spite of the early mantra, it definitely turns out to be about pretty 
pictures. I just don't see that it makes sense to introduce DTV sans HD 
capability from day 1. Even if the initial TV set sales are mostly SD.

Bert
"Strange notions"? Bert, you're showing your norteamericano bias. Latin American broadcasters, like broadcasters everywhere, are in business to make money and are subject to various politcal-economic constraints that vary from country to country. The fact that you disapprove of their various approaches to the DTV transition problem reflects your lack of understanding...not theirs. 

-- Frank


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