[opendtv] Re: News: DTV Converter Box announcements

At 10:26 AM -0500 1/25/08, Barry Brown wrote:
With all that has been written about my initial posting about not having any battery operated ATSC converter boxes, my principle concern has been missed - that is when local residents have to spend 4-6 days (or more) without power after a storm has passed through an area. It is this period when OTA is certainly a good friend and source of contact with the outside world. 

Agreed.
But we really can't expect a legacy portable NTSC receiver to work, and it seems grossly impractical to outfit these device with battery operated convertor box.
It appears that the CE industry and broadcasters are interested in developing MHP products - several prototypes were demonstrated at CES. So we may just have to wait until the ATSC is finished with the standard - looks like at least some broadcasters and CE vendors want to have this service ready to launch in February 2009.
I expect that my iPhone will be a "good friend" in emergencies. I already use it to access weather info including radar and satellite imagery. What really matters is that someone in the affected community is gathering and disseminating useful information. It has been my experience that radio has done a better job of this than TV. But this is highly variable. We have a TV station in Orlando - ironically the NBC affiliate that is carried here in Gainesville - that has built their franchise around "weather." They do a far better job than any other TV broadcaster in the area; even covering areas that are past the fringe of their coverage area like Gainesville. 

Regards
Craig




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