[opendtv] Re: PR: Majority of New HDTVs Powered By ATI

  • From: Mark Aitken <maitken@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 17:00:20 -0500

Wires is one (of many) problems for consumers. There are other, bigger 
(in my book) issues.
One of the biggest hindrances is that of control! Or should I say, lack 
of control. Or, yet another way, too many controls. (Remotes being the 
issue.) In shooting a piece today (I do a local weekly News Segment 
called "Understanding HDTV"), the local Sales Manager was fixated on 
selling the $1,000 Philips Pronto 'solution' as the "stitching" that 
allows anyone/everyone to control what actually has to happen to get any 
number of devices to work as a true system. ($400 of the price was their 
programming it for you)

You know the drill. Video from some devices, S-Video from others, 
Component video from still more, DVI from here, HDMI to there. L/R 
stereo, S/PDIF coax or Toslink optical audio....you have to be a 
programmer to get the VCR to play (yes, folks still do use them even 
when they have an HDTV(ish) display.

"Hey, honey, how do I get CSI on?"  "I thought you said this DVD was 
theater quality pictures and sound?"  "How come I don't get my cable 
channels anymore?"

We need a common interface "platform" so that folks can be about the 
business of "hookin' up" their prized possessions.

IMHO...

GerryK wrote:

>Frank and "Bert" make really strong points about the
>Set Top Box versus integrated Digital TV set issues
>
>Frank is ultimately correct in stating that
>"it makes more sense for this to be a separate box than to be a part of the 
>innards of their video display"
>
>I even did an article back in 1998 about the coming Golden Age for set top 
>boxes based on the idea
>that a digital display should be a fixed-function item that lasts for 10 
>years and then consumers can
>add, subtract, update, upgrade and change their approach to what connects to 
>the display over time
>
>HOWEVER, at the point of sale, TV sets still are compared side-by-side on 
>the features they have built-in,
>and, as someone else mentioned earlier in this thread, based on which model 
>the sales person is being
>incentivized to sell at the particular moment that the consumer is in the 
>store making the purchase
>so the phenomenon of buying a new digital TV set is not linear or based on 
>logic - it's an impulse sale for the most part
>and the sales person has to do what the Kirby sweeper sales people did - 
>sell the sizzle, not the steak -
>
>another consideration that has not yet been mentioned is aesthetics -
>women hate wires, and today's multiple "box" entertainment centers gather 
>dust and crud on the
>wires in the back of the entertainment center - so a "many in one" approach 
>that looks cleaner will sell
>
>also, as new wide-angle 16:9 viewing displays replace older 4:3 sets, 
>millions of fiber board
>entertainment centers that will fit a 36-inch 4:3 display will need to be 
>replaced -
>and those old entertainment centers had a vertical shelf ready to absorb a 
>half-dozen external boxes
>
>new, wide-angle TV sets are being installed as stand alone elements - with 
>very limited space available for
>big-footprint devices like today's VCRs, DVD players, digital cable set top 
>boxes, etcs -
>so the consumer electronics industry is hard at work "down sizing" the sizes 
>of the boxes -
>even to the point of coming up with some vertical "thin profile" DVD players 
>and disk drive devices
>to be shown at the 2005 CES -
>
>Mark Schubin - will there be some multiple-function, DVD+PVR+surround sound 
>products shown at your show?
>
>My neighbor here in rural Kearny, Arizona, recently purchased a 55-inch 
>diagonal HDTV that
>literally has his Sony Surround Sound multi-channel system control unit 
>sitting ON TOP OF THE TV SCREEN
>it is precariously perched, and the exposed wires are driving his missus 
>insane -
>but the HDTV set doesn't have any convenient storage built for external 
>connected equipment -
>BIG DESIGN FLAW in my humble opinion
>
>final note - with the very large, flat panel displays, that take up four 
>inches of depth on the wall -
>these things have NO ROOM for external boxes of any kind - and running 
>speaker wires
>for surround sound must all be done invisibly -
>several consumer electronics companies are looking into flat-cable (up to 
>four inches width, but less than 1/16th deep)
>that can carry ALL the wires into and out from flat panel displays, and then 
>be painted over to become invisible -
>anyway, if the aesthetic appeal of a huge screen, flat panel display is 
>clean lines, elegant look and no "set top box detritus"visible,
>then we have a long way to go to be able to have multiple video/audio 
>sources connected to a flat panel display,
>and still get the clean lines, elegant look and no "set top box 
>detritus"visible
>
>the list of possible sources is huge and getting bigger all the time -
>so there will be a huge opportunity for somebody to invent a reliable, 
>low-cost wireless product that
>will let a huge, flat screen display, connect to, control, interact with and 
>interface to a very wide range
>of video/audio/still image sources - and we're not there yet - especially in 
>highly populated areas
>where it's likely that all of your neighbors are also using the same 
>frequencies for the in-home media network.
>
>there's still a long way to go to get this digital TV ironed out from the 
>consumer's point of view
>
>thanks!
>
>Gerry Kaufhold with In-Stat/MDR
>voice: 520 363-9752
>e-mail: gkaufhold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Eory Frank-p22212" <Frank.Eory@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 9:00 AM
>Subject: [opendtv] Re: PR: Majority of New HDTVs Powered By ATI
>
>
>  
>
>>>From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
>>>To: "OpenDTV (E-mail)" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>>Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 18:57:41 -0500
>>>Frank Eory wrote:
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>>>Or maybe he means that people like the benefits of
>>>>digital cable without having to pay extra to have
>>>>that functionality built into their display --
>>>>especially since STB's are evolving so rapidly that
>>>>any STB functions built into the display will
>>>>become obsolete long before the display will.
>>>>        
>>>>
>>>I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that this category of
>>>customer is indeed a "niche" group. I'll bet there's
>>>a reason why only 20 percent of cable customers is
>>>begging for an STB these days (your number). But I
>>>could be wrong.
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>You're right, this category is a "niche" group, but it's a rapidly growing 
>>and very profitable niche for the MSOs. PVR and HDTV STBs are the big 
>>growth niche in cable STBs right now, and those subs pay a lot more per 
>>month than the typical sub. And my number was too conservative -- it's 
>>closer to 30% that have STBs.
>>
>>    
>>
>>>STBs are evolving, but only in terms of adding new
>>>features such as VOD, correct? That is, unless the
>>>customer wants to subscribe to new services, for an
>>>additional fee, his old STB still soldiers on,
>>>right? So the same will happen with built-in
>>>receivers. (And two-way built-in capability is next
>>>in the cable/CE manufacturer agreements, it seems.)
>>>      
>>>
>>You're missing the point. Even when those new features migrate into 
>>integrated DTV sets -- long after those features have already been 
>>deployed in STBs -- the features of a particular DTV set are frozen to the 
>>consumer who buys that TV set and expects it to last for many years.
>>
>>In terms of the convergence debate, you seem to be a believer in the 
>>"wonder box" theory -- that there will be a single box that serves all our 
>>entertainment needs. Since it will have a display, you can call it a "TV 
>>set." Others believe that most consumers will end up with several 
>>interconnected components rather than a single do-all box. Consumers are 
>>already accustomed to having at least a DVD player and VCR as separate 
>>components. Many have separate A/V receivers as well. The TV-VCR or TV-DVD 
>>player combo market is a very small percentage of the overall TV display 
>>market.
>>
>>    
>>
>>>My bet is that a customer who buys a new integrated
>>>set with cable card will be very happy to be rid of
>>>the STB. Especially when he notices the prices
>>>dropping for these new sets, to where they were for
>>>comparably sized NTSC sets just a couple of years
>>>ago.
>>>      
>>>
>>The customer who wants VOD, PVR, or any kind of iTV apps will be very 
>>disappointed with a unidirectional cable card TV. And we know we won't see 
>>2-way sets on the market anytime soon.
>>
>>    
>>
>>>>Note: I'm not talking about a PVR or other
>>>>recording device with integrated receiver in the
>>>>description of what an STB is.
>>>>Why not? My current STB is a dual tuner HD PVR.
>>>>Whether you call it a cable STB with integrated
>>>>PVR or a PVR with integrated cable tuners, it's
>>>>still a set-top box of some description.
>>>>        
>>>>
>>>Because that's cheating!!
>>>      
>>>
>>It's cheating when the STB includes desirable new features? Hmmm...
>>
>>Whether you call it a STB, a media server, home gateway or whatever, I 
>>still maintain that for most "digital consumers," it makes more sense for 
>>this to be a separate box than to be a part of the innards of their video 
>>display.
>>
>>-- Frank
>>
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
>>
>>- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at 
>>FreeLists.org
>>
>>- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word 
>>unsubscribe in the subject line.
>>
>>    
>>
>
> 
> 
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
>
>- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at 
>FreeLists.org 
>
>- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word 
>unsubscribe in the subject line.
>
>  
>

-- 

Regards,
Mark A. Aitken Director, Advanced Technology

***********************************
Sinclair Broadcast Group
10706 Beaver Dam Road
Hunt Valley, MD 21030
Business TEL: (410) 568-1535
Business MOBILE: (443) 677-4425
Business FAX: (410) 568-1580
E-mail: maitken@xxxxxxxxxx
Text PAGE: page.maitken@xxxxxxxxxx
www.newscentral.tv
www.sbgi.net
===================================
"There never was a good war
or bad peace...."

~ ~ ~ Benjamin Franklin ~ ~ ~
***********************************
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:

This email message and any files transmitted with it contain
confidential information intended only for the person(s) to whom this
email message is addressed.  If you have received this email message in
error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone or email and
destroy the original message without making a copy.  Thank you.
***********************************




 
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:

- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at 
FreeLists.org 

- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word 
unsubscribe in the subject line.

Other related posts: