[opendtv] Re: Rochester Responders Tuning in Datacasts
- From: Bob Miller <bob@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 13:41:21 -0500
John Shutt wrote:
>The first paragraph is complete and utter bunk.
>
>We were among many public broadcasters across the country that was
>approached by Triveni two years ago to facilitate a demonstration of the
>Triveni Skyscraper to first responders and lawmakers here in Michigan, which
>we did, and the response was underwhelming.
>
>Triveni wanted to sell Skyscraper data carousel equipment, and expected
>someone else to design the data infrastructure, the back channels, even the
>field laptop equipment. First responders were only interested in a
>completed off-the-shelf end-to-end system.
>
>Also, nobody was impressed with having to attach a Silver Sensor to their
>laptop, or with the inability to receive data while en route to a disaster
>scene. Since Triveni's suggested data model included using a cell phone
>modem connected to the laptop as a back channel to request information,
>everyone questioned the wisdom or the necessity of having the DTV forward
>channel at all.
>
>Let us see in five years how much of this emergency information network
>still exists after the federal grant money is gone.
>
>John
>
There will be none. We approached FEMA and the New York Fire and Police
departments before and after 9/11. We proposed issuing the Police and
Fire Departments a portion of the 300 Nokia COFDM receivers that were
made in early 2000 so that they along with a couple hundred other New
York who's who could evaluate the possibilities rampant with a
modulation that just works real well mobile or fixed.
Of course the Sinclair situation was on at the time and the FCC would
not allow any use of COFDM under or for anything. Later, right after
9-11 with a request from the DoD involving Sinclair and ourselves we
used the New York Education Departments PBS channel digital 25 to do a
demo to FEMA but when we asked for permission to show it to the New York
Police Department, whose top officials were waiting in our offices only
four blocks from Ground Zero, we were denied. The power was on and they
were in our offices awaiting a ride around Ground Zero but Channel 25
turned off their transmitter. Funny thing is that part of those 300
Nokia receivers were used in this PBS demo. We called them Hockey Pucks.
The end game was for these receivers to house large hard drives for the
recording of all programs broadcast. The receivers would be on 24/7
which also made for a good emergency system.
We were proposing that if we were allowed to use COFDM on channels we
controlled we would allow any of a group of qualified public servants to
use our spectrum at their command in time of emergency no compensation
no quid pro quo. It would have allowed and we proposed that every public
service vehicle and every apartment and office buildings every floor and
every citizens home or apartment could be equipped with a COFDM receiver
that would allow officials to address those receivers on an individual
or group basis which could already be computerized. Officials could then
broadcast audio and video to such selected devices or to all devices
over riding our broadcast. An example we gave at the time was that with
the addition of GPS a State Trouper could via a two way network
broadcast back to HDQTs a video or audio of an accident scene that could
then be rebroadcast to all vehicles identified as being between any two
points on the freeway before or after the accident. This would alert the
public to the accident and the conditions while satisfying their need to
see thus reducing the rubber-neck phenomenon which causes traffic delays.
Part of our demonstration when we were broadcasting on channels 54 and
55 for a year using COFDM was to interrupt the broadcast with a live
emergency broadcast from our headend where we had a camera and one of
our group stationed.
Anything I have heard over the last six years as to the use of
broadcasting for emergency services pales in comparison to our vision
then and what would already be possible in the US if COFDM had been
allowed in 2000.
NOTHING of consequence will ever be done in this regard using 8-VSB IMO.
Bob Miller
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