[opendtv] Re: U.S. mobile TV spec in the works
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:41:02 -0400
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> A-VSB is "one" of the proposals. Harris also has an in-band proposal
> as well. I am including a story about the Harris proposal from
> Broadcast Engineerings's Beyond the Headlines e-newsletter in this
> message.
Right you are. From the description, what makes this MPH scheme
different from A-VSB and DVB-H is that MPH is supposed to be "backward
compatible." That might mean that the more robust MPH stream is also
receivable by standard 8-VSB receivers, even if not with the extra
robustness or power saving features.
But I may be wrong with that interpretation. "Backward compatible" can
also mean that MPH streams can coexist with standard 8-VSB, just like
A-VSB can, and just like DVB-H can coexist with DVB-T.
All of these are "in-band," so there *may* not be a whole lot of
functional difference between the three.
> There may be several reasons for the slow start in Europe. IMHO
> the most significant is their attempt to re-invent the wheel, when
> the original DVB-T specs worked very well.
At the low transmit power levels often used by Euro broadcasters, I
doubt DVB-T would work very well to handheld appliances. Especially if
they use low power and 64-QAM constallations, as the French seem to do.
And the power drain is also a consideration, but mostly for cell phones.
The reason for the slow start is most likely that consumers aren't
convinced that they want to watch TV shows or movies on their cell
phones, and pay for the service. Maybe it will take some training to
convince people.
> The OTHER major reason that there may be an issue, both in Europe and
> here in the U.S., is that regulators have encouraged the telcos to
> get into this business. There will be a day of reckoning in the near
> future when broadcasters push to use their spectrum to compete with
> subscription services that are operating in spectrum that has been
> obtained at auction. The ATSC and U.S. broadcasters may find that the
> FCC and COngress are not very excited about broadcasters getting into
> the mobile business, as this could have an impact on the revenues that
> can be obtained in the upcoming 700Mhz auctions.
Interesting point. Too bad for the auctions, though. In Euro countries
where DTT is popular, broadcasters would have a tough sell to reduce
their multiplexes to serve mobile handheld devices. But here in the US,
there's nothing stopping braodcasters from doing this, if they choose.
The Govt can't forbid them. It's not illegal.
Bert
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