ATSC 3.0 is basically datacasting - it's based on IP technology. (Actually,
ATSC 1.0 is really datacasting, too, as you're literally broadcasting digital
data.)
Some proponents of ATSC3.0 have been pushing the distance learning uses that
the new standard could provide - though there's really no reason some distance
learning couldn't be implemented right now....public TV stations could create a
few sub channels and have educational classes be broadcast out to students
watching on their TVs. These could be fairly low-res channels so quite a few
channels could be added.
This is all doable, but the main problem is the low number of students who
would actually be able to receive the streams. OTA is growing, but still low
in many areas. Unless cable / satellite put these distance learning channels
on you'd have a low penetration rate. Educational departments might be
bedazzled by this new "datacasting" idea, but even with ATSC 3.0 they'll have
to face the same problems - perhaps unless ATSC 3.0 proponents are able to get
mobile device manufacturers to put receive chips in cell phones (or school
districts provide specialized set top boxes to receive the data streams.)
Jon C. Moon
Ridgeline TV Channel 99
706-897-0872
www.ridgelinetv.net <http://www.ridgelinetv.net/>
On Nov 12, 2020, at 10:58 AM, Rick Goetz <rickg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Full power WKRC in Cincinnati tried this years ago when dial up internet
was the norm and gave up because the bandwidth was just not there. And with
Cell phones acting at hot spots, there is even less need for it. It is
probably a manufacture trying to sell a product and after they roll it out in
a few locations, they will go “wait, it doesn’t work”.
Rick Goetz
R & L Media Systems
(615) 826-0792
rickg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
From: lptv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lptv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf ;
Of Rebecca White
Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2020 9:41 AM
To: lptv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lptv] Re: Datacasting
Just want everyone to be aware that the PBS consortium is looking to lock
this up and have apparently been on the move.
It seems LPTV gets the short end most of the time.
On Thu, Nov 12, 2020 at 9:37 AM Rick Goetz <rickg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:rickg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
The problem is it takes a lot of bandwidth to do internet. A TV station
may be able to offer 16 MBits down, but that is to one subscriber. You can
do more with your cell phone. You can divide up the areas with high
directional antennas, but it is just not feasible. The best way to do it is
with 2.4 & 5.8 GHz license-free networks. The beam is narrow and the
equipment to do it is cheap. If a city wanted to, they could run a fiber
down a street and put small 5.8 GHz link on every couple of telephone poles.
The range is limited and fairly secure. But even that will load up quickly
as I saw in Bowling Green KY when we tried to do a 5.8 GHz STL link. There
are a lot of folks using this technology.
What I have seen is LPTV operators leasing streams to school systems to
send out educational video to Covid locked down students. Zoom meetings are
great, but most internet systems cannot handle 100,000-200,000 students and
teachers trying to send live video. We are seeing school systems go back to
the educational TV of the 60’s and 70’s where a teacher sets up a camera and
teaches a class. Questions can be handled by low-bandwidth texting. And if a
lot of teachers are trying to send out their teachings during the prime
8am-4pm, Wal-Mart and others have set top boxes that will record off air for
under $25 (emetic AT103C). Plus a flash stick in the front and record your
lessons on a $5 stick. (By the way, a real good tool for a station to have
as well.)
So yes, we LPTV operators do have an answer to school systems on how to
handle remote learning. We just have to go to the school systems and show
them how to do it. Teacher can record a lesson on their cell phone if they
do not have a video camera and send it to a video server via mp4.
Rick Goetz
R & L Media Systems
(615) 826-0792
rickg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:rickg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: lptv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:lptv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
[mailto:lptv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ;<mailto:lptv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>] On
Behalf Of Rebecca White
Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2020 7:45 AM
To: lptv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:lptv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [lptv] Datacasting
J did t know if any of you knew anything about datacasting.
The public television industry is hedging their bets on success and future
funding by working their way knot the good graces of stated educational
departments by “offering” this great technology of embedding data into their
tv broadcast stream and getting school j formation and homework to students
in rural areas.
Of course they’re lining of big deals with most states as an exclusive thing
that public tv can do. However most states are t 100 percent covered by
public tv signals.
A company called Westpond has the equipment but a guy named Mark O’Brien
from Spectrarep has locked them up so they won’t sell to anyone else.
They want to control it all. However this really isn’t something special.
All tv stations could do it
Indiana just gave a $20 million grant to make it happen. And you know it
won’t take $20 million to do this. Basically it’s giving up a subchannel and
getting word files, PDFs and some video into the tv stream and then
providing a box to every student at home and an antenna to get the station
and a way to “download” the data from the stream.
If we could figure a way to do this I think this would be a sustainable
revenue stream for a few years to come or u til rural broadband becomes a
reality.
Curious on your thoughts?
Becky
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