[opendtv] Re: 20050810 Wolfsson's Wednesday Words (Mark's Monday Memo)
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 11:51:00 -0400
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> Those industries are competing with one another
> and moving the ball down the field. The broadcasters
> not even in the game - by choice.
We're obviously talking past one another.
Frank Eory said that people would choose not to buy
the integrated set if they had a choice. Nonsense.
People might choose to buy the monitor ONLY because
they have no choice but to accept the cable/DBS STB!
The consumer's interests are not the same as the
service providers' interests. All you're saying above
is that the service providers have their own
interests in mind. That was obvious already.
> I just got a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD
> box from Cox cable. It includes an integrated DVR.
> What good would an integrated receiver do for those
> who want the DVR function,
Again, IMO, you're not seeing the bigger picture.
What you were forced to do was to buy an integrated
DVR from your cable company. On the other hand, you
could have bought an integrated cable/ATSC DVR from
Best Buy. Why should you rent or buy a special box
from your cable company, and maybe pay higher monthly
fees to boot, if you can do the same thing with a
standard box without even informing the service
provider?
The integrated TV set per se would benefit you simply
because it would permit watching TV without a DVR,
or watching one channel while recording whatever
limit of channels the DVR allows.
The standard integrated DVR and integrated TV you buy
from Best Buy would also work if you change service
provider or if you want to augment your cable channels
with OTA channels. So in terms of the consumer's own
interests, not to be confused with the service
providers' interests, the single standard makes good
sense.
To me, the ATSC/digital cable interface is just
another interface. Just like the RGB, the DVI, the
composite, the Y/C. Why get hung up on just this one?
> These folks are dealing with customer service issues
> in a very aggressive manner.
If your Best Buy box breaks, Best Buy will fix or
replace it too.
Many years ago, the telephone company used to insist
we buy phones only from them, and would charge extra for
extra phone extensions in your home. I didn't think we
would be debating TODAY how wonderful that business
model for consumers!
Bert
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