[opendtv] Re: Canada's Minimalist Approach to the DTV Transition
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2011 17:41:08 -0500
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> Perhaps he felt that we pushed the transition too early; if so I agree.
> DTV technology, especially receivers was not mature enough in the '90s. In
> reality we did not have decent receivers until at least 2006 or 2007, and
> limited HD programming until then as well.
He's talking about ending the transition. We had both the LG 5th gen and the
Linx 4th gen receivers available in productized form by the 4th quarter of
2003. Plenty of time to end the transition by 31 December 2006, had anyone
cared to get off the pot. So in spite of LG's (overly greedy) unwillingness to
offer 5th gen in stand-alone STBs, a push to end the transition by 2006 could
have forced the issue. Instead, we just hemmed and hawed for another 6 years,
until finally the Michael Powell FCC did what made sense. At long last.
Starting with the 1 March 2007 requirement for built-in receivers.
> As far as being prepared for the transition, the U.S. DID over react.
Only in the sense that no subsidies were needed. Shutting off analog in 2009
was hardly "overreacting." Setting performance minima for the STBs was also not
overreacting. Spending $1.5B of taxpayers' money for freebie boxes probably was.
> The reality in Canada is that the public is WELL prepared for the
> transition.
Not according to the article. Most Canadians are totally unaware of any such
transition, and according to the article, a good 30 percent of them still use
OTA for at least a secondary set in the house. Although less than 10 percent
use OTA as their only method.
> If it were left to me I would have ended the transition in 2002 with NO
> receiver mandates or government cheese.
If it were up to you, we would have no OTA TV at all, and everyone would be as
tethered and as dependent as you are, on a single gatekeeper. I guess misery
loves company? This is like asking me what we should do about the NBA and NFL.
Complete lack of interest makes just as unqualified to comment on those two
organizations.
> The fact that we are now looking at another transition to deal with an
> appropriate standard for the wireless television broadcast medium speaks
> for itself;
Yes, but you misconstrue the reason. The real reason is that we have to appease
utterly clueless lawmakers, who think there is a magic bullet that will save on
spectrum. In fact, there isn't, but if they can be appeased, maybe that's
reason enough.
In any event, even the Europeans are going through a second transition, both to
introduce HD and to switch to DVB-T2. So I guess that means that your
preferences back in the late 1990s or early 2000s would have been no better,
eh? In fact, we would have had far less HD programming (OTA) than we do now,
and we would still have had to deal with a second transition!
Bert
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