[opendtv] Congress Sorts Through Set-top Scenarios
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 08:22:34 -0500
One part of the following TV Technology article=20
raises an interesting question. Who taught these=20
guys math? It must have been a government=20
school...
;-)
Mark Goldstein, testifying for the Government=20
Accounting Office, said his office found that=20
approximately 19 percent, or 21 million American=20
households, rely exclusively on OTA television.=20
Of those, 48 percent had incomes less than=20
$30,000. Also, more than 23 percent of nonwhite=20
households are OTA-only compared to less than 16=20
percent of white households; as are about 28=20
percent of Hispanic households compared to 17=20
percent non-Hispanic.
How can this bee when there are only about 105=20
Million homes, of which nearly 90 million=20
subscribe to a multichannel TV service?
Maybe they are counting illegal aliens?
I can see it now. The new border crossing=20
outposts will take care of this problem. As you=20
cross the border, the government will give you a=20
drivers license, food stamps, and an ATSC=20
receiver...
Welcome to America!
Regards
Craig
http://www.tvtechnology.com/dailynews/one.php?id=3D2754
2005-02-18
Congress Sorts Through Set-top Scenarios
Three certainties emerged from Thursday's=20
congressional subcommittee hearing on "The Role=20
of Technology in Achieving a Hard Deadline for=20
the DTV Transition:"
1) There is not consensus on a Dec. 31, 2006 deadline.
2) Several lawmakers are technologically challenged.
3) Twenty years in Congress hasn't hurt Joe Barton one bit.
Barton, the Texas Congressman who is head of the=20
House Energy and Commerce Committee, sat on the=20
sidelines during much of the telecom subcommittee=20
hearing, which was held by his colleague,=20
Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) Much of the hearing=20
focused on the potential impact of an analog=20
shut-off and the cost of subsidizing set-top=20
digital-to-analog converters. Barton briefly=20
weighed in with a promise to introduce a=20
standalone bill to end analog broadcasting, and a=20
short time later, a narrative on his personal=20
viewing arrangements.
Barton said he had three homes and three offices,=20
containing a total of 15 television sets,=20
including "three in reserve," one of which is a=20
Zenith cabinet model. His wife, apparently=20
considering him TV deficient, gave him a $300=20
voucher for Christmas--for a television set.=20
Barton proceeded to the electronics store, where=20
he asked for "the best TV I can get for $300,"=20
and the salesman started showing him analog sets.
Barton asked about digital sets, to which the=20
response was, "you said you wanted the best set=20
you could get for $300."
"But what about Congress setting a deadline?"=20
Barton said he asked the salesman, who replied,=20
"ahh, they'll never do that," and thus, the=20
congressman bent on setting an analog deadline=20
bought a $300 analog television set.
Barton considers the current 85-percent threshold=20
legislation inadequate, for reasons that he did=20
not quite make clear at the hearing, (but=20
ostensibly for the spectrum auction cash). Under=20
current law, at least 85 percent of a designated=20
market area must be able to receive over-the-air=20
DTV signals before analog transmission can be=20
discontinued.
"If we don't do a hard-date bill, what=20
happens...is it per region? I don't know what a=20
region is," Barton said. "...a DMA? Is it a DMA?=20
If you're in that region and it has 85 percent,=20
you're out of luck."
Whereas a Dec. 31, 2006 deadline would spread the=20
absence of luck more evenly--and primarily to=20
poor nonwhite households.
Mark Goldstein, testifying for the Government=20
Accounting Office, said his office found that=20
approximately 19 percent, or 21 million American=20
households, rely exclusively on OTA television.=20
Of those, 48 percent had incomes less than=20
$30,000. Also, more than 23 percent of nonwhite=20
households are OTA-only compared to less than 16=20
percent of white households; as are about 28=20
percent of Hispanic households compared to 17=20
percent non-Hispanic.
Goldstein also testified to the potential cost of=20
a program to subsidize set-top digital-to-analog=20
converters. If all OTA-only households were each=20
supplied with a $50 to $100 converter, the cost=20
for the boxes would run from $1 billion to $2=20
billion. If a means test of twice poverty-level=20
were applied, the cost would be approximately=20
$463 million to $925 million. (Poverty level for=20
a family of four is just under $19,000.)
"If a means test is any TV in the home, I'm going=20
to make a gold mine," Barton said, making a=20
succinct case for a means test.
If cable and DBS providers are enjoined from=20
headend D-to-A conversion, the cost of=20
subsidizing set-tops increases dramatically--up=20
to possibly $10 billion for every households with=20
a stranded analog set.
Broadcasters are averse to headend conversion.=20
Jim Yager, CEO of Barrington Broadcasting,=20
testified that headend conversion would degrade=20
HD broadcast signals for every cable subscriber,=20
including those with hi-def sets.
"Down-conversion at the headend would mean that=20
consumers who invest in HDTV sets would find=20
themselves receiving an identical picture as=20
their neighbors' analog-only TVs," he said.
Mike Willner, president and CEO of Insight=20
Communications and a regular figure at Hill DTV=20
hearings, testified to the contrary. He said=20
cable operators are currently able to convert=20
digital signals for their analog customers while=20
retaining HD resolution for their hi-def=20
subscribers. He also said that Insight was=20
signing up new HD subs at a rate of about 1,000=20
per week.
Rather than clear up the contradiction of Yager's=20
and Willner's testimony, Upton seemed primarily=20
concerned about how many set-tops he'd need when=20
he and his colleagues pulled the plug on analog.
"Now I have a digital set and an HD set in my=20
home," he said. "Both are plugged into set-top=20
boxes. I also have two analog sets. What happens?"
"The digital sets become analog," Yager said.
"Do the analog sets become digital?" Upton said,=20
amusing himself. "Will I need boxes for my analog=20
sets?"
Willner reiterated that with headend conversion,=20
there would be no need for additional set-tops=20
for Upton's analog TV sets. However, he said, if=20
broadcasters win their bid for conversion in the=20
home, "even cable-ready sets will need a set-top=20
box." (The cable lobby is currently fighting=20
aspects of the FCC order that launched=20
cable-ready sets.)
The question of whether analog TV sets ought to=20
be labeled was put to the witnesses by Rep. Bobby=20
Rush, (D-Ill.), to which Yager replied in the=20
affirmative. (Yager previously mentioned that=20
"every year, another 30 million analog-only sets=20
are sold to unsuspecting consumers.") Willner=20
noted that analog sets would not become obsolete=20
with cable.
Rep. Lee Terry, (D-Neb.) chimed in about the=20
futility of labeling TVs in the absence of a hard=20
analog shut-off date, and then proceeded to=20
demonstrate his grasp of the scope of subsidizing=20
set-tops and of television technology as a whole.
"I have an HDTV set with cable, and I need a=20
set-top box to operate it. I'm not sure how=20
difficult this transition will be," he said. "It=20
will be difficult on a 'certain class' of=20
individuals who can't afford a $50 converter box."
Yager testified that one Omaha station with which=20
he was affiliated spent $1.5 million to get a=20
digital signal on the air, so it would be nice=20
for people to be able to receive the signal.
Terry countered that the Omaha CBS affiliate was=20
withholding its HD signal from Cox.
"And the only way you can get it is with a $300 antenna," Terry said.
The $300-antenna myth persisted until Dr. Jong=20
Kim of Korea's LG Electronics testified that=20
there is no difference between an analog antenna=20
and a digital antenna.
"It's the same thing. You can use a $5 bow-tie," he said.
Congress having initiated the digital TV=20
transition to save America's flagging consumer=20
electronics industry, Dr. Kim's presence as a=20
witness was testimony to how well that strategy=20
worked.
Dr. Kim testified that LG could turn out a $60 to=20
$70 D-to-A converter, if, and only if, orders=20
came in on the scale of "10s of millions." He=20
also said the CE industry would need 12 to 16=20
months lead time for production on such a scale.=20
Taking into account the logistics of distribution=20
and the administrative of a subsidy program,=20
Congress will have to act within the next few=20
months in order to achieve a Dec. 31, 2006 analog=20
shut-off without stranding millions of TV=20
households.
Several lawmakers indicated unwillingness to do=20
so, including Rep. Elliot Engel, (D-N.Y.), and=20
Heather Wilson, (R-N.M.), who said a "date=20
certain would not be particularly popular for New=20
Mexico. Two billion dollars for boxes on top of=20
TVs is a lot of money. That's $2 billion we're=20
not using to immunize kids, or educate them or=20
buy body armor."
=A92005 IMAS Publishing Group. All rights reserved.=20
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or=20
medium without express written permission of IMAS=20
Publishing Group is prohibited.
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