[opendtv] Re: DTV Delay Bill Introduced

  • From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:49:28 -0500

John Shutt wrote:

> Hallelujah , Bert.
>
> I recall going around and around with you over this back when the
> "85%" rule was first passed. I held that as long as there was a
> requirement to simulcast a station's analog signal on one of the
> digital program streams, cable and DBS systems who carried a
> station's analog signal on their system meant that viewers were
> receiving "one of the digital television service programming
> channels" of the digital signal and qualified to be counted as
> part of the 85%. You weren't so sure.

Whoa, mama! Who on earth do you have me confused for?

IIRC, I suggested that the 85 percent rule was already met even before
the FCC took this position, John. (Was it Ken Feree at the FCC?) And
Craig and others on here were, as usual, completely contrary. I was so
amazed by this "accusation" of yours that I looked back at the Topica
archives to prove this. There may be more direct quotes somewhere, but
these are close enough.

http://lists.topica.com/lists/openDTV/read/message.html?mid=909784846&so
rt=d&start=42102

Subject: Broadcasters hate digital-TV proposal
March 25, 2004

"[ ... ] Anyway, the proof is in the pudding. The FCC has finally stated
the obvious, what we have already said many times on here, which is that
the transition criteria are met today. And as predicted, the
broadcasters complained. And as predicted, Congress is looking at
Berlin, taking in inputs all around, and will eventually decide what to
do. [ ... ]"

And just a couple of days prior to that, under the subject "News: The
85-Percent Solution Revisited," follow this exchange, with vintage
Craig:

-----------------------------
http://lists.topica.com/lists/openDTV/read/message.html?mid=909769664&so
rt=d&start=42052

Craig Birkmaier wrote:
  
> One more time. Carriage of the current analog signal of a station
> DOES NOT COUNT toward the 85%. Under the 1997 act the cable system
> must carry at least one (the primary) digital signal of each station
> in the market...and this means carriage in HD if that is what is
> being broadcast.

You're just not making a logical argument.

Assume all OTA stations in 2005 shut off NTSC. By law, by then, all of
their analog programs will be available in one of their digital
subchannels.

Now how many households will have access to the primary digital program?
About 85 percent, even if no OTA user buys an STB.

How can I make such an assertion? Simple. Because (a) the DBS
subscribers already have a D/A STB in their households, and (b) the
cable systems can either continue to provide an analog tier, performing
D/A at the head-end, or they can supply new STBs to their analog TV
subscribers.

So Powell, as usual, is simply making a logical argument. The 85 percent
rule can be met by 2005, when all stations must simulcast, and it can
certainly be met by 1/1/2007.

The HD is a canard. It is *not* specified in the Act, and in any event,
most households will not be able to view HD anyway even when cable
companies do carry it. What do you classify a cable company that
installs an NTSC-only STB in a household with only analog sets, but
sends the HD signal through its cable? I'd call that easily in
compliance with the 85 percent rule, [ ... ]
------------------------------

I trust I don't need to do more digging.

Bert
 
 
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