[opendtv] Re: --FCC OKs WiFi between TV channels
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 17:13:51 -0400
Not sure what I'm mistaken about, Dale? I thought I was
being sarcastic in the post below, and was certainly NOT
presenting you *my* views on ATSC. I was instead
presenting a dogma with which I think by now we are all
quite familiar?
I don't think there's any question that DBS has trouble
fitting local into local HD programming into their
spectrum allocation, and that at least DirecTV and Voom
use ATSC to solve that problem. What I am explaining to
you is the response you are likely to get, to "explain"
how ATSC continues to be irrelevant in spite of this
function it provides to DBS (and never mind OTA
households after NTSC shutdown).
A few years ago, it was all HD that was supposed to be
irrelevant. Since ATSC and HDTV were almost synonimous,
this was an easy way to demonize the whole thing in one
fell swoop.
Faced with the realities of a changing marketplace, now
maybe we're forced to accept that all HD is not
irrelevant. But "we" must continue to insist that
broadcasting and ATSC are irrelevant, so we propose the
notion that there is zero demand for any HD transmitted
by broadcasters, over ATSC. Ipso facto, ATSC remains
irrelevant. That was easy.
I don't doubt for a second that Skip's "spin" has
validity, though. Obviously, if ATSC reception is too
problematic, DBS users won't bother to ever exercise
their ATSC tuners. But as ATSC reception improves, they
will bother. Especially now that virtually *all* prime
time programming is in HD. It's really silly to believe
that DBS subscribers with HD facilities never watch
prime time TV, or would prefer to view prime time TV in
SD, or are only interested in prime time HD from CBS,
and *only* in those markets where CBS owns the
local OTA station. I mean, it takes real mental
contortions to keep up such a belief structure, no?
Bert
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dale Kelly [mailto:res0xtey@xxxxxxxxxxx]
>
> Bert, you are mistaken. Skip and I have completely opposing
> views on this subject.
> My original mail was a rebuttal of Craig's reply to John
> Golitis in which
> Graig once again railed against the relevance of broadcasting.
> Skip simply agreed with one of my suppositions and used that
> to post his "spin" on the subject.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
>
> > Dale and Skip,
> >
> > In order to stick with the position that DTT and ATSC are
> > and will continue to be inconsequential, one must continue
> > to preach that no one with HD reception and display
> > capabilities has any interest in watching the HD content
> > available OTA, from the major networks. This belief is a
> > prerequisite.
> >
> > The fact that DirecTV integrates the DTT channels into its
> > system now for network HD content doesn't matter, because
> > no HD customer worth his salt would ever care to watch
> > network fare, HD or otherwise, and certainly wouldn't dare
> > own up to it. Don't you know. So ATSC continues not to
> > matter.
> >
> > Bert
> >
> >
> > Skip Pizzi wrote:
> >
> > > Dale is correct. At least for now, DBS provides only the=20
> NTSC channels
> > > for its local-into-local services. The only exception I'm
> > > familiar with
> > > is that DirecTV carries the CBS-E and CBS-W feeds in HD, and
> > > if you are
> > > market where the CBS station is an O&O, you can receive the
> > > national HD
> > > feed (E or W, as appropriate for your location). (Not=20
> sure, but Dish
> > > probably has the same deal.)
> > >
> > > AFAIK, all HD STBs for DBS include an ATSC tuner, and most (all?)
> > > integrate the two tuners' into a single EPG. This is not=20
> hard for the
> > > STBs to do, because I believe they receive all EPG data=20
> -- including
> > > that for the local DTV channels -- from the sat provider, not
> > > from PSIP.
> > >
> > > Note also that the new HD PVR from DirecTV/TiVo includes=20
> not one but
> > > *two* ATSC tuners (along with two sat tuners), so all PVR
> > > functionality
> > > is the same for both sat and local channels. (The=20
> original design had
> > > two sat tuners but only one ATSC tuner, and DirecTV elected
> > > to miss the
> > > Xmas 2003 retail window to retool the unit with a second ATSC
> > > tuner. It
> > > started shipping last month, with a price tag of around $1k.)
> > >
> > > Finally, my $.02 on the reason why some consumers might
> > > ignore the ATSC
> > > feature: 1) The sat channels are always there (except for brief
> > > rain-fade outages), while the terrestrial channels might=20
> come and go
> > > depending on your location and other variables (that
> > > certainly has been
> > > my experience, anyway); 2) The HD sat channels are ALWAYS=20
> running HD
> > > content (ESPN-HD is the one exception, and it's soon going to be
> > > "mostly" HD), while the terrestrial channels still run=20
> more SD than HD
> > > content. (The latter is also changing for the better as=20
> time goes on,
> > > but still a long ways from all-HD-all-the-time, or even
> > > -most-of-the-time).
> > >
> > > --SP
> > >=3D20
> > > Skip Pizzi=3D3D20
> > > Manager, Technical Policy
> > > Windows Client Strategic Relations
> > > Microsoft Corp.
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