[opendtv] Re: First look at ATSC HD Broadcast
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2005 08:47:06 -0400
At 10:23 AM -0400 6/12/05, Tom Barry wrote:
>Craig Birkmaier wrote:
>> It is a question of what you get IF you can establish service, and
>> from a retailers perspective, the costs associated with a
>failure to
>> establish service.
>
>And maybe a bit more. These days information travels very fast.
>
>I think there has been a pervasive feeling that USA digital
>television was really not quite ready for prime time. But if the
>small percentage of folks buying OTA STB's were all getting
>results like the mythical 5th gen box tested at Mark Shubin's last
>summer then I think (electronic) word of mouth would rapidly
>educate consumers that HD was finally ready for Joe 6 pack.
>
>Without that the HD transition is mostly in the hands of cable rates.
I'm not so sure that this pervasive feeling exists among the masses.
Yes there is an early adopter audience that is quite willing to share
their experiences - e.g. the AVS Forum. But these people represent
only a tiny fraction of the potential audience. The great unwashed
masses basically just don't care - they gave up on OTA TV a decade or
more ago and have little interest in going back to a service that is
challenged in terms of performance and content choice.
Add to this the fact that those who ask retailers about OTA HD are
almost universally advised to avoid it. This is NOT just because of
the technical issues or limits on available content; it has much more
to do with the fact that the retailers are given incentives to
promote cable and DBS, while broadcasters do nothing to promote DTV.
Regards
Craig
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