[opendtv] Re: First look at ATSC HD Broadcast
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2005 08:06:37 -0400
At 11:21 AM -0400 6/10/05, John Shutt wrote:
>Craig,
>
>I disagree completely with you. If the system worked plug and play from the
>beginning, we would be in a drastically different place in the transition.
Join the club!
I agree that there would have been incentives to do more, and that we
might be further down the road had the right decisions been made. But
just changing the modulation component would not have been
sufficient. You need a viable business model, and that is not
possible when your content suppliers are using you to achieve larger
goals, like controlling multi-channel distribution.
>I personally have accounted for over 2 dozen "non-sales" of DTV equipment in
>the Lansing area over the past 6 years. Every time someone asks my opinion
>of buying a DTV receiver, I say "wait." Now people have stopped asking
>because cable and DBS now deliver HDTV.
This is a perfect example.
Wow! You influenced two dozen potential sales. Home any people live
in the Lansing market? A quick check says at least 447,000. Now if
you had influenced say two hundred thousand potential customers...
The truth is that you and the other broadcasters in the Lansing area
have influenced everyone in the market. You (the collective
broadcasters in your area) have willingly let cable and DBS carry
your water. PBS has even managed to negotiate carriage of your
multicasts.
What broadcasters in your area have not done is stay competitive.
"You" have relied on government protection to sustain a franchise
that is withering in the face of competition.
When is the last time that you met with all of the CEs and station
managers in your area to discuss how you could pool spectrum
resources to field a competitor to cable and DBS?
>
>The business model is worthless without working hardware. Just ask Mr.
>Miller.
Mr. Miller is facing a multitude of issues in trying to launch a
competitors to cable in the terrestrial spectrum. Modulation is just
one. Is USDTV failing because of the problems with 8-VSB?
NO.
It is failing because it does not offer a value proposition to
potential subscribers that is competitive.
We both know that it IS possible to use the public spectrum resources
to compete. But it will take more...
MUCH MORE than just a working modulation system. It will take a
complete overhaul of the broadcast business.
You will need a more responsible way of using the spectrum, so that
each market will have sufficient spectrum resources to support a
multi-channel broadcast system with enough content to be competitive.
You will need a platform that is up to date and competitive, and IT
MUST have local caching in order to compensate for the constraints on
bandwidth that will continue to exist in every market.
You will need a customer service organization that can roll trucks
and establish reliable service; and a conditional access and billing
system so that you can offer more than just basic ad supported
channels.
You will need a new relationship with content providers - one that
puts you on an equal footing with competitors, rather than using you
to extort money from competitors.
And you will need to create content of interest to your market - just
passing through other peoples bits is not going to be a business much
longer.
Sorry to be so blunt. I really respect your opinions and all that you
have done in this forum, but technology is NOT the issue here.
Regards
Craig
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