[opendtv] Re: Global standard

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 8 May 2012 15:15:29 -0400

At 3:48 PM -0500 5/7/12, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:

Craig Birkmaier wrote:


 I agree we need mobility. And it's coming through WiFi, 3G, 4G etc?
Yes, that's why I too don't see this as a reason to go to some new OTA standard, for mobility or anything else, really. If the congloms OR the local broadcasters want their own content to be available mobile, they can already achieve that today.
Not really. The current mobile standard is a non starter. It is not supported in the devices people are using.
So YES, you can reach tablets via Wi-Fi connected to broadband, or telco wireless, but the latter is cost prohibitive, and does not scale to serve large numbers of viewers, as might be the case gameday, near any College or NFL football stadium.
Clearly there is a place (need) for wireless broadcast network to complement telco wireless data services.
More like the opposite is true. The OTA standard was developed during a time when Internet distribution was still nowhere close to achievable, and it was designed as a shared medium for use by all broadcasters. RTP/RTCP were just starting to be developed in the 1993 time frame, and Internet access was way too slow for TV still. But like Vint Cerf said recently, once the Internet becomes fast enough to carry a service it previously could not carry, it soon becomes the prevalent medium for that service.
This is an orthogonal argument. It is not now, and never was about Internet distribution. Broadcasters have had the same opportunity to leverage the Internet as Apple, Google et al.
The real issue was and still is that they were designing a WIRELESS SERVICE, not a replacement for a service to fixed antennas - the latter comes for free when the conditions are met to serve low complexity devices that move. This was WELL KNOWN at the time - I know because I helped educate ACATS, the ATSC and the FCC about the opportunity.
When we did this it only caused them to dig in their heels deeper, purposely closing the door on a more open, extensible standard.
One could argue that it took another decade for the technology to mature to make devices like the iPAD possible, but it was well known that this would happen, and thus require yet another new DTV standard. 




 Anyone care to cite another example of a government mandate of both a
 standard and requirement for its implementation in an electronics product
 used by most Americans?


You mean, like FOTA radio? Or, like the distribution of electric power?
The FCC did not require AM stereo, nor are they requiring receivers to support digital radio. The issue is not that there is a government supported standard, the issue is a mandate that you must buy something to get something else you want. I think the Supreme Court is dealing with a similar issue with hjealthcare...
There are tons of examples of government mandated or de-facto standards, for commonly used infrastructures. Plumbing, roads, waterways and airways (e.g. navigational aids, rules of the road), and on and on. OTA TV is just another example. With the Internet, the manufacturers are still playing nice and keeping things standard, for the most part, although of course companies like Apple are working hard to change that. ;)
Again, it is not about standards. The beauty of the Internet is that it makes it possible for people to keep creating new things, and to set both industry and marketplace standards.
Bert often confuses the idea that a company can create a storefront in cyberspace and devices that may only work well with the server at the other end of the connection, with the idea that these companies are not supporting Internet standards. 

Adobe Flash = a successful marketplace standard

HTML5 = a proposed (now partially deployed) industry standard.
Somehow Bert concludes that Apple is doing something wrong by not supporting Flash, AND doing something wrong by participating in the development and supporting HTML5. 

Go figure.

Regards
Craig


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