[opendtv] Re: How one couple beat the cable company
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 10:06:53 -0400
On Oct 13, 2014, at 9:41 PM, Manfredi, Albert E <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
>
> By far cheaper than that, for FOTA broadcasters who cannot afford hundreds of
> transmitters distributed all over the place, would be translators. Just like
> every other country that relies on OTA TV has done, for eons. And continues
> to do, even in the era of LTE.
Why do you think building translators is any cheaper that buying space on
existing cell towers?
Translators work fine in rural areas where there is plenty of vacant spectrum.
They do not work in urban areas where the spectrum is crowded. You could use on
channel repeaters, but these are generally only useful in areas where there is
terrain blocking from the big stick.
Leveraging the huge LTE tower infrastructure and the ability to provide a
uniform RF footprint that can easily be received by both fixed and mobile
devices just makes sense.
>
>> Broadcast LTE can provide excellent coverage in urban areas
>> INCLUDING indoor reception.
>
> At a price, which no doubt makes FOTA TV impossible.
Your opinion.
Big sticks cost a fortune to build and operate.
> On the other hand, I get indoor reception from transmitters that are between
> 12 and 46 miles distant. Surely, surely Craig, these distances offer the
> option for broadcasters to deploy a much less dense mesh of transmitters than
> LTE broadcast would demand?
Actually the density of an LTE broadcast mesh should be significantly less than
for two way data/voice.
> And this at 3.3. b/s/Hz. Oh, did you find out what tower spacing LTE
> requires, in broadcast mode, to achieve anything around 3 b/s/Hz??
BS Hz is only one measure of spectrum efficiency. And the mesh can be tuned to
achieve both excellent coverage and good spectral reuse.
>
>
> Only because the desperate cable company offered another 24 month sweet deal.
> What did he say he would do at the end of that period?
Quit, then look for another deal.
>
> The one thing we can agree on is that the need for broadcast TV, and by that
> I mean MPEG-2 **TS** continuous one-to-everyone broadcast, is pretty much
> gone. But technically speaking, that's especially true for cabled networks,
> where two-way operation is already an option. For non-cabled RF schemes, such
> as FOTA TV or DBS, where two-way operation is a lot more
> infrastructure-intensive, not so true.
Yes we can agree on this. If content is pre-produced the time you watch it does
not matter. Other social factors may play a role, I.e. The "water cooler"
effect.
Live events are critical to the future of any streaming service. That is why
you see ESPN and others scrambling to buy rights ten years into an uncertain
future.
For broadcasters, the NFL is becoming the anchor to their streaming "bundles."
>
> Ironically, OTA TV is showing signs of life extension. Simply because it is
> the only scheme that can afford to operate only ad-supported. As long as the
> congloms won't allow live streams over the Internet free of subscription, OTA
> TV is becoming the only game in town for live programming to cord cutters.
Yup.
>
> Oh well, Craig. Some people have figured out how to survive without your
> "bundle."
It all depends on your personal preferences and your ability to pay. Some
people won't eat meat. I love a good steak!
Regards
Craig
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