[opendtv] Re: Kennard and Powell to the rescue
- From: "John Willkie" <johnwillkie@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:49:21 -0800
John;
You seem to largely be arguing with positions I didn't take. Specifically,
I didn't suggest that people transmit MPEG-4 to meet the FCC requirement,
but that I thought the language of the law (not the regulations) would
permit it.
You may be familiar with the general concept that it is easier to change an
FCC regulation than it is to change a section of the Communications Act.
So, John, thank you for doing my research and making -- to the extent you
have quoted the Code -- my point. There is nothing in the sections of the
code that you have cites that mandates MPEG-2/A-53/A-52. Those are 'mere'
FCC regulations.
Also, I didn't even suggest that the FCC exceeded their mandate by requiring
a SDTV-equivalent stream in the clear; by trying to prove me wrong, you
actually proved me right on the gist of my point.
Also, I tell nobody what essence to broadcast or transmit. I stick to what
I know; broadcast metadata and how it is linked to essence. My first
customer, for example, just stared airing Al Jazeera in English over the
last weekend. I doubt that it will be a commercial success, but they
present coverage in English that is not otherwise available, having 6
staffers in Gaza right now.
If somebody wants to transmit h.264/avc video, I can provide the bits to
make that work with PSIP. Around the time that the candidate standard for
A/153 is adopted (assuming such happens), if somebody wants to transmit m/h
essence, I can and will transmit the Transmission Parameter Channel, the
Fast Information Channel-Chunk(s), the Service Map Table, the Guide Access
Table, the Cell Information Table, Service Labeling Table(s), the Rating
Region Table, XML fragments needed to create the OMA-BCAST Service Guide for
ATSC M/H and perhaps even the Short Term and Long Term Key Management
elements. All with the same user interface, and probably even with the same
computer as is used for transmitting PSIP. Perhaps, based on Windows 7, I
will even go beyond that and enable essence encoding, but I think it best
that be done on a different box.
That term "advanced television services" reads a lot different now than it
did in 1996. It could be used by the FCC -- were there a overweening number
of m/h capable receivers in the marketplace and few legacy MPEG-2 devices
there -- to mandate that the in the clear requirement be permissible via
MPEG-4 or MPEG-2, as the station desires.
Merely transmitting audio and video digitally just doesn't seem all that
advanced these days. Transmitting audio, video, presentation data
(interactive elements, graphics, maps, animations) and files suitable for
downloading via FLUTE does seem quite advanced.
John Willkie
-----Mensaje original-----
De: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] En
nombre de John Shutt
Enviado el: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 12:09 PM
Para: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Asunto: [opendtv] Re: Kennard and Powell to the rescue
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Willkie" <johnwillkie@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> John;
>
> Could you show me the language in the United States Code (which is what I
> so
> badly alluded to) that mandates MPEG-2 transmissions of at least SDTV
> quality?
Come on, John, you know perfectly well that the Telecommunications Act of
1934, as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, grants the FCC the
authority to regulate "advanced television services." Specifically:
http://www.fcc.gov/Reports/1934new.pdf
47 U.S.C. 336(b): "[The Commission shall] (4) adopt such technical and other
requirements as may be necessary or appropriate to assure the quality of the
signal used to provide advanced television services, and may adopt
regulations that stipulate the minimum number of hours per day that such
signal must be transmitted; and (5) prescribe such other regulations as may
be necessary for the protection of the public interest, convenience, and
necessity."
We already went through those regulations, so there is no need to repeat
that particular exercise. If it is your contention that the FCC exceeded
their congressional mandate by issuing those rules requiring a single SD
program, and adopting certain ATSC standards by reference, then that is a
matter for the courts to decide.
As often as you caution your clients against being in violation of PSIP
rules, I doubt you would recommend to your clients to broadcast a single SD
program using MPEG-4 video compression to satisfy 73.624(b).
John
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