-----Original Message----- From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Sam Churchill Sent: Friday, April 16, 2004 3:40 PM To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [opendtv] Re: Mobile DTV test "I'm a consumer, not an engineer...so answer me this: I live in an apartment downtown without cable. Why can't I get ATSC? It doesn't work." Given the facts as presented by you, I'd ask what kind of DTV set you have tried in your apartment? If you haven't tried, who told you that you couldn't receive DTV there? What's your elevation above ground level? What kind of antennae have you tried? When was the last attempt? "Why can't the United States duplicate the UK's success with off-the-air FreeView on a $99 settop?" Simple: because the U.S. government does not subsidize set tops, and because the U.S. government does not own the predominant TV networks in the U.S. "PLEASE tell me the reason is NOT because there were no royalty bucks for ATSC if they adopted COFDM." This, even as a surly question, is off-base. There are a multitude of reasons, but none have anything to do with the ATSC receiving royalty checks: the ATSC is a non-profit organization supported by the contributions of it's members, not royalty checks from anybody. Simply put, the ATSC system is a creature of the U.S. system of broadcasting. The DVB system is a creature of the wildly different European system of broadcasting. (I don't want any crap on this: DVB specs state that they are the European Telecommunications Standard, or ETS.) While there are some aspects of DVB that are interesting, particularly HM, the network topology would NOT WORK in the U.S. Example: nobody in the U.S. would identify with a transmitter having an identifier for transport stream, and a separate id for "network origination" facility. You see, in the U.S., we have local tv stations: in Europe, it's largely "national" networks with little or ZERO local content. "Consumers aren't stupid." I believe that you might have proved the opposite in your posting. "ATSC screwed up." Pray tell why? Because they didn't adopt your uninformed choice? Are you just unhappy in the outcome, or could you inform us of what decisions made by the ATSC were wrong? (Clue: most of your problems are with the ACATS, not the ATSC, but who knows or cares about the difference? Certainly not intelligent consumers!) "Am I missing something or am I telling the truth?" You are missing everything, and you can't phone to someone truthful from where you are located. Well, I guess Lee Wood is a local call. Why don't you show him how you can't receive KOIN-TV? I don't want to speak for him, but I have yet to hear about a Portland reception case that he was not familiar with. John Willkie You tell me. Sam Churchill Portland, OR --------------------- > However, if the popularity of mobile phones with cameras continues to > explode, then it would be the natural platform for any future "portable" > television screen. The DVB-H standard that is being proposed is aimed at > precisely that market. Obviously something that the > ATSC standard could never duplicate. > > Once again, Europe is ahead in the Digital Television wars. > Cheers, > John Shutt ------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.