[opendtv] Re: Rochester Responders Tuning in Datacasts

  • From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 13:04:09 -0500

John Shutt wrote:

> Since Triveni's suggested data model included using
> a cell phone modem connected to the laptop as a back
> channel to request information, everyone questioned
> the wisdom or the necessity of having the DTV forward
> channel at all.

This is certainly a good point. I think a lot of confusion exists
because people talk about "back channel," implying that the broadcast
connection gives you the downstream link, and some sort of one-way
uplink provides the other half. A common and annoying misconception.
Annoying because it's so commonly used by those who profit from mindless
hype. "All you need is a backchannel," they say, as if somehow they were
making that part simple.

In fact, what you need for any sort of interactivity is a completely
separate, two-way Internet acess connection. A connection to an ISP,
pure and simple. Completely independent of the broadcast channel.

For the first part of the article, the carousel service to firehouses,
the broadcast service could make sense. For any sort of interactive
service and mobility, you'd need a different link for that in any event,
so obviously a high spectral efficiency broadcast-only channel is not
the right answer.

Bert
 
 
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