[opendtv] Re: Samsung Prototype ATSC Receiver Test Report
- From: "John Shutt" <shuttj@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 12:14:10 -0400
----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug McDonald" <mcdonald@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> So you want people to PAY for your normally free service? O course, if
> you are like
> our local PBS TV stations, we PAY anyway, in the form of TAXES.
No, Doug, of course that's not what I am saying at all. What I am implying,
and the numbers support this, is that the majority of people who watch us in
high definition do so via Comcast cable right now. The majority of people
who watch us in standard definition do so via Comcast, Dish
local-into-local, or DirecTV local-into-local. We have had a direct feed to
Comcast for many years now, because for one thing we do not broadcast 24/7,
but we do feed cable 24/7, and second the direct link is of higher video
quality than their over the air reception, and has proven over the years to
be more reliable.
The number of people willing to spend multiple thousands of dollars on a
high definition home theater system then be content with only watching OTA
programming is in the minority and getting even smaller as Comcast and the
DBS services offer more programming in HD.
> And those viewers ... quite a large area ... who would have trouble if
> you used
> DVB-T instead of 8-VSB, and transmitted the same number of bits. Of
> course ...
> you would just say "reduce bits" but there goes the quality.
To your horror, Doug, we already redude bits to make room for the PBS HD
service and a simulcast of our local SD NTSC offering. In spite of what you
may believe, your taxes have not funded our ability to completely gut our
physical plant and convert to HD production, storage, and broadcast. We are
currently limited to offering the satellite delivered PBS HD service with no
local insertion except for logo branding, top of the hour ID, and EAS. Open
your checkbook, and we will be more than happy to gut our facility and
purchase all new HD studio and field cameras, production switchers, about
200 monitors of all sizes, terabyte video servers, HD tape machines,
upconverters, editing stations (the easiest part), and begin to transfer our
existing library to the new formats.
You might also be horrified to find out that currently 3 out of 4 programs
on the PBS HD service is upconverted widescreen SD material.
> My I suggest something to you: quit your job and go work for the BBC.
Perhaps you would prefer to pay $200 per year for a license that gives you
the privilege of owning a television set? Not me.
> Then you could listen to the complaints about the horrendous quality
> of their radio programming on DAB.
We will be listening to the complaints about the horrendous quality of our
HD Radio as soon as people start to purchase the required equipment to
listen to our digital radio offerings on both AM and FM. That capability
was paid for partially by your tax dollars, and partially by Ibquity.
John Shutt
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