[opendtv] Re: So Soon? Next-Gen Broadcast TV In Works | TVNewsCheck.com

At 8:59 AM -0400 4/27/11, Mark Schubin wrote:

I think Craig correctly uses the term "their networks" to describe the telcos.  No one expects, say, a CDMA phone to work on a GSM network.

When it comes to broadcasting, however, broadcasters don't have control over "their" spectrum; there are hundreds of millions of TV sets in consumer homes that are supposed to work with what gets broadcast.  Some of those consumers were recently forced to either change TVs or get "adaptors" for them; are they now to do so again for some new mandated efficiency?

FYI, I'm a cable subscriber, so I usually don't use OTA TV, but when a cable outage or dispute with a broadcaster removes service I want to see, even I connect an antenna.

Looks like Mark Aitken answered this quite nicely with the post about the next generation ATSC standards efforts.

IMHO, the most interesting aspect of that article was this:

Whenever it comes, next-gen TV will not be backward compatible with DTV as color TV was with the original black-and-white TV in the 1950s. This will mean another traumatic transition similar to one leading up to the final June 2009 switch from analog to digital.

"Sometimes to build a better mousetrap, you have to start over," said Richer. "That's what we are going to do.

Frankly, I am not sure that the last transition was all that traumatic. It is hard to say something was traumatic when 85% of the population barely noticed.

It may have been traumatic for the broadcasters, but it is hard to feel sorry about self inflicted wounds.

In reality, the real transition was the one that took place with displays. ATSC was not the driving force, but the knowledge that broadcasters would deliver HD services helped many people justify buying a new wide screen TV. The MAIN driving force was actually DVD, which provided widescreen content for those new screens (and this wans not even HD).

Yes there are millions of old tube TVs out there, but  most are not being used that much as flat TVs are so much better and now relatively affordable. Yes most of the flat panels have an ATSC tuner, but most of these are not being used. And ALL of these TVs have multiple ways to get content onto the screen. IF there is any demand for the next DTV standard to be viewed on these screens, and I expect there will be if an appropriate standard is chosen, a simple box with an HDMI connector will solve the transition problem.

Of course, this is what we told the broadcasters 15 years ago.

Interoperable, scalable, extensible.

This time broadcasters need to plan for evolutionary change, and create a business model that is compelling enough to get consumers to support the standard.

Regards
Craig

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