[opendtv] Re: Spectrum Comments Pour into FCC
- From: Albert Manfredi <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:50:00 -0500
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> The very article you posted suggests that broadcasters are
> now focusing on Mobile DTV as the technology to "save
> their spectrum" this time. The only argument they use
> related to HDTV is the investment consumers broadcasters
> and consumers have made in MANDATED ATSC receivers, which
> for thew most part are NOT BEING USED.
M/H is certainly an exclusive capability OTA broadcasters will have, granted.
But I'm about 99.44 percent positive that M/H alone would not save
broadcasters, and I'm about 100 percent positive that broadcasters know this.
But as I said many times, I'd be perfectly happy if an impartial group would do
a recount of OTA usage, now that OTA NTSC is gone. And of course, this
impartial group is not likely to be the current activist FCC, in my opinion.
Or, let's have a recount by the NAB and a separate one by the FCC, and see how
they compare.
> If delivery of "multicasts" to mobile devices is the future
> of broadcasting, then the ability to deliver HDTV is
> meaningless.
Since I don't subscribe to your idea of 100 percent M/H, HDTV is as meaningless
as how urgently the Euro DTT nets are trying to introduce it. For sports at the
very least, and for anything else that has major viewership, HDTV is mandatory
anymore. Maybe not in the handheld devices, but as I said, M/H alone is not
going to save anything. Your arguments are all based on pure M/H delivery.
> BROADBAND is the real Telco TV killer.
Could be. There are two catches as of now. One is that high quality TV,
especially when IP *unicast*, would eat into broadband capacity by a still
unacceptable amount. But that will change in due course. The other is that
content owners are not keen on delivering their stuff that way. That may also
change. Meanwhile, we can't yet dismiss MVDP/broadcast TV delivery.
Besides which, as a consumer rather than a TV content producer, why on earth
would I advocate schemes that only make it easier for us to get gouged by the
content owners???
But I agree. Ultimately, wired and wireless broadband nets could deliver TV, as
just another service over the generic pipe. And if the TV content is by
subscription, the content will get consumed less than content which is
ad-supported. Like always. Unless and until the ads get obnoxiously long and
frequent.
> It all depends on what content is available. People pay for
> cable and DBS to access content that IS NOT available FOTA
> or live via the Internet. This reality is NOT going to go
> away;
Another reality that is not going away is that there are those out there like
me, who will resist getting TV via MVPDs. A recount would be nice. For these
people, improving the OTA choice via multicasts will CERTAINLY get increased
viewership, e.g. by reducing their reliance on DVDs. And about packaged media,
I'm probably not the only person who resorts to packaged media when OTA
broadcasters stop transmitting new stuff. Like for instance these holiday
weeks. My preference is always to set up my trusty PVR instead.
Bert
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