[opendtv] Re: Technology years
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 23:06:05 -0500
At 2:21 PM -0500 1/22/07, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
ay, just as you'd expect. In a market with hardly any OTA stations,
there is no stock of STBs. That can only perpetuate the status quo. And
in a market with good OTA coverage, STBs are out of stock. Does anyone
doubt that broadcasters in Gainesville are largely responsible for this
lack of OTA DTV interest? Or perhaps there's something biologically
different about TV viewers in Gainesville?
A bit of geography education may in order here. Gainesville is a
regional hub market for a large area of what used to be sparsely
populated counties (South Florida and both central Florida coasts are
getting too crowded and the new population boom areas are just to our
south and moving northward faster than the glaciers are melting.
Aside from being the major shopping hub for most North Central
Florida counties, Gainesville is also a regional media hub - Shands
at UF has hospitals all over this region and serves at least a 16
county area around us.
Most of the surrounding counties are rural and most do not have
widespread cable TV coverage. There are tens of thousands of people
in Alachua county (total population about 225,000) who cannot get
cable service - many of these folks do rely upon OTA TV. An even
larger percentage in the surrounding counties cannot get cable TV.
DBS has been a big benefit to those who can afford it, but frankly,
there are a large number of people in the surrounding counties who
are quite happy to be making $10/hr working for the University or in
the state prisons, which is one of the other major employers in the
region - we also grow lots of pine trees for pulp wood. So OTA TV is
important in the region, unlike the situation here in Gainesville.
So one would think that OTA receivers would be in demand among those
who come to Gainesville to shop. Perhaps the low median incomes in
the region are a factor.
I do not think that the situation in Gainesville is all that
different than in some of the larger markets around us (
Jacksonville, Tampa/St. Petersburg or Orlando). The only major hole
in the line-up is NBC. So NO, I do not think the broadcasters in
Gainesville are responsible, any more that the broadcasters in the
Washington DC area are responsible for ATSC receivers flying off the
shelf. The fact is that they are ALL irresponsible. Nobody is
promoting DTV.
From my outsider's point of view, if broadcasters want E-VSB or A-VSB to
be implemented in hardware, it is *entirely* up to them (cum their NAB)
to make it happen. I really am puzzled to see the finger pointing from
them. Hardware vendors react to demand for products. Service providers
create that demand.
Have you been listening Bert?
The ATSC is largely run by CE companies, and a handful of
broadcasters who really don't care if it is a success. I could have
said something more pointed, but I'm trying to be polite...
Regards
Craig
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