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The Digital TV Fiasco (Not really, Keeping engineers innovating)
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2005 09:06:02 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Peter Bachman <peterb () cequs com> Date: June 10, 2005 1:36:10 AM EDT To: dave () farber netSubject: The Digital TV Fiasco (Not really, Keeping engineers innovating)
Reply-To: Peter Bachman <peterb () cequs com> Dave,There are powerful arguments towards re-claiming the bandwidth currently occupied by the soon to be obsolete analog television (NTSC) to provide new innovative wireless services, raise money by spectrum auctions, and to provide a consistent bandwidth allocation for emergency services which up til now have been forced to use incompatible frequencies that don't allow for the type of high quality communications and coordination that we citizens have a right to expect in a technologically competent country. Congress understands this.
Most television stations that were given digital assignments in addition to their current analog assignments are in the process of, or have already transitioned to; ATSC digital transmission. Why did so many people switch to cable in the first place, even before there was premium content that was not restricted by less than free speech decency standards? Because they got lousy reception, ghosts, mutipath interference and all. Cable literally came off the mountain, as a community antenna, and became a ubiquitious distributor of local and satellite provided content.
It was understood at the beginning of the DTV transition that the broadcast television stations would give back the analog assignments. The original deadline will now be pushed back, and many people have indicated that their next television purchase will be digital, and likely high definition, capable. Yet, the continued obliviousness of some people continuing to purchase obsolete analog television sets at this point probably warrants a warning sticker on the front of the tube. At this point we need a hard date for turnoff.
Therefore if you are part of the 15 or so percent of people in the U.S. that in fact depend on broadcast transmissions you should stop buying analog sets that are based on NTSC standards. ATSC is in fact the new standard. Get with the program if you want over the air television.
At the same time we should not disenfranchise the people who truly are dependent on broadcast for their only access. The airwaves are in fact a public resource that need to be managed effectively. This means leveraging standards to lower costs, not fighting them.
The mass distribution of low cost ATSC ready digital boxes can easily downconvert signals to older analog
sets.As to the people who have two or more older analog sets in their basement, or bedrooms not hooked up to cable or satellite, or digital broadcast for once in a while watching, they also will be able to purchase low cost converter boxes based on chipsets that have already been developed. These folks are not being disenfranchised if they cannot get an analog signal to watch television for subsidiary televisions. If we follow that logic we would exempt people with second cars from pollution standards also.
If they are hooked up to satellite or cable, it doesn't even matter for the most part, until those service providers transition also transition to all digital signals, which is unlikely to happen overnight. Most of them offer either a box, or analog outputs. Modulators are also an inexpensive option that can convert a video signal to output on analog channels three or four, like a VCR so you can distribute your digital signal to non-digital televisions.
While Lauren opines that decades old sitcoms will not persuade people to part with their hard earned clams, high value content, typically in glorious HDTV has in fact persuaded many consumers to purchase new televisions, even before HDTV was available as an everyday programming item.
Since broadcasters rely on advertising revenue to provide no-charge content, higher value programs offered in HDTV and AC3 surround sound provide the creative input to keep the U.S. a leader in the production of film and television, including the release of otherwise limited IMAX content, in HDTV. Broadcasters also have the right to split up their digital signals to offer other services, than just HDTV during non-peak hours. The technological breakthrough of DTV was not only that it offered HDTV, (something that was available in Japan in the late 1980)s, but that it was in fact Digital and not Analog, thus creating the known "leapfrog" effect of jumping two technological hurdles at the same time. Public television has been squarely behind DTV since day one, and commercial broadcasters jumped on board when it made economic sense.
Now it's simply a matter of choosing which of the DTV competing technologies, DLP, CRT, LCD, Plasma, and soon OLED, and STN, you want to use, and where you want to get your content. With MPEG 21 http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/standards/mpeg-21/ mpeg-21.htm#_Toc23297970
we will all be digital broadcasters at some point. Peter Bachman Cequs Inc. peterb () cequs com
, Begin forwarded message: From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com> Date: June 9, 2005 2:41:29 PM EDT To: dave () farber net Cc: lauren () vortex com Subject: The Digital TV Fiasco Dave, A really remarkable aspect of the FCC's continuing push to obsolete existing consumer televisions is how oblivious most people are to the entire process, particularly those persons who still depend on broadcast signals for all of their television viewing. Yet even folks who mainly use cable or satellite, and the lucky ones who have one nice new television in the livingroom, are likely to have any number of older, smaller sets in other rooms, oftennot hooked up to those services and only receiving off-air programming.It will be interesting to see the voters' reactions when all of those analog sets, which have been working just fine, go dark. Presumably most people aren't going to be willing to shell out money for set-top conversion boxes so that they can watch digital versions of "Gilligan's Island" reruns from their local stations. While a long-term transition to digital television was obviously in the technological cards, the way that Congress and the FCC has handled this situation has been an exceptionally shameful big-money and politics-driven fiasco, even by the usual Washington standards. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren () pfir org or lauren () vortex com or lauren () eepi org Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 http://www.pfir.org/lauren Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Co-Founder, EEPI - Electronic Entertainment Policy Initiative - http://www.eepi.org Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com - - -Begin forwarded message: From: Randall <rvh40 () insightbb com> Date: June 9, 2005 1:52:08 PM EDT To: Dave <dave () farber net> Subject: FCC moves up Digital Deadline http://apnews.excite.com/article/20050609/D8AK50QG0.html FCC Speeds Up Digital TV Signal Deadlines Email this Story Jun 9, 10:21 AM (ET) By DAVID PACEWASHINGTON (AP) - Federal regulators on Thursday moved up the deadlines for manufacturers to make popular, mid-sized television sets capable ofreceiving digital signals.------------------------------------- You are subscribed as peterb () cequs com To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ipArchives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting- people/
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- The Digital TV Fiasco (Not really, Keeping engineers innovating) David Farber (Jun 10)