Re: People just don't get the point of this DTV thing.

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Robert Alberti <ip () sanction net>
Date: October 17, 2008 12:10:17 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net, mo () ccr org
Subject: Re: [IP] People just don't get the point of this DTV thing.
Reply-To: alberti () sanction net

Yes!! Finally, someone who freakin' GETS IT!

The advent of digital-only television immediately struck me as the end
of television.  Once the signal is digitized it is CONTROLLABLE, and
once it is controllable it can be commoditized, and once it is
commoditized it can be criminalized.

First they digitize the signal, and the next thing they'll do is
"encrypt" it (more likely a simple scramble), and charge you to watch
it.  Charging you to watch means being able to track what you watch. It
also means being able to convict you if you watch something for which
you did not pay, under ever more onerous RIAA-backed legislation.

And that's it, game over. The days of being able to turn on the TV and
just watch whatever is available, in the privacy of your own home, are
done. The divides between the Have's and the Have-Not's gets that much
wider.

I have never had cable TV (well, okay, I subscribed for nine months in
order to watch the final season of 'Babylon 5' after it moved to cable),
and my family has been raised with an antenna on the roof of our house
and poor signal quality. And that's the way I like it, because TV is a
big waste of time anyway. I'm not buying a DTV box, and when the signal
goes out, I'll just stop watching TV.

At least THAT'S still legal. For now.

On Fri, 2008-10-17 at 10:00 -0400, David Farber wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
> Date: October 17, 2008 12:26:26 AM EDT
> To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] re: Hatch Wants FCC to Take Steps Now to Avoid
> DTV 'Cliff Effect'
>
> [Note:  This comment comes from reader Mike O'Dell.  DLH]
>
> From: Michael O'Dell <mo () ccr org>
> Date: October 16, 2008 9:00:21 PM PDT
> To: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Subject: Re: [Dewayne-Net] Hatch Wants FCC to Take Steps Now to Avoid
> DTV 'Cliff Effect'
>
> People just don't get the point of this DTV thing.
>
> The real purpose of the DTV transition is to kill-off
> free over-the-air television.
>
> first, encumber every
> television so it is no less klunky than a TV with a
> cable box, so there's no operational advantage for
> using OTA programming.
>
> second, pull the biggest flag
> day since the ARPAnet went TCP-only, leaving analog
> TVs stranded by the tens of thousands and many
> otherwise-faithful DTV users out in the no-signal zone
> resulting from the "all or nothing" nature of DTV
> signals. (Technically not exactly right, but close
> enough for Gubmint Work if you live in a fringe area.)
>
> The local stations
> who have nearly bankrupted themselves deploying the
> mandated DTV capability will see viewership drop off
> precipitously except for viewers on Cable, at which
> point the cable companies will have the economic
> upper hand, especially in the absence of "must-carry"
> rules for DTV.
>
> The local free OTA stations will
> starve - some quickly, some slowly, a few maybe
> not at all, but most will die a horrible, lingering
> death.
>
> and that will be the end of Free TV in the US
>
> Howzat for juicy a conspiracy theory?
>
> -mo
> RSS Feed: <http://www.warpspeed.com/wordpress>
>
>
>
>
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--
Bob Alberti                    "The Good and Great Must Ever Shun
albatross () albatross org           that Reckless and Abandoned One
http://albatross.org             Who Stoops to Perpetrate a Pun."
http://bob.alberti.name         Lewis Carroll, 'The Three Voices'





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