[opendtv] Re: ATSC and Lip Sync
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 31 May 2009 19:31:55 -0400
John Shutt wrote:
> Craig,
>
> You've been on that same theme for over a decade. Ten years ago you
> were saying that we needed intelligent receivers that could have their
> codecs updated via firmware, that the receiver should be able to add
> graphics and station bugs, and the receivers should be able to cache
> micro-targeted ads for insertion at the STB.
>
> However, broadcasting is a mass medium, and you cannot just go around
> killing people's receivers just because it no longer supported the
> most current "update." The receivers need to be as simple as possible,
> and the broadcast stream has to at least remain backwards compatible
> with the very first Zenith Blue Rack.
>
> Whatever "intelligent receiver" that would have been designed in 1999
> would be woefully obsolete today, and broadcasters can't afford to
> alienate viewers by making their old receivers go dark simply because
> those old receivers no longer have the graphics horsepower or cache
> memory required to run the latest version of the "ATSC OS."
You took the words right out of my mouth. This is indeed an long-running
complaint.
I do quite a lot of Internet TV watching (although it's still a small
fraction of overall TV watching), and I can very safely say that the
problems and glitches I encounter over the Internet *far* outnumber
those I encounter OTA. To be fair, my Internet TV fare is mostly (not
entirely) foreign news, so it's not the easiest path to the receiver.
The problems I encounter are ever changing, from the obvious codec
update that needs to be accommodated, which is rather trivial but still
a big nuisance, to freezing streams which often require me to exit and
restart the program stream, to a new and recurring problem, wherein the
image freezes but the audio continues. And then after some future break,
the frozen video gets back in synch, but this may be many minutes later.
And the phenomenon repeats itself many times in the duration of the
newscast.
Sometimes, also in web programs from the major US networks, the program
freezes after a commercial break, but I can coax it on if I manually
shove the cursor forward a small amount. This does not always work.
Some streams, over time, have increased in bandwidth to the point that
my ADSL connection has become marginal. Frequent stops, waiting to fill
up the buffer to some acceptable level.
The more time passes, the more each individual web streamer seems to be
requiring installation of their own player, or at very least, their own
plug-ins to some more standard player.
These are problems that occur because the web streaming standards keep
changing. Sure, some earlier imperfections do get addressed over time,
however the "steady state condition" is one of constant flux and
constant problems.
Most people who watch TV will not tolerate this sort of quality. Even if
the word "Internet" is in there somewhere.
Having said all of that, what Craig wants is still COMPLETELY doable
within the context of existing ATSC standards. There is no problem
adding in a separate, targetted ad option, for example. Given enough
excess bandwidth over the 19.39 Mb/s channel, new receivers can
certainly be designed to insert custom ads in place of the baseline ads,
while old receivers continue on with the baseline ads. Lots of
innovative features can be added, without breaking the legacy receivers.
The constant refrain that ATSC was designed for some outdated way of
broadcasting is mostly an indication of lack of imagination, IMO.
Bert
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