[opendtv] Re: As an Alternative to a Trip to a Video Store, Movies Through a Set-Top Box - New York Times - opendtv

[opendtv] Re: As an Alternative to a Trip to a Video Store, Movies Through a Set-Top Box - New York Times

From: Mark Aitken <maitken@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2006 13:43:53 -0500
Well, actually, my post was made AFTER I talked to a MovieBeam "guy". I 
asked how the signal was being delivered, and he said it was datacast 
using the "HDTV" channel. I then asked "Then, can this box be used to 
receive the over-the-air local HDTV broadcasts?" to which he said 
"Yes!". I then asked the question a bit differently, and the response 
was "You can also get your local HDTV channels". So, my thought was that 
the MovieBeam approach had "slid over" to DTV (always a part of the 
model as I recall) and were indeed siphoning of bits from the PBS 
station to support MovieBeam.
Now (just now) I got off the phone with another MovieBeam rep (from 
their 866 number) and she was less committal, and (actually) quite 
confused. No fair asking real questions and expecting real answers. I am 
on the waiting list (she could not correlate me laterally which I guess 
means geographically), so I am on the waiting list.

So...is it just the same old (analog station emission) MovieBeam or not? 
Frank, you may well be right. Same Old stuff repainted...not really sure 
that there is a business here, but I am all for OTA Broadcasters trying 
to figure out the model...

Frank Eory wrote:

>Mark Aitken wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Funny, no where in this article does it ever speak to the fact that what 
>>you get "for your money" is a complete OTA (that would be over-the-air) 
>>STB (set top box) that outputs HDMI and analog video. Might add a little 
>>incentive to buy it if it has a good receiver. But then, I am just 
>>assuming that it would (after all, why would anyone offer a crap OTA 
>>receiver...?)
>>:-)
>>
>>http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/14/business/media/14movie.html
>>
>>February 14, 2006
>>
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>If you're interested, you can read the white papers about this 
>technology on the Dotcast website. They're adding a QAM signal in 
>quadrature to the usual AM-VSB NTSC signal, at a level 26 dB below the 
>NTSC visual carrier. They use all the QAM formats from 4 to 128, so 
>variable data rate is built into the system, up to 4.5 Mbps -- with no 
>visible interference to the NTSC signal.
>
>I have no inside knowledge of Dotcast, but it is my impression that they 
>have done a thorough end-to-end system design to make this robust. They 
>designed the modulator, the demodulator (it's thier own ASIC) and even 
>the antenna. Obviously some attention was paid to real-world link 
>budgets and margins, and the service appears to be targeted at viewers 
>within a station's Grade A contour -- not necessarily "everyone with a 
>TV set."
>
>I wonder what they plan to do after February 2009 when there are no more 
>NTSC carriers?
>
>-- Frank Eory
>
>  
>
>> As an Alternative to a Trip to a Video Store, Movies Through a Set-Top
>> Box
>>
>>By SAUL HANSELL 
>><http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=SAUL%20HANSELL&fdq=19960101&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=SAUL%20HANSELL&inline=nyt-per
>> 
>><http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=SAUL%20HANSELL&fdq=19960101&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=SAUL%20HANSELL&inline=nyt-per>>
>>
>>Will people pay $230 and hook a new gizmo up to their television sets so 
>>they do not have to drive to the video rental store?
>>
>>That is the question to be answered by MovieBeam, a service being 
>>introduced in 29 major markets today. The service was originally 
>>developed and tested in three cities in 2004 by the Walt Disney Company 
>><http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=DIS
>> 
>><http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=DIS>>.
>>
>>Disney has brought in new investors and streamlined the service's 
>>pricing to offer it on a broader scale.
>>
>>MovieBeam is built around a technology that broadcasts movies slowly 
>>over unused portions of the television signals to set-top boxes that 
>>store them on a hard disk. Users will have a choice of 100 movies -- 
>>mainly those that have been recently released on DVD's -- with 10 new 
>>titles replacing old ones each week.
>>
>>Consumers will buy the MovieBeam box for $250 from electronics stores. 
>>They can send for a $50 rebate, but must also pay a $30 activation fee, 
>>making the effective upfront cost $230. The service does not charge a 
>>monthly fee, but movies cost $3.99 each for current titles and $1.99 for 
>>older ones. (The company will also offer some movies in a 
>>high-definition format for an additional $1.) The customers will be able 
>>to watch the movie for a 24-hour period.
>>
>>Tres Izzard, a former Disney executive who is now the chief executive of 
>>MovieBeam, said the service was meant to appeal to the 30 million people 
>>who rent at least four movies a month. Four-fifths of those rentals, he 
>>said, are releases of the sort that will be in the MovieBeam service.
>>
>>"The hard drive is the back wall at a Blockbuster," Mr. Izzard said. He 
>>said that the service would allow customers to rent those films without 
>>driving or waiting for DVD's to come in the mail, as they do with 
>>services like Netflix 
>><http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=NFLX
>> 
>><http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=NFLX>>.
>>
>>Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Jupiter Research, said he was 
>>skeptical that people would pay more than $200 for a box from MovieBeam, 
>>plus a fee per movie, when cable systems are offering movies on demand 
>>at similar prices through their digital services.
>>
>>"The pricing model seems to be somewhat questionable here," he said. 
>>"People will ask why they need to spend that much money for a box."
>>
>>Mr. Izzard argued that digital cable reaches only a minority of cable 
>>households and that MovieBeam might be more economical to viewers who 
>>like movies but do not want the other channels offered by cable systems. 
>>The service does not have to appeal to everyone, he said; it will break 
>>even if it attracts 500,000 customers. The company will sell the boxes 
>>at a slight loss.
>>
>>Disney sold a majority of MovieBeam for $48.5 million to a group of 
>>investors including Cisco Systems 
>><http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=CSCO
>> 
>><http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=CSCO>>,
>>
>>Intel 
>><http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=INTC
>> 
>><http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=INTC>>
>>
>>and several venture capital funds. The MovieBeam box will be sold under 
>>Cisco's Linksys brand name.
>>
>>The major studios have agreed to provide movies to the service, except 
>>Sony 
>><http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=SNE
>> 
>><http://www.nytimes.com/redirect/marketwatch/redirect.ctx?MW=http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-companyprofile.asp&symb=SNE>>,
>>
>>with which negotiations are continuing, Mr. Izzard said. Disney's 
>>studios will make movies available on the service on the same day they 
>>are released on DVD. The other studios will make them available several 
>>weeks later when they are released to video-on-demand services offered 
>>by cable systems and Internet rental services like Movielink.
>>
>>As with other video-on-demand services, most of the rental fee is paid 
>>to the studios. Still, studios have been wary about the expansion of 
>>video-on-demand services because they could eat into DVD sales, the 
>>most-profitable form of movie distribution.
>>
>>Mr. Izzard said that with MovieBeam's broadcast system, the cost of 
>>delivering a movie was negligible. In contrast, industry executives say 
>>sending a movie over the Internet typically costs 50 to 75 cents for a 
>>transmission.
>>
>>
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
> 
> 
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-- 
><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>   ><>

Regards,
Mark A. Aitken
Director, Advanced Technology

<><   <><   <><   <><   <><   <><   <><

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References:
- [opendtv] As an Alternative to a Trip to a Video Store, Movies Through a Set-Top Box - New York Times
  - From: Frank Eory
[opendtv] Re: As an Alternative to a Trip to a Video Store, Movies Through a Set-Top Box - New York Times

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