John Shutt wrote: > Oh Bob, sure there will. There's already E-VSB which > is a sort of ATSC-2, and there are other enhancement > proposals on the horizon. So there will definitely be > an ATSC-2. > > The problem, IMHO, is that any future ATSC-2 solution > will be just as widely implemented as ATSC A/81 is > today. I agree with the first part. Another enhancement would be a more efficient codec. We'll see how this plays out, as the March 2007 date approaches and ATSC becomes more ubiquitous. As to how widely implemented any new parts of ATSC will become, I suppose that depends almost entirely on consumer demand for the new services. For example, ATSC as is would have been more in demand if there were some specific reason for people to buy it. Other than just prettier pictures and nicer audio, which is enough reason for me, but apparently not reason enough for everyone. Cable demand was created by specific program offerings such as ESPN and HBO, and even Nickelodian. Terrestrial broadcasters haven't yet offered something analogous to these programs, i.e. something that is only available over DTT. Actually, PBS is doing a decent job of that, IMO, but not any of the others. I like the PBS -2 channel. It is a real alternative with real programs. Contrary to the impression some on this list continue to have, people didn't rush off and subscribe to cable TV because they liked the coax copper cable coming into their house, or the way video was modulated on it, or the monthly fee. Ditto for DBS. The "modulation standard" isn't what attracted customers, and certainly its robustness isn't anything to brag about either. Also, there's nothing inherently bad with the A/81 standard that I can tell. It seems to accept everything, including DVB and DVB-SI. If it's not implemented, because DirecTV and Echostar went their own way, I would not conclude that those proprietary standards are any better than A/81. Bert ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.