[opendtv] Re: News: DIRECTV Sued Over HDTV Picture Quality
- From: "Dale Kelly" <dalekelly@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 14:23:36 -0700
Bert wrote:
>Why would manufacturers build STBs that could sell for $50? They couldn't
make any money selling them for that. And, if they are that cheap, how much
worse will they work than the one's I have paid between $200 and $500 for
today?
The promise of a $50 converter box was the CEA quid-pro-quo to congress for
it's setting a supposedly hard date for the analog shut down, which is where
the CEA's profits lie.
Dale
-----Original Message-----
From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On
Behalf Of Cliff Benham
Sent: Sunday, September 24, 2006 9:28 PM
To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [opendtv] Re: News: DIRECTV Sued Over HDTV Picture Quality
Frank Eory wrote:
Bert, I think you misunderstood me. The secondary TV sets will no longer
be able to receive free OTA signals after NTSC shut-off because those sets
only contain NTSC tuners. These are the sets that potentially could benefit
from an ATSC STB.
Why would manufacturers build STBs that could sell for $50? They couldn't
make any money selling them for that. And, if they are that cheap, how much
worse will
they work than the one's I have paid between $200 and $500 for today?
If a STB sells for $200 today and doesn't work reliably, why should I
think a $50 STB will work better in 2009?
If they work the same way those sold today do, consumers will be demanding
their money back in droves.
Today, a STB that costs $200 + only works well some of the time with a 30
ft high outside antenna, and not well at all with an inside antenna.
Stephen Long's recent post goes into some detail and explanation of this
fact.
Still you believe a consumer will think it perfectly natural and OK to buy
a STB for a $20 TV that sits on the kitchen counter?
A set that worked for it's intended purpose until NTSC was turned off, but
now will not work, not even with that new $50 STB?
That assumes, of course that (a) those sets are now actually being used
to watch NTSC OTA broadcasts and (b) the owners of those sets would rather
spend another $50 and accommodate another appliance just to maintain the
privilege of watching free OTA broadcasts on those sets rather than
connecting the old set to satellite or cable or some other in-home
distribution network, or rather than just buying a new DTV set for the
bedroom, kitchen or wherever. I'm not talking about 8-VSB reception, I'm
talking about economics and consumer behaviour and wondering what really is
the TAM for ATSC STBs after NTSC shut-off.
What you are actually saying is that it has been decided that "Free TV"
will just go away and American consumers will have to accept that as a fact
of life.
The local stations do not promote their digital services at all, but they
ALL promote the fact they can be seen on cable.
My contention is that most of those sets are not used for watching free
OTA NTSC broadcasts today, and that among those that are, many consumers
will not even spend $50 (if that is in fact the price in 2009) for the ATSC
STB.
If they are not watching them, why are they there? To act as decorations?
People have TVs in the kitchen for convenience, not to be able to say 'I own
6 TVs.'
Consumers won't necessarily run out and buy a new DTV set to replace
every bedroom or kitchen TV set they own, but that doesn't mean they're
going to buy ATSC STBs either.
That's because historically they don't work reliably. I have a great deal
of experience with this fact.
Over the last 10 years I personally have spent about $6500 on ATSC set top
boxes, PC cards and TVs.
To wit,
two Panasonics, two RCAs, a Motorola, a Samsung, an Acurian, an EPVision
PHD-101, a DirecTV HD Rcvr that receives ATSC, and Hi-Pix, ATI and AccessDTV
cards, NONE OF WHICH WORKS RELIABLY. I can't watch a program without
experiencing several complete losses of picture and sound.
I can't tell you the number of times I have switched back to NTSC during a
football game because I missed a play when the picture froze.
Over the years, I have tested these at the homes of friends in other
cities, and also in other states. They do not work with the reliability that
NTSC does.
It's not the hardware, it's not one single box, its the system itself that
is flawed. I am fed up, indignant, appalled, incensed and outraged at the
lie that continues
to be told.
If you are a real optimist, the TAM for those STBs might be in the 10's
of millions of units. But it might be much much lower than that.
We have no way to gauge that because the ones we have now don't work
without an outside antenna, so it's a crap shoot.
But the NTSC kitchen sets work fine today. Mine does.
The fact that all new TV sets have (or will by then have) DTT tuners is
a factor.
But will they work reliably? So far the consensus is that in many
situations they don't.
The fact that most consumers will never use those DTT tuners is an even
bigger factor.
Again, I ask why won't they be used? Because 'Free TV' is soon to be a
thing of the past?
-- Frank
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