[opendtv] Re: Public Safety Implications During Analog Shutdown
- From: Bob Miller <bob@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 14:13:46 -0400
DTV for emergency purposes should not be called "TV" anymore. It can
deliver just audio and with DVB-T/H could deliver it very robustly.
I expect mobile DTV to be far more prevalent than radio long term. The
only laggard will be broadcaster on channels 2-51 with 8-VSB. There is a
good argument today for changing modulations. We have had 8-VSB long
enough IMO.
Or is there some prescribed age that a modulation must achieve before it
can be thrown out like ATSC? Or do we have to achieve a particular
penetration of receivers before they can be made obsolete? Do we have to
wait for 100% penetration before we declare a disaster?
Bob Miller
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
>At 9:49 AM -0400 10/10/05, Stephen W. Long wrote:
>
>
>>Craig,
>>
>>I am troubled by your comments about he poor described below, but I am not
>>going to debate that issue on this forum.
>>
>>
>
>Please keep in mind, that it is not 'broadcasting that may go away,
>just NTSC broadcasts. And as we all know too well, TV is pretty much
>useless after the power goes off. Radio is the most reliable
>emergency broadcast network, it is ubiquitous., and cheap battery
>powered receivers are widely available.
>
>We could also debate the disservice provided by broadcasters
>(virtually all mass media for that matter) in the lead up to and
>aftermath of Katrina and Rita. One can easily build the case that the
>media greatly distorted the reality of what was happening, even to
>the extent that emergency aid workers were not sent into New Orleans
>because of (what turned out to be) unfounded rumors about their
>safety.
>
>I can't find it anywhere in the Constitution that Free TV is is a
>right to be guaranteed to all citizens. Where are the free daily
>newspapers?
>
>You may not like what I said, but it does not diminish the reality
>that we keep paying more and more for Free TV, and that the media
>conglomerates want us to pay even more. OTA DTV broadcasts are not
>some fundamental right, for the people , or the companies occupying
>the spectrum. It has become little more than the lever that these
>companies are using to force everyone to pay for stuff that they may
>not want or use.
>
>And please remember, that I have been consistent about advocating
>that the broadcast spectrum should be used to provide - in the free
>and clear - an advertiser supported multi-channel TV service. IF that
>were to happen there would be strong demand for OTA receivers.
>Unfortunately, that is NOT what is happening.
>
>What is happening is the strangulation of the free-to-air broadcast
>business so that the conglomerates can eliminate the need for local
>broadcasters - or to be more precise, so that the conglomerates can
>totally control the free-to-air broadcast business and all profits
>associated with it.
>
>
>
>>A point that is lost in almost all of these discussions is the role over
>>the air television plays in broadcasting public safety information during
>>times of crisis. When the cable goes out (every rain storm in my
>>neighborhood) and the DirecTV goes out (during heavy snow or
>>thunderstorms), with OTA analog broadcasting I can still get a picture to
>>see the local weather and similar information. If 50 million Americans do
>>not have working OTA TV reception because of lack of receivers, that is a
>>security problem, not just a matter of someone not willing or able to pay a
>>cable bill.
>>
>>
>
>We disagree. If broadcasting goes away, the Weather channel and the
>24/7 news channels will still be there. You are wrong about the
>reliability of cable and DBS. They are 100% reliable prior to a
>disaster, which is the time when emergency preparations are critical
>- the time that was wasted in new Orleans. DBS was 100% reliable
>during BOTH hurricanes that came through Gainesville last year - at
>least until the power went out. There was a huge surge in DBS
>subscriptions after those storms because cable was NOT reliable.
>
>I am not saying that OTA TV is worthless. What I am saying is that it
>does not matter much because few people depend upon it. Those who
>choose to keep depending upon it will have the option to buy an OTA
>receiver. In my option most of those people will choose another
>option; quite possibly a FREE option from a multichannel service
>provider (as is happening in Europe today).
>
>
>
>>To misquote a FCC staffer, when I asked these same questions back in ~1998
>>(99?) when 8VSB reception was observed to be so problematic, the staffer
>>said - let them eat cake - radio would be used during emergencies. Radio
>>does not show me where the tornados are on a map so I can relate the threat
>>to where my family is.
>>
>>
>
>Get real Steve. You don't need a map to tell someone where something
>is. And those maps are not much help with tornados, since the actual
>path can be quite erratic. If you live in a tornado area you get
>warnings from TV, Radio and loud sirens. Run for cover!
>
>
>
>>Other than in my car, I do not listen to radio
>>anymore - there is little on the music radio channels that appeals to me
>>anymore, so I do not have a "relationship" with any radio broadcaster, such
>>that I immediately think of listening to station Z to get my news and
>>information. I now listen to XM radio in my car, since there is 24 hour
>>news and traffic and music I want to listen to.
>>
>>
>
>And you can probably get good weather info from XM. You are just
>proving my point. People choose the ways in which they want to
>receive their media content. There are MANY options and they should
>be managed as competitive services in a FREE marketplace, not a
>highly regulated marketplace where competition is managed by the
>politicians.
>
>Broadcasters love to fall back on "public service" when they are
>threatened. But the reality is that this represent only a tiny
>fraction of what they do. Sorry, but the public service they provide
>is NOT worth the spectrum that they have been given. The reality is
>that they jump on emergencies because the rating go UP UP UP. They
>would do this anyway, even if they had to pay for the spectrum they
>use.
>
>
>
>>We are essentially guaranteeing a public safety melt down if people can not
>>receive OTA television broadcasts. I hope someone has a plan for the
>>months following shutdown - remind me to be way far away from urban centers
>>when the transmitters all shut down. The "bring back my TV" protest
>>marches alone will tie up traffic for days.
>>
>>
>
>This is absurd. We HAD a public safety meltdown in New Orleans.
>
>That meltdown had nothing to do with the lack of information from TV,
>Radio, newspapers, the Internet, or telephones. The evacuation plan
>for New Orleans calls for loudspeaker trucks to go through the
>neighborhoods telling people to leave, on the busses that the City
>and Parrishes left sitting to be consumed by the floods. And TV
>helped to inflame the situation, arguably making the disaster even
>worse.
>
>
>
>>I am going to try to buy a DTV receiver today. I have little faith it will
>>work at my house (no 8VSB receiver to date has been shown to work for even
>>50% of the stations I should be able to receive), but I will at least have
>>a more current receiver with "miracle" chips - maybe it will work. Note
>>that I recently installed an older DirecTV/8VSB receiver (my brother no
>>longer needed the receiver once he got an HDTV Tivo). During setup, I
>>watched the signal meter on each 8VSB channel. Signal strength changed
>>
>>
>>from 60% to zero almost constantly, on most all channels, which is further
>
>
>>evidence known for some time now that there is some sort of wicked
>>multipath going on in my neighborhood.
>>
>>
>
>
>And then there is the "minor" problem, that the chosen DTV system
>does not even work reliably as an emergency broadcast system...
>
>I stand behind what I said.
>
>Regards
>Craig
>
>
>
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