[opendtv] Re: Technology years
- From: "Stephen W. Long" <longsw@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 21:46:18 -0500
I made the offer a few years ago that when everything totally melts down, I
would volunteer to Chair a committee of folks to draft a new American DTV
standard. The new standard would feature OFDM modulation, H.264
compression, native IP delivery of metadata (none of this PSIP cxxp) and
other data, integrated mobile and fixed modes, true HDTV (no more interlace
cxxp), etc., etc., etc.
The only question in my mind is will this happen before or after I retire to
write and travel the world (not too many years ahead).
In my new position in the Government, I get to hear all sorts of interesting
briefings. This past week I received an astonishing briefing about wireless
technology standards, learning about standards that travel a few feet, to
standards for global satellite IP delivery. Nearly EVERY standard for
wireless delivery of data (802.xxy, where xx is 11 to 99 and y is almost any
letter...) uses variations of OFDM. NONE, and I repeat NONE, of the
emerging standards use fragile single carrier modulation.
Now the class should ask, what is the point? Well, if you see the depth and
breadth of what is about to unfold across the world and the USA in wireless
data distribution domain, you have to ask yourself, why even bother with
digital OTA television? Given the projected bandwidth delivery capabilities
of these new systems (well beyond WiFi - hundreds of Mbps), one could
entirely replace television broadcasting with wireless multi-cast IP
broadcasting to every home in America. No need for cable, no need for big
stick TV transmitters, no need for .... The Son of WiFi could replace TV as
we know it on every city block and in every rural community. And oh by the
way, you can be fixed or mobile. The OFDM bits do not care.
Maybe the entire 8VSB disaster is a blessing. Maybe it has to be so bad, so
unprofitable, so "80s" in its thinking and implementations, that the USA
will be forced to do a leapfrog even beyond DVB-T or ISDB-T, and just move
to a universe of IP transmission, from feet to thousands of miles - pick the
system for the community that needs it. These technologies are so
potentially cheap (the briefer talked about these wireless technology chips
would show up in light bulbs, in wall switches (no need for copper wire for
switches, just feed power to outlet, use wireless to turn light off or on))
that every existing business model could be disrupted (who needs cell phones
if WiFi phones work everywhere). If there is nearly free Son of WiFi
transmitted to every home in America, then what do we need DTV for? Maybe
the disastrous choice of 8VSB will be seen as a really good reason to
rethink everything we know about television broadcasting - throw all of the
old think out and start with a really clean sheet of paper.
The other thing I learned from the briefing was the ravenous hunger for more
spectrum. UHF spectrum is just about perfect for the things people want to
do with broad area high bandwidth delivery of IP bandwidth.
So, to those that continue to talk about the virtues of 8VSB - my new advice
is to go for it!!! Work your tails off to get it turned on across America,
spend as much money as possible, borrow even more money, spend that as well.
It just means an eventually better and brighter future will get closer and
closer. I think there was a Country Music hit song about being thankful for
unanswered prayers. Maybe our collective inability to get 8VSB overturned
for a COFDM system, was our unanswered prayer. Maybe 8VSB is the absolutely
best choice if you want to kill television as we know it, for once it is
dead, we have to reinvent everything from the ground up.
2009 will be fun after all.
Stephen Long
-----Original Message-----
From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Tom Barry
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2007 7:54 PM
To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [opendtv] Re: Technology years
Bob Miller wrote:
> When most of the world has gone with other standards that have been
> shown to work and are being accepted by their populations at an
> incredible rate the insanity is to stay the course with what is still
> a failed modulation, 8-VSB IMO.
Patience Grasshopper. We must stay the course for two more years (and
fight off any more legislative delays) until Feb 2009. It is only when
folks must actually use and rely on 8vsb that we will find out whether
it works good enough.
Two years is a very short period of time, if we can keep it being only 2.
- Tom
> On 1/19/07, Manfredi, Albert E <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> John Shutt wrote:
>>
>> > That is the whole point, isn't it? DVB-T works with cheap
>> > tuners. DVB-T works with cheap chipsets. You can't cripple
>> > the receiver using off the shelf parts.
>>
>> No, they can't work with cheap tuners. And that's just one example of
>> how CE manufacturers could prevent COFDM hardware from being widely
>> available here.
>>
>> The simple fact is, the market could have been flooded with cheap and
>> functional ATSC devices since the Christmas season of 2003, and most
>> surely of 2004, and positively of 2005, and absolutely for sure this
>> past Christmas, and that didn't happen.
>>
>> > Pace, Nokia, and others were ready and willing to bring a
>> > 6MHz box ...
>>
>> And something or someone would reach them just as they reached LG and
>> others to prevent that from ever happening.
>>
>> It doesn't have to be a real conspiracy. For some strange reason, in the
>> commercial world, as opposed to working on govt contracts, receiving
>> kickbacks is not a criminal offense for which people get thrown in jail.
>>
>> Bert
>>
> They did "reach them". The tool was 8-VSB. It worked. Nokia, Pace and
> all the others said we want NO part of 8-VSB. End of story.
>
> They still want NO part of it. No one does except Sinclair, Samsung
> and R&S at the moment. To late and not enough players IMO. And A-VSB
> is still garbage until you can show me otherwise.
>
> When most of the world has gone with other standards that have been
> shown to work and are being accepted by their populations at an
> incredible rate the insanity is to stay the course with what is still
> a failed modulation, 8-VSB IMO.
>
> Bob Miller
>
>
>>
>
>
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--
Tom Barry trbarry@xxxxxxxxxxx
Find my resume and video filters at www.trbarry.com
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