Re: France hits a Million OTA receivers

Bruce Tomlin wrote: 
In article <st-dnRGsBvg5HhHenZ2dnUVZ_tqdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxx>,
 "tim@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <tim@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


I think you forgot Canada. Anyway, do they make digital receivers that are incapable of picking up HD signals or is it just that the signals are not available?


The point is that a certain person here refuses to admit that the cost differential of HDTV receivers in the United States is primarily due to being required to decode maximum resolution HD signals, and not due to the RF modulation method. Unless someone comes up with a clever workaround, receiving ATSC on a portable set with a crappy display still requires a full-resolution decode of a 720p/1080i MPEG signal, which will then be scaled down to the resolution of the actual display.

The requirement to decode maximum resolution HD means more RAM and CPU power must be included in the box, which drives up the cost. As time goes by, and as mandates kick in to improve economies of scale, the cost of an ATSC tuner will go down.

Clamining that SD tuners are selling well in Europe simply because of the choice of RF modulation, while ignoring the price differential of full HD decoding required in the United States, is a denial of reality.


The reality is that 8-VSB receivers cost more than COFDM receivers to build with HD or without.

The reality is that if COFDM had been allowed in the US in 2000 you could buy SD receivers for $40 and HD receivers for $75 today in the US.

The reality is that LG stopped making stand alone 8-VSB receivers in the US because they cannot make a profit on them even though they own most of the patents on them and therefore the royalty rights which they charge $6 for.

COFDM royalties are $.60 so I guess that is why LG can still make a profit on HD COFDM receivers in Australia even though they have no royalty EDGE there. Australia is such a small market that the main concern when they went digital with COFDM DVB-T was whether ANY ONE would make a receiver for the market at all.

They have 19 million people or maybe 5 million households and have 76 different models of digital stand alone receivers on this list which does not include mobile receivers, PCMCIA, USB or PCI receivers of which there are many more.

http://www.dba.org.au/index.asp?sectionID=18

In the US what do we have? A mandate, a few receivers on clearance, open box specials, no advertising, LG the main beneficiary of 8-VSB showing little interest, broadcasters showing little interest in OTA.

A black hole.

Bob Miller



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