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#1
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
I have heard from sources, (perhaps not reliable ones) that there has
been talk of phasing out OTA broadcasts in the United States. Switching just about everything to UHF and making all our tuners useless was bad enough but this would be the ultimate slap. Has anyone heard anything to this effect? Lenny |
#2
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
On Mon, 20 May 2013 14:13:00 -0700 (PDT), klem kedidelhopper
wrote: I have heard from sources, (perhaps not reliable ones) that there has been talk of phasing out OTA broadcasts in the United States. Switching just about everything to UHF and making all our tuners useless was bad enough but this would be the ultimate slap. Has anyone heard anything to this effect? Lenny No, but like everything else, it's a conspiracy: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/secret-cartel-keeps-dying-broadcast-144159575.html https://www.google.com/search?q=broadcast+tv+is+dying TV really is a "vast wasteland". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasteland_Speech -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#3
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
Actually it is. that is almost a joke, but ALMOST.
Many years ago "JS" was the ringleader of an outfit called Radio Solidartity in Poland right around the time all that was going on. He wound up doing seven months in the can over it, but was never actually convicted. We worked together years ago and had mutual respect. He is a smart cookie but his enamouration (enamouredness ?) with Britney Spears made me choke. Well, he was still young enough I guess....... He built the transitter and he and his buddies would go up on a hill and erect an antenna made from vacuum cleaner wand sections. A portable cassette player was all that was needed then, along with the batteries of course. They didn't have much cable there at the time and most people used antennas to get TV on just like we used to for the most part. JS and crew picked the sound carrier (of the intercarrier) frequency of the station at the maximum primetime of viewership. In the evening, the most popular shows. They overrode the audio carrier. He was on the svelte side and said he was the fastest runner in the group. He also had built the transmitter and told me if they ever caught him with it he would be in jail for a LOOOOOONG time, but only did seven months intermittently under suspicion. His partners would usually bring cars and escape with the antenna and batteries. None of them got busted because vacuum cleaner wands and batteries were not illegal in Poland at the time. When I worked with him he showed me a Polish magazine with his brother standing there with the transmitter, after the regime had changed and he was no longer likely to get busted for it. I could see the family resemblance. Because of the suspicions against him he had trouble starting a company there, which impelled him and his olady to move to the US. Too much red tape. I think he came to the wrong place if he doesn't like red tape. His brother was also in the electronics field and started a company for car lots. Alot of people were scamming the car lots by swapping cars with someone across town. the repossesors could not find the cars. The company would put a GPS tracking unit into the cars so they could be found. I'm not sure why, but his brother also emigrated here, even though he said the US was not quite what it was cracked up to be. If you find references to this whole affair online you will find them to differ slightly from my account of it, it is up to you what you believe. |
#4
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
Oh the relevance ? With digital TV you can't do that. THEY have control. you might be able to scramble their transmission but you are not going to get the recievers to pick up your audio or anything else because it is digital.
OK maybe some of you can, but less can now than in the analog days. That was the goal of the "conspiracy" commmonly referred to as "government" |
#5
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
On Mon, 20 May 2013 14:13:00 -0700, klem kedidelhopper wrote:
I have heard from sources, (perhaps not reliable ones) that there has been talk of phasing out OTA broadcasts in the United States. Switching just about everything to UHF and making all our tuners useless was bad enough but this would be the ultimate slap. Has anyone heard anything to this effect? Lenny You can see it happening...all the interesting and entertaining programming is being sequestered to the cable=only stations. Then, they'll plead that nobody watches OTA. |
#6
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
On Mon, 20 May 2013 14:13:00 -0700 (PDT), klem kedidelhopper
wrote: I have heard from sources, (perhaps not reliable ones) that there has been talk of phasing out OTA broadcasts in the United States. Switching just about everything to UHF and making all our tuners useless was bad enough but this would be the ultimate slap. Has anyone heard anything to this effect? Lenny I've seen some articles on it. There are several pieces of information that explain the rumors. 1. The old distribution model for TV programming is seriously broken. 50 years ago OTA was the only way you got TV. And if you weren't in front of the TV when 'The Jackie Gleason Show' was broadcast, you wouldn't have another chance to see it. Likewise, you probably watched the commercials. Between reruns, cable TV, VCRs, Satellite, DVRs, Internet, and DVDs, you may be able to watch your favite show without seeing a single commercial. And the commercials subsidized OTA broadcasts as well as production costs. 2. Currently only 15% of TV viewers get TV OTA. 3. Rupert Murdoch (News Corp) has reportedly talked of selling all FOX broadcast stations. Note that that would presumably push viewers to either cable (some owned by News Corp) or Dish (owned by News Corp). 4. A number of the articles I have seen are from stock analysts and others who stand t benefit if they can anticipate the next big bubble. PlainBill |
#7
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
You can see it happening... all the interesting and entertaining
programming is being sequestered to the cable-only stations. Then, they'll plead that nobody watches OTA. I don';t think you understand how broadcast -- or cable -- television works. |
#8
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
On Tue, 21 May 2013 15:18:46 +0000 (UTC), Wond
wrote: On Mon, 20 May 2013 14:13:00 -0700, klem kedidelhopper wrote: I have heard from sources, (perhaps not reliable ones) that there has been talk of phasing out OTA broadcasts in the United States. Switching just about everything to UHF and making all our tuners useless was bad enough but this would be the ultimate slap. Has anyone heard anything to this effect? Lenny You can see it happening...all the interesting and entertaining programming is being sequestered to the cable=only stations. Then, they'll plead that nobody watches OTA. Nope. CATV has the "Must Carry" rule: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Must-carry The result of requiring CATV to carry local OTA broadcast TV signals is causing an odd problem in demographics. Many OTA stations find that the bulk of their viewing audience is watching via CATV and not via OTA. In some cases, the stations are so isolated, that the OTA viewers could be counted on both hands. Other stations merely recycle the same syndicated programming that can be watched on other channels, resulting in massive duplication. So, why are they doing this? Because the Must Carry rule has dramatically increased the number of viewers, which keeps the stations afloat with advertising revenue. The FCC could easily mandate that all OTA broadcast station should get a fiber feed to the local CATV or DBS feed point, turn off the transmitter, and only those few watching OTA TV will notice. It's been discussed, but the FCC wants to hold onto the OTA broadcast license revenue, making such a transition unlikely. Acronym decoder: OTA = Over the air CATV = Cable Television DBS = Direct Broadcast Satellite (Sirius-XM). FCC = Federal Communications Commish. TV = Television -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#9
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
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#10
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
In article ,
(PeteCresswell) wrote: Sounds like there is a significant cost diff between OTA and cable. The electric bill for running the antenna farm? Hundreds of kilowatts, up to megawatts of power output. I'm sure it adds up. And, since it's public spectrum, they're paying a significant license fee every year to the Feds for the right to use the frequency exclusively within their broadcast area. -- Dave Platt AE6EO Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads! |
#11
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
Dave Platt wrote: In article , (PeteCresswell) wrote: Sounds like there is a significant cost diff between OTA and cable. The electric bill for running the antenna farm? Hundreds of kilowatts, up to megawatts of power output. I'm sure it adds up. And, since it's public spectrum, they're paying a significant license fee every year to the Feds for the right to use the frequency exclusively within their broadcast area. You are ignoring the antenna gain. One station I worked at fed 130 KW to the antenna for a 5 MW EIRP. The backup generator was a 500 KW Kohler diesel that was able to power the entire transmitter site, including the cooling system & A/C. |
#12
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
"Dave Platt" (PeteCresswell) Sounds like there is a significant cost diff between OTA and cable. The electric bill for running the antenna farm? Hundreds of kilowatts, up to megawatts of power output. ** Megawatt TV stations must be very rare. A ( digital ) TV transmitter with a few thousand watts and a well sited high gain antenna covers a city of 5 to 10 million people and beyond. The electricity bill is trivial. OTOH - the cost of installing and maintaining a cable TV network serving 5 million people is enormous. Broadcasting is unique and cannot be economically replaced by cable or satellite. .... Phil |
#13
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
A (digital) TV transmitter with a few thousand watts and
a well-sited high-gain antenna covers a city of 5 to 10 million people and beyond. The electricity bill is trivial. OTOH -- the cost of installing and maintaining a cable TV network [sic] serving 5 million people is enormous. Broadcasting is unique and cannot be economically replaced by cable or satellite. You're overlooking the fact that a cable system can provide 100 channels. |
#14
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
William Sommerwerck wrote in message
... A (digital) TV transmitter with a few thousand watts and a well-sited high-gain antenna covers a city of 5 to 10 million people and beyond. The electricity bill is trivial. OTOH -- the cost of installing and maintaining a cable TV network [sic] serving 5 million people is enormous. Broadcasting is unique and cannot be economically replaced by cable or satellite. You're overlooking the fact that a cable system can provide 100 channels. Only 10 of which are watched by any particular household |
#16
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
Per Phil Allison:
A ( digital ) TV transmitter with a few thousand watts and a well sited high gain antenna covers a city of 5 to 10 million people and beyond. The electricity bill is trivial. OTOH - the cost of installing and maintaining a cable TV network serving 5 million people is enormous. Broadcasting is unique and cannot be economically replaced by cable or satellite. Seems like we are back to the question "What is the industry's motive for wanting to get rid of OTA?". -- Pete Cresswell |
#17
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
In article ,
Michael A. Terrell wrote: Hundreds of kilowatts, up to megawatts of power output. I'm sure it adds up. And, since it's public spectrum, they're paying a significant license fee every year to the Feds for the right to use the frequency exclusively within their broadcast area. You are ignoring the antenna gain. One station I worked at fed 130 KW to the antenna for a 5 MW EIRP. The backup generator was a 500 KW Kohler diesel that was able to power the entire transmitter site, including the cooling system & A/C. Erp. You're quite right - I failed to notice that the quoted figures are EIRP rather than transmitter output power (or similar). This would bring the per-hour operating cost down by quite a lot. So, if the whole power budget for a station such as yours is in the range of 400 kW (output power, transmitter losses and necessary inefficiency, cooling and airco, and lower-power auxiliary stuff) then it might be in the range of low tens of dollars per hour in electricity costs? Not too terrible. What I suspect that the stations would like to do would be to be able to sell/auction off the spectrum rights. VHF and UHF spectrum is limited and expensive, and there are probably commercial applications (e.g. cellphone and Internet access) which would pay quite a lot for access to a 6 MHz slice of spectrum. If the local stations could shift over to non-broadcast signal distribution without losing more than a small fraction of their viewership they'd probably find it very attractive to do so (assuming that they can get regulatory approval). If this trend plays out, it would tend to throw "free access to at least basic TV news and entertainment" into the waste-can of history, as the signals would not be available via any non-pay distribution system. In the past I believe that there were public-safety and social-benefit arguments made in terms of ensuring free access to the broadcast media; whether this philosophy will hold true in the future is anyone's guess. -- Dave Platt AE6EO Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads! |
#18
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
Dave Platt wrote: In article , Michael A. Terrell wrote: Hundreds of kilowatts, up to megawatts of power output. I'm sure it adds up. And, since it's public spectrum, they're paying a significant license fee every year to the Feds for the right to use the frequency exclusively within their broadcast area. You are ignoring the antenna gain. One station I worked at fed 130 KW to the antenna for a 5 MW EIRP. The backup generator was a 500 KW Kohler diesel that was able to power the entire transmitter site, including the cooling system & A/C. Erp. You're quite right - I failed to notice that the quoted figures are EIRP rather than transmitter output power (or similar). This would bring the per-hour operating cost down by quite a lot. So, if the whole power budget for a station such as yours is in the range of 400 kW (output power, transmitter losses and necessary inefficiency, cooling and airco, and lower-power auxiliary stuff) then it might be in the range of low tens of dollars per hour in electricity costs? Not too terrible. It was around $45,000/month, or about $62.50 an hour when you subtract the few hours they were off the air, after midnight Sundays. What I suspect that the stations would like to do would be to be able to sell/auction off the spectrum rights. They don't own the spectrum they use. If they stop using it, the FCC voids their license. VHF and UHF spectrum is limited and expensive, and there are probably commercial applications (e.g. cellphone and Internet access) which would pay quite a lot for access to a 6 MHz slice of spectrum. If the local stations could shift over to non-broadcast signal distribution without losing more than a small fraction of their viewership they'd probably find it very attractive to do so (assuming that they can get regulatory approval). Those frequencies are rather useless for cell or broadband. VHF has too much noise and skip. All of the UHF band wouldn't gain much, compared to microwave bands where smaller antennas would be useful. If this trend plays out, it would tend to throw "free access to at least basic TV news and entertainment" into the waste-can of history, as the signals would not be available via any non-pay distribution system. In the past I believe that there were public-safety and social-benefit arguments made in terms of ensuring free access to the broadcast media; whether this philosophy will hold true in the future is anyone's guess. Actually, they could move free TV broadcast to the KU band, and offer dumbed down sat receivers cheap or for free. US OTA stations are carried by Dish & Direct TV. A featureless sat receiver could be built to only allow reception to stations currently available. A complete GPS receiver & antenna module is now under $20. No need for an account, just plug & play on existing TVs. |
#19
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
"William Sommer****** Arsehole " A (digital) TV transmitter with a few thousand watts and a well-sited high-gain antenna covers a city of 5 to 10 million people and beyond. The electricity bill is trivial. OTOH -- the cost of installing and maintaining a cable TV network [sic] serving 5 million people is enormous. Broadcasting is unique and cannot be economically replaced by cable or satellite. You're overlooking the fact that a cable system can provide 100 channels. ** Changes nothing I said. Digital broadcasting allows six TV channels for every analogue channel that existed previously - makes the max possible number of well over 100 using UHF and VHF. Each signal need only be a few kW and the same transmitter can supply three digital programs. This is true for the European and Australia DTV systems, the US system may not be quite so bountiful. BTW arsehole: Leave the ****ing stupid "sic" **** out. .... Phil |
#20
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
"(PeteCresswell)" Per Phil Allison: A ( digital ) TV transmitter with a few thousand watts and a well sited high gain antenna covers a city of 5 to 10 million people and beyond. The electricity bill is trivial. OTOH - the cost of installing and maintaining a cable TV network serving 5 million people is enormous. Broadcasting is unique and cannot be economically replaced by cable or satellite. Seems like we are back to the question "What is the industry's motive for wanting to get rid of OTA?". ** That is a false assertion. .... Phil |
#21
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
On 05/21/2013 04:51 PM, William Sommerwerck wrote:
You can see it happening... all the interesting and entertaining programming is being sequestered to the cable-only stations. Then, they'll plead that nobody watches OTA. I don';t think you understand how broadcast -- or cable -- television works. I understand how broadcast -- or cable -- television works. It's sole purpose is to sell advertising. I'm sure your familiar with that queer ass Geico gecko or Flo's fat ass. The television shows are just filler between commercials and it doesn't matter if they are any good, as long as the television channel sells advertising then they will remain on the air while they are profitable. Unless your a news channel like Commie News Network or Faux News then your purpose is to sell advertising while broadcasting propaganda as filler between commercials. Misinforming your gullible viewers. Like let them think that wogs flew planes into the world trade centers on 9/11 when it was controlled demolition that brought down the towers. Then get the public mad at those ragheads and then get their approval of an expensive and lengthy war in the middle east. But don't tell them that the ragheads really don't really want to start a war with the US but it's really Israel wants the U.S. to terrorize the ragheads because of all the kikes that control the U.S. government, banks and media. So I understand how broadcast -- or cable -- television works and that's why I don't own a TV or subscribe to cable television. I get my news from real news websites like PressTV. |
#22
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
Per Phoena:
I get my news from real news websites like PressTV. Charlie Rose interviewed a guy named Shane Smith who is owner of a YouTube-based media company called "Vice" which seems tb headed for a dominant position in news coverage. His assertion was that something like 60% of people under a certain age (30 comes to mind, but I'm not positive) do not even own a TV. -- Pete Cresswell |
#23
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
On Mon, 27 May 2013 09:17:18 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)"
wrote: Per Phoena: I get my news from real news websites like PressTV. Charlie Rose interviewed a guy named Shane Smith who is owner of a YouTube-based media company called "Vice" which seems tb headed for a dominant position in news coverage. His assertion was that something like 60% of people under a certain age (30 comes to mind, but I'm not positive) do not even own a TV. That may be accurate, but misleading. Assuming the age given was 30, 60% of people in that group are under 17. While most of the people under age 17 have access to a TV, most of them don't OWN it. It's a little like saying 75% of the people under 25 have never worn a bra. True, but not indicitive of a paradigm shift. PlainBill |
#24
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
On Tue, 21 May 2013 11:52:10 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote: You can see it happening...all the interesting and entertaining programming is being sequestered to the cable=only stations. Then, they'll plead that nobody watches OTA. Nope. CATV has the "Must Carry" rule: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Must-carry The result of requiring CATV to carry local OTA broadcast TV signals is causing an odd problem in demographics. Many OTA stations find that the bulk of their viewing audience is watching via CATV and not via OTA. In some cases, the stations are so isolated, that the OTA viewers could be counted on both hands. Other stations merely recycle the same syndicated programming that can be watched on other channels, resulting in massive duplication. So, why are they doing this? Because the Must Carry rule has dramatically increased the number of viewers, which keeps the stations afloat with advertising revenue. The FCC could easily mandate that all OTA broadcast station should get a fiber feed to the local CATV or DBS feed point, turn off the transmitter, and only those few watching OTA TV will notice. It's been discussed, but the FCC wants to hold onto the OTA broadcast license revenue, making such a transition unlikely. Acronym decoder: OTA = Over the air CATV = Cable Television DBS = Direct Broadcast Satellite (Sirius-XM , DefecTV). FCC = Federal Communications Commish. TV = Television ?-) |
#25
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
On Wed, 22 May 2013 14:50:12 +0100, "N_Cook" wrote:
William Sommerwerck wrote in message ... A (digital) TV transmitter with a few thousand watts and a well-sited high-gain antenna covers a city of 5 to 10 million people and beyond. The electricity bill is trivial. OTOH -- the cost of installing and maintaining a cable TV network [sic] serving 5 million people is enormous. Broadcasting is unique and cannot be economically replaced by cable or satellite. You're overlooking the fact that a cable system can provide 100 channels. Only 10 of which are watched by any particular household If that many. My primary use for TV is weekend morning cartoons, and not all that important to me. I think my time would be better spent watching my Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin DVDs. Well, i do have some "Avengers" and "The Prisoner" and other good stuff as well. Sports types may like the cable and sat packages, that is their thing though. ?-) |
#26
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OTA broadcasts being phased out?
On Tue, 21 May 2013 09:51:38 -0700, William Sommerwerck wrote:
You can see it happening... all the interesting and entertaining programming is being sequestered to the cable-only stations. Then, they'll plead that nobody watches OTA. I don';t think you understand how broadcast -- or cable -- television works. Locally, the main OTA company has been purchased by the huge cable provider. Since then, OTA service has deteriorated in several ways. It is OTA I want, being a cheap sort. |
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