Hi MikeM:
It's the type of older digital stuff Malone purchased for TCI's plant. It does 3 to 1 channel count upgrade. Today's digital conversions does 5 to 1 with even a higher quality SDTV picture
Perhaps, we should get clear on some of the terms we use here to avoid unnecessary confusion going forward. As I see things, the world of cable operates its systems either on an analog or digital transmission basis. If the transmission is digital the term of art I've come across is DVB, or digital video broadcasting. Now in the more general world of broadcast (over the air) the term of art we are all familiar with is HDTV and SDTV, with the latter being the origination of the same content but with lesser resolution than that of HD (1080i or 480P).
You appear to use SDTV in lieu of what I refer to as DVB, but the two are not necessarily the same. I perceive the former as a comparative to HD, that is, lower definition yet still digital, but such categorization is based upon the intensity of digital content within the video frame, and not necessarily its transmission over a cable pipe or the air.
DVB, IMHO, is a more general term that refers to the transmission of digital video signals, be they SD, HD or even digitally-converted analog, over the cable platform free from certain FCC regulations that apply to over-the-air transmissions such as those that govern the present day transmissions of analog & HDTV signaling.
And from what I understand, even the digital channels today, are primarily compressed analog.
Yes, this is what I believe most digital systems that have been around for a few years have been transmitting, not necessarily SDTV signals. If any of MSOs transmit SDTV, it is new to me, & rather the new to the industry. FWIW, I know of no large MSO that is transmitting HDTV signals over cable pipes, however, I believe there might be a few that are presently testing it in select markets where the plant is recently upgraded & capable of handling the additional bandwidth requirements demanded by HD signals. IMHO, if any operator is going to deliver HD on a broad area basis, its going to be the overbuilders. If they're gonna come into a franchise area & compete for MSO subs, what better way to compete than with state-of-the-art plant capable of delivering HDTV content that the market will soon demand before the close of the decade.
today's compressed analog-digital is supposed to be better quality because there is no degradation of the signal in the distribution system.
Yes, that's the selling point the MSOs are offering their subs -- no degradation in signal, which is the problem with analog signals over pure coax plant.
If you want ALL digital channel delivery, then you would have to go to the DBS system.
That's my point. If you watch a lot of the broadcast networks, or popular cable channels, and you're willing to pay your MSO an extra $15/month for "advanced" digital services, from what I've seen you're gonna be way disappointed because all the channels you're accustomed to watching are going remain analog in transmission, & therefore analog in quality. The only transmission that going to be improved by the digital "upgrade" are the digital channels. So, IMHO, the real marketing going on here is not necessarily picture quality, but increased channel selection that subs want because their friends on the dish can get, but they can't.
I understand that DBS is very roughly $60/month for the same amount of content a MSO offers for $40/month. Would you happen to know if this is accurate?
No, not true, at least at my end of the digital downlink. I pay my MSO $46/mo. for about 80 channels. I get everything that's offered on my system except HBO, Showtime, The Movie Channel, Cinemax, Spice & two pay-per-view channels. For $32/mo, I can get essentially the same line-up from DirecTV under its Total Choice programming. BUT, I'd ALSO have to shove out an extra $5/mo for local network access if I couldn't receive the same over the air, plus another $5/mo for the right to receive more than one signal to send to a second TV through a second purchased receiver.
The $60 price point you refer to likely compares to what my MSO charges for digital services, which will include the extra HBO, ShowTime channels, etc. On the low end, DBS pricing is actually more attractive with lowest level pricing about $20/mo. compared to my MSO's "Basic" programming which is about $27/mo. |
