Mike:
The article you post addresses the introduction of digital transmitters into the marketplace. The ADCT transmitter will transmit digital BROADCAST signals as opposed to analog signals that have been in place for as long as 60 years. I am sure the Visionary DT transmitter has the capability of transmitting both SD & HD digital formats. As I stated earlier SD & HD refer to digital format of a video frame, and not necessarily a unique mode of digital transmission.
The Visionary DT transmitter, IMHO, is geared to the BROADCAST markets, and not necessarily the cable or DBS markets. I believe that both DBS & cable presently receive their content via satellite feeds and not necessarily local transmission, with the possible exception of local broadcasts which the cable or DBS folks may deliver via their local distribution facilities to local subscribers.
In short, the primary market at issue here is over-the-air transmission, which as we have discussed as moving towards digital transmission. This movement is somewhat but not completely independent of the move toward digital content. One can easily see how digital content transmitted along a digital platform is more technical efficient than the present model where some video content is analog, some digital, but the primary means of broadcast today is via analog.
Today, we see most data communication in digital format; and we are working delivering voice along the same platform, as the Internet (IP) and ATM have become the standard platforms for the transmission of digital communication for data, soon voice, and to some extent a limited supply of video bit streams.
But not all video is transmitted via the Internet. Other modes exist (ie. satellite uplinks, over-the-air broadcast transmission (which also covers radio). However, the broadcast of video by local stations today remains analog for the most part. And the movement you see here, and the movement you question, is the effort by BROADCASTERS to evolve their transmission platform from analog to digital to be "in tune" with the rest of the multimedia platforms out there. Soon all content will be stored in digital format. The transition to digital progression, IMHO, is natural, but economics will always prohibit the natural migration to this platform. Hence, we see efforts by the FCC to foment this transition, which as you allude, will be painful for some at first. |
