Future of Cable TV

December 3rd, 2014 at 11:51:00 AM permalink
jml24
Member since: Dec 6, 2012
Threads: 0
Posts: 26
Quote: Nareed
And I also want to keep owning some of the media I watch and listen to. For TV and movies, that means DVDs or Blue ray. I'm comfortable with virtual, cloud-based software you don't physically own, because most software needs to be changed after a few years anyway. But a treasured movie like Tron or TV series like B5 holds its value forever.


Until your Blu-ray player stops working and you can't get a new one anymore. The last time I moved I threw away quite a few VHS tapes since I don't have a player and am no longer satisfied with VHS video quality. I do own a few Blu-ray discs but I am also pretty sure I will not watch them enough times to pay for the investment. One reason that I do is that the quality is noticeably better than the same movie on HD cable.

Video quality issues may be solved but for now I am unimpressed by streaming video quality on Amazon or Netflix. Cable HD, broadcast HD, and Blu-ray are better in that order. Comcast is my ISP (the only real choice where I live) and they have a pretty strong incentive to throttle data down so that my streaming video quality sucks, thus deterring me from cutting my cable subscription.
December 3rd, 2014 at 12:59:31 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: jml24

Video quality issues may be solved but for now I am unimpressed by streaming video quality on Amazon or Netflix. .


I watch Nflix on a 23" monitor and the picture
quality is flawless.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
December 3rd, 2014 at 2:12:06 PM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: jml24


Video quality issues may be solved but for now I am unimpressed by streaming video quality on Amazon or Netflix. Cable HD, broadcast HD, and Blu-ray are better in that order. Comcast is my ISP (the only real choice where I live) and they have a pretty strong incentive to throttle data down so that my streaming video quality sucks, thus deterring me from cutting my cable subscription.


It comes down to what you want. When Apple started iTunes it was the first time in history that sound quality went down. While some thought it crazy, the average consumer preferred having hundreds of "good enough" songs vs fewer with higher quality. Netflix is the same way. Variety is key now.
The President is a fink.
December 3rd, 2014 at 2:51:48 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: jml24
Cable HD, broadcast HD, and Blu-ray are better in that order.


There was a recommendation from House of Lords tow years ago that Britain end broadcast since the bandwidth would be better used for mobile devices.
Quote: HOUSE OF LORDS: Broadband for all—an alternative vision
We recommend that the Government, Ofcom and the industry begin to consider the desirability of the transfer of terrestrial broadcast content from spectrum to the internet and the consequent switching off of broadcast transmission over spectrum, and in particular what the consequences of this might be and how we ought to begin to prepare. (Para 141)

The theory was that broadcasting to fixed locations made sense in the 1940's when wire was not in place, but in today's economy you need to wire all the homes anyway, so why not transmit television along with everything else.

The bandwidth would be of greater value to the economy if it was re-used by mobile devices.


As USA must have the same issues, it seems amazing that there was no discussion about upgrading from analog to digital broadcasts. The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 is a United States Congress legislation enacted on October 20, 2005. This act deals with the cessation of the broadcasting of analog television and the subsequent implementation of digital television.

So instead of upgrading the system, perhaps it should have been phased out, so that the spectrum could have been put to more profitable use.

As it is television transmission on channels 52 to 69 was required to cease by Saturday, 31 December 2011, to allow FCC to begin the first phase of VHF/UHF TV spectrum allotment for other services.
December 3rd, 2014 at 3:30:35 PM permalink
TheCesspit
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 23
Posts: 1929
Phone lines, which don't need much bandwidth or fidelity were along wires that supported good fidelity. TV signals that needed more bandwidth and high fidelity were across the atmosphere that does add all sorts of interference.

Of course, now it's all digital, there's less issues, but back in analogue days it was back to front. Engineering wise, at least.
It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die.... it's called Life
December 3rd, 2014 at 9:23:22 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: TheCesspit
Phone lines, which don't need much bandwidth or fidelity were along wires that supported good fidelity. TV signals that needed more bandwidth and high fidelity were across the atmosphere that does add all sorts of interference.

Of course, now it's all digital, there's less issues, but back in analogue days it was back to front. Engineering wise, at least.


Telephone fixed line system would traditionally strive for 99.999% ("five nines") reliability. Meaning that if you picked up a phone regardless of the condition of home electricity, you could get a dial tone that percentage of the time.

People don't desire that kind of reliability anymore. Many people who have phone lines bundled with their cable TV would survive anywhere from 0 minutes to a few hours (if they have a battery) in the event of a blackout. Besides the obvious fact that cell phones have batteries that may not be charged, they will eventually run out of power in a blackout. In addition the system loses connectivity if a tower goes down for some reason. Most cell networks get overloaded in an emergency.

But the electrical grid is more reliable than it was in the 1930's. More people have automobiles than in the 1930's.

In some sense the population of the UK is more densely distributed than the USA. More of the television is controlled directly by the government. It may make sense for them to eliminate broadcast television and replace it with Internet Protocol video.

If the population was 100% connected, they might even have the chance to input their opinions on issues directly to the government. I doubt that it could be secure enough to elect government officials, but they could input their opinions on several issues every week. Such a system would be more efficient than taking polls.

If you remember Max Headroom, they used to take ratings every 10 seconds.
December 4th, 2014 at 6:54:17 AM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Another new media clip. This segment is about 1 minute from a Graham Norton show. You can sell a million views of a commercial with this clip.
December 4th, 2014 at 6:57:19 AM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Quote: jml24
The last time I moved I threw away quite a few VHS tapes since I don't have a player and am no longer satisfied with VHS video quality.


My dad left behind quite a collection of VHS tapes, and I have nothing to watch them in :(

There are some very old classics like Star Wars, the Battlestar Galactica pilot movie (which I recall watching several times in the 80s), tons of Disney movies including Alice in wonderland, The Little Mermaid and my all time favorites Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.

I wonder if they can be legally copied to a DVD or Blue ray. The quality won't be good, but at least I'd be able to see them again.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
December 4th, 2014 at 11:36:59 AM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
http://www.cnet.com/how-to/transfer-vhs-tapes-to-your-computer/
According to this article they cannot legally be copied to DVD, but as you are not selling them, I am sure it is OK. I don't see any point in trying to copy them to Blue Ray.
January 5th, 2015 at 3:17:09 PM permalink
reno
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 58
Posts: 1384
Wow, you can subscribe to ESPN without cable service?

At what point will Comcast, TimeWarner, DirecTV, AT&T etc take this cord-cutter phenomenon seriously? The smart response would be to lower their prices dramatically. But they won't. They're still in denial.