Infomercial on digital transition

Which is for another 8+ mos.

Way to stay current...

I've got a car that I've had for 20 years, still in use....

Edit - 1988 Acura Integra, 235,000+ miles

I saw a very informative program a while back about how to prepare for the digital transition. The strange thing was that it was on PBS-HD subchannel, so whoever watched it had already prepared for the transition.

My Accord is a young 14 years, 235,000 miles.

it probably was the subchannel which is the same content as the analog.

it was probably a show by tv broadcasters or consumers electronics associations. I would expect that stations who bought rights to it will be showing it at least once a month until transition, maybe more as it gets closer.

All stations will be doing this. It's an informational PSA type program required by the FCC for all stations as part of promoting the digital transition.

WRAL in conjunction with the NC Association of Broadcasters recently produced one that aired on most of the NC stations.

Nothing more.

KNBC's DTV weather subchannel is constantly running a crawl warning you to prepare for the imminent arrival of digital. I have no idea who they think this will help.

FCC rules require this..So don't blame KNBC.

FCC rules require it on digital subchannels, where it can be seen only by people who already know?  I'm not questioning you, bdfox18doe; I'm questioning the sanity of the rule.

I expect it is for people who view other people's tv sets, like neighbor's or those in store, waiting rooms, barber shop and so on. Letting people know any way they can hope to.

Just because someone has a digital tv or digital cable doesn't mean they already know, and they may have an analog tv in their house or at their summer home.

I admit it's a pretty dumb rule myself..but we broadcasters weren't asked.

That's just like the FCC was going to require us to update PSIP live to match programming for sports and run-overs.. etc.. not considering the poor EPG performance of the NTIA Coupon receivers out there, and that cable and satellite don't use OTA EPG..

I read back a dozen or so, so the last post would make sense...

Let me see if I'm getting this concept right. They are announcing the imminent destruction of the analog universe on the DIGITAL subchannels???

So basicly you can only see that you might/will loose analog, but you can only see the info-crawl if you HAVE the appropriate equipment? Wow. LOL.

Correct me if my observation is off in anyway...

Oh, and us people ALREADY on the "band Wagon" have to put up with this until Feb 2009???!!!

Meanwhile:
"I saw a very informative program a while back about how to prepare for the digital transition. The strange thing was that it was on PBS-HD subchannel, so whoever watched it had already prepared for the transition. "

Yup! I've noticed the same thing. The FCC-mandated DTV PSAs are frequently being played on the DTV subchannels, not necessarily on the primary channel which mirrors the analog station.

DTV transition crawlers on subchannels is as stupid as the FCC reg requiring digital subchannels to air "E/I" programming. One example of this--three days before KATV's tower collapse and a storm approaching, I flipped over to the (now defunct) 7-2 subchannel (7 News Now) and instead of weather info, there was a Kids program airing--at 10am on a school day in the small window used for radar or news briefs!

The only "infomercial" I've seen so far has been running on local religious channel KVTN as basically a fund raiser for getting all three (one, KVTN already completed) transmitters on full power digital. The DTV 30 sec spots by KARK have a sponsor--a high end local TV retailer whom will be steering customers to "trade up" from converter boxes into plasmas and other high end sets.

Agreed.. as if our kids aren't fat and lazy enough from watching too much
tv as it is.

Plus, it's a royal PIA operationally to schedule,log,air, and the required quarterly FCC reporting.

First, NTIA coupon boxes don't record anything, and while some people have cobbled together a system to feed their DVR recorders with a CECB, that's not what they're really for.

I often hear station people complain the guide information is provided by a third-party clearing house (even for their own station!) and that it is impossible to change that data anywhere near real time. What bugs me about sports overruns (there are other types, but lets not confuse the issue) is that there are (or at least used to be when I worked there) Network Ground Rules that cover EVERYTHING. This information is sent to stations in one or more different formats.

My point is that the stations are never surprised or left in the dark about what happens to the network feed. Yes, sometimes they screw up, but we all do that occasionally. PSIP is complicated, but it isn't completely inscrutible. We have a method to send program information to viewers, we have this information available at the station, yet we don't connect the two.

Consider captioning. That signal has to be delivered along with the program, and it comes from a variety of sources, yet it almost always shows up at the TV set. Why? Probably because there is a federal mandate that says it HAS to be there.

People often get hooked on cable because of the guide information on their cable system. People fall in love with their Tivo because of its GUI. Imagine if Broadcasters could embrace recording and utilize their PSIP system to automatically inform PVRs (and publicize that fact.) The information is there, even if the mechanism for jamming into the EPG isn't there yet. Cable would have to go one better just to keep up.

Of course if someone can make money doing something, there is a much better chance that it will get done. Do you think someone would pay to get data all the way into a viewers living room to figure out what they are watching? You betcha! The whole industry revolves around that (Nielsen) data. All the way from the provider to the viewer (and back again, in the case of Tivo.)

Just my little rant...

Rant Mode On...

Have you actually configured and maintained a PSIP generator in a local station environment?.. If you had, you'd know how impractical keeping EPG current is, which is partly why the FCC has let off on the update requirement after significant lobbying by MSTV and others.

I have installed 7 and maintain 4 PSIP Generators (for 5 stations) and as a beta test for one mfg.

In our case, it works like this for EPG:

1) Programming enters local data into Decisionmark's MediaStar, which merges that with network and syndicated data. No one else here has access to the programming schedule outside that department.

2) Data for 7 days at a time is pushed to us once daily from MediaStar.
We used to have this push set for immediate, pushing 7 days..but..everytime a change was made to the schedule within the current 7days, the PSIP generator flushed all the tables, causing a large data burst, and many recievers to lock up as they could not handle frequent large PSIP bursts.
So we changed it to a full push once daily at 7am, so any changes will not show up for 24 hours. We only send 48 hours as few if any receivers have enough memory to hold 7 days epg for 9 local stations. And, neither cable nor satellite use our OTA EPG. AFAIK, they aren't instantly pushing changes either.

Riddle me this.. do you (either as a manger or viewer) want the sole master control operator on duty for the ballgame F'in around in the traffic-automation system keeping the EPG current, rather than paying attention to the game looking for the last break worth $100k (less or more) that airs in the final 40 seconds of OT play?

With all the changes and issues present in the broadcast industry with the digital/ HD transition, current and updated EPG for a few program runovers isn't high on my priority list.

Rant Mode Off

Wow.

Believe me, I'm on your side. It's just that this is a solution that has all the information in place. It just doesn't know how to get it done.

I don't pretend for a minute that it is easy. Things are the way they are today because that's all that is available. There isn't anything more elegant available because people aren't asking for it. It's chicken and egg.

There wouldn't be anything in the EPG if it wasn't required. (See the pattern developing?) Many stations I see still can't even get the current program in their EPG.

In light of managers' relentless push to get all operators out of the process, most duties that used to be done by the MCR operator have been automated. Changing the PSIP data has to be automated or it won't get done at all. "Dynamic" program guide info isn't high on anybody's list because no one sees any value to it. I'm just suggesting an application. The data exists. It's "just" that the solutions for moving the data in real time don't exist. (I also know how easy it is for me to say "just," which is why I quoted it for sarcasm.)

DTV in general isn't easy, yet somehow it gets done. Audio is also at the bottom of the heap when it comes to priorities, but somehow it manges to get done.

As a broadcast engineer who spent a lot of time in maintenance, I know I don't drive the bus. But if someone all of a sudden decided we needed to have dynamic EPG, some manufacturer would be convinced with a purchase order to build it and it would eventually get dumped in my lap as my #1 priority to make it work, just like most of the tasks that today's engineers are doing.

Plugging data into tables is the mindless sort of stuff that computers do best, and humans hate the most. It's not that you need to invent the wheel here. It's just that the higway needs to be built. It's up to the software writer to build the road and put the on and off ramps in the right place. Not easy, but doable. Right now you wait for the truck to pull up at 7AM to load it with two days worth of bananas. There are a lot of reasons why that is good enough.

I also don't think that cable and sat pass your guide data. They have their own way of doing it, and because of the way it gets done, it's no better Besides, their guide makes money for them. Maybe there's a business opportunity for delivering dynamic EPG? You have the info, cable and sat do not.

I keep going back to captions. It ain't easy, but they do pass yours because they have to, and there's no incentive now to do it themselves. If there was, they'd dump yours in a heartbeat.

Rant mode wasn't at you hphase.. I did get to thinking... If fully dynamic, live full-time PSIP were implemented..what would be the load on Tribune and Decisionmark..say on a saturday afternoon in the fall with all the college sports and the changes, etc.. Or, on DirecTv to keep the guide data current?

It does annoy the hades out of me that we broadcasters are "supposed" to provide full and complete EPG, yet receiver mfg's, catv, and satellite have no obligation to use it.

EPG implementation on the NTIA coupon boxes is a joke.

Bob,

I read that this was only required on the analog and "primary digital stream of the associated digital". Does the weather sub have an analog counterpart?

You're correct.. It's E/I (unaffectionately referred to as kidvid) that is required on all sub channels. I had a brain fart as we had an issue that we had to air kidvid late today so it was top of mind.

KCsM that tried to go pure DTV in 2004 is showing a nice 'go dtv 2009' on their 43-2 channel....not their fault...its just politics...and misteries of the FCC..
Other PBS channels on dtv are over loading the bandwith with the FCC approval. Red_dana from kqed no longer posts to our forum because of the attacks against her due to the macro-pixilation of the video feed. I believe this a nation wide PBS thing....cable is more important than over the air....the FCC will rule again...non broadcast quality is never acceptable in my mind.

justification of overloading a ota dtv bandwith. She says its becuse it aout ccalbe feeds...They are more important.

Poor grammer due to red_dana posts

There are a LOT of broadcasters who don't post here for just that reason.

Those that know the difference between SAP and atsc digital audio streams; the difference between private audio and Pro audio; and the difference
between a metaphor and a simile are always welcome in any forum.