Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

No Business Case for HDTV?

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the dire-just-means-higher-prices-for-consumers dept.

Lev13than writes "The head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation argues that there is no business model for HDTV. Speaking at a regulatory hearing being held by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), CBC president Robert Rabinovitch noted that 'There's no evidence either in Canada or the United States that we have found for advertisers willing to pay a premium for a program that's in HD.' In order to cope with infrastructure and programming costs that are roughly 25 per cent higher, Rabinovitch proposes that the CBC start charging cable and satellite companies to carry their signal, and to limit over-the-air transmission. HDTV — good for Best Buy, bad for broadcasters?"

5 of 525 comments (clear)

  1. Re:no common sense case by DA-MAN · · Score: 5, Informative

    Hey, and toss in the $50 HDMI cable lots of people have to buy

    Digital either works or it doesn't. A five dollar hdmi cable will work as good as the fifty dollar hdmi cable. Monster may help on analog audio, but doesn't do jack for digital.

    This is a myth.

    --
    Can I get an eye poke?
    Dog House Forum
  2. Re:CBC better figure out how to lower their costs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    New cameras, modulators, multiplexers, etc...
    To give you an idea, you need 1 ATSC modulator per channel per transmittion tower. Each modulator is in the range of $10000. So we're talking hundreds of millions to convert.

  3. Re:no common sense case by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Informative
    "I have a PC integrated into the theater, and I may just crumble and get an HD card for it; but I'd much much MUCH rather have a solid set-top box that doesn't have to rely on the PC being there. For similar reasons, I bought a DVD player for the set-up so I don't have to wait for the PC to power up etc."

    Think of it another way....do the PC, and use it to tune your HD, to play your DVD's and CD's and everything. You could get rid of settop box and cd/dvd player...hell. put MythTv on it, and get rid of the TIVO too. Get a wireless card in it..and download all you want from the net onto it...

    Wait for it to power on?? Why would you turn it off? I don't turn off any of my computers around the house.....

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  4. Re:no common sense case by HTTP+Error+403+403.9 · · Score: 5, Informative
    I just did a quick search on Amazon.com (so I by no means have a complete list with prices), shows the first HDMI cable (not a male-to-male or converter) going for around $40. This is not a monster cable, just a no-name brand. The monster cable was $100+.

    My point? HDMI cables cost A LOT, even at the low end. And most stores that I've checked (again, not a complete list) don't care more than one or two brands, usually the $75 to $100 versions.

    Monoprice.com - 15 foot HDMI cable M/M $8.07 - cheap price but quality cables.
    --
    I'm not a Troll, it's reverse psychology.
  5. Re:GOVERNMENT is the Driver of HDTV by edwdig · · Score: 4, Informative

    The FCC didn't mandate HDTV. They mandated digital broadcasts. Digital does not imply HD.

    The reason? Analog broadcast TV takes up a huge chunk of very desirable radio spectrum space. Digital broadcasts can transmit more data in a smaller frequency range.