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PBS Goes Digital
FzZzT writes "This ditty from Wired tells about PBS's move next April, with help from Intel, to digital-only broadcasting. It also tells more about Digital TV, which can now only be seen with a PC and a tuner card. "
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Rombu wrote:
PBS is an anachronism these days, since you can get the same types of programming over a number of widely available channels (Discovery, A&E, etc..) PBS was created to broadcast these types of programs and other things that "commercial" networks wouldn't touch. With the advent of cable and satellite we have seen that there is very little that commercial interests won't broadcast. This seems like a last desparate gasp of a dying system to try to draw attention to itself.
First off, PBS uses almost none of your tax dollars. Their federal and state funding has been cut so many times it's not funny. The total line in their financial report for grants is about $41 million of a $448 million budget. That's less than 10% of their expenses, and less than a single tank costs these days.
For that money, they not only support great programming (such as Sesame Street and Nova), but they also spearhead development projects that you never see directly, such as this digital television program, the TeacherSource program, which offers video content for our schools. They also have an impressive Adult Literacy and GED program called LiteracyLink. They have a neat program to support distance learning colleges. They also offer, in conjunction with the MIT Business College The Business Channel, which many prominent companies subscribe to.
This digital television system is not a waste of tax dollars, nor is it a last desperate gasp of a dying network. It is another step forward for an organization that has long been at the core of our country's education infrastructure.
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Open mind, insert foot.
This looks like an excellent broadcast medium for arts and sciences in our homes; however, I am worried that if Intel is the only one sponsoring this technology, it may become forgotten. Hopefully, there will be multiple vendors that have significant capital and interest to push this method of media into the market. PBS has provided many wonderful programs througout the decades and this technology could provide a great evolutionary step in education. I just hope there are some dedicated people who will back this and ensure its diversity in the market.
I haven't watched television in a long time, but I do remember Nova. It would be great watching the space program in its full digital glory right from the satellites cameras and obtain a more personalized view of space and physics. This could be possible with high bandwidth PBS television!
I disagree with PBS being a waste of tax dollars. I don not receive cable television and am unable to watch Discovery, A&E, etc. PBS is public and free and I can watch it from a rooftop arial.
I used to subscribe to cable for $60 a month with all the channels. After one month, all I was seeing was the same repeats of violence and mayhem. PBS is more independent from ratings and more donation driven. The quality seems to survive.
And don't forget the constitutional part about public forests and parks, paved roads, space technology, and consumer protection to name a few. The government is a big business and looks out after our interests, good and bad. PBS just seems like a good byproduct of government pork in my opinion. Bad pork might include the NSA and other nonsense.
The market handles ABC, MSNBC, CBS, and FOX. I have never seen so much shooting, decapitation, mutilation, and disregard for other's civil rights, all from the market you suggest. These are not only on late night shows, but also on Saturday morning cartoons. I don't have anything against freedom of the press and speech, but its just when its *all* crap that I get pissed off. PBS seems to raise the standard of broadcast television and I feel it currently deserves support.
Granted, the government is big brother, and is always trying to justify its ever increasing payrolls to tax our paychecks. 50% of what I make is pretty steep and I see much of it that can be cut. For me, it seems like PBS is doing good maintaining a community focus and is a good value for what I pay.
But that's just my opinion. Taxes are high and it would be a good idea to just cut the crap. I feel I could do a better job at spending that 50% than the government does, but the IRS would disagree with me in a most unpleasant way.
I have to agree. If I see one more UFO special or "Cars of Tomorrow"-type show on Discovery or TLC I think my head is going to explode! I like a lot of the stuff they have, but even there a lot of it caters to the lowest common denominator. There's plenty of stuff that PBS shows that they would never show.
Perhaps he was referring to Starr, not ABC. He was forced to pay for it.
Yes, Discovery, Learning Channel, A&E etc have a lot of good stuff, and we usually watch those in preference to PBS or (ugh) network TV in the evenings (with exceptions).
But for little kids, PBS rules. Sesame Street and stuff like Shelly T. Turtle kept our daughter (and now our boys) educated and entertained without constant commercial interruptions for the latest Mattel marvel or sugar frosted glucose cereal. Now she routinely watches Bill Nye the Science Guy and Magic Schoolbus.
Around here the local PBS stations also routinely broadcast more targeted educational stuff in the wee hours of the morning for teachers to tape and use in their classes.
Yeah, the libertarian in me says that shouldn't be paid for by unwilling taxpayers, but the concerned parent says "cool". And I do fork over some bucks come pledge season.
If PBS were to go subscription-only (via cable and satellite) I'd pay for it, but I like the idea that it's available to those that don't have access (for physcial or financial reasons) to cable or satellite - at least the educational kids programming.
-- Alastair
If you're not already doing this... tape those shows!
We've got hours and hours worth of Sesame St, Bill Nye, Shelly T Turtle, Arthur, Magic Schoolbus, and yes, even some Barney. Our daughter (4-1/2) grew up on that stuff (plus Disney videos and a lot of being read to). Kids love to watch the same videos over and over (and over, and over...) again -- they pick up new things each time, and also gives them a feeling of mastery that they can "predict" what's going to happen next. (It's the same with favorite books.) We also found that, with my daugher anyway, they go through phases. For a few weeks all she watch was Arthur. Then just Magic Schoolbus. And so on. Then she'll rediscover something she hadn't watched in a long time.
My boys (twins, 8 months) aren't quite into any of that stuff yet. We have a couple of 'baby videos' -- music and shapes/toys/etc which help us keep our sanity at times. We do limit how much the kids watch TV, and we hardly watch it ourselves, but it has its uses.
-- Alastair
Sky offers 200 channels. On Digital offers 30. Sky has 50 radio channels (10 free, 40 extra subscription, damn it that the heavy metal station os one of the extra 40), no commercials, no presenters. On Digital has none. Sky has 600,000 subscribers to their Digital service. On Digital has 100,000. The top subscription costs the same... I wonder who will win?
Sky is launching their interactive services very soon. This means e-mail, games, shopping, internet etc are supported by the system, if you subscribe. The satellite decoders themselves are pretty nifty, including flash ROMS so the OS and programs can be updated via satellite. I managed to crash the OS once by accident, so this capability is important.
Both systems provide good program guides. It seems that the UK, and Europe, are way ahead of the US in terms of television now! The Sky systems works perfectly, near video on demand capability for selected films, films shown at the same time as video release if you pay £2.99 to watch it. Have to wait to see what the interactive gudgems are like though, they are done by a company called Open.
The systems are free (nice competition for once), cost £30 per month max, with a possible one-off installation fee.
BBC America is a joint venture between the "real" BBC and The Discovery Channel. It's offered on at least DISH Network and DirecTV. I don't know if/how many cable providers have it. They've shown just about every British comedy that I've seen on PBS and then some...except Red Dwarf. I have all 7 seasons of Red Dwarf on tape already, but I'd still like to see it over the dish.
The only thing about BBC America is that it has commercials...not too big of a price to pay for tons of Britcoms, but it's still a weird feeling.
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
1) Digital Sesame Street: Come play with Oscar in his Recycle Bin. Watch hilarity ensue when Elmo fubars the Linux kernel!
2) Digital Red Dwarf: After being frozen in space for three million years, David Lister wakes up to find that Holly's Intel chip has corrupted, leaving it with an IQ of 60.
3) Digital Fawlty Towers: I can't think of anything. Suggestions are welcome. The show rocks, though.
4) Digital Mr. Rogers: "It's a beautiful day in the Network Neighborhood..."
5) Digital Inspector Poirot: Watch the Inspector sniff out security holes in his Windows NT server.
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