stadlin@hou2h.UUCP (Art Stadlin) (08/16/85)
> As a side note, my local > cable company doesn't know if they are going to get MTS transmission encoders > and/or go FM stereo. > ...Oh, the first local station to go stereo is > apparently going to help with the cost of putting the MTS signal onto the > cable, ie, they are going to MTS encode it at the TV station and ship it > back to the cable company all ready to go. All of our local stations are > directly connected to the stations, so if the TV transmitter dies, those ^^^^^^^^ <--- cable company? > on cable still get picture and sound. > -- > Mr. Video | |AV-2010| o| |--------------| Mr. Video's response raises several interesting points: 1. Broadcast stations are licensed by the FCC for *broadcast*. If the transmitter dies, wouldn't they be required to stop all transmissions? 2. Doesn't the TV station have to provide the same video and audio signal to *all* its viewers? Why should the TV station provide a stereo signal to the cable company and not send that stereo signal over-the-air? 3. If your cable company gets a direct feed from your local station, why not go one better and get the feed directly from the affiliated network? 4. How far away are the local station studios from your cable company? Is anyone saving money by direct-connect? -- \\\ \\\\ Art Stadlin \\\\\\________!{akgua,ihnp4,houxm}!hou2h!stadlin
brown@nicmad.UUCP (08/17/85)
In article <1015@hou2h.UUCP> stadlin@hou2h.UUCP (Art Stadlin) writes: >> As a side note, my local >> cable company doesn't know if they are going to get MTS transmission encoders >> and/or go FM stereo. >> ...Oh, the first local station to go stereo is >> apparently going to help with the cost of putting the MTS signal onto the >> cable, ie, they are going to MTS encode it at the TV station and ship it >> back to the cable company all ready to go. All of our local stations are >> directly connected to the stations, so if the TV transmitter dies, those > ^^^^^^^^ <--- cable company? oops! Yep, should be cable company! >> on cable still get picture and sound. >> -- >> Mr. Video | |AV-2010| o| |--------------| > >Mr. Video's response raises several interesting points: > > 1. Broadcast stations are licensed by the FCC for *broadcast*. > If the transmitter dies, wouldn't they be required to stop > all transmissions? Nope. They are only required to give their call letters upon returning to the air. There are 50,000+ subscribers on our cable system, so the fact that even if the transmitter dies, they can still get their ads out to an audience. Quite a few years ago, during the winter months, there was lots of ice on the tower of one of the stations. It decided to come down one day. It landed on the station's building. It really messed up the office sections, but didn't hurt the main studio and transmitter portions (the roof was thick concrete), but the falling ice did put dents in the UHF wave-guide. Well, that ended over-the-air transmissions for about 2-3 weeks, until all of the ice was off the tower, so that the bad pieces could be replaced. In the meantime, the cable viewers were able to watch all of the ABC network feeds. So, it does have it's advantages. > 2. Doesn't the TV station have to provide the same video and > audio signal to *all* its viewers? Why should the TV station > provide a stereo signal to the cable company and not send > that stereo signal over-the-air? But the TV stations are providing MTS stereo to their over-the-air audience. I didn't say that they didn't provide over-the-air stereo. Sorry, I thought by saying that the tv station was going stereo, it would be understood that I meant over-the-air. > 3. If your cable company gets a direct feed from your local > station, why not go one better and get the feed > directly from the affiliated network? Our cable company tried that for restoration purposes. The networks would not allow local cable companies to pick up the feed if the local station decided not to air a program. The networks do not want to have the local stations get mad at the networks. Also our cable company and the local stations get along. They don't want to ruin the friendship by getting the network feed direct, which the networks won't allow anyway. > 4. How far away are the local station studios from your cable > company? Is anyone saving money by direct-connect? One station is right across the driveway, another is about 3 times that distance, another is about 1 mile (as the cable lies) and the last is about 7-8 miles. I doubt if any money is saved, but better quality is achieved as all of the equipment between the studio boards and the cable over-the-air receiver is taken out of the loop. Yes, I know, the signal has to get from the station to the cable company somehow. A wide-band FM video and audio transmitter is used, on a return cable link. -- Mr. Video {seismo!uwvax!|!decvax|!ihnp4}!nicmad!brown
kurtzman@uscvax.UUCP (Stephen Kurtzman) (08/19/85)
> 1. Broadcast stations are licensed by the FCC for *broadcast*. > If the transmitter dies, wouldn't they be required to stop > all transmissions? > I would guess that the FCC would not be able to stop the local TV station from supplying the signal to the cable company. The FCC only controls the station with respect to its public broadcasts. If the FCC controlled cable-only broadcasts there would probably be no Playboy Channel.