[LINK] Fwd: MR59-10: ACMA issues licences for 3D TV trials [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

[Richard Chirgwin]

Tom Worthington wrote:
> Antony Barry wrote:
>   
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>>     
>>> ... 14 May 2010 1:16:37 PM AEST ... The Australian Communications
>>> and Media Authority is today issuing licences which will allow the
>>> Nine Network and the SBS to conduct scientific trials of 3D TV  ...  live telecasts of the three State of Origin rugby league
>>> matches. ...
>>>       
>
> "Scientific" trials of 3D TV for rugby league sounds like a spoof worthy
> of Professor Klerphell.
>
> The real science in this is the small number of current broadcasters 
> seeing how much valuable spectrum they can get for free, or at least tie 
> up as long as possible, to prevent competition from IPTV.
>
> The spectrum was previously planned to be used for mobile TV. It will be 
> interesting to see what non-product the broadcasters come up with after 
> 3D TV, to tie up use of the spectrum.
>
> The Australian Government has a policy to provide Internet access widely 
> across the community and the country. The best use of this spectrum is 
> therefore likely to be to provide Internet access. If video content 
> companies (ie: "broadcasters") want to provide wireless access, they can 
> pay to use that communications mechanism for 3D TV, mobile TV, 
> smell-vision, or other throwback from the 1950s.
>
> The spectrum should not be locked into one narrow use, such as one way 
> video transmission from a small number of companies who have an 
> ologolopy, due to previous technical restrictions which applied to now 
> obsolete analogue transmission technology.
>
>
>   
To be fair, Tom, the mobile TV trials just didn't go that well. Nobody 
cared; my feeling is that it was already overtaken by what you could get 
on a mobile phone.

Since IP TV doesn't need wireless spectrum, how does the spectrum 
prevent the competition? All you need for IP TV is a reasonably fast 
Internet connection, and the content.

Finally, since there are still millions of TV viewers in the country, 
myself included, it is at least reasonable to balance the supposed 
obsolescence of the technology against the interests of the citizen.

Personally, I can't imagine being bothered with 3D TV. But I don't 
particularly object to the existence of a technical trial. Let it flop 
in public!

RC