[M4IF Discuss] hourly usage fee for MPEG4

[Craig Birkmaier]

At 10:20 AM -0800 2/22/02, Ben Waggoner wrote:
>     The way my Dish package works is I get 100 channels for $X and 150 for
>$Y.  They'd be able to add a 300 channel option for $Z.  I'd probably buy it
>- even though I might not watch any more TV, I'd get a better chance of
>watching what I want when I want.

The larger issue for the U.S. DBS operators is carriage of local 
broadcast stations. Currently they are only able to reach the top 
30-35 markets. If the planned merger goes through they promise to 
cover the top 100 markets. They are not saying how, but my guess is 
that they will replace the existing set-tops so that they can add a 
more efficient codec. If the merger does not go through they will be 
under even more pressure to add support for a more efficient codec, 
however, they will not have the immediate problem of dealing with the 
lack of interoperability between the two systems.
The other factor that is critical is the use of PVRs as a bandwidth 
multiplier technique. This will allow them to utilize off hour 
bandwidth far more efficiently.
-- 
Regards
Craig Birkmaier
Pcube Labs