wrote:

And secondly, if the stations are using parts of other band widths to
pull this off -- at least in populated markets - like LA, Chicago and
New York -- isn't HD going to be a nightmare for the FCC. It was bad
enough just trying to protect AM Clear Channel stations when the sun
goes down. How on earth will the FCC ever be able to govern all of
this - not mention the engineering nightmare it will cause??

Well, a very good observation. How indeed will the FCC govern this?

Sadly, the answer is that they probably won't, just as with BPL (if you
happen to have been following that debate). Engineering and enforcement
of technical standards seems to have taken a back seat to the wishes of
Big Business.

When I heard about BPL and the FCC blatantly dodging the technical
issues, my first thought was that the FCC had been "bought off". Then I
said, "Nah, that's too paranoid. They wouldn't do that".

A bit later I read a book about DuMont, the early TV pioneer, and his
battles with the FCC about VHF vs. UHF and which color TV system to
choose. Well, buried back in Appendix C was an *actual quote* by an FCC
Commissioner back in the 1950s who said "Yeah, we called those the
'Whorehouse years' because everything, including us, was for sale".

Now this from an actual FCC Commissioner back in the days of "Ozzie and
Harriet" and "Leave it to Beaver". If it happened back in those
"innocent" days, do you think it could happen today????

"Carter, K8VT" wrote:

wrote:

And secondly, if the stations are using parts of other band widths to
pull this off -- at least in populated markets - like LA, Chicago and
New York -- isn't HD going to be a nightmare for the FCC. It was bad
enough just trying to protect AM Clear Channel stations when the sun
goes down. How on earth will the FCC ever be able to govern all of
this - not mention the engineering nightmare it will cause??

Well, a very good observation. How indeed will the FCC govern this?

Sadly, the answer is that they probably won't, just as with BPL (if you
happen to have been following that debate). Engineering and enforcement
of technical standards seems to have taken a back seat to the wishes of
Big Business.

When I heard about BPL and the FCC blatantly dodging the technical
issues, my first thought was that the FCC had been "bought off". Then I
said, "Nah, that's too paranoid. They wouldn't do that".

A bit later I read a book about DuMont, the early TV pioneer, and his
battles with the FCC about VHF vs. UHF and which color TV system to
choose. Well, buried back in Appendix C was an *actual quote* by an FCC
Commissioner back in the 1950s who said "Yeah, we called those the
'Whorehouse years' because everything, including us, was for sale".

Now this from an actual FCC Commissioner back in the days of "Ozzie and
Harriet" and "Leave it to Beaver". If it happened back in those
"innocent" days, do you think it could happen today????

BPL = QRM

dxAce
Michigan
USA

Carter, K8VT wrote:
Well, buried back in Appendix C was an *actual quote* by an FCC
Commissioner back in the 1950s who said "Yeah, we called those the
'Whorehouse years' because everything, including us, was for sale".

Now this from an actual FCC Commissioner back in the days of "Ozzie and
Harriet" and "Leave it to Beaver". If it happened back in those
"innocent" days, do you think it could happen today????

There's zero question it happens. A high position in the FCC is nothing more
than a holding position from which one can trade favors for the right job
offer.

--
If John McCain gets the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination,
my vote for President will be a write-in for Jiang Zemin.