CBC Transmitters Get Stay Of Execution

<p>Canadians using antennas to receive over the air television signals in certain cities that were threatened with losing CBC television on August 31st can relax because an application for an extension for one year was approved by the CRTC to allow CBC transmitters that were slated to shut down to operate in analog until August 31, 2012 to allow CBC to make 'alternative arrangements' for OTA viewers that would be adversely affected by CBC shutting down transmitters. <br>
The CBC has not announced what alternate arrangements they would make with OTA TV viewers.&#160; Would CBC buy cable TV subscriptions for any CBC watchers that would lose in any community where CBC is unwilling to upgrade their transmitters?&#160; The only 'alternative arrangement' that the CBC should get is any transmitters that the CBC doesn't upgrade to digital should be sold to community groups and private companies that would upgrade and operate these stations as CBC affiliates. </p>
<p>CBC's license from the CRTC is up for renewal within the one year analog stay of execution.&#160; If the CRTC and the elected officials the CRTC answers to hear from enough Canadians that, letting CBC shut down transmitters is unacceptable and doing such is a failure of the CBC's mandate of universal accessibility to all Canadians.&#160; The only alternative arrangement that CRTC would have is revoking the license for the CBC to operate their network.</p>
<p>An addendum to the story, the proposed upgrade the transmitter of CBAT, the CBC station that serves Fredriction and Saint John, New Brunswick was finally approved by the CRTC.&#160; CBC's original application was rejected by the CRTC back in January because CBC proposed installing a digital transmitter to serve Fredricton leaving viewers who rely on over the air signals in Saint John stuck with analog.  As much as it should be said that a better proposal came from the CBC that would provide digital OTA service to both Fredricton and Saint John, it's not.  The application to operate the digital transmitter is the same as the application that the CRTC rejected.  Saint John TV viewers will get the same analog service after August 31st.   For a public broadcaster with a mandate to serve all Canadians, the actions of the CBC have been running quite contrary to that mandate.

Are Saskatoonians Uninterested In Saving Their CBC Stations?

As previously announced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Saskatoon along with Moncton, New Brunswick, London, Ontario, and Lethbridge, Alberta are going to be losing CBC televison stations (Both English and French) on August 31st.  It is mandatory in these cities for television stations to turn off existing analog transmitters and start up digital transmitters or go off the air forever.  Minority language over the air broadcasting is also scheduled to get deep cuts as French language stations in English Canada and English language CBC stations in Quebec will cut to static. 

Many in affected communites are taking action to keep CBC available for free to all viewers.  Protest rallies have already taken place in London and Moncton.  Municipal politicians are lobbying CBC executives and federal politicans to get digital transmitters built rather than the planned end of over the air broadcasting by the CBC when August draws a close. 

Although there is activity in affected communites, in Saskatoon however there has not been any rallies, no lobbying federal politicans, there hasn't even been a single mention in the media about the digital TV transition or that CBC television will soon get the ax.  While it may seem that there is a slim chance  to save the over the air broadcast from CBC stations in the affected communities, if Saskatoonians don't do anything to try to save their local CBC station, then they won't get get anything when trying to turn on CBC television on September 1st.

CBC Television in Saskatoon To Be Eliminated

After television transmitters move from analog to to digital on August 31st, over the air TV viewers in Saskatoon will find the number of stations picked up with antennas has gone from four down to just two.  CBC is going to shut down the analog transmitters sending out the signals from CBKST (English television) and CBKFT-1 as mandated but will not be replaced with digital transmitters to take their place.  The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation considers the Saskatoon transmitters as rebroadcasting the signals that originate from CBKT and CBKFT from Regina and not actual TV stations as the reason for eliminating the Saskatoon transmitters. That will leave CFQC (CTV) and CFSK (Global) as the only two over the air TV stations that serve the Saskatoon market.

Cable providers that will mean making arrangements to bring in an alternative CBC feeds to replace the English and French channels that are being terminated. Most likely that will mean bringing in CBKT and CBKFT from Regina.  For the homes that only use over the air signals for television programming, even though it's a small percentage in a coverage area of over 300,000 people that means 20,000 or more will not have access to CBC's most popular programming, Hockey Night in Canada.  Is that something the National Hockey League would care about?

The cost of upgrading would be high, that cost would be recovered quickly due to the lower power requirements of digital television broadcasting.  Any attempt to blame the elimination of CBC television in Saskatoon on not getting the carriage fees from cable and satellite providers is yet another red herring, since CBC television gets both advertising revenue and taxpayer support.  Losing CBC television has nothing to with funding, it's all politics.


CBC's official announcement: "CBC will not be installing a digital transmitter in Saskatoon"

How Will Geeks Vote This Election

The fall of the Government and the call of the election on May 2 has made Canadians grumble about having to go through another campaign and voting for the fourth time since 2004.  For the few, the proud, the geeky dissolving parliament for an election comes just in time to kill yet another copyright bill that was nothing but a DMCA clone just weeks before it was due to become law.  

In previous elections, I personally voted Conservative partly because they were the only party that stood opposed to the blank media levy administered by the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) which is nothing but corporate welfare for the recording industry.  Making people pay the levies on blank media is making people pay a fine even if they do not do the crime.

Under the Liberals the television broadcasting industry was allowed to take a we'll get to it when we feel like it attitude towards the transition to digital broadcasting.  It was chairman of the CRTC that was appointed by prime minister Stephen Harper that took a hard line position and told the TV industry August, 31 is the day that TV stations will go digital or go off the air. 

Unlike the blank media levy where the federal parties took sides both for and against, many tech related issues that matter to geeks have gone ignored by the federal parties.  Has any of the political parties come out and said, "Yes, we support net neutrality!", sadly not that I've heard.  Has any of the federal parties stated any opposition to usage based billing for broadband service? Again not to be found. 

Technology has become a big part of the lives of Canadians issues relating to technology require strong leadership to help Canadians who use and enjoy technology come to decision they can be comfortable about when they vote on May 2.

Canada Will Not Become A Nation of 'Cord Cutters'

The biggest trend in the United States after the rise of Online video sites Netflix and Hulu, thousands have left their cable, satellite and telco subscription television services behind.  Video game consoles and devices such as Rockzz and Boxee box have moved online video from the computer to the living room TV. 

As much as Canadians love to complain about Cable, satellite and telephone companies, canuck couch potatoes North of the 49th will not be quite so willing to follow their American counterparts who have left a traditional cable or satellite to watch Internet video exclusively. 

Firstly Canadians don't have as many online video sources that are available stateside.   Netflix one of the Internet's largest providers of movies and TV shows has been in Canada for just a few months.  The selection available from netflix in Canada is just a fraction of what Netflix offers in the United States.  The Internet's other alternative to network programming that specializes in delivering network programming online Hulu.com is still a forbidden fruit in Canada. 

The biggest thorn in the side of all potential Canadian cord cutters is the current over usage based billing, where ISP's want to have through right to charge high bandwidth users (such as people watching HD programming from online sources).  It doesn't help when the major broadband providers also are the cable and telephone companies that see services such as Netflix as a threat to the subscription television services they sell already. 

One additional factor that is making cord cutting unattractive to Canadians is the lackluster commitment to high definition broadcasting on the part of Canada's broadcast networks.  HD programming over the air is only available in about half a dozen markets.  This is sure to improve after the deadline to switch to digital broadcasting on August 31st.  Two of Canada's broadcast networks are owned by a cable company and a telephone company, there is a vested interest to keep over the air viewers watching snowy analog pictures.

The cord cutting trend is freeing people from the few large companies that control media and telecommunications.  The problem in Canada is that these companies has so much control that it is practically impossible to experience the freedom to watch what you want to watch not what cable, satellite or telephone company will let you watch.

Digital Prognostications for 2011

Now only days remain in 2010, the time has arrived to take a look ahead to what I think 2011 holds in the technology industry. 

1. Digital Disaster August 31st: Now that the switch over from analog to digital is less than nine months away there still hasn't been much if any public education from television stations leaving those who use antennas to receive over the air broadcast television in the dark.  Retailers selling electronics have plenty of television sets with digital tuners in stock, but converter boxes that are required for the millions of existing TV sets that are hooked to antennas are very few and far between on store shelves.  Unless massive public education happens between now and the 31st of August many people who are dependent on over the air signals to get television will be staring at snow after the 31st.

2. No Installment of Call of Duty coming in 2011:  In the past few years many gamers have picked an early Christmas present, the latest installment of Call of Duty.  Early in November 2011 the shelves of retail stores will have a big hole on the shelves where a new installment should be.  All this is because the gutting of executives and employees from Infinity Ward one of the developers of the Call of Duty games.  As a response to controversy over the decision not to have dedicated servers CoD publisher Activision demanded changes at Infinity Ward, and most of the company tendered their resignations.  While there is a Modern Warfare 3 already in development it's expected until 2012.

3.  EA vs. Zynga: Let the legal b***h slapping begin:  At the end of 2010 the surprise success story of social network gaming, Zynga launched Cityville a game where players build (or destroy) their own virtual city.  If this sounds like a game you've probably played before that's because it is.  Electronic Arts is probably watching Cityville very closely and getting their army of lawyers ready to launch lawsuit claiming that Cityville infringes on EA's SimCity patents and copyright. 


4. Video Game Industry Downturn Becomes A Crash and Burn:  Between mid 2009 and the present video game software sales have gotten soft so to speak.  Most game publishers reporting sales down from a year ago which were down from the year before that.  Most sales declines can probably be blamed on the excess of titles to choose from but a shortage of quality games in the market.  Many games are launching at the average retail price only to fall to bargain bin prices in just weeks.  Some games are rushed through development to get into stores, such as EA Sports MMA.  Game publishers will need to cut down on the number of games being developed in order to get better games into stores.  Otherwise the current downturn will turn into something we haven't seen since the video game crash of 1983.

5.  If the Verizon iPhone launches it will be on LTE only:  It has been rumoured since launch of the original iPhone in 2007, an iPhone that runs on Verizon Wireless.  There were rumors that Apple was ordering chips from Qualcomm for a CDMA iPhone.  However the iPhone for CDMA networks has not yet materialized.  Now that Verizon now launched 4G LTE network Apple will be considering an iPhone for Verizon.  While CDMA was a popular technology, it's now outdated.  Cellular bandwidth on CDMA is limited to under 1 Mbps which was just not enough required for many Apps.  As advertised by both Apple and AT&T making a call on a CDMA phone disables any ability to use any other data requiring application such as surfing the web or retrieving an e-mail.  LTE does not have any of these constrictions.  To make sure that the iPhone experience is the same for all users regardless of their cellular carrier (you know that Apple is all about the user experience.)  That means that the dream of a CDMA iPhone will be a dream left in the past.  If Apple announces a Verizon iPhone it will be announced at the start of the year but won't launch until the end of 2011 to give Verizon time to expand their LTE network coverage.

DTV Canada Transition Update: Saskatchewan

Broadcast television is set to make the big switch from analog to digital in the Great White North in less than 10 months the stalling tactics on the part of the broadcasting industry are going to make the transition messy that will make the American version of the DTV transition a year and half ago organized and orderly.   With rebroadcast relay transmitters staying on analog and some stations changing the channel they send out their signals on, without massive public education those who depend on over the air signals to get their television will wake up after the 31st of August and have nothing to watch.  For my home province of Saskatchewan: here's how things will shake out on August 31st.

Regina:

CKCK (CTV) Analog on channel 2 ends, and digital on channel 8 begins
CFRE (Global) Analog on channel 11 ends, and digital 11 begins
CBKT (CBC English) Analog on channel 9, digital 9.1:
CBKFT (CBC French) Analog on channel 13, digital 13.1:

Saskatoon:

CFSK (Global) Analog on Channel 4 ends, and digital on channel 42 Begins
CFQC (CTV) Analog on Channel 8 ends, and digital on channel 8 begins
CBKST (CBC English) Analog on Channel 11 ends, station gets eliminated
CBKFT-1 (CBC French) Analog on Channel 13 Ends, station gets eliminated

CBC has stated that digital transmitters for Regina and Saskatoon will not be ready for the analog shutoff deadline on August 31st, 2011 because of a funding shortfall.  CBC has August 31st 2012 as the target date to have digital transmitters operational.  Under the current regulation that will leave over the air viewers without CBC service up to one year.  While CBC has applied for an extension to keep the Analog transmitters operating it is unlikely that the CRTC will approve.

364 Days Until DTV Day Canada

With the rise of the sun today, September 1st 2010 the day analog over the air television is now less than a year away.  While for the most part Television stations have failed to provide transition simulcasts of their programming in both analog and digital instead opting for a flash cut on 11:59 PM on August 31st of next year.  Television stations in the Great White North, who have done nothing to communicate that the change over is going to happen, now is the time to start. 

For those using antennas for one or more TV sets, not too much is knows on what to expect.  A few things are certain:

To keep receiving programming after August 31st older TV sets with analog tuners will need to be replaced with a set with a digital tuner or a digital converter box will need to be connected to between the antenna and the older TV set.  The antenna may be replaced as well.  Many areas especially in western Canada where for the most part TV signals have been exclusively been broadcast on VHF channels, Many TV stations will be switching from their current VHF channels to UHF channels.

The main transmitters for TV stations will be required to switch to digital, but station relays (retransmitters) will be allowed to remain analog provided that they are not using channel 52 or higher, any station relays using channels 53-69 will be moving to a lower channel to free up the 700 MHz band for public safety communications, cell phones and wireless broadband services.

For TV viewers there will be confusion in a year from now, both the CRTC and TV stations will have to clear up how people watch over the air TV and what channel to watch, stay tuned Canada, if you can.

Call To Delay Canadian DTV Transition

The transition to digital over the air broadcasting similar to what happened in the United States in June 2009 set to happen on August 31 2011, just a little more than one year away.  While most Canadian viewers who use antennas to get TV signals haven't seen any difference yet, since only five of Canada's largest cities have digital TV signals available from broadcast stations. 

Already one of Canada's broadcast networks is already claiming that they can't switch all their stations by the deadline.  It's not the impoverished (yeah right) CTV or Global, it's network with big pockets of Canada's taxpayers funding it.  CBC has announced that they won't get all their transmitters changed over to send out digital signals.  CBC stations in Yellowknife, Regina, Winnipeg, Windsor, Saint John/Fredericton, Charlottetown, Halifax and St. John's will not be switched in time according to the CBC. 

The current regulation as set out by the CRTC is that Analog broadcasting will end after 11:59 PM. While the CBC is asking for a one year extension to keep CBC broadcasts operating while they make the change over.  Under the DTV transition regulations as they are today CBC broadcasts in those cities will cease on August 31, 2011 and will resume when Digital transmitters are in place. 

Since Canada's private networks are able to make the deadline although probably just barely in some markets there is no reason that the CBC with all their access to taxpayer money can't make the switch on time as well.  The CRTC should not give CBC any special treatment, giving the CBC an extension means that the private television broadcasters will want an extension as well.  That could potentially snowball into years and years of delay before some areas of Canada will be switched over to digital TV.

Legally Free Satellite TV To Come To Canada (No Seriously)

Just like cell phones, Canadians are about to get something that they desperately need, real competition in satellite TV. A new upstart called Free HD Canada is going to seek a CRTC license to start a third Satellite TV company to serve the Great White North. The name Free HD comes from a proposal to provide Local TV stations for free to those who just buy the dish and receiver and don't choose to subscribe to any additional programming packages. That's all fine and well for those in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal who would get HD for free from the new company (people in those cities can already free High Definition local programming with an antenna.) The remaining 85% of Canadians would get the same standard def that is currently available on over the air broadcast TV.

In response Shaw Direct (formerly known as StarChoice) and Bell TV (the former ExpressVu) are proposing their own Local TV for free packages on their services. Undoubtedly CTV and Canwest Global are backing these proposals as a way to dodge the digital transition that is supposed to happen in 2011. If some executives get their way these free local TV satellite services would replace over the air broadcasting. Broadcast networks are already complaining about the cost of transitioning small market stations to digital for a small audience claiming that less than 10 percent would benefit since that's the proportion of the market that relies solely on over the air broadcast for their television programming. In the United States when the FCC and broadcaster were wrangling out their DTV transition plans the FCC used the percentage of homes that had at least one TV hooked up to nothing other than an antenna and came out with a little under half of homes would benefit from transitioning to digital television.

The proposal to transition from free over the air to free satellite is half baked to put it lightly. Many who watch broadcast television using an antenna may have satellite as an option. Many of those who rent their homes are prohibited from putting up satellite dishes by their landlords. For many others satellite just isn't a practical solution an example is those on both the west and east coasts where frequent poor weather degrades satellite signals to the point where blank TV screens are often seen.

New competition in satellite TV is a good thing, but the proposal it comes with will leave Some Canadians without any source of programming. That is something that is simply unacceptable and the CRTC and elected officials needs to hear loud and clear.

Why Canadians Should Care About DTV

Last week's changeover to digital television broadcasting in the United States went off with very few problems. This at least negates some of the excuses that Canadian TV stations give for sticking to analog only with just two years before the Canadian deadline to shut down analog. The only TV stations in Canada that have begun broadcasting in Digital are those in southern Ontario and in BC with densely populated areas close enough to the border with access to American over the air DTV signals. For the rest of us in the rest of Canada are restricted to analog only, no access to DTV converter boxes and plenty of analog only TV's still on store shelves this is not a very good sign.

The Canadian broadcasting companies claim that it would be too expensive to buy and operate digital transmitter for the 9 percent of TV households that depend solely on over the air broadcast signals. They don't factor in the households where there is at least one TV set with an antenna because people don't like paying fees for extra outlets or renting additional set top boxes. What TV station operators need to realize is that the sub-channels that broadcasters can send out with DTV can be used as a source of revenue for broadcasters. Digital Television allows TV stations better reach viewers who currently receive such poor reception that they are cable or satellite subscribers because of poor over the air reception.

Canadians are known for hating their cable, satellite and the telephone providers, so any new competition will be very welcome, switching to DTV will free up radio frequencies to allow for wireless broadband and advanced services such as VOiP and IPTV using WiMax or other wireless technology. Digital television is bringing an exciting new world but most Canadians are being held back. Start calling your local TV stations to start asking about DTV they will need to start providing answers sooner or later.

DTV Delay Passes, Keeps Analog OTA on Life Support for Another Four Months

The revised bill to delay shut off of analog over the air television until June 12th has passed the house of representatives and is going to get signed by President Barack Obama within a couple of days. The bill that is on it's way to becoming law is differs from the bill that was killed in the house last week because the delay until June 12th isn't mandated, TV stations can keep broadcasting analog until June 12th but can shut off analog on Febuary 17th.

Instead of just putting off the confusion about transisition to DTV and the shortage of converter boxes like the original bill would have done giving TV stations a window from Febuary 17th to June June 12th allows Americans to get pushed into electronics stores when they start seeing TV stations starting to disappear.

Will TV stations forgo ratings by shutting off analog, very possibily will be that way since most TV stations' cost projections for the year are based on shutting off analog transmitters on Febuary 17th. Things will happen sooner rather than later

Senate Approves Another DTV Delay Bill

After getting killed in the house of representatives, the US senate has passed another bill to delay the national switch off of analog television broadcasting. Just like in the original bill this would allow television stations to continue broadcasting analog signals until June 12th. Those advocating the delay claim that millions of homes that depend exclusively on over the air signals are not ready.

There will still millions who will be unprepared if the switch to DTV happens on February 17th or June 12th. It's not because there is not enough public awareness efforts from both government and the broadcasting industry. It's because people are keeping themselves blissfully ignorant. It will take them nothing short of their TV's going blank before they buy a TV with a digital tuner or a converter box.

When Analog gets shut off when ever it happens there is going to be a shortage of converter boxes. Even if their was a nationwide blitz of door to door selling of converter boxes delaying to June 12th wouldn't give enough time to get to all of those who watch TV's using antennas.

The coupon program running out of money just weeks before the original deadline just goes to show how badly it was designed and operated. The program should have been a mail in rebate program right from the start.

The same issues are going to arise whenever the change over to DTV happens, public safety agencies need the radio frequency spectrum now, all those who get their TV from over the air broadcasting deserve the same picture and sound quality that cable and satellite subscribers get now, so let's just do it now!

Calls to Postpone Digital Switchover

The switching off of analog over the air TV signals is now just a little more than a month away and calls for a postponement haven't silenced but instead are coming from high places. Consumers' Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine claim that "millions of at-risk consumers, including rural, low-income and elderly citizens across the country could be left with blank television screens," according to Joel Kelsey and Christopher Murray of Consumers' Union.

The co-chair of the Obama-Biden transisition team, John Podesta has joined in the call for a postponement of the transition to digital broadcast television. Podestra notes that demand for the forty dollar vouchers for DTV converter boxes has increased to a point that there are now a million people on a waiting list to get vouchers.

The US government agency in charge of the voucher program, National Telecommunications and Information Administration has run out of money for the voucher program. This would seem to be problematic if the cost of the converter boxes was in the hundreds of dollars, but boxes are now approaching the forty dollar price point. Even if funding doesn't come until after the Febuary, 17th analog cutoff, there is not reason to hold off the switch over and turn the voucher program into a rebate. There are very few that can't scratch together forty dollars. DTV brings better picture and sound quality to all television viewers, don't postpone just get on with it.