Welcome, Guest • Sign In • Help

David Smith of Sinclair Broadcast Group Letter on ATSC 8-VSB Task Force

David D. Smith · 2000

Mentioned: David D. Smith, Nat Ostroff, Robert Graves

Summary

Sinclair Broadcast Group president David D. Smith urges broadcasters to attend the newly formed ATSC 8-VSB Task Force organizational meeting on March 31, 2000 in Arlington, VA. The task force, authorized by ATSC Executive Committee chairman Robert Graves, aims to address mounting evidence that 8-VSB modulation fails to meet broadcaster reception requirements.

Originally published at www.ilovehdtv.com/hdtv/headlines.html. View in Wayback Machine →

FROM DAVID SMITH OF SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP

March 24, 2000

Dear Broadcaster:

On Tuesday, March 21st at the DTV-6 meeting in Los Angeles, Nat Ostroff sat on a panel discussion with Robert Graves, Chairman of the ATSC, and representatives from Zenith and Motorola. Mr. Graves and the two manufacturersí representatives took the opportunity to praise Sinclair for its efforts to bring the serious nature of the reception problems of 8-VSB to the attention of the industry. The manufacturers were quick to point out that Sinclairís efforts alerted them to the problem and now that they were aware of it, they could work on some future solutions. Mr. Graves also announced that the ATSC Executive Committee had authorized the creation of a special task force to investigate the situation and advise the Executive Committee. This new Task Force is to hold its organizational meeting in Washington on Friday, March 31st. All members of the industry with an interest in addressing the problem and finding a solution are invited to participate, regardless of ATSC membership.

This is a new departure from the standard ATSC position and may represent the last best hope we have to reach a satisfactory solution in a short time. Sinclair was specifically invited to participate to the fullest extent possible. We intend to attend this first meeting.

The organization of this Task Force and its agenda are critical to achieving anything meaningful quickly. It is an opportunity for broadcasters to regain some modest control of our future in DTV and to ensure that we are serious providers of digital services including entertainment and HDTV to all kinds of devices.

It is my hope that you will be able to attend this first organizational meeting or to send a representative. If broadcasters respond to this call, we can have a real impact on the outcome. The meeting will be held on Friday, March 31st at WETA, 2775 S. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Attendees must RSVP to: mailto:[email protected] . Additional information is available on the ATSC web site at http://www.atsc.org.

While Sinclair is not endorsing the ATSC's position, we do believe that our joint efforts have gotten us to this moment and it is a moment worth pursuing. The outcome of the meeting of the Task Force will allow us to judge the sincerity of Mr. Graves and the ATSC to respond to the mounting evidence that the 8-VSB modulation system does not satisfy the vast majority of broadcastersí requirements.

Regards,

David D. Smith,
President