Commentary: Multicasting Is HDTV's Worst Enemy

As we approach the analog cut off, I was awaiting the reappearance of the over the air broadcasters’ fascination with multicasting. I didn’t have to wait long as it reared its ugly head last week in an article in USA Today as appears here: http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2008-08-13-digital-tv-extra-local-channels_N.htm.

I find it distressing that broadcasters seem to be so enamored with the possibility of adding subchannels, further fracturing their dwindling audience. However, I find even more distressing the comments following the article applauding the possibilities of a Green Acres subchannel or god forbid, The Munsters. A couple of commentators are so thrilled with the new subchannels and the variety they afford him, that he has dropped cable. Wow, why do I need ESPN or The History Channel or Discovery when I can get multiple radar maps, weather channels, infomercial channels and old classic (?) TV channels in beautiful low bit rate standard definition on my high def TV! My lord!

The reason I hate -- yes Hate subchannels -- is what their presence does to the broadcaster’s main HD channel. Despite advances over the past few years in the quality of Mpeg-2 encoders employed by some broadcasters, the addition of subchannels wrecks havoc with the picture quality of the main HD channel, robbing it of the bandwidth necessary to provide us with the pristine quality image that we have come to expect and enjoy. ( I must say that I am not surprised that the author of the article totally missed this point as this is what today’s mainstream press seem to do all the time these days, namely publish incomplete or erroneous or worse articles like this USA Today puff piece, regardless of the topic. However that is an issue for another place and time)

Take a look at your typical NBC fare during the Olympics which is nothing but a pixelated mess every time something on the screen moves. While I am sure that some of this mess originates at NBC in New York due to their failure to properly upgrade their infrastructure, a good bit is caused by the presence of NBC’s Weather Plus channel, which IMHO, is a complete waste of time. Check out CBS’ NFL broadcasts on one of their owned and operated stations such as KYW in Philadelphia. What a beautiful sharp and colorful image. Take a look at that same broadcast on a non O & O station and it is often a complete mess to the point of being unwatchable solely due to multicasting. All to add a weather radar map or something just as bad. Some of these bozos are even offering two HD channels on one signal, cramming the CW as a subchannel. You might as well not even watch. In reality, the spectrum allocated to one full HD channel is barely even enough to give one quality HD image. Two? Forget about it.

If a broadcaster wants to remain locked in the 20th Century and offer their viewers multiple channels of low bit rate standard definition garbage, be my guest. Just drop HD entirely. I would rather you do that that ruin your viewers’ HD experience. As the masses continue to move to HD sets, why would a broadcaster want to appeal to a smaller and smaller market of viewers? Seem like a death wish to me. And for what? Weather channels? They are best relegated to a station’s web page. There is also that little ole’ thing known as the radio! Even better, how about getting off the couch and looking out the window!

This appeal to old TV series that are all available on DVD anyway is insanity. Why pay a thousand dollars or so on an HDTV to watch awful looking bit starved 4X3 content most of which is in black and white anyway? Just because you can get it with an antenna for free? Back in the day, broadcasters used to take great care in assuring that their product looked the best it could possibly look. They took pride in the quality of the images they transmitted. Some still do, but an increasing number obviously don’t. They would rather ruin their HD images for weather channels. Maybe they think we won’t notice. While some us us don’t care, I as well as many others sure do. Rather than increasing the number of eyeballs watching their content at any given time, all these subchannels do, assuming anyone is really watching them now anyway, is further fracture their audience. I just don;t see any viable business model for subchannels. They will never make any money off them and should just stop now.

Frankly, over the air broadcasting will die a natural death anyway, probably within 15 years as more and TV will be delivered over the internet and other platforms now involving OTA broadcasts. All multicasting will do is hasten the death of these channels. In that regard, it may be a positive development. In the meantime I would rather these broadcasters sell their license to someone who will take the time to give their viewers to quality images they deserve and get out of the business.

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