Talkback
by Staff -- Multichannel News, 8/10/2008 6:00:00 PM MT
Sorry Charlie, We Liked Voom
C’mon [Dish Network CEO] Charlie [Ergen], tell the truth (“Dish Loses 25,000 Subs in Q2,” Aug. 4). Voom had its, problems but you alienated all the HD customers by killing it. With the last competitive advantage removed, they left you for FiOS TV and DirecTV. You still have the best DVR, and the added HBO and Starz HD channels are a good step, but you need to make the HD regional sports networks 24/7, and need to make video-on-demand offerings similar to cable (that means free downloads if you subscribe to the pay TV channels).
Bob Murdoch Brielle, N.J.
Verizon Isn’t Living Up to Standards
Perhaps Verizon should look more closely at the technical aspects of Tru2Way and where it came from and what it is destined to become (“Verizon Opposes FCC Making Tru2way Standard,” Multichannel.com, Aug. 1). The roots of Tru2Way are OCAP (Open Cable Applications Platform) which is based on the European Standard DVB-MHP and this has now been turned into GEM (Globally Executable MHP) an all encompassing Framework for Middleware. This includes IPTV and Blu-ray BD-J (BDLive). GEM-IPTV has been launched in [South] Korea where Korea Telecom is rolling out huge numbers that have Hybrid IPTV plus terrestrial (which is the U.S. ACAP standard). Korea also uses Tru2Way on cable.
Anthony Robert Smith-Chagnieu Managing Director, Alticast Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Network DVRs: A Web-TV Killer?
I wouldn’t be surprised if telecom operators who are hawking IPTV jump on the bandwagon and use this as a way to compete with Hulu, NetFlix and Amazon’s pro-content, over-the-Internet services. The ability to record and watch television content anytime puts them on equal footing with the Web-based video offerings — along with better quality.
Om Malik, Newteevee.com www.newteevee.com
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