[extropy-chat] tepid response to hdtv

[Brian Atkins]

Eugen Leitl wrote:
> On Wed, Dec 13, 2006 at 11:55:27PM -0600, Brian Atkins wrote:
> 
>> The issue will be moot in 3 more years because the FCC is finally forcing the 
>> phase out of analog over-the-air broadcasts, so by 2009-10 most all TVs sold 
> 
> This has already been occuring elsewhere (Holland, Germany, etc.). I'm personally
> less interested in HD because nowadays codecs allow flexible formats, and displays
> with interesting resolutions have been available for some time. Since I don't
> watch TV at all (unless there's personal-preference video aggregator subscription 
> available) and DRM-free HD movies are unavailable, I have to live with DVD
> scaled up to 1280x1024, which is enough for time being.
> 
>> will be HD (ATSC) compatible. This phase out will allow all that wireless 
>> spectrum to be used for more interesting things like much better wireless 
>> internet I hope/expect.
> 
> There seems to be a lot of bandwidth (16 GBit wireless transmissions recently)
> available in RF, but you need things like MIMO and ultrabroadband and
> a free line of sight between the aerials. Fiber has been inching closer and
> closer to the network edge recently, with 10 GBit/s Ethernet being default 
> standard for the backbone and 100 GBit/s Ethernet being in the works.
> If you lay 100 GBit/s capable monomode now into the living room it should
> be arguably enough for the next 25 years, or even longer.
> 

A little bit higher wireless speeds in cities will make some interesting 
possibilities. One idea I'd like to see happen would be virtual tourism where 
you can pilot around Paris or some other touristy spot your own (for a day's 
rent) robot (or modded Segway) using an app downloaded to your Xbox 360, 
receiving a high quality HD/surround sound experience from the remote city. Why 
fly there in person with all the risks, costs, annoyances when you could tour 
art museums from your couch for $50 a day, in high-def, with zoomable eyes? You 
could even use the 360's camera attachment to put your own face on your 
temporary robot for talking to folks on the other end, or use gesture 
recognition to operate its hand or other interactive parts if it had some.
-- 
Brian Atkins
Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
http://www.singinst.org/