What is Digital Television

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What is Digital Television?

• Revolutionary Change
• Existing TV sets will not receive it
• Totally separate physical plant

• Digital carrier can transmit any digital content
• The television content is sent as data

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What is Digital Television?

• Digital Television uses the same RF propagation
  as analog TV
• Same Radio Shack antenna will work

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What is Digital Television?

• DTV sends a stream of digital packets

• 103,000 packets per second (188 bits/packet)
• The packet header identifies the packet as High
  Definition TV, SDTV, MP3 files, Web pages,
  Databases or other content

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When will it happen?

• 195 stations digital now
• 10 of total
• Timelines
• All commercial stations must be digital by May 1,
  2002
• All non-commercial one year later (May 1, 2003)
• All analog TV goes away in May 2006
• Assuming 85 of the population can receive a
  digital signal
• Although above timelines are the current law,
  they will almost certainly be extended

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What is Datacasting over DTV?

• Data Broadcasting
• Just like existing television
• Multicast one-to-many
• Uses a portion of the existing digital television
  signal to broadcast non-television content
• Nichecasting
• Targeted / Proprietary data distribution
• Content can be aimed at audiences too small to
  justify using mainstream television

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How Does it Compare?

• Advantages
• Cost
• Inexpensive receive equipment
• One-to-Many economies
• Infrastructure built out
• Wireless
• Provisioned very quickly
• Ubiquitous coverage
• Disadvantages
• One way
• Portable Not mobile
• Nationwide coverage several years away

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How Does it Work?

• Digital Television is a 19.39 Mbps pipe
• MPEG-2 native transport, but IP can be
  encapsulated
• Bandwidth required for DTV varies from 3.5 Mbps
  to 19.39 Mbps
• Data can use opportunistic to 15.9 Mbps
• Rates will improve over time

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How Does it Work?
19.4 Mbps
High Definition
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How Does it Work?
Standard Definition
19.4 Mbps
High Definition
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How Does it Work?
Multicast
Program 5
Program 4
19.4 Mbps
Program 3
Program 2
Program 1
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How Does it Work?
Data
Standard Definition
19.4 Mbps
High Definition
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Why Bother?

• Internet never meant to be One-to-Many

Unicast

• Success Failure for large webcasts
• 3-5 users watching the same high quality stream
  consume all of a T-1s bandwith
• Packet loss in the Internet cloud

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Why Bother?

• Television is a Multicast Medium

Multicast

• Multicasting is much more efficient when the same
  content is going to multiple locations
• 20 Million people typically watch one network TV
  program

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Why Bother?

• Users want television quality, not small windows
  at low data rates
• Bring all of the benefits of television to
  proprietary video distribution by using

Television!
Average television viewer watches 50
hours/week
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Consumers

• Television Reaches 99 of the US Population
• Consumers will be switching to DTV receivers over
  time
• Many will be datacast enabled
• Interactive television will also be possible

• Computers can be used to receive DTV now
• 100 - 400 plug in card or USB device
• Computers will eventually ship with DTV tuners

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Business Customers

• Most businesses have a thin connection to the
  outside world

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Business Customers

• Choke point is connection to the outside world
• Much more bandwidth available internally

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Business Customers

• Digital Television Provides an Alternative Path

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Business Customers

• Or bypass the internal backbone completely!

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Who is Doing it?

• SpectraRep
• iBlast
• Wavexpress
• Dotcast

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• SpectraRep is an Integrator
• We handle everything from distribution to antenna
  installation
• Business Customer Focus
• Partner with Technology Companies
• Open systems
• Buy what you need
• Satellite Distribution / Backbone
• Successfully Deployed
• Local markets now (145 stations)
• Regional / National / Consumer in the future
• Flexible Digital Rights Management
• Smartcards, dongle, software or none
• Consulting Offer

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Customer Examples

• Business to Employee
• Training
• Communication
• Distance Learning
• Retail
• Kiosks
• Point of Sale displays
• Database updates
• Market Specific
• DC Government
• Las Vegas Conventions, Gaming, Hospitality
• San Francisco Technology
• Los Angeles Entertainment

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SpectraRep Network Diagram
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• Consumer Oriented
• Movies, music, games, software updates
• Free to end user
• Content providers pay based on content delivered
• Centralized NOC (Content Ingestion Center)
• Regional / National Distribution
• 243 Stations (not all digital yet)
• Internet Connection Required for E-Commerce
• Popular Content Broadcast on a Rotating Basis
• Content Providers will Underwrite Hardware Costs

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• Consumer Oriented
• Movies, music, games, software updates
• Free to end user
• Revenue Models
• Subscription, Purchase, Pay-Per-Use, Rent-to-Own
• Prepaid model, supports micro transactions
• Users must register a credit card
• Uses Proprietary Hardware Dongle for Security
• Software allows customization so just the content
  the user is interested in is saved to the hard
  drive
• Interactive TV

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• Consumer Oriented
• Customizable Software Interface
• Works with Analog TV now,
• Transition to Higher Data Rates over DTV in the
  Future
• Uses a proprietary Dot Box Receiver
• Outboard device with its own storage
• Distribution Through Some PBS Stations

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Summary

• Digital Television offers a 19.39 Mbps digital
  pipe reaching 99 of the US Population
• DTV Datacasting is available today in the largest
  markets, all markets in 1-2 years
• Very economical for multicast content
• Viable for Enterprise customers today, consumers
  in 2-4 years.
• Complex process, but big payoff

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Mark OBrien Executive VP SpectraRep,
Inc. 703-227-9690 mobrien_at_spectrarep.com