kavula said:
I don't think the FCC would have jurisdiction. If you wanted OTA channels with EPG from PSID, get a regular digital tuner. If you don't want to pay a $5 access fee, subscribe to a package that already has it included. If you don't want to pay for a DVR fee, don't have a DVR (or get a 501 or 508). That doesn't make these fees "right", but E* certainly has the "right" to charge them.
Not quite correct. The FCC has jurisdiction, but at this time has chosen to request manufacturers to voluntarily comply with the Feb 1, 2005 deadline to implement PSIP EIT, the part of the PSIP that was adopted by the ATSC and FCC regulation for all broadcasters. The FCC stated that if the manufacturers fail to voluntarily comply with theui request they will have to revisit the regulation. In effect they want it to first be voluntary but if they don't comply, it will become mandatory. The same thing happened years ago with NTSC when the FCC requested UHF tuners be built into all TV sets. Later they were forced to regulate it and forbid any TV set designed to be a receiver for licensed broadcast television to include both VHF and UHF tuner capability.
So, with that said, understand that currently the FCC is not regulating the implementation of PSIP EIT in any receiver. But this fact should not stop any of you from complaining to the FCC because they want to know. If enough complaints against DishNetwork are received, the FCC will look into what's going on very seriously.
Part of the PSIP EIT implementation is that the manufacturer has a choice to offer a substitute that will equal or better the current PSIP featureset. Both D* and E* do offer this as the Tribune Media Service (TMS) but only E* charges extra for it. While this would seem to comply with the FCC's offer for a better substitute, the fact that Dish Network forces it's subscribers to purchase an unnecessary service (LIL for $5.99/mo.) to get it makes the practice somewhat unethical, IMO. And, it indeed may also violate the Sherman antitrust act as spiderg8r just stated but that is an area I'm not familiar with so I trust his statement is valid.
IMO, there are two ways change will happen with this, first is if E* realizes how silly their marketing strategy is and enough of us do what I recently did which is cancel a large portion of my subscription package as a way to demonstrate my stand against their practice of forcing LIL. I cancelled my AEP with an expressed reason I was moving my basic service to their competition because I did not agree with their policy in this area. The second thing to do is to write to the FCC and let them know that E* is using the PSIP EIT ruling to force a sale of unrelated service, in effect charging us to supply what the FCC has licensed for a free OTA broadcast. That E* is refusing to implement the EIT from the local OTA to force subscribers to pay for the value added TMS. Request that the FCC regulate the addition of PSIP EIT to all ATSC tuners for OTA broadcast signals.
Keep in mind that even if the FCC forces compliance with the regulation, this may not require E* to implement DVR features on the PSIP EIT populated grid as we all are now familiar with the TMS populated grid. Plus, the fact that the 921 only has one tuner could force the 921 to operate in a very sluggish manner as it would scan the airwaves for EIT data to populate the grid. Meanwhile the OTA function would be crippled or the guide uopdates put on hold while you actually watch or record programming. In effect, implementation of PSIP EIT will not be an elegant solution on any single tuner receiver such as the 921. The very fact that these requests are being begged for by 921 owners may become a rude awakening to the real world limitations in what PSIP EIT really can do in these tuners. Even the HD TIVO with it's dual OTA tuner would suffer some flexibility in being able to update the grid while a background recording is happening. It won't be near as ugly as the 921 or any single tuner DVR. So, the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for...
IMO, if E* did comply with the FCC request to implement EIT and then offered the enhanced TMS service as an isolated offering separated from the LIL service, they would not only be in complete compliance with the FCC guidelines, maybe free of that Sherman antitrust act violation, but also be giving customers what they really want while allowing others to opt out but would have to suffer the natural limits of the equipment they chose to buy.
