Brazil chooses ISDB for their digital broadcasts
By Matt Burns 
posted Jun 30th 2006 9:38AM
posted Jun 30th 2006 9:38AM
Brazil is happy. They have their plan for their digital TVs done. Japan is happy. Brazil choose Japan's expensive ISDB format. Everyone is happy - except Japanese This standard was chosen over ATSC and DVB. We used ATSC here in the States and it works fine, but ISDB has many benefits over our system; cost is not one of them. Brazil felt that the ISDB standard would fit their residents better now and in the future. This is the same system, by the way, that can send high-def video to your cell phone or car. The only downfall really is the cost. But then again if the States could avoid gas at three dollars a gallon and run entirely on ethanol like Brazil, then maybe we could be getting HDTV on our cell phones right now.
What is "cost"? Is it patent licensing? Is it channel bandwidth requirements? Is it processing power?
I'm trying to think of other things that could drive up cost in chosing a broadcast TV standard. I don't think it would be processing power at least ont he reciever if it works on cell phones.
It's too bad that we didn't just come up with a standard of broadcasting over IP, and essentially have standardized file or stream formats, and then convert digital TV to large network broadcast media. Then our TVs would essentially be reciving a digital file and displaying it, and it wouldn't matter if it was getting it over the air or over an RF cable, or over some other IP network.
IP Everywhere!
Cost is royalties, some of which Japan has agreed to waive, and (I guess) processing power. Brazil will have to subsidize mass-production of ISDB set top boxes, which they may not have to do if they went with ATSC or DVB.
Each station will get an extra 6 MHz chunk to broadcast digital TV. They have to use that entire 6 MHz or forfeit it completely. São Paulo, Rio, and Brasilia will start by then end of 2007. Then other state capitols, then smaller cities, then repeaters until July 2016 when the government takes analog back.