Globe editorial calls FM radio "outdated technology"

[Garrett Wollman]

<<On Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:35:05 -0400, Sid Schweiger <sid@wrko.com> said:

> From what I've seen and read, it's a combination of 8-VSB and the
> substantially lower-than-analog ERP allowed for digital stations.

Apples and oranges.  Digital TV is regulated for average ERP; analog
TV is regulated for peak ERP (which occurs during sync pulses).  The
peak-to-average ratio of "System M" analog TV is about 5:1 as I
understand it, which is why they chose 1000 kW as the average-power
limit for UHF DTV (versus 5000 kW peak for NTSC-M).  However, that's
not enough to account for the horrendous disadvantage the Commission
gave the VHF-low band, which I suspect reflects a failure to properly
account for the noise floor in that band, particularly when it comes
to impulse noise.  (This may in turn be related to the Commission's
vacillation over whether VHF-low would even be in the post-transition
TV band -- their mind was probably made up only when it became clear
that there wasn't anyone willing to pay Uncle Sam $billions for the
privilege of using that spectrum.)

-GAWollman