Fullscreen HTML5Med Res (??MB)HTML4

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD Editor Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.) Technical Staff John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Robert Flynn Rick Walters Reader Services Ann Jenkinson Advertising Manager Christopher Wilson Phone (02) 9979 5644 Mobile 0419 23 9375 Regular Contributors Brendan Akhurst Garry Cratt, VK2YBX Julian Edgar, Dip.T.(Sec.), B.Ed John Hill Mike Sheriff, B.Sc, VK2YFK Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW Bob Young Photography Stuart Bryce SILICON CHIP is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. A.C.N. 003 205 490. All material copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Printing: Macquarie Print, Dubbo, NSW. Distribution: Network Distribution Company. Subscription rates: $54 per year in Australia. For overseas rates, see the subscription page in this issue. Editorial & advertising offices: Unit 34, 1-3 Jubilee Avenue, Warrie­ wood, NSW 2102. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9979 5644. Fax (02) 9979 6503. PUBLISHER'S LETTER Cable TV could be a financial black hole As I write this editorial, I am contemplating a 60cm offcut of coax used in the now-contentious Optus cable rollout. It is unlike any coax that you might normally come across. For a start it is surprisingly rigid, due to its outer sheath of solid aluminium which is itself sheathed in black plastic. It is also thicker than I thought, at 17.3mm in dia­meter. Such cable would be very costly to make and even more costly to string from poles – the supposedly cheaper option. So as I look at this 60cm piece of plumbing, I am having serious misgivings about the whole process of delivering Pay TV. Sure, I’ve already stated my opposition on the grounds that these thick cables on poles are ugly but the cost of wiring up Australia with this stuff is going to be enormous. And if the cost of cabling in the street is high, it is modest compared with the cost of running the cable into each home, supposing that even 20% of homes are going to want it. It seems as though every installation involves a couple of men and their equipment for at least a day, for just a nominal rental. At this rate, the two Pay-TV contenders are going to be losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year or maybe a whole lot more. Various articles in the financial press have attempted to analyse the possible revenue and costs associated with Pay-TV delivery and they all seem to come up with the same bottom line – it is always in the red! As far as I can tell, the reason why Optus is so furiously running out cable is so that it can compete with Telstra as soon as possible in providing a telephone service. All the much vaunted other services such as on-line banking, video phones, home shopping and so on, are much further in the future so there won’t be much revenue from those in the near term. In any case, home shopping and banking could be available quite soon via the Internet and therefore via normal telephone lines. And if Optus sees its financial salvation in a future telephone service to Australian cities, it is not reckoning on Telstra being a very savage competitor and one which will be even tougher if it is privatised. No, the more I look at Pay-TV, the more I foresee a huge financial black hole. I think Optus and Telstra are galloping pell-mell into this technology when a more rational approach would say “Hang on. Where is all this leading?”. In the 1980s we had all those high flying entrepreneurs backed by starry-eyed banks. We paid for that. Are the 1990s going to be the era of the Pay-TV debacle? We’ll pay for that too! Leo Simpson ISSN 1030-2662 WARNING! SILICON CHIP magazine regularly describes projects which employ a mains power supply or produce high voltage. All such projects should be considered dangerous or even lethal if not used safely. Readers are warned that high voltage wiring should be carried out according to the instructions in the articles. When working on these projects use extreme care to ensure that you do not accidentally come into contact with mains AC voltages or high voltage DC. If you are not confident about working with projects employing mains voltages or other high voltages, you are advised not to attempt work on them. Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd disclaims any liability for damages should anyone be killed or injured while working on a project or circuit described in any issue of SILICON CHIP magazine. Devices or circuits described in SILICON CHIP may be covered by patents. SILICON CHIP disclaims any liability for the infringement of such patents by the manufacturing or selling of any such equipment. SILICON CHIP also disclaims any liability for projects which are used in such a way as to infringe relevant government regulations and by-laws. Advertisers are warned that they are responsible for the content of all advertisements and that they must conform to the Trade Practices Act 1974 or as subsequently amended and to any governmental regulations which are applicable. 2  Silicon Chip