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From: lshaw@walt.cc.utexas.edu (logan shaw)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.amiga.tech,comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: Re: CDTV Idea!
Keywords: CDTV,Networking,Cable
Message-ID: <33522@ut-emx.UUCP>
Date: 7 Jul 90 22:08:07 GMT
References: <9350@life.ai.mit.edu> <5908@hub.ucsb.edu>
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Reply-To: lshaw@walt.cc.utexas.edu (logan shaw)
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Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
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In article <5908@hub.ucsb.edu> dz@cornu.ucsb.edu (Daniel James Zerkle) writes:

  [some stuff about downloading programs to a CDTV box deleted]

>Hmmmm.  Very interesting idea.  With a little bit of hardware, it would
>be very possible to do this sort of thing.  The FCC is now letting cable
>companies do "interesting" things during the vertical retrace period.  It
>would be possible to come up with some effective way to broadcast software
>over this sort of medium, if it has not already been done.

I can see only one problem with this:
  I imagine you're going to want to download things in the form of packets
  about the size of howevermuch data you can fit between frames.  Now,
  to keep nasty errors out (much more important for software than for
  video programs), I bet you'll have some type of checksum or some similar
  way of checking for errors.  What do you do when you've found an error?
  You can't send a packet back to the cable company telling them to retransmit
  that last packet.  So I assume you'll have to just give a little error
  message saying you couldn't record, cause there was a little error.
  I supposed you could counteract this a little bit by sending tons and
  tons of parity -- enough to detect and correct errors, but that may not
  be enough, depending on how noisy cable TV is.
  


>| Dan Zerkle home:(805) 968-4683 work:687-0110                        |
>| dz@cornu.ucsb.edu dz%cornu@ucsbuxa.bitnet ...ucbvax!hub!cornu!dz    |
>| Snailmail: 6681 Berkshire Terrace #5, Isla Vista, CA  93117         |
>| Disclaimer: My fish are stupid.                                     |
               ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ -- My fish (coincidentally named Fred)
                                     is _dead_, so there.




============================================================================
"The machine minded material man                    Logan Shaw
 desperately dreams of a brand new sedan.           lshaw@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
 Wlll he expect long lasting gain                   ========================
 from a toy that will race then rust in the rain?" - elim Hall, Things Break