[sbe-eas] Polygons again (was Re: Complaints about alerts)

[suzanne at mab.org]

I don't see how there's a way to deliver targeted alerts through a one-to-all medium like broadcasting (whether radio or TV).  Maybe one of you smart engineers can tell me whether it's possible, in the digital realm, to split a signal so that an alert gets delivered only to a west-northwest polygon inside a big round signal area?  Otherwise, the debate about SAME coding is moot, because we are BROADcasters.  But that's okay -- using Art's AIR acronym, the power of broadcasting is that, not only can it Alert, but it has the capability to provide the follow-on Information and Reassurance, albeit that the message may be delivered to folks who don't want their evening entertainment interrupted. -- Suzanne Goucher

-----Original Message-----
From: "Art Botterell" <acb at incident.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 6:58pm
To: "SBE EAS Exchange - a mail list for discussion about the Emergency Alert System and other emergency communication issues." <sbe-eas at sbe.org>
Subject: [sbe-eas] Polygons again (was Re: Complaints about alerts)

And of course the essence of that young lady's rant was that the alert wasn't actually for her location.  Having polygons in the CAP messages will give us the information to address that, but we still need the technology to use them.

This is an issue that engineering and management and even sales could get on the same side of.  Nobody benefits from having a targeted alert interrupt the program for everybody.  It's just the way analog broadcasting works.  But in the digital realm I feel sure we could do better.  If ever there were a forward-looking opportunity for SBE, NAB and possibly CEA, seems like this might be one.

(In fact our friend Frank Bell has some interesting ideas on this point, albeit perhaps embedded in somewhat more discourse than might be effective...;-)

- Art


On Jul 13, 2010, at 7/13/10 1:09 PM, k7cr wrote:


> There is a lot of fault to go around here.  And most of it is based on the fact

> that the participants have not taken this issue seriously enough to sit down

> and fine tune the system.

> 

> Examples -

> 

>> The cable system that has an entry point that feeds a system that covers

> many local EAS areas.   They input an EAS message and tons of their

> subscribers receive messages that do pertain to them.

> 

>> The Satellite Fed network of stations who inputs EAS messages at

> their studio location and then feeds them to stations, perhaps, hundreds of

> miles away to markets that are completely disconnected from the event.

> 

>> The Satellite Fed station that has no EAS equipment for alertiing their

> customers and completed ignores events that could be life threatening

> in that local area.

> 

> I could go on.

> 

> The problem is that no-one wishes to throw a flag on these plays and

> recommend to the Feds that solutions be integrated into the rules.   This

> is coupled with the fact that someone would have to spend more money

> to correct the problem and they find it more desirable to just keep these

> little ugly facts buried.

> 

> Clay Freinwald

> 

> 

> 

> We've had a weekend here of complaints from cable viewers because a

>> severe weather warning issued Friday evening locked up in the cable system

>> and viewers couldn't get rid of the message. It's bad enough when to have

>> your program get interrupted by a Flash Flood Warning for an area that's

>> miles away from you, it's even worse when the message repeats for 20

>> minutes.

>> Adrienne

>> 

>> "Radio burps, it cries, it needs to be fed all the time, it requires

>> constant attention, but we love it." Jim Aaron WGLN

>> 

>> 

>> _______________________________________________

>> sbe-eas mailing list

>> sbe-eas at sbe.org

>> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/sbe-eas

>> 

> 

> _______________________________________________

> sbe-eas mailing list

> sbe-eas at sbe.org

> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/sbe-eas


_______________________________________________
sbe-eas mailing list
sbe-eas at sbe.org
http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/sbe-eas