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Anybody could explain me what is going on with Brazilian DTV?

Posted by brunogh on March 8, 2008 at 11:22 PM EST

Recently, I read Sun Microsystems And SBTVD Forum To Develop Open-Source Java Solution For Brazil's Digital TV System. Ok, looks like a nice news, but is there any reader that could explain me what is really going on?

I will try summarise my point of view, because I am not an expert on it. Brazilian open source middleware, called Ginga, is divided in two main parts: Ginga-ncl, which is uses a Brazilian scripting language called Lua (much used in embedded systems and games) and Ginga-j, which is supposed to be the Java stuff. As far as I know, Ginga-j is compatible with GEM (Globally Executable MHP) and it was having licenses and royalties problems. Also, it was being said that Ginga-j was open source, but things are not really clear, otherwise, probably, I would not being post this entry... how can you drive an open source project without clearity? Where can I download all the stuff? Where is the roadmap? So, Sun published that will help Forum do Sistema Brasileiro de TV Digital Terrestre (Forum SBTVD) to create a new plataform that will take place at Ginga. The announcement says that this platform will be compatible with Ginga, so is it a replacement for Ginga-j? How will be that?

Hope anybody could elucidate us.

Cheers,
Bruno Ghisi

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Comments

by brunogh - 2008-03-10 10:23

yeah... they said the middleware would be open source, but Ginga-j is having a lot of license/royalties issues and the all information around it are not really public as far as I know... :(

by felipegaucho - 2008-03-10 09:58

ko, I read the article and it seems both Sun software and Ginga-j will be distributed...

by brunogh - 2008-03-10 08:33

Hello Felipe, yes, I know that is just the middleware, but my point is if it will be a replacement to the actual Ginga-j, which was quite obscure... I agree with your point around the TV market, it will never be the population desire... anyway, let's see what happens...

by felipegaucho - 2008-03-10 05:46

Hi Bruno,

the agreement is to produce a Low Cost Alternative for TV Conversion, what means only the software required to transform digital signal in analogical ones..

About Brazilian initiatives to provide free/open-source artifacts for the population, I barely believe they will one day to become reality. The TV market is so rich and the country is so corrupt that I can't imagine free initiatives to prevail :(