Achieving cost savings while converting the analog television ecosystem to digital continues to be a difficult problem. The revenue opportunities available through the conversion of the analog bandwidth to digital are well identified, but with the continued prevalence of analog legacy systems, the path to conversion is a significant challenge. How can the industry leverage the potential revenues of digital bandwidth, while continuing to provide service to those who may not want or need the digital experience?
This paper examines a cost effective path to conversion which proposes developing a basic service set-top box (STB) that would include replacing hardware-based security solutions with a lower cost tamper-resistant software solution. This change would allow subsidized digital STB roll-out and electronic provisioning of basic services, while enforcing the rights of content providers and owners.