FCC: No reprieve from DTV transition

[Gregg Lengling]

By Scott R. Burnell
UPI Science News
From the Science & Technology Desk
Published 10/22/2002 12:51 PM
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Television broadcasters and their audience will see a rapid shift to digital TV signals during the coming year, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell said Tuesday.

Speaking to the Association for Maximum Service Television, a gathering of industry executives, Powell said some pundits have drawn the wrong conclusion from discredited Internet business plans and other economic signals.

"It would be a grave error to see the present setback in digital life as either a validation of the old ways or a rejection of digital change," Powell said. "What we are witnessing instead is merely the classic pattern of volatile technological change. We have not been given a reprieve from change."

New technologies usually go through an initial boom and bust phase, followed by a golden age of development, Powell explained, and digital communications is no exception.

Digital television transmits video and audio signals as packets of information, much the same way wireless computer connections send their data. This not only provides sharper pictures and better sound, but also can enable added features similar to the extras found on some digital video disc titles.

A congressional mandate calls for all U.S. television stations to provide digital signals, and FCC rules have set the end of this year as a deadline for getting DTV to all Americans. Broadcasters currently transmit both traditional and digital signals, but must give up one of their allotted frequencies by 2006.

The transition has gained steam over the past year, Powell said, pointing to a 50-percent increase in broadcast prime-time programming using a high-definition signal. The number of television stations transmitting digital signals has grown from 200 to 550, he said, covering almost 92 percent of U.S. households. Cable providers also are moving to provide DTV-compatible equipment to their customers, he said.

Consumers also should be seeing more availability of DTV tuners, according to Powell. With the electronic industry's rollout starting with the most expensive sets, buyers of average sets should have very little DTV sticker shock to deal with, he added.

"We are starting to see the synergy of all these segments and I believe DTV will begin to accelerate exponentially in the next year or so," Powell said. "The trends in technology and the forces of change will ultimately demand it of any provider that hopes to be relevant in the digital future."

Nevertheless, challenges remain, including ongoing work to solve a technological problem called the digital cliff, Powell said. Because a digital receiver needs all the signal information to create a picture, there is no such thing as a snowy or fuzzy DTV signal -- it is either crystal-clear or not there at all, he said.

Retailers need to increase their efforts to educate their customers about DTV, Powell added, because consumer acceptance of the format is essential to its success. Powell elicited a few chuckles from the audience by admitting he visits stores every weekend to quiz sales people on the technology.

The FCC also is pressing electronics makers to reach common ground on system compatibility, he disclosed, and is working with the networks on copy-protection schemes. Many production companies are considering how to include DVD-like extras -- such as viewer-selected camera angles -- in their DTV programming.

Powell's choice of the DVD as an analogy, however, inadvertently points out the protracted struggle DTV has faced with broadcasters and manufacturers alike. Although DVD technology needed only a couple of years to reach the mainstream computer and home electronics markets, the AMST is marking its 16th year of DTV conferences.

Copyright © 2002 United Press International

[Tom Snyder]

 

16th year of DTV conferences.

16 years of experimentation!!!! OOPS, wrong thread.  

[Gregg Lengling]

No it's the right thread...it's just will the respected parties understand it?

Yuk, Yuk....


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Gregg R. Lengling
RCA P61310 61" 16x9
glengling@ameritech.net

[bigcheeshead]

I understand that the cost is high for the stations to make the change. But the advantages of doing it are enourmous.
Prior of getting HDTV I hardly ever watched public stations. Now I watch TMJ4 all the time. Even commercials in their full HDTV glory look appealing.
I think these companies need to take a step back and examine advantages of HDTV:
1. Flawless picture means better quality ads.
2. HDTV allows interactive TV capabilities.
3. HDTV allows the use of encryption technologies for copyright purposes. I wonder how many HDTV stations you can run on the money that were spent on Napster-like lawsuits and the government lobbying.
Companies like Faux need to stop looking at the profits/losses 5 minutes from now and start looking at their profits/loses 5 years into the future.

[Gregg Lengling]

I'm actually starting to wonder about the cost of building a DTV station...especially if you aren't going to originate but only pass through HDTV content from a network ect.  My case in point is....WVCY-DT22...granted they only have a test signal on the air but they are on the air....at least I can receive the test signal....WITI is not reliable and there is no 24 or 18 up and running....


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Gregg R. Lengling
RCA P61310 61" 16x9
HiDTV Pro 2 computer reciever card
glengling@ameritech.net