I heard an FCC spokeswoman say that they would issue bandwidth for DTV, 18 months after the standards were agreed too........
Broadcast, computer industries
OK standards for digital TV
FCC pressure ends long dispute;
hastens merger of two technologies
<Picture>Broadcast, TV industries battle over digital TV
<Picture>Intel bets PC-TVs will become a hub of family life
Published: Nov. 26, 1996
BY RORY J. O'CONNOR
Mercury News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The computer industry and TV broadcasters agreed on a compromise plan for digital television broadcasts late Monday, assuring that the next generation of razor-sharp TV signals will work on either personal computers or TV sets.
If the plan is approved by the Federal Communications Commission, it will hasten the merger of computer and TV technology. Experts have predicted the merger will spawn a wave of new services for consumers and businesses.
The agreement on technical standards came after 10 years of dispute, which just three weeks ago seemed intractable. Now, digital TV ''is less than two years away,'' said Reed F. Hundt, chairman of the FCC. ''I'm pleased as punch with the agreement we've managed to facilitate.''
Consumers will almost certainly be able to see digital TV broadcasts ''by the end of the decade,'' said Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters. TV set makers have pledged to make digital TV sets by 1998, and several TV stations across the U.S. are already broadcasting experimental digital TV signals.
The agreement means more than just better-looking and sounding TV pictures.
Speeds evolution of PC-TV
''What I've wanted all along was enough flexibility to accelerate the evolution of PC-TV,'' Hundt sid. ''The door is now open for that.''
The merger means it will be possible to do things like watch a digital TV program and browse the Internet at the same time on the same device, said Donald Norman, vice president of research for Apple Computer Inc., one of the industry's lead negotiators.
''I've always thought about watching a nature show, and being able to browse the Internet at the same time for more information about that bird,'' Norman said.
The agreement ends a bitter dispute between the two behemoth industries over the technical details of how to send digital video signals over the airwaves.
Broadcasters and TV-set makers, who labored for eight years to develop a standard, said any delay would be expensive and that no TV station or set-maker would invest in digital equipment without a fixed government standard. The computer industry said the standard favored by broadcasters was too inflexible, wouldn't work well with computers, and would stifle innovations in digital video technology.
It appeared the standoff would seriously delay the introduction of digital TV broadcasting, and make either new TV sets or new PCs much more expensive.
Digital 'converter boxes' to adapt TVs
Under the proposed agreement, consumers might not even have to junk their existing TV sets to watch digital programs when they become available. They will likely be able to purchase inexpensive ''converter boxes'' that could decode the digital broadcasts and display them on the more than 250 million TV sets now in use in the U.S.
But the best pictures will come on new, digital sets or on personal computers outfitted to receive the signals. Norman predicted the new agreement would make it possible to build such computers ''without much impact on the price.''
Consumers as well as broadcasters, though, will have to choose what technology they want to use to receive their digital TV. Because the standard doesn't define things like ''resolution'' -- the number of dots used to display a TV image -- and the shape of the screen, the marketplace will more resemble the PC market than that of the TV. While consumers will have more choice, they also will risk of widing up with potentially obsolete technology -- as happened with Beta-technology VCRs.
Public pressure, FCC push
Mounting public pressure and constant drumbeating by the FCC appears to have pushed the two sides to reach a settlement. Negotiators worked feverishly over the past weekend and into Monday afternoon to craft an agreement in principle, Wharton said.
''We made an offer last Friday night to the computer industry, and had discussions through (Monday), and the cmoputer folks agreed to the proposal,'' he said.
''I like to think sweet reason prevailed,'' Hundt said. ''That and jaw-boning, elbow-twisting and a fair bit of huckstering. Once people understood this was important to the FCC and we asked them to put down the weapons, they did.''
The text of the agreement must be delivered to the FCC, which will then decide whether to vote on it. It appears likely that will happen, and that it will pass. But Hundt said he didn't think it would happen at next month's meeting of the commission because of time constraints. |
