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Technology Stocks : HDTV: Television of the future here now -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cordob who wrote (41)	8/8/2001 1:15:03 PM
From: Ron	Respond to of 152

Harris Corporation HRS is a manufacturer of television transmitters. Sells to markets world wide. They make the top selling HDTV transmitter..and probably the leading TV transmitter, period. Much of their market is now overseas. harris.com

To: cordob who wrote (41)	10/4/2001 12:46:08 PM
From: Ron	Respond to of 152

TV Transmitters lost in WTC attack DataTimes: Newsday, 10/03/01 The multimillion-dollar efforts of New York's television broadcasters to send superior-quality digital signals to a growing community of video enthusiasts crumbled along with the transmission tower atop the World Trade Center. Five local stations - WNBC, WABC, WWOR, WPIX and WNET - lost their antenna arrays and transmitters in the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers. Six broadcast engineers who were working on routine monitoring on the high floors of the WTC's North Tower on the morning of Sept. 11 are among the thousands of victims still missing. While most conventional analog over-the-air broadcasting has resumed for the millions of metro-area viewers who still use terrestrial antennas, restoring the higher-quality digital broadcasts is not a high priority. "I can tell you right now that WNBC is not yet broadcasting in digital and I don't know when we will be," said Anna Caronell, a spokeswoman for the station. "It took quite a few months and quite a few million dollars to get it going," she said about the WTC facility, which began sending out WNBC's digital signals in May. "It'll be quite a while before we get to it." The five transmitters on the upper floors of the North Tower, each of which costs as much as a half-million dollars, were built by the Harris Corporation. Dave Glidden of the broadcast division of Illinois-based Harris said that after the attacks, the company rushed five replacement systems to an alternate facility in Alpine, N.J., along with installers and technicians who drove to New Jersey from Texas and Louisiana. The replacement systems currently broadcast only analog signals. WNBC is one of four outlets using the Armstrong Tower in Alpine, which is 18 miles north of the WTC site. WCBS, while maintaining a backup transmitter on the WTC, sends out both its analog and digital signals from atop the Empire State Building. Fox's WNYW and UPN affiliate WWOR-TV are also broadcasting low-power signals from the Empire State. The Alpine tower has the capacity to accommodate digital transmitters as well, said Gary Merson, who publishes an Internet newsletter on digital television at hdtvinsider.com. "There's been talk about relocating to the Chrysler or Empire State buildings, but that would take one to three years," Merson said. "For that reason, I think the stations have no choice and will go with digital on the Armstrong tower." The transition to high-quality digital TV, mandated by the Federal Communications Commission to be substantially complete by 2006, has been a sluggish and often laborious process. Questions about broadcast standards hobbled marketing efforts, digital receivers and monitors were far too expensive initially to attract a mass market, and the networks provided too little content to make the investments worthwhile. Although digital and high-definition TV is still far from ubiquitous in the United States (there are slightly more than 200 stations broadcasting it now) there are signs it is growing in popularity. The CBS network has been regularly offering prime-time shows in the wide-screen, HD format, and ABC executives have announced their intention to offer more HD programming this fall. With prices of digital sets dropping consistently in the past year, the Consumer Electronics Association reported last month that sales of digital television gear amounted to revenue of $222 million in July. The number represented a 39 percent increase over June revenue. "This is really the first fall with a lot to choose from in prime- time digital content," Glidden said. "With the cost of receivers declining, there's lot of interest in seeing that DTV is restored in a timely way." Meanwhile, Glidden reminds all antenna users in the metro area to re-aim their rooftop devices toward northern New Jersey, and away from lower Manhattan.

To: cordob who wrote (41)	8/8/2002 11:27:23 AM
From: Ron	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Dissatisfied with the speed at which the industry is going digital, the Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to require television manufacturers to have digital tuners on all sets by July 2007. Commissioners voted 3-1 to require manufacturers to add the tuners to all TV sets with screens of 36 inches and larger by July 2004, while the requirement for smaller sets would be phased in over the following three years. Congress has mandated that the nation switch to digital TV, which offers clearer pictures and better sound. But the transition to this new technology has been delayed by reluctance within the industry to make the switch before most households can receive digital signals. ``This action will take these electronic appliances from being HDTV (High Definition Television) ready to HDTV reality,'' said Michael Powell, the commission's chairman. Powell rejected industry complaints that the action would force consumers to pay more for television sets, saying the price of digital tuners would drop quickly as they are mass produced. The dissenting vote came from Commissioner Kevin Martin, who noted that most TV viewers no longer receive their signals over the air and therefore do not need digital tuners. ``I believe the cost of this particular proposal outweighs the benefits,'' Martin said. Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy said the requirement was necessary to move the switch to digital TV forward. Without this requirement, ``the transition remains stalled,'' she said. ``There's no question in my mind.'' In advance of Thursday's decision, Jenny Miller, a spokeswoman for the Consumer Electronics Association, had said, ``We believe there's going to be a mandate for the inclusion of a digital broadcast television tuner in all television sets.'' But she also said she felt the manufacturers might challenge such a ruling in court, if necessary. Miller said the requirement would cost $250 for each set, amounting to an annual ``TV tax'' on the industry and consumers of about $7 billion. She said that with most consumers receiving television signals by cable or satellite, putting the tuner in all TVs would make people pay for a device most won't use. Broadcasters, who need consumers to be able to receive their digital signals, support a requirement for the tuners. They call the manufacturers' cost estimates ``outlandish and ridiculous.'' ``We don't think consumers will see any cost increase,'' said Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters. ``The simpler you make it for consumers -- you build the features into the set -- the faster you get to consumer acceptance of this new technology.'' He said digital tuners are especially important to give people access to digital broadcasts from local stations not carried by cable or satellite. The broadcast industry says 455 television stations are now broadcasting digital signals in markets that include nearly 90 percent of the nation's TV households. But they say less than 1 percent of the 25 million sets sold each year have digital tuners. Congress is requiring most broadcasters to convert by 2006 from existing analog technology to more efficient digital television, which allows much more programming and data to be transmitted over one channel. Broadcasters were given second TV channels for free to do so. When the switch is complete, broadcasters must return their analog channels to the government for other uses. Digital TV development has stalled over a number of issues, including the limited availability of high-definition programming and the pricey equipment needed for viewers to see it. Cable and satellite service providers also have balked at allocating additional space for digital programming, while local TV stations struggle with the cost of converting to digital signals.