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To: tony who wrote (4058)	8/7/2002 6:07:24 PM
From: tech101	Respond to of 4134

The Pressure Is On To MSO for HDTV Signals? FCC Requires Digital Tuners in New TVs By Dawn C. Chmielewski Mercury News Posted on Tue, Aug. 06, 2002 The Federal Communications Commission will attempt to revive the moribund digital television revolution Thursday by requiring TV makers to install digital tuners in all new sets. Broadcasters hailed the expected mandate as a significant step in the digital TV transition, saying it would enable millions of Americans to view crisp, over-the-air digital broadcasts. TV manufacturers and consumer groups, however, dubbed it a ``tax'' that would add $250 to the cost of TV sets but do nothing to bring digital programming to the vast majority of consumers who subscribe to cable or satellite services. ``This would be an unnecessary and wasteful expense,'' said Mark Cooper, research director for the Consumer Federation of America, the nation's largest consumer advocacy group. ``Under this scenario, consumers wishing to buy a television are forced to pay extra for equipment they may not need.'' The absence of broadcast tuners in most new digital TVs is just one obstacle to the faltering transition to digital broadcasting, which has been hobbled by a lack of prime-time programming and a reluctance by cable operators to carry digital programs. Other industries have responded to FCC Chairman Michael Powell's calls for compliance. Ten of the nation's largest cable operators agreed to offer as many as five digital commercial stations in the top 100 markets. And the major networks -- NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox -- have agreed to provide at least half of their prime-time schedule in the ``high-definition'' format. Consumer electronics manufacturers are the lone standout. Of the more than 2 million digital televisions sold since 1998, fewer than 10 percent have separate tuners to receive and display the ultra-vivid images that the broadcast industry refers to as ``high definition television.'' Owners of such sets can view DVDs in higher resolution but not receive digital broadcasts. Powell called on TV manufacturers earlier this year to voluntarily install broadcast tuners in half of all big-screen digital televisions over the next two years -- and in all sets 13 inches or larger by 2006. It was part of a broad initiative to resolve a tangle of issues that have mired the digital TV transition, which Congress mandated in 1996. The consumer electronics industry has balked -- saying only 7 percent to 10 percent of Americans use rooftop antennas to receive over-the-air broadcasts. TV manufacturers say the FCC should, instead, pressure the cable industry to resolve licensing obstacles that prevent TV makers from producing cable-ready digital TV sets. ``It does not achieve the FCC's goal,'' said Robert Perry, marketing vice president of Mitsubishi Electronic, a leading maker of big-screen TVs. ``The FCC wants the digital TV transition to move forward, but it's somehow gotten perverted, because of pressure from broadcasters that consumers have to have built-in tuners.'' Broadcasters respond that the Consumer Electronics Association has wildly exaggerated the cost to the consumer -- which it estimates at closer to $15 a set -- even as it underestimates the benefit to consumers. More than one in three household televisions -- or 81 million sets -- tune in over-the-air broadcasts. ``We would agree with Consumer Electronics Association on one issue, that's that cable carriage issue,'' said Dennis Warton, a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters. ``But you walk before you run. The DTV tuner issue is one of the absolute fundamental issues that have got to be addressed.'' Contact Dawn C. Chmielewski at dchmielewski@sjmercury.com