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To: findstock who wrote (2373)	8/10/1998 8:54:00 AM
From: ColleenB	Respond to of 4814

I got ahold of an article that I thought would be nice to share with the thread..... HDTVs hit the market this week By Mike Snider USA TODAY....Monday, August 3, 1998 The first consumer high-definition TV sets go on sale this week, marking th start of the new era of digital television. Panasonic has begun shipping 56-inch rear-projection sets to retailers nationwide; the first are expected to e sold Thursday in San Diego. Initially, those who pay the $5,499 to $5,999 per set will have no digital TV signals to receive. But some local TV stations and satellite companies are gearing up to begin digital TV (DTV) broadcasts this fall, when other manufacturers will roll out more models of digital TVs. The panasonic set will display full high-definition TV (HDTV) on its wide-screen display - more like the dimensions of a movie screen than most current TVs. The improved picture is achieved with 1,080 horizontal lines of resolution; today's TVs offer 525 lines. "It is startling. This is a step toward HDTV," says Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association. Early adopters who buy Panasonic's new set (Model PT-56WXF90) can watch current TV broadcasts; a built-in scan converter will boost those signals for a better picture. But to receive and convert digital signals the Panasonic TV will require a set-top decoder box, due in October. Such boxes will decode a variety of forms of DTV signals, including HDTV, for display. The San Diego-based Dow Stereo/Mideo chain, which begins selling the sets at noon Thursday, expects to sell the decoder box for about $1,500. By fall, movies, sports and other programming will begin to become available. One of the first expected to offer it is Unity Motion, a new satellite firm. Due to launch Sept. 21, Unity will sell a 28-inch satellite dish and its own set-top box for $2,495. Subscriptions, free until spring, will cost $45 a month. PBS has three experimental stations operating now and plans to have six on the air by Nov. 9, says John Tollefson, the network's chief technologist. Overall, 26 major network affiliates in the top 10 markets are expected to begin digital broadcasting over the air in November. Within five years, stations must make the switch. Whether that will be met remains to be sen. Among challenges for stations: the purchase of new transmitters and expensive broadcast and production equipment. Even finding a spot to erect transmission antennas can be a problem. "If they can't get that, they can't get on the air," Tollefson says. Dow Stereo expects to sell 25 to 30 HDTV sets the first day. We've been talking about HDTV since 1981," Dow's Tom Campbell says. "Finally, people will be able to have them in their homes."