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Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BillyG who wrote (35713)	9/4/1998 3:59:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Digital TV and Jello........................................... Digital TV: Please Stand By Much-hyped innovation not ready for fall launch Laura Evenson, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, September 3, 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High-definition television promises pictures so crisp you'll see the beads of sweat above George Clooney's surgical mask on ''ER,'' the pantyline under Jerry Rice's 49ers' uniform and the razor burns on Ally McBeal's legs. Touted as the greatest innovation to hit television since color, HDTV eventually will replace standard television. It offers twice the picture resolution of conventional television, resulting in cinema- quality images, along with dynamic sound close to the quality of a compact disc. Yet the immediate future of HDTV has never looked fuzzier. The Bay Area is in the forefront of the new technology with five stations --KBHK, KTVU, KRON, KPIX and KGO -- slated to begin digital broadcasts this fall. That is a hefty concentration, given that only about 40 of the nation's 1,600 TV stations are rushing to meet a self-imposed deadline to deliver digital channels in November. Yet enormous economic, technical and political obstacles litter their path. Consumers who want a prettier picture face the ugly prospect of spending thousands of dollars on a television for which there will be little programming, and which eventually will drop dramatically in price. Networks and local station owners must overcome myriad technical glitches and invest millions of dollars to deliver about 20 hours a week of HDTV movies, prime-time dramas and sitcoms -- all for the few households that can afford a pricey new TV set. Broadcasters must also resolve struggles with the cable industry over the retransmission of the digital signals, and with local residents over the construction of giant new antennas. As a result, the switch to digital ''is about as firm as Jell-O,'' says Jeff Block, station manager for KTVU (Channel 2), a Fox network affiliate slated to bring digital TV to Channel 56 this fall. more................................. sfgate.com