The FCC And Digital TV
Michael Powell may not have as much diplomatic or military prowess as his father Colin, but he's a powerful force in the world of communications. As Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Powell has his fingers on your phone and your TV remote control.
And he's about the replace the tuner in your TV set. Well, not quite. He's not coming over to yank out your tuner but he is insisting that any large screen (36 inch or larger) TV you buy after the year 2004 be equipped with a digital tuner and that all TVs have digital tuners by 2007. Two of his fellow commissioners agree. By a vote of 3 to 1, the FCC approved this mandate on August 8th.
The broadcast industry is thrilled because it means they can finally garner an audience for their digital TV signals. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) isn't so happy because many of its members don't want the added expense of equipping TVs with digital tuners. The CEA has estimated that digital tuners could add as much as $250 per set, though the National Association of Broadcasters (which represents TV networks and stations) says that that is a highly inflated figure, citing a study from Arthur D. Little that says that the retail price of such tuners, by 2006 will be only about $16.
Digital TV is richer, clearer, sharper and has better sound that your typical analog set. The resolution is five times that of analog. Though this analogy isn't perfect, it's more or less the difference between watching a VCR compared to a DVD. HDTV picture contains 1080 vertical pixels by 1920 horizontal pixels for a total of over 2.0 million pixels. Today's analog sets display 480 vertical pixels by 720 pixels for a total of 345,600. Digital TV sets also have a different shape, more like a movie screen than a standard TV.
The FCC's goal is to eventually have all consumers watching digital TV so that the existing analog TV spectrum can be returned back to the government for re-allocation for other purposes. In other words, the day will eventually come (though I'm not sure when) when you will need a digital turner to watch TV in the United States.
As usual, consumers are caught in the middle. As if life isn't confusing enough, we now have to worry about whether the TV sets we buy today will become obsolete in a few years.
Digital TVs have been on the market since 1998 but only a small percentage of TV sets purchased are actually equipped digital tuners. For one thing, you don't need a digital tuner to watch high definition DVDs or even High Definition TV (HDTV), if you already have a cable set top box or satellite receiver that's equipped for HDTV. What's at issue here is the "free" over the air signals. The absence of these digital tuners is a problem for broadcasters who are looking for audiences for their digital programming. The NAB says that 455 stations now broadcast digital signals but not all broadcast them 24 hours a day.
There are some who worry that digital signals will make their current TV sets obsolete. If you have an older style TV that isn't "HDTV ready," than you'll never be able to use that TV to take advantage of the higher resolution video offered by digital TV. However, your set will continue to work -- even after they eliminate analog broadcasts -- as long as you equip it with a digital tuner. Most HDTV-ready sets are able to accommodate an internal or external tuner but any TV -- even an old black and white model -- will be able to work with the external set top digital adapters that are already on the market. Again, the signal quality won't improve but you will be able to view the broadcasts. You may be able to get the improved sound by connecting the adapter to your home audio system. The tuner in your old VCR, however, won't work with digital signals.
Another issue has to do with copyright protection. Today's analog sets are pretty much wide open. With some exceptions, whatever you see on the screen can be recorded to a VCR. With digital TV, broadcasters and content providers have more control over their signals. It will be possible, for example, to disable digital recording devices including those Tivo and ReplayTV personal video recorders (PVR). Thanks to digital technology it may also be possible for broadcasters to force us to sit through commercials which we can now zap over using PVRs or even VCRs. This may be good for broadcasters and media companies, but it's not going to go over well with some consumers and with consumer electronic companies that make these devices. Still, I've never seen a copy protection technology that can't be defeated. Hackers will have a field day coming up with ways to disable whatever broadcasters do to protect their signals.
So, what's a TV watcher to do? If you're happy with your existing TV set than don't do anything. There's no compelling reason, in my opinion, to rush out and buy a new set. If you do buy a new set, compare the prices of the analog sets with those that already have digital tuners and those that are "digital ready." Right now, there's a pretty big price discrepancy between HDTV and regular TV. That price gap has already come down a bit and will come down dramatically as we get closer to 2007. Personally, I plan to stick with my analog TV and, even if I were going to buy a new set right now, I'd probably opt for analog, though I'd do some comparison shopping before making that final decision. Although I have no way to know this for sure, it's my prediction that, by 2007 or maybe even 2004, the cost of a digital TV will be less than the difference between today's digital TVs and today's analog TVs.
A syndicated technology columnist for nearly two decades, Larry Magid serves as on air Technology Analyst for CBS Radio News. His technology reports can be heard several times a week on the CBS Radio Network. Magid is the author of several books including "The Little PC Book."
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