POWELL SAYS CE INDUSTRY HAS FAILED TO MAKE REAL COMMITMENT
FCC Chmn. Powell took second swipe at CE industry in as many days Fri., saying that its latest response on digital TV tuners “is so limited, and loaded down with so many conditions, that I believe it amounts to no commitment at all.” On Thurs., Powell had commended broadcasters, cable, satellite and others -- all except CE industry -- for moving forward with plans to comply with his voluntary plan to jump- start national DTV transition. Just hours before Powell made his latest comments, CE industry announced it was asking each of its members who sell digital TV products to include over- air DTV tuner in all digital cable-compatible TVs within 18 months. But catch was that commitment would have to follow implementation of “open, national and fully featured ‘plug- and-play’ cable standard,” which currently doesn’t exist. CE industry said most manufacturers voluntarily planned to market and promote at least one set-top box that could receive and decode digital TV signals by Dec. 31, 2003. CEA said some manufacturers were “moving aggressively” to integrate digital tuners in their TV lines -- digital, analog and/or both -- within next 2 to 3 years.
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But Powell chided industry executives for demanding that certain issues be resolved to their satisfaction before they acted. “Other industries could have made similar demands,” Powell said. “Thankfully, they did not. I hope that the CE industry will reconsider.” However, he commended Zenith, saying company had exhibited “courage” for publicly supporting phased-in tuner requirement. Powell said company had made “a persuasive case” for why such requirement will benefit consumers.
In Fri. letter to FCC commissioners and congressional leaders, Zenith Senior Vp Richard Lewis said set makers “need to go further” than commitment by CEA to make more ATSC tuners available to consumers sooner “as a key element of a successful and timely transition.” But, said Zenith, “we cannot act unilaterally… The extremely price-competitive consumer electronics market demands a level playing field” where all manufacturers act on same timetable -- including low-end set makers: “In this way, the cost structure will be the same for all (not disadvantaging high-end or low-end manufacturers) and the increased volumes will drive costs down.” Zenith said that to prove its “convictions,” and without industrywide approach, it had begun shipments to dealers of first HDTV set selling for under $1,500.
CEA said it had made its latest commitment in letter Fri. to Powell, but chmn. renounced it quickly. CEA CEO Gary Shapiro said that, with more than 70% of Americans currently receiving their primary video through cable, CEA was convinced that “a successful DTV transition is dependent on the adoption and implementation of a nationwide standard for sending HDTV over cable.” Shapiro said CEA believed current lack of compatibility was “the single largest remaining obstacle to the DTV transition.” He closed letter by saying steps he outlined “respond to Chairman Powell’s challenge, address the all-important issue of cable compatibility and are pro consumer in every way.” Powell would have none of it, saying industry had failed “to make real commitments.” - - Brigitte Greenberg, Tack Nail