While no specific fines were provided for under the FCC’s ATSC tu...
While no specific fines were provided for under the FCC’s ATSC tuner mandate, the Commission “does have broad enforcement authority” to assure set-makers compliance, CEA Vp-Technology Policy Michael Petricone told Consumer Electronics Daily. Some 6 weeks after the July…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
1 deadline by which manufacturers were required to begin incorporating ATSC tuners in 50% of their sets 36” and larger with an NTSC tuner, Petricone said it’s still not clear from the Commission’s order whether the 50% benchmark applies to the beginning of the phase-in for the next smaller class of TV sets, next July 1, or the end of the period. “Of course, at the end of the period you need to be at the 100% benchmark anyway,” he said. Petricone said the important point is that most of the new ATSC sets will also be equipped with digital CableCARD slots for unidirectional plug-&-play capability. Sales of ATSC tuners “are largely tied to the success of plug-&-play,” he said. “Manufacturers are working extremely hard to promote plug-&-play, whose success will depend, in large part, on cable’s “aggressively promoting the service and ensuring that viewers can get CableCARDs from their MSOs in a simple and consumer-friendly manner,” he said.