“Contrary to what you may have heard otherwise,” the role of U.S. companies in the development and production of DTV products “is quite significant,” CEA Pres. Gary Shapiro told the Senate Commerce Committee in a letter Fri.
Broadcasters now accept a 2009 hard analog cutoff date “and we're ready,” NAB Pres. Edward Fritts told a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Tues. on the DTV transition. His declaration was a contrast to House hearings in May, when broadcasters didn’t unequivocally support a hard date.
COLOGNE, Germany -- The FCC will get more respect from judges after the Supreme Court’s Brand X ruling (CD June 28 p1), Comr. Abernathy told the U.S.-German Lawyer’s Assn. here Mon. Because the decision freed the Commission to set different access regulations for DSL-providers and cable operators, regulated industry can expect a series of decisions in coming months, Abernathy said.
Given public objections by House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.), the MPAA is unlikely to push to include a broadcast flag component in DTV legislation establishing a 2008 hard date, an MPAA spokesman told us Mon.
Any effort to extend indecency regulation to cable or other nonbroadcast media would fail a constitutional challenge, First Amendment attorney Robert Corn-Revere said in a new paper released by the Progress & Freedom Foundation. Corn-Revere dismissed the argument that as cable programming becomes more popular, it gains the pervasiveness that FCC v. Pacifica case used to justify broadcast regulation. In Pacifica, the court focused not on whether most people watched TV and listen to radio, but on whether they could control their access to programming in advance, Corn-Revere said. With technologies such as the V-chip and set-top box lock, he said, parents have more control over programming. He said legislators, recognizing First Amendment challenges to direct content regulation of cable and satellite programming, prefer regulation of business practices, such as pushing for family friendly tiers or a la carte service.
Regulation of interactivity in children’s TV programs that link kids to commercial matter shouldn’t be considered now, Walt Disney Co. told the FCC in reply comments during the digital broadcasters’ children’s TV obligations proceeding. Instead, the FCC should monitor market developments in kids’ TV and decide what regulation, if any, is needed after these services develop, Disney said. In its reply Disney, like NAB and Time Warner, challenged a Children’s Media Policy Coalition (CMPC) push for a ban on interactivity with any commercial matter during children’s programming. “CMPC’s overly regulatory approach would entangle the FCC unnecessarily in defining commercial content,” Disney said. Comments were spurred by an earlier FCC conclusion that it should prohibit commercial interactivity in children’s programming unless parents opt in to such services and sought comment on whether to revise its definition of commercial matter. NAB urged the Commission to consider an opt-out provision providing a less restrictive means of letting parents block interactive programming features using V-chip technology. CMPC speculation on the harm of interactivity isn’t an adequate basis for govt. intervention, NAB said. “Moreover, as the Commission itself has recognized in other contexts, it should not engage in unnecessary regulation of nascent and developing services,” NAB said.
Technology company Zoran went to the Hill last week to push its digital-to-analog converter technology, which it says will aid a hard DTV transition deadline. Powered by a single low-cost chip, Zoran says, the technology will let any analog set display DTV feeds. Company officials told legislative aides that within months it could provide a converter retailing for about $67, or as little as $50 in quantity. The converter could take the form of a set- top box or be integrated into new analog sets.
The Govt. Accountability Office (GAO) said DBS is growing fastest in suburban and urban areas, citing growth rates since 2001 of 32% in suburban households, and 50% in urban. Overall, GAO said, DBS subscriptions grew to 21.3 million households (17.7% of U.S. homes) in 2004, from 15.5 million in 2001. Rural areas continue to have the highest DBS penetration rate, at 29%. As satellite competes with cable, the GAO report said, key factors are whether cable operators provide advanced services, the prevalence in a given market of multiple-dwelling units and availability of local-into-local.
Two groups of prominent telecom, wireless and technology companies this week separately endorsed a hard deadline for DTV transition, igniting a debate with NAB. A new High Tech DTV Coalition unveiled Wed. and led by Janice Obuchowski, former NTIA dir. and ambassador to the World Radio Conference, backs House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton’s (R-Tex.) goal of a firm deadline. Without specifying a date, Obuchowski said her group stands behind Barton. Barton, now pushing a Dec. 31, 2006, deadline, has said he could accept a “slight” compromise. “We want the deadline to be as soon as practicable,” said coalition member Peter Pitsch of Intel.
Phillips unveiled its Nexperia One Chip Set-Top Box Engine for satellite set top boxes (STB), offering STB manufacturers a solution that reduces overall cost of ownership for entry-level satellite STBs, Phillips officials said. According to Phillips officials, the coin-size chip will let manufacturers build smaller STBs, shrinking costs and making it easier to introduce digital reception into other consumer devices like DVD recorders, TVs and PCs.