Americans Should Not Be Forced to Buy DTV Over-the-Air Tuners Says CEA

[Ioman]

Pointing to high consumer costs and the scant percentage of households relying on over-the-air television reception, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) today opposed the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) order requiring a broadcast digital television (DTV) tuner in all new TV sets.


"The FCC has just imposed a multi-billion dollar annual TV tax on American consumers," CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro said. "With fewer than 13 percent of American households relying on over-the-air reception for their TV signal, we don't need a digital broadcast tuner embedded in every new television in order to accelerate the DTV transition; we need digital cable equipment compatibility - the option for consumers to buy a high-definition set, take it home, plug it into the cable jack in their wall and turn it on just like they do today in the analog world. A mandatory digital broadcast tuner would be a costly vestigial organ in the sets used by millions of American cable and satellite viewers.


http://www.designtechnica.com/article.php?sid=2048

What do you guys think?

[dugbug]

I've given this some thought. Its true that noone really uses broadcast as a direct source anymore, but that doesn't mean we stopped watching FOX. cable companies are just big antennas from their base to your TV. They still carry the aired stations.

If the big networks become exclusively digital, the cable compaies will surely have to do something to deliver their signal. Maybe they downconvert the signals (hopefully not), or take advantage of the HD receiver already in the TV. Maybe they give everyone a new settop box (again, hopefully not).

What if the HD tuners have a cable spigot like TVs do today? They get an analog signal (carrying the digital information) over the air or over copper. Does anyone know for sure yet?

[Ioman]

Originally posted by dugbug
I've given this some thought. Its true that noone really uses broadcast as a direct source anymore, but that doesn't mean we stopped watching FOX. cable companies are just big antennas from their base to your TV. They still carry the aired stations.

If the big networks become exclusively digital, the cable compaies will surely have to do something to deliver their signal. Maybe they downconvert the signals (hopefully not), or take advantage of the HD receiver already in the TV. Maybe they give everyone a new settop box (again, hopefully not).

What if the HD tuners have a cable spigot like TVs do today? They get an analog signal (carrying the digital information) over the air or over copper. Does anyone know for sure yet?

There have been many HDTV tuner boxes in development that are specifically designed for Cable use. The reasoning and the arguement behind the cable companies, is why support a signal when we are making money now? With the cost of equipment on both the customers and the cable companies end, it will be several years before they break even.

Here are my thoughts on HDTV. If the cable companies wont support it and HDTV tuners are not built into the television sets, then why even try to push consumers to adopt it. The general consumer mass want something that is a standard and as easy as possible to use. Add an HDTV tuner, an OTA antennae and subchannels to the mix and you will have an incredibly slow adoption rate. HDTV is a great technology, but they need to implement it better

[ruri]

I find it rather amusing that the Consumer Electronic Association would be against this, seeing how the FCC decision would force everyone to upgrade (read: buy) new equipments in preparation for 2006-7, which of course would benefit the likes of Sony, Panasonic, Phillips and Toshiba. There must be something else they are not saying. I can't imagine the Sonys of the world being so altruistic and benevolent.

Personally, I prefer if the FCC allows both HDTV and current analog TV to co-exists for about a decade and let the market decides. Of course, the FCC and its benefactors (read: the wireless industry) would love to get their greedy hands on the current analog channels that would be available as soon as everyone switched to HDTV. Seems to me the people pushing for this is the wireless industry, and not the consumers. That's just wrong somehow.

[flashfire]

be careful what you wish for. The cable companies are not going to bear the burden of this switch. It will be pushed down to the consumer: higher cable rates, new equipment, new set top boxes to handle the signals etc. It will be a giant cluster unless the cable companies let the market drive the change and use a digital signal as a service differentiator. This means rural people will be the last to get the change over of course, but this happens anyway (plus I live in a city :) ).

[dugbug]

On the other hand, the cable companies are looking for an excuse to get digital set top boxes in place:

* More security (less cable theft)
* More services (such as Icontrol "tivo" service with time warner on all payperviews)
* New business models
-> Phone service over settop box
-> Internet connection over settop box


It could be a mixed blessing.

[Unregistered]

Originally posted by dugbug
On the other hand, the cable companies are looking for an excuse to get digital set top boxes in place:

* More security (less cable theft)
* More services (such as Icontrol "tivo" service with time warner on all payperviews)
* New business models
-> Phone service over settop box
-> Internet connection over settop box


It could be a mixed blessing.

I would be more than happy if televisions had built in HDTV tuners that were compatible with both cable and satellite.

[llbbl]

Don't you mean ECA ?


:P


------------------------

Man that guy is everywhere!

:cool:

[Ioman]

Originally posted by dugbug
On the other hand, the cable companies are looking for an excuse to get digital set top boxes in place:

* More security (less cable theft)
* More services (such as Icontrol "tivo" service with time warner on all payperviews)
* New business models
-> Phone service over settop box
-> Internet connection over settop box


It could be a mixed blessing.

If the cable companies are able to get a digital set-top box to the home any time soon, this will spell HUGE trouble for satellite manufacturers. As it stands, if you own satellite you need a whole seperate dish to take the signal, not to mention a $700 HDTV box which they will make you pay for UPFRONT without any lease agreement (billed monthly), I would imagine the set-top box from cable will be cheap if not free with your order, ala digital cable.

[llbbl]

I wish dugbug posted more. I like his excited avatar.

[IronSerif]

disco - did you change your name bro???

[ECA]

The main concern is:
WHO pays.
Options:
Cable company,. by making those in the upper portions lower there wages.
The customer by raising rates.

Customers are quiting cable, as there rates are so high.
I did. $37 a month and I watch 12 channels and 6 I can get off broadcast.

The problem is that for comapnies NOT to worry about shareholders in the stock market.
Problem, for peple to invest into a company, they want there money to GO up. How to make shares go up, when the market is STABLE. Cut costs, cut people, cut services, charge more for services. Once that is done, what do you have. People on top, making LOTS of money, and less service.
Most signals from Cable, are sent broadcast, or Sat. Gat a sat dish and hijack the signals you want. WHY, because they are charging us for what we can already get for free.

[llbbl]

Originally posted by IronSerif
disco - did you change your name bro???

Ya I got sick of the vindisco. As a administrator you can mess with all sorts of stuff.

I was thinking of shortening it, but I like tecknogeek also. discoteck was my oringial nickname from the mirc days. I have not made a final decsion on a good username.

I should make a new thread where you can vote on my new username :D

[llbbl]

Originally posted by Ioman
Pointing to high consumer costs and the scant percentage of households relying on over-the-air television reception, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) today opposed the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) order requiring a broadcast digital television (DTV) tuner in all new TV sets.


"The FCC has just imposed a multi-billion dollar annual TV tax on American consumers," CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro said. "With fewer than 13 percent of American households relying on over-the-air reception for their TV signal, we don't need a digital broadcast tuner embedded in every new television in order to accelerate the DTV transition; we need digital cable equipment compatibility - the option for consumers to buy a high-definition set, take it home, plug it into the cable jack in their wall and turn it on just like they do today in the analog world. A mandatory digital broadcast tuner would be a costly vestigial organ in the sets used by millions of American cable and satellite viewers.


http://www.designtechnica.com/article.php?sid=2048

What do you guys think?

All digital means is that they don't have to convert it to a radio signal to get it to your house. Its like a mandatory cable box. Most TV's today support basic services if you just plug the coax cable into the wall. No need to make everyone conform to a using a seperate box for those who want TV, when the current system works, as long as their TV is relatively new.

I think they should ditch the TV bandwidth and open it up to services such as wireless internet and consumer electronic devices.

Too bad I'm not chairman of the CEA. I know what should be done :P

[Archon]

I like that they're doing this. America getting pushed into the future, rather than slowly walking