As the first Super Bowl to be telecast in HDTV nears, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman William Kennard has warned broadcasters and electronics manufacturers that they will face regulatory intervention if they don’t come up with solutions by April that facilitate the introduction of digital television to mass America.
Kennard issued the caveat last week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. He pointed out that while many companies showcase HDTV set models, none of those televisions can be plugged into cable, the medium through which most Americans still get their programming. Bickering over piracy issues, as well as disputes over technology compatibility standards for various pieces of equipment, were identified by Kennard as obstacles requiring immediate solutions. He said that cable operators and other media providers are battling over standards-not for the greater good of the public, but out of concern about loss of programming control and market shares.
"Your time and our patience are running out," said Kennard. "The commission has tried to let you solve this problem. We have been goading and nagging, but so far you have not finished the job." Kennard claimed that the American public will not let the FCC "wait much longer for you to agree on standards-and the law gives the commission clear responsibility to act if you do not."
Kennard informed the CES gathering that he has directed the FCC to draft proposed rules on compatibility standards, and would move toward making them law if interactive digital television isn’t moving forward significantly by April.
Currently, more than 100 TV stations reaching half of the American people offer the option of receiving high-quality digital TV signals. But the pictures are compromised through cable converters to a quality not much better than traditional analog TV sets, stated Kennard.
Meanwhile, the commercial production and post communities continue to explore DTV, including HDTV, prospects. Growing industry interest has fueled the scheduling of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP)/ Minnesota chapter’s second annual daylong seminar on HDTV. The event is slated for March 6 at the Hilton Hotel, Minneapolis.
AICP/Minnesota president Kirk Hokanson, executive producer of Voodoo Films, Minneapolis, and his colleagues are putting together a program that will consist of four sessions. The first session will provide an overview of HDTV and what it means to the advertising industry. The second will analyze origination. At that seminar, a DP familiar with digital origination, and another experienced in film origination for hi-def and the resultant transfer, will discuss what works well and what’s problematic about both scenarios. The third session will focus on postproduction issues. The fourth, dubbed "tech talk," will provide commercialmakers and ad agencies with answers to their technology-related questions.
In addition to his Minnesota chapter duties, Hokanson chairs the national AICP new technologies committee, which is exploring such areas as DTV, the Internet, broadband, personal digital recorders, DVD, enhanced television and other new, convergent media (SHOOT, 1/7, p. 1).
