Published: TV Technology Magazine Issue: November 20, 1997 DTV Sets Will Be Ready for Christmas '98, But What Will They Look Like? by Joe Fedele MIAMI--With the first DTV signals scheduled for broadcast sometime around November 1st of next year, many are wondering when TV set manufacturers will introduce the much-talked-about digital receivers and converter boxes necessary to see these historic transmissions. The upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this January in Las Vegas should provide some evidence of demonstration models, but no "standard features" have been announced. Although set manufacturers such as Zenith and Philips are saying that they plan to roll out these new digital receivers by the end of next year, there is still no clear understanding of what type of digital signal the networks will transmit and, thus, no specific digital TV features have been announced. As such, initial DTV set offerings will include the ability to display all 18 formats of the ATSC standard. If broadcasters should multicast their 6 Mhz signal at a later date (another undecided factor), it could present further problems for set manufacturers, who will then have to figure out how to accommodate the exact channel assignments for subchannels. While broadcasters wander aimlessly, the FCC-mandated implementation schedule remains firm and most of the TV set manufacturers have marked the 1998 Christmas season on their calendars for introduction of new digital product lines. This falls right in line with the FCC’s planned implementation schedule for the top ten major markets around the country. TV set manufacturers worldwide are salivating at the thought of the virtual gold rush in replacing the estimated 250 million TV sets over the next ten years that are currently used in about 100 million US households. Few, however, expect a mad rush to electronics stores as the first run of wide screen sets are expected to fetch from $5,000 to $7,000 each. Complicating the current state of affairs, consumers have shown an unwillingness to buy analog sets since the FCC rules put DTV in the public eye back in December. TV set sales have plummeted, forcing manufacturers to lower prices, offer trade-in incentives and put out a marketing campaign focusing on damage control to their faltering analog market sales. "HDTV will not make your new analog TV set obsolete," a Zenith information sheet proclaims. "Analog sets will continue to receive broadcasts until 2006 and all programs delivered by cable and satellite for years after that. Analog TV's will continue to work with VCRs, laserdisc players and the new digital video disc (DVD) systems." The now famous, but yet to be seen, set-top converter boxes are being touted by TV set manufacturers around the world as being the solution to their plummeting analog equipment sales. Digital television converters will allow analog sets to receive DTV broadcasts with the signal quality that digital provides minus the high definition resolution. Zenith continued that "dollar for dollar, an analog set is a terrific value and may represent your best medium-term investment." There is a perception prevalent among many broadcasters that converters will be the first run of DTV receiving equipment available to consumers. But both Neil Mitchell and Jim Gilbreath, of Philips Semiconductor’s TriMedia group, disagree. "Actually, set top boxes will probably not be the first means of receiving DTV," Gilbreath said. "Picture quality is the first and foremost issue, rather than interactivity, which a set-top box is well- suited to handle. After broadcasters begin changing the content that is sent to users, set-top boxes may be more prevalent in this area. But, actual DTV sets will be the first means." This past August, Philips Semiconductors announced that they would develop a high performance programmable DTV system based on the company’s TriMedia multimedia processor. The TriMedia processor data retrieval system will enable sets and converter boxes to extract digital data streams from a DTV signal along with the video and audio. TriMedia processor-based systems will even support interactive video imaging, such as multiple camera views of sporting events, high speed Web page delivery and multimedia applets used to supplement TV shows and advertisements. "A major advantage of the TriMedia solution is that it is future-proof," said Arthur Van der Poel, chairman and CEO of Philips Semiconductors. "When standards change and new services become rapidly available, the appropriate software is simply downloaded into the TriMedia- enabled digital television." Van der Poel reports that the company's DTV solution will support all 18 video formats specified by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) and is also expected to be delivered by late 1998. Zenith appears to be focusing their marketing more on HDTV than digital data retrieval or interactivety. "Digital television and its centerpiece application, HDTV, represent an advance in TV technology even more significant than the introduction of color." Zenith went on to say that "besides delivering much clearer images and six-channel Surround Sound, HDTV lets you watch motion pictures the way they were intended to be seen." The convergence of the PC and TV is another key topic of debate in manufacturing circles. Zenith is heavily involved in convergence products that can display computer images and provide Internet access on your TV set. The TriMedia processor also supports a reverse communications link for interactive services via the Internet and other media. This type of link utilizes an analog phone line, ISDN service, cable modem or Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Loop (ADSL). TriMedia can also decode video to support video-on-demand services over cable TV connections, as well as support built-in video telephony and computer-based applications such as video games. Yet, the high cost of converting to DTV remains a universal stumbling block for broadcasters and consumers alike. When asked about the average person’s ability to afford DTV sets, Zenith responded that these were "the same questions consumers asked in 1961 when Zenith introduced its first color television sets, which at the time, cost about as much as a new automobile." Zenith pointed out that "the pattern in consumer electronics is that first-generation products tend to be expensive and are aimed primarily at “early adopters”. Production efficiencies," otherwise known as mass production, is seen by all to be the only means of effectively dropping the price of DTV equipment to levels that make sense for consumers. This was the case with color TV, VCRs, projection sets and camcorders. "In time," Zenith said, "we'll see HDTV prices decline to more affordable levels." But how much time and how few dollars remains the biggest question unanswered by all.