FCC moves up key digital deadline for set makers by four months
By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News
Federal regulators on Thursday accelerated the deadline under which new mid-size televisions must be capable of receiving higher-quality digital signals.
The Federal Communications Commission said all midsize sets – models between 25 and 36 inches – sold in the United States must have digital tuners by March 1, 2006, four months earlier than the prior deadline.
Half those sets are already required to have the devices by July 1 of this year – a separate deadline the FCC kept in place Thursday over manufacturer complaints.
All new large televisions above 36 inches will be required to have built-in digital tuners by next month, a standard unchanged by the latest rulings.
Digital signals offer viewers a clearer, more vibrant picture, without snow or other interference associated with traditional analog transmissions. The technology also allows broadcasters to offer high-definition television.
New televisions available for sale with only analog tuners will become obsolete on Dec. 31, 2006, when over-the-air broadcast signals are scheduled to switch permanently to digital.
The law setting the 2006 target deadline for the transition permits it to be extended in any market until 85 percent of the homes can receive digital TV. Proposals in Congress could extend that deadline. Most major stations currently broadcast both signal types.
Manufacturers had requested the FCC move up the 100 percent deadline for mid-size sets in order to speed up consumers' transition to digital technology.
Trade organizations applauded that portion of Thursday's ruling.
But the Consumer Electronics Association said it was disappointed that the FCC kept the 50 percent deadline that's coming up in three weeks. The group said in a prepared statement that the requirement would slow manufacturers' ability to ramp up production of digital televisions to meet the 100 percent deadline next March.
One FCC commissioner said that although she knew the decision wouldn't please set makers, the need to move the industry to digital was greater.
"While I am sympathetic to the claims that requiring only 50 percent compliance will cause some unanticipated problems in the marketplace, the proposed delay simply would exact too great a cost on the overall progress of the DTV transition," said Kathleen Q. Abernathy of the FCC in a prepared statement on the ruling.
Customer confusion
The ruling could perplex television-buying consumers who aren't sure exactly why they'll need a digital set, said Gary Arlen, president of Arlen Communications Inc.
"I find the FCC ruling could be confusing for consumers," he said in an interview Thursday. "If only half the sets have to have the tuners by July, I don't see how the FCC is going to enforce that."
Set prices shouldn't be affected even though set makers are complaining about putting more tuners inside the midsize sets, Mr. Arlen said.
"They can't afford to have higher prices on digital sets as long as the analog signals are still out there" and consumers don't see a clear need to have a digital set, he said.
Thursday's decisions could nudge more consumers into buying digital televisions, said Myra Moore, president of Digital Tech Consulting.
"It intensifies the trend," she said, but not nearly as much as the original FCC rule that established the drop-dead date for analog transmissions.
Consumer awareness that their televisions must be able to receive digital over-the-air broadcasts continues to grow after starting slowly, she said. "Last year was what I would call a hump year" when sales of digital sets turned a corner.
Analog ending soon
The FCC rulings aren't likely to cause a run or price changes on smaller sets that are analog-only, Ms. Moore said, unless some consumers like them for nostalgia value, like some music collectors prefer vinyl over digital formats.
The key difference: Analog sets won't produce any pictures in 18 months if current regulations stay in place. "And who's really fond of the snowy picture?" she asked.
Once analog signals stop, those without a digital TV who rely on over-the-air signals would need a converter box to continue using their analog sets. The converters are expected to sell for about $100 each.
Digital TVs to phase in faster
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