CEA Expresses Strong Support Of Terry-Boucher DTV Bill

29-Jul-03

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) expressed strong support of the digital television (DTV) legislation introduced in the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee by Rep. Lee Terry (R-Nebraska) and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Virginia). The bill, titled the ""Consumer Access To Digital Television Enhancement Act Of 2003,"" will accelerate the analog-to-DTV transition by promoting swift Federal Communications Commission (FCC) action on the ""plug-and-play"" agreement reached last year between the cable and consumer electronics industries. FCC approval of the ""plug-and-play"" agreement will enable America's 70 million cable households to buy DTVs that connect directly to digital cable without a set-top box, and enjoy convenient access to HDTV offered by cable providers. In a letter sent to Rep. Terry commending his DTV leadership, CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro wrote, ""By supporting swift FCC action on the cable-consumer electronics compatibility agreement, your bill will help remove the final major obstacle to the ubiquitous deployment of DTV. This voluntary industry agreement will establish technical, marketplace and regulatory certainty for the cable and CE industries, and allow for the national portability of digital cable products."" Shapiro also commended the bill's focus on requiring broadcasters to provide full-power DTV broadcasts so that consumers relying on over-the-air DTV reception will have an effective and reliable signal. For more information about the CEA, visit www.ce.org.

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