CEMA Urges FCC To Dismiss Sinclair Proposal

Says Broadcaster Proposal Will Cause Substantial Delays In Digital Transition The Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) on October 14 filed a Motion for Immediate Dismissal with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to a proposal submitted earlier this week by Sinclair Broadcasting. CEMA's Motion urged the Commission to avoid a ""costly, dead-end path"" of reopening the digital television (DTV) standard approved in 1996. ""The standard has been in place for nearly three years and the transition to DTV is well underway. To revisit the standard now would cause delay DTV,"" said CEMA President Gary Shapiro. According to CEMA's Motion, the Sinclair petition is repetitive and raises technology issues already addressed in the ten-year standard development process. Regulatory intervention at this point, argues CEMA, would cause uncertainty and confusion and would not serve the public interest. ""The standard was established to provide broadcasters and manufacturers with the certainty they needed to move forward with the transition. Billions of dollars have been invested since 1996 to bring the benefits of DTV to consumers - to consider adding a new standard at this point would put us back to square one,"" said Shapiro. ""Indeed, over 300 million dollars of 8VSB consumer equipment has already been sold."" CEMA indicated that solutions were available to address reception issues outlined by Sinclair. ""Recent chip sets from several manufacturers provide excellent reception under many difficult multipath circumstances."" ""It is ironic that Sinclair's petition is now calling for the creation of multiple broadcast standards. That directly contradicts Sinclair's position outlined in a white paper during the development process - that multiple standards would drive up consumer costs while causing delay and confusion in the marketplace,"" stated Michael Petricone, CEMA's Director of Technology Policy. ""If a technical problem actually existed with the 8 VSB standard, CEMA would be in the vanguard petitioning for a change,"" Petricone continued. Our members have every economic incentive to ensure that all Americans can enjoy the benefits of DTV."" The Motion is available at www.CEMAcity.org.