CES Hosts Ultimate Super Bowl Party In Baltimore

Consumers braved the icy winter weather in Baltimore Sunday to watch a live, over-the-air, high-definition television (HDTV) broadcast of Super Bowl XXXIV at a party hosted by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and local ABC affiliate, WMAR-TV Channel 2. WMAR awarded HDTV Super Bowl party tickets to winners of a contest held earlier this month at local Circuit City stores. Contest winners were joined at the party by station executives, representatives of CEA and its member companies.""HDTV is the way to go. Itís the TV of the future. I love it and I want it. Itís the most amazing TV youíll ever watch,"" said Mitzi Bruttion of Baltimore. Party guests ñ most of whom experienced HDTV for the first time at the Super Bowl event ñ enjoyed the game on 56- and 64-inch widescreen Zenith HDTV sets, which displayed the crystal clear high-resolution digital signals. CEA research confirms that consumers who see HDTV are interested in purchasing the technology. In Baltimore, consumers can see digital television (DTV) products at several local retailers, including Audio Video Interiors, Best Buy, Bryn Mawr Stereo, Circuit City, Gramophone and The Big Screen Store. For those that purchase DTV, programming is available over-the-air from two local stations, WMAR (ABC) and WBAL (NBC). HDTV programming also is available to consumers via satellite from DirecTV and Echostar. ""In Baltimore, and in markets across the country, DTV is real. Broadcasters are on the air, retailers are selling DTV and consumers are experiencing the excitement of this extraordinary technology - in stores and at home,"" said CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. ""Compelling programming like the Super Bowl helps bring DTV alive for consumers.""Drew Berry, WMAR General Manager, attending the event said: ""WMAR is extremely happy to be a part of this historic event with CEA. The Super Bowl marks the largest HDTV event ever broadcast in the Baltimore area. Viewers experience the ultimate in television quality with this technology.""The consumer transition to DTV began in late 1998. Already more than 100 stations are broadcasting digital signals using the ATSC digital television standard approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1996. DTV products are available at more than 200 locations across the country. In 1999, the technologyís first full year on the market, more than 120,000 digital television products were sold. CEA predicts that more than five times that number will sell in 2000, with sales of 600,000 sets. By 2006, CEA conservatively predicts that more than 30 percent of American homes will have a DTV.

Source: Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)