DTV Switched On

Last November 1998 witnessed a ceremonial throwing of the switch to digital television broadcasting by FCC Chairman William Kennard at the day-long Dawn Of Digital Television summit in Washington, DC.Charter sponsors for the Dawn Of Digital included ABC, CBS, Chyron, DirecTV, Faroudja, Harris Communications, NBC, Panasonic, Thomson, Runco, Samsung, Sarnoff, Sharp, Silicon Graphics, Sony, Tektronix and Zenith. The event was produced by Cahners Business Informationís Broadcasting & Cable, Digital Television and TWICE.Greg Tarr reported in TWICE that Kennard, in his remarks, said he believes digital television to be more than just HDTV, but warned not to expect the FCC to draw up the road map for the new system, whether it be pure HDTV, datacasting, two-way communication, standard-definition TV multicasting or a combination of them all.Industry ìshould take the lead I defining the future of digital television,î he said, adding the government will be there to ensure the countryís investment in digital broadcast spectrum is used in a timely and effective manner.ìWe in government will continue to monitor your progress. We will step in to remove barriers when we think it is appropriate. We will safeguard the public interest, and continue to provide information to consumers about this transition, but ultimately it is up to you to define what the nature of this medium will be,î said Chairman Kennard.Kennard added that the FCC will use its role in bringing industries together for the recent adoption of the IEEE-1394 (FireWireÆ) digital interface standard as ìa modelî for resolving other unfinished standards, and vowed the FCC will work to clear up any confusion that potentially may keep consumers from adopting digital TV products.Following the presentations, broadcasters and manufacturers put on a stunning display of sample HDTV presentations, including the launch of the John Glenn shuttle mission, a recent NFL game, and various other program outtakes.