Digital TV: Struggling to change channels

Congressional hearings held to speed transition

Digital TV sets are still expensive

In this story: Fraction of broadcasters have gone digital Broadcast standards debated The chicken or the egg? RELATED STORIES, SITES

By From David George
CNN Correspondent

(CNN) -- In just five years, the technology used to broadcast and receive television programs in the United States is scheduled to change.

On Thursday, Congress began hearings aimed at prodding the broadcast industry to speed up the digital changeover.

2006 is the deadline set by Congress for conversion of the U.S. television system from analog (think radio waves) to digital (a system based on the 1's and 0's of binary computer code).

The transition will force every TV viewer to either buy a new digital receiver or a set-top box to convert digital transmissions into signals that can be seen on a conventional analog TV set.

Broadcasters will have to invest a minimum of $2 million to upgrade their stations to the digital standard.

The process began in 1988, when America's broadcasters decided they needed to adopt a new High Definition (HDTV) television standard. Japan had already begun its transition to an analog HDTV system, and the U.S. industry -- particularly set manufacturers -- felt they had to do something similar to stay competitive.

A few years later the decision was made to get a jump on the world by going digital.

Congress then set 2006 as the deadline for conversion to digital High Definition Television, and gave each of the nation's 1,600 TV broadcasters a separate channel on which to broadcast a digital signal during the transition.

Today's analog channels are to be surrendered after the changeover and will be auctioned off by the government.

Fraction of broadcasters have gone digital

So far, fewer than 200 stations have gone digital. The broadcast networks offer a limited HDTV lineup comprised mostly of show biz extravangazas, sports events and evening entertainment shows.

HDTV sets are priced in the thousands -- not hundreds -- of dollars. Less than 1 percent of the country's TV households are equipped to receive an HDTV signal.

Digital reception is available from satellites and some cable TV companies, but it is standard definition television, not HDTV.

WRAL in North Carolina is the first local station to offer local news in HDTV

In addition to the $2 million cost of a new digital transmitter, TV stations will need to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in new equipment to originate HDTV programming.

So far, only one station -- WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina -- broadcasts local news in the HDTV format. WRAL management concedes there may be fewer than 500 households with sets capable of viewing the station's digital channel.

"We wish there were more," said station manager James Griffin. "But you have to start somewhere."

Broadcast standards debated

The transition to digital TV has been slowed by an industry fight over broadcast standards.

The FCC has approved a digital TV system called 8VSB. But some broadcasters prefer an alternative system called DVBT, which is used in the U.K. and approximately 40 other countries. DVBT backers say that system provides a more reliable signal than 8VSB, particularly in crowded urban areas. Late last year, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and a group called Association for Maximum Service Television conducted field tests aimed at comparing the 8VSB and DVBT standards.

8VSB came out on top. But critics charge the tests were not accurate. They claim the monitor used to sample the DVBT signal was not designed for use as a receiver without technical modification to block out competing signals. The manufacturer of the monitor -- British Technology Ltd. of Hampshire, U.K. -- agrees.

In January, BTL managing director Nicholas Jennings wrote:

"The (monitor) was not designed nor intended to operate in the harsh and open world of an out-of-doors . . . receiving environment. The integrity and validity of the data collected using our products in an environment inconsistent with its intended use can be dismissed as being irrelevant at best."

Eddie Fritts, NAB president, is dismissive of BTL's claim.

As many as 50 percent of America's TV sets may be antenna dependent

"The tests were on the up and up," Fritts told CNN in an interview. "They did not complain or even raise an eyebrow until after the tests were done and their technology proved inferior."

Sinclair Broadcasting, a Maryland-based company that owns and operates 62 television stations nationwide, says it's the American digital TV standard that is inferior.

Mark Hyman, Sinclair's VP for corporate relations, fears that if the 8VSB standard is implemented some viewers who depend on antennas for reception will not be able to view over-the-air digital TV signals.

"The problem with not being able to receive an over the air signal is that everyone who has a television set that uses an antenna, as opposed to using cable or satellite, may never see broadcast television," said Hyman. He estimates that 30 percent of American homes don't use cable or satellite at all, and that as many as 50 percent of America's TV sets may be antenna dependent.

Sinclair is in the minority, however, and the boards of NAB and MSTV have voted to continue with the transition to digital TV using the 8VSB standard.

Jim Griffin, the WRAL manager whose station was the first in the nation to receive a digital license, agrees that some viewers may be able to see WRAL's digital signal.

But, he added, the same is true with the analog signal.

"Our challenge is to figure out how to perfect the technology so it can become a reality," Griffin concluded.

Sinclair's Mark Hyman, the 8VSB critic, agrees.

"Would we be happy if someone can effect a fix to the (8VSB) standard? Absolutely, because all we want is a service that works."

The chicken or the egg?

Whether the American digital TV standard works as well as the standard adopted in most other countries may be a moot point. NAB's Eddie Fritts told CNN, "The industry has decided. We've selected a standard for over the air television and we're moving forward."

But is the industry moving fast enough to meet the 2006 deadline for full conversion to digital TV?

That's what hearings convened Thursday by Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., and the Senate Commerce Committee are designed to find out.

WRAL's Griffin says for broadcasters to hope to adhere to Congress's timetable is "probably a little too ambitious. It certainly is in terms of how slow the industry is moving in terms of providing the service."

The U.S. broadcasting industry faces a digital dilemma. Few people are buying HDTV receivers because they are too expensive and, in most areas, there isn't much HDTV programming to watch.

Set makers say prices on digital sets will come down, but only after more people start buying.

Other than government mandate, there's little incentive for broadcasters to make the big investment digital requires because virtually nobody is watching.

A classic case of the chicken or the egg?

WRAL's Jim Griffin sees the future this way:

"I think if we would get over the argument over what comes first, the chicken or the egg, and declare one -- it's the egg -- as we provide more programming, as sets become more available, we think the marketplace will embrace the technology."

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