FCC Expected to Approve Standards for Digital TV

After years of development, the federal government is finally prepared to approve standards for high-definition television to bring movie-quality images into Americans’ living rooms by 1998.

The Federal Communications Commission is expected to act this week so that TV stations can use the same set of high-tech specifications to deliver crisp, digital TV signals, CD-quality sound and even sharper pictures.

For people who buy new, wider-screen digital TV sets, ABC, CBS and NBC say they’ll be broadcasting some programs in the crystal clear high definition format by 1998.

The proposal the FCC will likely approve embodies a delicate compromise made last month among the broadcast, computer and consumer electronics industries, which were in conflict over key aspects of the proposed system for nearly a year.

While the FCC’s action on setting standards is a regulatory formality, it does mark a crucial step in the nine-year journey to implement higher-quality digital television in the United States.

Vice President Al Gore, who revels in his reputation as a techno-wonk, predicts the FCC’s action will “keep America at the cutting edge of advanced technology and foster economic growth and the creation of high-wage jobs.”

Before broadcasters can provide digital TV, however, the FCC must take two other steps: It must make slices of the public airwaves available for the service; and it must issue new digital TV licenses.

Both steps are expected to be finalized next year.

Eventually, manufacturers will use the FCC’s standards as a framework to build new digital TV sets and so-called digital PC-TVs, computers that can receive the new higher-quality TV signals.

Digital TV sets, which will be more rectangular in shape, could be sold at prices at least $1,000 to $1,500 above the cost of sets today.

Because digital TV technology would allow broadcasters to squeeze more video and data into their existing channel space, viewers also could receive new services from stations for free or for a monthly fee. Those services could include additional TV channels of, say, just sports, or movies, or stock quotes or other data services transmitted to home computers.

Craig Mundie, senior vice president at Microsoft, predicted the computer software company would be “seeking business relationships with the broadcast community” to develop such services. “We think what will result is more choices for consumers on a quicker basis,” he added.

The FCC’s plan sets out many technical specifications, but lets the marketplace decide the format for displaying images on TV and computer screens as well as the screen size and shape. The agreement marked a victory for computer makers and the Hollywood film industry, but broadcasters had said they got much of what they wanted too.