HDTV Is Here! So What?

By Chris O''Malley

Who would have believed it? After what seems like an eternity of tantalizing hype about "high-definition" television, the first digital sets are actually on their way from Sony, RCA, Panasonic and about 10 other manufacturers to showroom floors--and the first digital broadcasts will begin in a little over a month. This much anticipated debut would seem to be terrific news for tube lovers. As promised, the sets deliver supersharp digital pictures, wide-format movie-style screens and magnificent stereo surround sound. And thanks to the content-neutral nature of digital signals--"Bits are bits," they like to say in TV circles these days--you could wind up seeing web pages and e-mail on your HDTV set too.

So should everybody rush out to buy one? Well...maybe not. HDTV's obvious advantages over conventional sets are offset by significant disadvantages. For openers, there's the price tag. Sony's smallish set, with a 34-in.-diagonal screen, lists for a largish $8,999. RCA's 55-in. projection-screen set goes for $6,999. Panasonic's 56-in. projection model might appear to be a bargain at $5,999, but it can pick up only nondigital broadcasts--unless you buy the optional $1,700 digital decoder. Prices will eventually drop, of course, but Bill Mannion, general manager of Panasonic's TV division, acknowledges, "It's going to be a while, maybe years," before most consumers can afford HDTV.

Even if you're a gadget freak with deep pockets, you may think twice about buying for another reason: there may not be much HD on your TV. The FCC has mandated that the major network affiliates in the 10 largest U.S. markets (ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC) must be ready for digital broadcasts by May 1, 1999. The top 30 must be geared up six months after that. Meanwhile, about three dozen stations will voluntarily begin digital broadcasts this November.

In many cases, however, that will amount to only a few hours of HDTV programming a day, and "high definition" will not be equally high. Some programs will be broadcast at 480 lines of resolution (compared with 330 or so on conventional televisions), others at a sharper 720 lines, and still others at the maximum of 1,080. NBC says it plans to start by offering 480-line quality for daytime programming and 1,080 for some prime-time shows and specials, such as the Olympics and the broadcast premiere of Titanic.

But cable-TV customers--a full two-thirds of American households--may get a sinking feeling of another sort if they try to tune in. Cable companies are refusing, for now, to carry broadcasters' HDTV signals, saying information-rich HDTV channels overtax their systems and will force some existing cable channels off the dial. Viewers who want decent reception, therefore, will have to buy clunky, old-fashioned TV antennas if they plan to pull in digital broadcasts. Both sides hope to resolve the matter, but for the foreseeable future, "there will be a lot of finger pointing going on," says Torie Clarke, a spokesperson for the National Cable Television Association.

Conceivably, the FCC could step in and pave over some of these potholes, but chairman William E. Kennard has been careful to let the marketplace steer the bus. He concedes that the trip could be both bumpy and lengthy but insists the government's role should be limited to cajoling the parties when needed. "These decisions should be made by consumers, not government agencies," says Kennard.

One decision consumers won't have to make is whether to buy a set that uses one format or another. Back in the days when VCRs were new, you could buy a VHS or a Beta-format machine; neither could read or record on the other's tapes. Those who chose Beta generally regretted it, as vhs took over the market, video companies stopped releasing Beta-format movies, and Beta sets became essentially useless.

HDTV signals come in different types as well--different levels of resolution and different techniques of electronically "painting" images on the screen (the most common are known, for reasons most consumers needn't worry about, as "interlaced" and "progressive"). But all the sets that will be hitting the market in the next few months can decode all the available signals.

Most reassuring of all, the new sets will be able to pick up conventional TV broadcasts. You won't need two TV sets sitting side by side. Will that be enough to talk consumers into putting down the better part of $10,000? Manufacturers hope that wide-eyed excitement over this genuinely revolutionary new technology will help hide the fact that it's still a work in progress. Realistically, they expect the revolution to be a slow one.