WASHINGTON (Reuters)—New, smaller television sets sold in the United States by companies like Sony Corp. and Samsung Corp. must be capable of receiving digital broadcasts by March 1, 2007, four months earlier than previously planned, U.S. regulators ruled on Thursday.
The Federal Communications Commission had set July 1, 2007, as the deadline for those television sets with screens of 13 inches to 24 inches to include digital receivers. The agency had considered moving up the date to December 31, 2006.
The FCC also agreed to apply the March 1, 2007 deadline to television sets with screens smaller than 13 inches, like battery-operated ones typically used in emergencies. The requirement did not previously apply to the smallest sets.
The FCC in June moved up by four months to March 1, 2006, the deadline requiring digital reception by all new television sets sold in the United States with 25-inch to 35-inch screens.
Already all new television sets sold in the United States that have screens 36 inches or larger must be capable of receiving digital broadcasts.
U.S. lawmakers are debating whether to set a hard date in 2008 or 2009 for television stations to switch completely to digital broadcasts and cease analog broadcasts.
The U.S. Senate has rejected an attempt to move up by a year its proposed April 7, 2009 date for the digital switch. The U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee has proposed December 31, 2008. Those differences would have to be resolved before the measure could pass and become law.
Sen. John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, withdrew an amendment to cut by two-thirds a $3 billion subsidy program to help consumers buy boxes to convert digital television signals back into analog so existing sets would continue to work.
One of the major stumbling blocks in the switch to higher-quality digital is that the new high-definition digital sets are expensive, usually well over $1,000.
However, prices have come down in recent months.
RCA recently unveiled a standard definition digital television set for $359. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has estimated the factory-to-dealer price for a digital television set was $1,159 in the first half of 2005, down more than $200 from the same period a year ago.
The association also estimated that factory sales of digital sets and equipment jumped 45 percent over the same period to about 3.8 million units.
Separately, the FCC voted to require digital television, cable, satellite and radio providers to participate in the Emergency Alert System, which alerts the public to critical information during crises like hurricanes.
All must comply by December 31, 2006, except satellite television services like EchoStar Communications Corp. which will have until May 31, 2007, according to the FCC.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1881623,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594
The Federal Communications Commission had set July 1, 2007, as the deadline for those television sets with screens of 13 inches to 24 inches to include digital receivers. The agency had considered moving up the date to December 31, 2006.
The FCC also agreed to apply the March 1, 2007 deadline to television sets with screens smaller than 13 inches, like battery-operated ones typically used in emergencies. The requirement did not previously apply to the smallest sets.
The FCC in June moved up by four months to March 1, 2006, the deadline requiring digital reception by all new television sets sold in the United States with 25-inch to 35-inch screens.
Already all new television sets sold in the United States that have screens 36 inches or larger must be capable of receiving digital broadcasts.
U.S. lawmakers are debating whether to set a hard date in 2008 or 2009 for television stations to switch completely to digital broadcasts and cease analog broadcasts.
The U.S. Senate has rejected an attempt to move up by a year its proposed April 7, 2009 date for the digital switch. The U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee has proposed December 31, 2008. Those differences would have to be resolved before the measure could pass and become law.
Sen. John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, withdrew an amendment to cut by two-thirds a $3 billion subsidy program to help consumers buy boxes to convert digital television signals back into analog so existing sets would continue to work.
One of the major stumbling blocks in the switch to higher-quality digital is that the new high-definition digital sets are expensive, usually well over $1,000.
However, prices have come down in recent months.
RCA recently unveiled a standard definition digital television set for $359. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has estimated the factory-to-dealer price for a digital television set was $1,159 in the first half of 2005, down more than $200 from the same period a year ago.
The association also estimated that factory sales of digital sets and equipment jumped 45 percent over the same period to about 3.8 million units.
Separately, the FCC voted to require digital television, cable, satellite and radio providers to participate in the Emergency Alert System, which alerts the public to critical information during crises like hurricanes.
All must comply by December 31, 2006, except satellite television services like EchoStar Communications Corp. which will have until May 31, 2007, according to the FCC.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1881623,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594
