Consumer Electronics Association head Gary Shapiro said yesterday that the nation's broadcasters need to stop focusing on government regulation and embrace the transition to digital television. In a speech to the National Association of Broadcasters, Shapiro lambasted the group for what he called its misleading attack on the CEA's efforts to accelerate the DTV transition by encouraging the FCC to advance the deadline for manufacturers to include digital tuners in all TVs 25 to 36 inches from July 1, 2006 to March 1, 2006. In exchange, CEA wants the FCC to eliminate the July 1, 2005 deadline that currently requires half of all TVs 25 to 36 inches to include digital tuners. The CEA believes that the NAB is falsely accusing the electronics industry of delaying the DTV transition.
The constant bickering among the consumer electronics manufacturers, the broadcasters and the cable operators with regards to the DTV transition is getting rather tiresome. These groups all have different goals with respect to digital television to be sure, and I can appreciate their respective associations' needs to feel like they are adequately representing their memberships' views to policymakers in Washington, D.C. However, I believe that consumers would like to see three things with respect to DTV: lower prices, more options and no forced obsolescence of their existing analog TVs in the near future. Reasonable people can disagree about the steps needed to attain these goals, but all sides in this debate would benefit if the rhetoric were turned down just a bit.
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