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HDTV: The long wait
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March 26, 1997: 9:01 p.m. ET
It has been touted as the "future of television." But when will it arrive?
From Correspondent Allan Dodds Frank
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) -- In television showrooms around the country, something is missing -- high-definition television sets.
For nearly a decade, the television sets of the future -- digital affairs with pictures and sound twice as crisp as those of today -- have been promised, but only that. The sets are not yet available because broadcasters, the Federal Communications Commission and others have not yet settled on exactly how and when programming for the new medium will be transmitted.
"As soon as the broadcast signal is out there, we will start selling those HDTV sets," Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association, said. He said the most likely time frame would be late 1998 or 1999.
Once the networks start broadcasting digital TV, the current plan is for them to simulcast programs for a decade or so. Eventually converter boxes will be available to allow HDTV broadcasts to be received on old sets. All of which means 1997-era televisions will still work.
"Thirty to 40 percent of our big ticket customers are questioning and perhaps putting off the purchase of a large screen television because they don't want to suffer the myriad of things that go wrong with a technology change," said Franklin Karp, president of Harvey Electronics, a New York-area electronic retail chain. (44K WAV) or (44K AIFF)
The new broadcasts may be rolled out slowly, but the demand for digital sets will also be pushed as producers for the movies, the Internet and satellites embrace HDTV.
The minute high-definition television sets finally hit the stores, some buyers will rush in -- no matter what the price. Of course, that may be just the time to get a great deal on an old-fashioned analog set.
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