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By: Richard Del Cazzo
Web site: http://www.hdtv-hdtv.com
If you've been to an electronics store lately, you've probably
drooled over the bright, clear pictures of a high-definition
television. '
If you like being first with the newest gadgets, you're probably
among the millions who have already taken one home.
It's part of the growing trend, spurred by federal mandates,
that is pushing television well into the digital age. And
Valley companies are not missing the chance to take advantage
of the transition.
From actual manufacturing of the new sets to sending the
digital signals to your home and providing the high-definition
programs to watch, the Valley has a stake in the ongoing upgrades
to digital television and beyond. For example:
• Brillian Corp., the Tempe microdisplay maker that
spun out of Three-Five Systems Inc. last fall, expects to
introduce its first HDTV to the market in the second half
of the year. It just signed Suntron Corp., a Phoenix-based
contract manufacturer, to make the 65-inch sets, and is lining
up retailers and other distributors.
• Cox Communications has been aggressively signing up
Valley customers for its high-definition service, a subset
of its Digital Cable service, ever since its introduction
in 2002.
• Core Digital, a Tempe company that operates a fleet
of mobile television units, is gearing up to provide HDTV
broadcasting of the PGA Tour and Master's golf tournament
this summer. The 54-employee firm already has done the Super
Bowl and the NBA All-Star game in HDTV for CBS Sports.
• Motorola Inc., which last summer announced that its
Tempe labs had discovered a new way to make large flat-panel
screens, says it is happy with the progress of talks to license
the technology to electronics manufacturers.
Brillian Chief Executive Officer Vincent Sollitto likens
today's HDTV market to the early days of personal computers,
when computing power soared as quickly as prices dropped.
Congress and the Federal Communications Commission are pushing
the transition so the broadcast industry can make more efficient
use of the airwaves and the part of the spectrum used by analog
can be turned over to other uses.
The big deadline is 2007, when broadcasters must complete
the transition to digital programming. The deadline might
get extended until at least 85 percent of homes in an area
can get digital programming. Digital television set shipments
have tripled in the past two years, to 4.3 million units last
year from 1.46 million units in 2001, according to the Consumer
Electronics Association. And prices are half of what they
were five years ago, with the average digital set selling
for $1,441 last year.
About 8.8 million, or about 8 percent, of U.S. households
had digital televisions at the end of 2003, according to Scottsdale
research firm In-Stat/MDR. But many of those were high-definition
monitors, which improve picture quality, and did not have
the digital tuners used to receive digital programming, senior
analyst Michelle Abraham said.
HDTV sets are just one part of the puzzle, though. The digital
signals still have to be delivered via cable or satellite
or over the air, and programs still have to be produced in
high definition.
Only one-third of U.S. cable TV households subscribe to digital
service instead of the traditional analog service, In-stat/MDR
says. The same holds true for Cox's video customers nationwide,
although the ratio is much higher in metro Phoenix, said Tony
Maldonado, vice president of marketing.
When it comes to programs, consumers are most interested
in watching movies and sports in high definition, a study
by the Consumer Electronics Association found. But so far,
networks most often provide comedy and drama shows in that
format.
Core Digital will expand its fleet of HDTV mobile units from
one to three this year to keep up with a surprising surge
in demand for more programming, President and Chief Executive
Officer Scott Barker said.
Cox is adding NBC to its high-definition service, and plans
to keep improving the program selection and other services,
Maldonado said.
"It really does change the way people watch TV,"
he said.
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