Reprinted with the permission of "HDTV Magazine"

HDTV Magazine SI
December 24, 2000


An Open Letter to the Television Industry


To Everyone in the Television Industry:

I have owned an HDTV for about four months now. An RCA direct view set. My yearly income is under $35,000. I spent the $4,000 on my new HDTV for the same reason I bought my first CD player nearly 20 years ago: the promise of a high quality medium that would greatly enhance my appreciation for and enjoyment of a form of art.

I remember when the Compact Disc faced similar criticism from the so-called 'experts': "Oh it's too expensive, no one's going to buy them, records sound just fine!" Today LPs are but a distant memory, but I can walk into a Wal-Mart and purchase a CD boombox for under $60 and cut-out CDs for $5. In addition, the success of the Compact Disc has
led to the advent of the CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD, and soon the FMD: 100GB of data storage on a single CD-sized disc! Something even Bill Gates couldn't have imagined possible in the early '80s when he said that no one would ever need more than 400k of data storage.

The 'experts' were wrong 20 years ago, and I believe they are wrong now.

The notion of a flawed ATSC standard is, in my opinion, a myth. A fabrication disseminated by some in the television industry, who wish to abandon broadcasting in favor of datacasting. Their reason: the promise of higher profits. So first they create an artificial crisis of confidence, then they propose a solution which by sheer coincidence, fits their datacasting needs just perfectly. They don't really care about the future of digital television.

The 'experts', then as now, always have their own special interests to protect.

13 miles from where I live, the local PBS affiliate transmits their normal analog signal (1.5 megawatts) and a digital signal (50,000 watts). Using the same HDTV and amplified outdoor antenna, the digital signal comes in to my living room bigger, clearer and sharper every time, through some of the worst weather imaginable. I've been to their studio downtown. Their HD set in the visitor's lobby is connected to an indoor hoop antenna placed near a window. Their engineers report no problems receiving the signal at all, and the studio is at least 8 miles from the transmitter. They tell me that any occasional split-second interruption in the signal is the result of flaws in the satellite transmission from PBS, and NOT from their transmitter.

So my HDTV is working just fine, thank you. Only three things are missing:
*The commitment of the suppliers of content to provide more HD programming.

*The commitment of broadcasters, DBS and cable to offer more HD programming.

*The commitment of electronics retailers to properly display more HD programming.

When I go to my local Circuit City to compare H/DTVs, I don't want to watch a demo loop from a DVD. A demo loop doesn't tell me a thing. I want the retailer to put an antenna and dish on the roof. Digital cable too. I want to see a genuine HD program: a movie from HBO-HD via Dish Network or DirecTV, a football game from CBS, a PBS
documentary. I want the salesperson to actually know more about H/DTVs than I already do from surfing the internet. I want to see components on the shelves AND in the stockroom. I compare products. I make my purchase. I invite my friends to a Super Bowl party. They go to Circuit City. Prices on sets steadily come down as demand increases.
Madison Avenue gets wind of a new advertising market. They call CBS. And the beat goes on...

If you want consumers like me to buy H/DTVs, give us a REASON to buy.

One more thing. The FCC allocated the digital spectrum, free of charge no less, for BROADcasting, not datacasting. The airwaves belong to the people, or so I've been told. Speaking on behalf of the people, the digital spectrum should be used primarily for H/DTV, and for interactive services where space permits, as the FCC originally
intended. If you want to become an Internet Service Provider, find some other part of the broadcast spectrum to do it in. 8-VSB works just fine, based on personal experience. I am confident that it will get even better, just as CDs did. Don't tell me about what's happening in Sweden. I'm an American. I lead, I don't follow.

The die has been cast. This is not the time for doubt. It's time to finish what was started, time for the American television industry to 'get with the program'.

I want my H/DTV.

Christopher J. Golas, Amherst, MA