Audio Video News

Would-be merger mates DirecTV and EchoStar Communications may not be the only television action in the Western sky if European satellite operator SES Global can win approval to beam its signals to American dishes.

High definition television has been slow to gain traction in consumer markets, partly due to ongoing struggles between the content providers and equipment manufacturers. Movie studios wish to restrict the consumer's use of an HDTV signal while manufacturers recognize that consumers will be slow to embrace any technology that becomes too cumbersome or restrictive to implement.

New broadband offerings, including high-speed Internet access and video-on-demand, may be coming soon, thanks to an April 18 decision by the <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov">Federal Communications Commission</A> (FCC).

When it comes to persuasive reasons to purchase an HDTV, nothing beats having compelling content&mdash;and lots of it. Add one more notch to the content totals: Discovery Communications announced last week that it will launch Discovery HD Theater. The company describes HD Theater as a new 24-hour network "which will transmit high-definition content in all the popular categories of entertainment offered by Discovery" including nature, history, world cultures, geographic explorations, science, education, travel, and a wealth of children's and how-to programming.

There's still not much digital programming to enjoy, but consumers are going for digital television sets in ever-increasing numbers. The <A HREF="http://www.CE.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> reports that sales of DTV sets rose 83% in February 2002 compared to the same period the previous year.

Slowly, but perhaps inevitably, digital television will become a reality. The <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA) has announced that its members will include digital tuners in large model television sets by the year 2004.