Audio Video News

Federal Communications Chairman Michael Powell isn't the only powerful figure in Washington who is working toward a solution to the digital television impasse. Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) is doing his part, too.

On April 24, Tauzin, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told executives and lobbyists from the entertainment, electronics, broadcasting and cable industries that he and his colleagues are "bound and determined" to meet the 2006 deadline for nationwide DTV coverage. Tauzin urged all DTV participants to iron out their disagreements over copyrights and cable bandwidth allocations so the process can go forward according to schedule.

He encouraged continuing discussions over such nagging problems as content protection, and reiterated that voluntary solutions are preferable to legislative ones. Tauzin characterized Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings' controversial Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (CBDTPA) as a pressure tactic intended to motivate all concerned to settle their differences and deliver DTV to the American public.

Hollywood film studios and television networks have been reluctant to make productions available in new digital formats until some reasonably reliable form of copy protection is in place. Cable providers have stalled on opening up their distribution systems for bandwidth-intensive digital signals because they claim there is no demand.

Tauzin applauded proposals made earlier in April by Chairman Powell, and said his staff and committee would cooperate with the FCC in expediting the changeover to digital television. Once the transition is complete, broadcasters are expected to relinquish their traditional analog channels, which will then be auctioned off, likely for use in emerging wireless services. Such an auction could bring the government billions of dollars.