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The home of the future will have a "Digital Nerve Center" at its core—a center that incorporates audio, video, information, and computer functions that control the house and link it to the world outside. That's the vision of Consumer Electronics Association president Gary Shapiro and the hundreds of manufacturers who comprise his organization.

At a press luncheon the first day of HE 2001, Shapiro literally leaped onstage, pronouncing the event a "robust show" and immediately launching into a broad outline of the CEA's strategy to make digital television succeed. "More consumers need to experience its benefits," he told the assembled scribes. "You can write about it all you want, but electronics are a lot like ice cream . . . you can't know what it tastes like until you try it yourself."

Despite significant obstacles, like the cable industry's refusal to carry digital signals, DTV is succeeding, Shapiro said. "More than 250 models of digital television are on the market now . . . by the end of 2001 consumers will have spent more than one billion dollars on DTV products." Such products have enjoyed a 40% price drop since 1998, he remarked, a change that, accompanied by the growing popularity of DVD, has helped propel the new format into more homes than ever before. Widescreen displays are taking off like never before, driven by DVD, according to Shapiro, who stated, "16 x 9 is huge."

Home theater sales are up 13% in 2001 compared to the same period last year, he noted, and "home theater in a box" systems are up a whopping 134% this year—an especially auspicious trend for the electronics industry in light of current economic uncertainties. Last year, 20% of all televisions sold were digital, according to Shapiro, but 46% of big screens were what he described as "real high definition sets." The format will get a big boost now that the disputes over HD broadcasting standards are finally resolved. "Manufacturers are no longer afraid to begin making DTV products in earnest," he said, "but we will continue to resist efforts to force us to include digital tuners in every set." Such mandates could double the retail prices of small televisions sets, the CEA believes.

The CEA and the National Association of Broadcasters have resolved their differences and will work together to promote digital television—a development announced at the recent NAB convention in Las Vegas. One outgrowth of the new alliance is a commitment by the NAB to begin airing free commercials to promote DTV, which should begin to appear this fall.

Noting that it "makes sense to cooperate with broadcasters," Shapiro stated that his organization's next tactic would be to apply pressure on the cable industry to deliver digital signals. "The cable industry is very slow, with a different vision from ours," Shapiro stated. The CEA and NAB will push for must-carry laws that will require the cable industry to complete the DTV delivery chain.

A "DTV summit" will take place in Washington, DC this summer to promote the format to the press. And on Capitol Hill, CEA lobbyists will push for "free trade, few limits on technology, reasonable copyright laws, and dependable electricity." New electronic components are not only reliable, but energy efficient. "We are part of the solution, not part of the problem," Shapiro asserted. He mentioned that higher fuel costs could presage good things for the electronics industry, because people may be more likely to invest in home entertainment if travel becomes prohibitive.

Alluding to the Supreme Court's Betamax decision of 1984, which upheld consumers' rights to record programs for private, non-commercial use, Shapiro said his organization is working to accommodate the entertainment industry's rightful need to protect copyrighted material while protecting consumers' rights "to record and use what they pay for." The CEA also supports continuing education for custom installers. "There is a crying need for good installers. They are critical to our future." Organizations like CEDIA and PARA are doing a good job in this department, Shapiro said.