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The rollout of digital television will continue to be hampered, unless the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) assumes a stronger leadership role, according to a semi-annual report filed November 7 by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

The manufacturers' organization filed a statement explaining its position in response to the FCC’s requirement for a report on progress in implementing agreements reached February 22, 2000 between the CEA and the National Cable Television Association (NCTA), regarding compatibility between digital cable systems, digital television (DTV), and other consumer electronics equipment. CEA officials have long maintained that foot-dragging by the cable industry is the biggest impediment to widespread acceptance of DTV.

Its most recent report reiterated that statement, emphasizing the difficulties manufacturers have in designing products for changing or uncertain standards. “CEA has little good news to convey to the Commission regarding cable compatibility,” the report stated. “CEA members remain unable to design or build any product with minimum competitive functionality for direct operation on a cable system, and CEA remains concerned about the lack of commitment by individual cable providers to implement industry standards.”

Manufacturers are unable to build compatible products for sale in a competitive marketplace, because no final standard has been completed for the point-of-deployment (POD) host device, the association claims. The cable industry, which supplies television signals to approximately two-thirds of US households, has concentrated on "infrastructure upgrades" instead of settling basic technical issues, such as the specifications for the carriage and display of program and system information protocol (PSIP) data essential for on-screen program guides. The February 2000 agreement stipulated that developing POD and PSIP standards for digital television would take priority over other projects, a stipulation that has been largely ignored by the cable industry, according to the CEA. The lack of standards means that viewers will be "either forced to use the cable provider’s subscription guide, or be unable to effectively channel surf with a remote control. This would impose a severe and unacceptable limitation on DTV functionality and consumer choice,” the CEA report said.

The report also expressed concern about the cable industry’s desire to implement copyright provisions as part of the POD-Host Interface (PHI) license that manufacturers must sign in order to build cable compatible products. The provisions "would limit home recording rights, control market entry of new consumer electronics equipment and functionalities, compromise manufacturers’ intellectual property rights, and threaten the continued interoperability of legacy equipment now in American homes," according to a CEA press release issued after the report was filed. "The limitations on normal and customary home recording practices that would be imposed by the PHI license would significantly chill consumer demand for DTV products," the organization stated.

Although it stands by its commitments, the CEA now believes that the agreements it reached with the NCTA are "largely obsolete," and has called for FCC intervention that would allow its member firms to design and market digital television products that "seamlessly interoperate with cable systems." Such a move could "significantly accelerate the DTV transition,” the announcement concluded.