Hdtv

I admit it. I'm a techno freak. If it's new and supposedly better, I have to have it. I had a Betamax. I had a laser disc player. I was one of the first to have a TiVo. And I wanted a high-definition television, or HDTV, in the worst way. As it turns out, that's exactly how I got it. Step one was where to put it. Our 45-inch Mitsubishi was standing in a corner of the family room because the built-in bookcases did not have an opening large enough for it.

The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday narrowed the field of contestants in the high-stakes battle for the right to market a high-definition television transmission system in the United States. The FCC voted to consider only HDTV systems that will not require an extra "augmentation" channel of scarce TV space in order to provide the crystal-clear pictures and compact-disc-quality sound that the new system promises.

High-definition television is a small market, but it belongs to Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America Inc. The Irvine-based manufacturer of projection screen televisions said last week that it had a 73% share of all high-definition televisions sold last year, far outpacing consumer electronics stalwarts such as Sony Electronics Inc., Zenith Electronics Corp., Sharp Electronics Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. Mitsubishi sold the 9,639 units at prices ranging from $3,895 to $10,000.

Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics America, which in September moved its headquarters to Irvine from Georgia, has dropped its line of run-of-the-mill color televisions and now concentrates solely on large-screen, projection TVs. Although the mammoth televisions, with screens ranging from a manageable 50 inches to a block-out-the-sun 80 inches, make up only 1% of the 25 million televisions sold in the U.S. annually, their average price tag of $2,000 makes them a lucrative niche.

Mark Mandell of Sherman Oaks is on the cutting edge of television, and he may end up bleeding a little. Last year Mandell plunked down $2,000 for a Sony XBR400, a 36-inch monitor that can display high-definition TV signals when connected to the right kind of set-top box. A few months later, he bought a $900 Sony DirecTV receiver that can tune in HDTV signals via satellite or local broadcasts. The gear gives Mandell, a piano technician by trade, a far better picture than he's ever seen.

Several men watch in silent rapture as quick, blubbery sumo wrestlers gyrate and shove each other across a panoramic video display, an image that startles the eye with sparkling clarity. This visual feast is billed as tomorrow's television. But a casual visitor to the headquarters of NHK, Japan's quasi-governmental broadcast company, can follow a cavernous basement hallway to a small, darkened theater and gaze at it today.

I am greatly concerned about the public relations juggernaut regarding the "virtues" of high-definition television. My concern is not about advancements in picture quality, which have been joyously received by those of us who enjoy TV. However, since there is a rush of excitement from the cable industry, the networks and the TV manufacturers, I suspect a Trojan horse in the form of picture quality for its own sake. The problems we may soon experience if HDTV becomes the new standard will quickly parallel the problems that businesses, and now consumers, must confront with what we in advertising and graphic design refer to as "The Black Hole of Upgrades."

Cable operators and TV manufacturers have struck a long-awaited agreement designed to make it easier for consumers to get high-definition television from cable, ensure their ability to record most digital programs and preserve the value of older HDTV sets. The deal, which is expected to be announced today, would open the door for cable-ready digital TV sets that could deliver HDTV without a separate set-top box.

In a fresh sign that the race to develop the next generation of television technology for the U.S. market is speeding up, Sony Corp. announced Thursday that it will focus much of its research on high-definition TV at a major Silicon Valley facility in San Jose. The announcement, which was made in New York by a host of top Sony officials from Deputy President Masaaki Morita on down, is aimed partly at defusing fears in Washington that American industry will be left out of what is expected to be the next huge market in consumer electronics.

Agnew Tech-II of Westlake Village has been chosen by the Advanced Television Systems Committee to provide foreign-language support for its digital high-definition television demonstrations in China and Brazil. The project--which includes voice-over programs in Chinese and Portuguese, interactive presentations in Portuguese and handouts in both languages--was included in the committee's demonstrations to promote digital television technology in China and Brazil.