Audio Video News

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.

Consumers don't always appreciate the ingenuity involved in bringing high technology to market.

The first week of April was a tumultuous one for <A HREF="http://www.echostar.com">EchoStar</A>. On April 3, the Littleton, CO&ndash;based direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service abruptly announced that it would terminate any further effort to promote Internet access via StarBand Communications, Inc. The next day, the FCC ruled that EchoStar was in violation of federal regulations with its "two-dish" system for delivering local television signals. The week's one bright spot for the service was a settlement with Walt Disney Company that will keep Disney and ABC programming on EchoStar's menu.

Playback of any kind can never be any better than the recording. With this engineering truism in mind, <A HREF="http://www.photon-vision.com">Photon Vision Systems, Inc.</A> has developed a new image sensor said to offer four times the resolution of high definition television.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell has asked major networks to boost their digital programming to at least 50% of their prime-time schedules for next season. He asked broadcasters in major markets to make sure they can transmit digitally by next January without degrading their analog signals. He also asked electronics manufacturers to include digital tuners in coming generations of television sets&mdash;in 36" or larger sets by 2005, in 25" or larger sets by 2006, and in 13" or larger sets by 2007. Tuner requirements have been contested by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which claims that it does not want TV design to be "dictated by Washington."

The film industry lost one of its legends on March 27, when writer-director Billy Wilder passed away at his Beverly Hills home. Wilder had been suffering from pneumonia. He was 95.