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CES TV Talk: More Buzz than the Sequins on an Elvis Jacket January 13, 1999 LAS VEGAS--As expected, most of the hype at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) centered on digital television, with buzzwords like "convergence," "high-definition," “multicasting," "1080i," and "firewire" being used more than a casino cash machine. Not to mention at least one high-definition product announcement from each major television manufacturer. The digital debate began well before CES but officially began on Jan. 7, when Sony Electronics Inc. President Howard Stringer delivered the opening keynote address. Stringer told consumer electronics manufacturers they must work together to create one standard if they hope to achieve true home networking through a digital connection. "We must be credible, and in order to be credible, we must cooperate," Stringer said. Of course, to Stringer, cooperation between CE manufacturers means adopting Sony’s IEEE 1394 and Home Audio-Video Interoperability standards. Stringer also asked manufacturers to unite behind a plan Sony and others support to fight digital piracy with computer chips embedded in digital components. Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc. opposes the plan saying it would rather use digital copyright protection measures similar to the smart cards currently used in DBS systems. Broadcasters also got the chance to weigh in on digital delivery throughout CES. Lisa Wiersma, director of development for the Tribune Co., said Tribune’s local broadcast stations may begin to look more like its local newspapers. Tribune plans to use digital multicasting to deliver local news, sports, and weather, as well as classified and personal ads, on separate channels, she said. Nat Ostroff, vice president of new technologies for Sinclair Broadcasting, said multicasting can be profitable for local stations and predicted some larger affiliates will be able to create as many as 10 new channels. Noting cable must-carry rules are still up in the air, Ostroff jumped on the off-air antenna train. To facilitate the transition to digital, he argued, manufacturers must create small antennas that receive digital broadcasts consistently and without the use of rotors. Jerry Butler, director of digital television for PBS, warned against multicasting, saying “the big challenge is getting compelling content” for digital television. PBS, which has produced all of its own digital content so far, will concentrate on creating high-definition and data-enhanced digital broadcasts, he said. During the "DTV Supersession," Jan. 8, representatives fromthe major television manufacturers praised DBS companies for providing leadership during the move to digital broadcasts. They noted the DirecTv Inc. and Home Box Office high-definition feeds give retailers content to demonstrate the true quality of high-definition TVs, and some said they hope DBS feeds will soon be used in sports bars to show off the picture quality of high-definition. Sony’s Jim Palumbo answered a long-standing question of whether his company will follow Thomson and several other manufacturers and build DBS receivers into their digital TVs. It is a matter of when, not if, Sony will join that trend Palumbo said. Stan Hubbard, president of U.S. Satellite Broadcasting Inc., said HBO will be the most important driver of national high-definition sales because it is one of the first HDTV programmers, is available nationwide, and has a pioneering spirit in the non-network programming world. CES even got a little political when FCC commissioner Susan Ness, who Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association President Gary Shapiro called "the midwife of digital television," addressed the supersession. Ness said "consumers should not have to choose between cable and digital sets." In a veiled endorsement of digital must-carry Ness added cable companies should deliver digital broadcasts in the same format as they are delivered by broadcasters. --David Connell OTHER DIGITAL TV BEATS HBO HDTV GETS READY: Titles Coming Up On HBO HDTV March 10, 1999 THE DATA HORIZON: PBS Tackles the Bandwidth Usage Question February 24, 1999 RESEARCH: The Reports Are in, But the Conclusions Are Confusing February 10, 1999   NEW FEES: There Is No Such Thing as Free Spectrum January 27, 1999   CES: Bright Lights, Big Screens to Hit Las Vegas Dec. 16, 1998   LOCAL EFFORTS: Broadcasters Give Viewers a Push toward TV Purchase November 18, 1998   FIRSTS: Digital TV Broadcasts Hit the Airwaves November 4, 1998   THOMSON'S DBS BRAIN: Channels ARE Plentiful in New Digital TV World October 21, 1998   DECISIONS, DECISIONS: Taking the Plunge into Digital TV October 7, 1998   FIREWIRE: So the Blender Says to the Toaster, He Says... September 23, 1998 They're Here... 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