Posted on: Tuesday, September 2, 2003

High-definition slow to spread

By Mike Snider
USA Today

Those who had hoped that this fall would be the breakthrough season for high-definition TV will have to wait.

Major networks are providing more prime-time programming than ever in the pristine digital format with a widescreen picture five times sharper than regular TV. Among new recruits is the highly demanded return of ABC's "Monday Night Football" in HD.

HDTV is also available to more cable customers, with 112 markets being served by at least one system with HD, more than double last year's figure. Cable networks such as Bravo are ramping up to debut HD channels by year's end.

But Fox will have no HD until next fall, when it plans to produce half its prime-time programs in the format. The WB Network, which has more than doubled its HD offerings this year, is delivered digitally by few broadcast affiliates and cable operators. UPN offers no HD.

And for users, receiving the shows remains difficult. There are no final agreements between broadcasters and cable systems on carrying networks' digital channels, and there are no industry-standard set-top boxes.

"The biggest hurdle is adopting standards that will allow TVs and cable and satellite set-top boxes to work seamlessly with each other,'' says Myra Moore, founder of Digital Tech Consulting in Dallas.

The United States' transition to a digital broadcasting standard began more than six years ago. Nearly 1,000 digital stations are operating, and more than 80 percent of homes can receive at least five digital signals, according to the National Association of Broadcasters. But the transition is still far behind the timetable set by the Federal Communications Commission, and not all those digital stations are offering HD programs.

Five million new HD-compatible TV sets have been sold, and prices are dropping well below $2,000. Four million more are expected to be sold this year. But only a fourth of sets sold so far are equipped with tuners to receive HD signals.

That could change as cable systems roll out HD. Most lease set-top digital boxes to subscribers for $7-$10 a month, plus typical $10-a-month HD charges (similar to that charged by satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network for HD).

More cable networks are jumping in. ESPN HD began March 31, and Starz/Encore plans to launch Starz! HD East and West movie channels, a Starz On Demand HD service and a separate Sharper Movies HD service by year's end.