The CEA has gone to court to try to strike down the FCC rules requiring all sets to have integral DTV tuners by 2007. The CEA filed the suit in Federal Appeals to stop the FCC from requiring sets with displays of 36 inches or larger be DTV equipped by 2004 and all sets 13 inches or larger by 2007. The CEA maintains that the FCC doesn’t have authority to impose these rules.
The CEA says the impediment to consumer’s ability to receive DTV broadcasts hinges on cable’s ability to pass the digital terrestrials signals through to the consumer. The CEA notes that 3.5 million Americans have invested nearly $7 billion in DTV. The CEA goes on to say that the circuitry required to add digital reception capability in a TV overlaps significantly with what is needed to add cable reception. With 70 percent of American viewers subscribing to cable, insuring digital capability between broadcaster, cable headend and the viewer's set is the critical path according to the CEA.
For more informatin visit www.ce.org.
