Digital Television Requirements and Closed Captioning

By Cheryl Heppner

Editor: Digital Television is coming! Despite the fact that very few Americans understand what it's all about and what the conversion from analog to digital means to them, it will be happening sooner than you may think. Here's Cheryl Heppner's article on what it all means.

If you'd like to share this article, please credit NVRC. See credit at the end of this article.

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The DTV Tuner Requirement

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) now requires that all TV receivers must include the capability to receive digital television by March 1, 2007. This is often called the DTV tuner requirement. The FCC has noted the importance of portable, battery-powered products to receive news and public safety information in times of emergency, and it voted on November 3, 2005 to require the ability to receive digital TV signals in all sets regardless of their size.

The Phase-In Plan

There is a phase-in plan for digital television:
- July 1, 2004 -- 50% of sets with screen sizes of 36" or larger
- July 1, 2005 -- 100% of sets with screen sizes of 36" or larger and 50% of sets 25" to 36"
- March 1, 2006 -- 100% of sets 25" to 36"
- March 1, 2007 -- all sets that are less than 25"

Comments from a Speech by Commissioner Adelstein

FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein gave a keynote address at the CEA Entertainment Technology Policy Summit on National DTV Consumer Education on March 15, 2006. Among his remarks were:

- While the DTV transition affects the lives of nearly every person in the U.S., few Americans really understand it. They don't pretend, for example, to know the difference between DTV and HDTV, or rear projection TV, LCD or Plasma screens.

- Even fewer Americans -- especially those who rely exclusively on over-the-air television -- are aware that in less than 3 years the more than 80 million analog sets will go dark, unless they are connected to a digital converter box, satellite, or cable.

- I'm calling upon the industry and my colleagues in federal government to develop a national education campaign. We need to avoid generating national confusion and hysteria that's based on lack of information, focus and effective communication.

- In October of 2004, the FCC launched a national Web portal, www.dtv.gov. There consumers who have access to the Internet can obtain information on the transition, new digital products and services. Since its launch, the website has had over 2.5 million hits, averaging about 100,000 per month.

- Collaborating with electronics manufacturers and retailers, the FCC produced a DTV Tip Sheet and a pocket-sized Shoppers' Guide that have been reasonably effective in disseminating factual information.

- One of the biggest obstacles in carrying out the transition is the fact that consumers continue to purchase analog televisions at bargain bin prices. These consumers revel in purchasing what they deem to be high-end, big screen televisions at discount rates, not understanding that those televisions are soon to be obsolete.

- I congratulate the CEA and its Video Board on approving a consumer advisory label that will be placed on both the screen and the outside of retail packaging of analog TV sets.

- I applaud the many steps that manufacturers and retailers are taking to ease the transition, ensuring that televisions without digital tuners are properly labeled; working with non-traditional electronics retailers like Wal-Mart and Costco; providing consumers information at the point of sale; reaching out to agencies, interest groups, and print and broadcast media to get the message out to the broadest audience possible.

- According to a study conducted in December of 2005 by two research firms, only 25% of consumers realize that analog-only TV sets won't receive over-the-air signals without a converter box when the transition occurs. The same study found only 13% of consumers realize that the switch to digital is slated to happen in three years. And 41% of consumers believe the real reason for the transition is to force them to buy new TV sets or subscribe to cable, while another 16% believe that's at least part of the motivation.

- In the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is charged with administering the digital-to-analog converter box program. It received funding authorization to use no more than $5 million for "consumer education concerning the digital transition and the availability of the digital-to-analog converter box program".

- It is unclear whether NTIA intends to use the $5 million to promote the converter box program or to do general consumer education. It is even more unclear whether $5 million will be enough to do both.

What About Digital TV Captioning?

The Federal Communications Commission set regulations on July 21, 2000 for closed caption display capability in digital TV receivers. In this action, the FCC also incorporated sections of the industry standard known as EIA-708-D for digital TV closed captioning into its rules. This standard allows a choice of color, size and font for captions.

These rules took effect on July 1, 2002. From that time on, digital TV closed captions must be included in:
- Digital TV sets with integrated widescreen displays at least 7.8" vertically
- Digital TV sets with conventional displays at least 13" vertically
- Stand-alone digital TV tuners even if they are not marketed with display screens

The FCC action also requires that programs be transmitted in a format understandable to the decoder circuitry in digital TV receivers.

If you'd like to see the press release of the FCC's action on July 21, 2000:
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/2000/nrmm0031.html

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