***WAVE Comments
This does not sound like an explosion of growth. Consumers are
confused, the industry is caught in a battle for standards,
proprietary architectures and must carry discussions, and
broadcasters are waiting for consumer acceptance before beginning
programming. This sounds like a long wait for digital TV.
The WAVE Report has written about these topics in numerous issues
and one is left wondering – why are these media and equipment
industries so laggard? Is not the perception of the value of a
digital infrastructure and content greater than squabbles over
interfaces and issues, which appear to be secondary? For example,
the OpenCable process was a joke in that companies had to sign
NDA's to participate. Only after much probing did the WAVE Report
find that one of the reasons was to protect the interests of the
cable companies from potential competition with satellite
systems. Thus, the prevailing logic appears to be to protect near
term interests of the parties, in spite of the long-term benefit
of creating a digital infrastructure. In the end, not only will
the consumer interest be significantly lessened but also whole
industries threatened. The notion of who is the tiger between
interactivity and media was best answered with AOL's proposed
purchase of Time Warner. By every indication the broadcasters are
being left harmless as their markets are overtaken by the lack of
action, their own vested interests and the ability of others
including internet broadcasters to render traditional
broadcasters relics of the Roman Empire. DTV may not be the path
to the future, when seen in a future context, but the beginning
of the demise.
Wave Issue 2004 1/25/00 Article 2-02