Summary

Zenith Electronics Corporation praised the NAB and MSTV for reaffirming support for the FCC-approved 8-VSB digital television standard after joint testing showed VSB outperformed COFDM in head-to-head competition. The announcement came as the FCC's DTV transition deadline required all commercial broadcasters to have digital signals on air by May 1, 2002.

Source document circa 2001 preserved as-is

ZENITH HAILS BROADCAST INDUSTRY DECISION
TO STAY THE COURSE ON DIGITAL TELEVISION STANDARD



LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill., Jan. 15, 2001 ññ Zenith Electronics Corporation, a leader in digital high-definition television (HDTV) and developer of the vestigial sideband (VSB) transmission system, commended the nationís leading broadcast trade groups today for their joint decision reaffirming industry support for the FCC-approved U.S. digital television (DTV) standard.

Actions today by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV) ìrepresent a vote of confidence in the U.S. digital television standard in general and the viability of VSB modulation in particular,î said Richard M. Lewis, Zenith senior vice president. Referring to a recently concluded MSTV/NAB testing and research program, the results of which were presented this week to a joint meeting of their boards of directors in Carlsbad, Calif., Lewis said, ìIn head-to-head competition, the incumbent technology has clearly outperformed COFDM, the European scheme favored by a small but vocal minority of U.S. broadcasters.

"Having suffered a stinging defeat at the FCC last year and now having failed to measure up even to the minimum needs of America's television industry, these COFDM zealots may want to abandon the politics of obstruction, admit that their delay strategy has failed, and join their fellow broadcasters in making the required investment in the digital buildout."

Under the transition timetable mandated by the FCC, all commercial broadcasters must have a digital TV signal on the air no later than May 1, 2002; noncommercial broadcasters have until May 1, 2003 to be up and running digitally. NAB estimates that 173 stations spanning 61 media markets are now offering digital programming to approximately two-thirds of all U.S. television households.
At the 2001 International Consumer Electronics Show held Jan. 6-9 in Las Vegas, Zenith introduced a wide range of digital television products scheduled to be rolled out beginning this summer, including integrated rear-projection HDTVs and HDTV monitors based on plasma display panels (PDPs), liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and flat-screen picture tubes.

Zenith Electronics Corporation is a long-time leader in consumer electronics and a primary developer of digital HDTV. Armed with advanced digital technologies from its parent company, LG Electronics Inc., Zenith is committed to becoming the digital leader in the new millennium.