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High Anxiety Over High Definition

Techstination feature for Monday, June 10, 2002

High anxiety over high definition TV. Bloomberg Boot Camp, a report on today's technology. Walk into a consumer electronics store and those big wide screens beckon. And they are starting to become more affordable... .not affordable enough... but prices are moving in the right direction. And the manufacturers are hoping everyone will want one... .

"Digital television and high definition TV are really the main focus for Zenith in 2002. In fact, over 80 percent of our product line this year is digital."

Zenith VP John Taylor. But there is a big problem in trying to convince consumers to buy... .besides the price. Most people, about 70 percent, watch cable TV... .and very few cable systems are offering HD signals. At Sony Electronics, President and COO for North America Fujio Nishida is frustrated... .

"If we bring the cable compatibility for HD and then we can make that available for every TV or every home... that is a much bigger business for everyone."

Nishida says even building cable boxes capable of receiving HD signals is a problem because there are so many systems that are incompatible with each other. For high definition to go main stream, he believes, that will have to change...

"That's the key to success." And your wish is this should have happened already... "Yes. From the beginning, I think."

Sony Electronics President Fujio Nishida. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.