Sell Tech
The Battalion
Page 6A • Thursday, January 16,
HDTV complications prevent widespread use
High definition programming lacking standards, set to be universal by 2001
By B
THE ASS
About 30
By Jonathan Daugbjerg
THE BATTALION
The State Of Digital Television
Warren Sapp is a force to contend with on the
football field, but for those watching the NFL
playoffs this weekend on high definition televi
sion (HDTV), Sapp may become a force to con
tend with right in their living rooms.
Those who actually get to experience this phe
nomenon, however, are few and far between.
As HDTV becomes more widespread, net
works are broadcasting programs — including
the NFL Playoffs — in the crystal clarity of high
definition television.
Yet, after 15 years of planning and develop
ment, the Federal ___________________
Communications
Commission (FCC) and
the television industry are
still struggling to deliver
widespread digital televi
sion to the American pub
lic. HDTV’s vivid color
and lifelike images are have a television
superior to the analog-
based televisions viewed 4.8 Million households
today, but HDTV costs, have digital televisions
formats, and availabililty
are barriers among televi
sion broadcasters, the
FCC, and television man
ufacturing firms.
105
Million
HOUSEHOLDS
in the United States
Half of the 1,300 stations
use some type of HDTV
Source: USA Today
The FCC issued a mandate on Aug. 8, 2002,
requiring that the vast majority of television sets
sold in the United States be equipped with digi
tal tuners by 2007. The requirements are set to
take effect in stages, affecting larger model tele
visions first.
The FCC estimates an increased cost of $250
per television set to add the tuners, and claims
that the impact to consumers would be minimal
due to the continually decreasing price of elec
tronic equipment.
The Consumer Electronics Association
(CEA), which represents television manufactur
ers, says the $250 tuner price lays a multi-billion
dollar “tax” on consumers and will either ask the
FCC to reconsider its position, or will fight the
ruling in court. The CEA
claims that the largest
obstacle facing HDTV is
the lack of a broadcast
standard for cable and
satellite providers, and
believes digital tuners
should be optional because
a large number of people
subscribe to those services.
The FCC has criticized
networks for not rolling out
a larger number of pro
grams in HDTV format.
Major television and cable
networks such as ABC,
NBC, CBS and Discovery have responded by
increasing their digital offerings, but the formats
in which digital programs are broadcast are often
erratic and unreliable.
Some networks choose to broadcast their digi
tal programming in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio,
which conflicts with the 16:9 widescreen format
of a large number of new digital television sets. A
standard-aspect ratio program will not fill up a
widescreen television, and could cause perma
nent damage after extended usage. These new
sets will be difficult to use if there is no standard
format for broadcasting high definition televi
sion programming.
Transitioning to digital broadcasting has been
a major challenge for individual television sta
tions as well. With conversion costs that can
approach $3 million, many stations — especially
those in middle and smaller markets — can't
afford to purchase the equipment needed for dig
ital television broadcasting.
Even major network affiliates in smaller mar
kets are feeling the pinch, as some stations make
no more than a few hundred thousand dollars per
year in profits. As a stopgap measure, the FCC
gave small market stations some relief last
November by allowing the installation of low-
power digital transmitters. This temporary solu
tion, however, still leaves many viewers with no
HDTV service in the near future.
With so many conflicts surrounding HDTV,
questions are raised as to whether the United
Mandate Issued August 200/1
requires television sets sold in the United Statesf
to be equipped with a digital tuner by the
following dates:
Large Screen ( 36 inch or larger )
were reporte
|Tech Unive
Wednesday
Medium Screen (25 inch - 35 inch)
July 2O0i
Small Screen (13 inch - 24 inch)
VCR S AND DVD PLAYERS
July 200]
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States w ill miss the July 2003 date for complete
of the analog to digital transition set by the FCC
mandate. A March 10, 2003 Consumr
Electronics Association summit will contin;
talks between the FCC and industry leaders c«-
cerning plans for HDTV standards.
Misplaced surgical clamps, sponges show up inside patients
By Jeff Donn
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Surgical teams accidentally leave
clamps, sponges and other tools inside
about 1,500 patients nationwide each
year, according to the biggest study of
the problem yet.
The mistakes largely result not
from surgeon fatigue, but i'rom , the
nu tl
hress arising from emergencies or
complications discovered on the oper
ating table, the researchers reported.
It also happens more often to fat
patients, simply because there is more
room inside them to lose equipment,
according to the study.
Both the researchers and several
other experts agreed that the number of
such mistakes is small compared with
the roughly 28 million operations a
year in the United States^ “JBut no one
would sav it’s acceptable,”
said Dr. Donald Berwick, president of
the Boston-based nonprofit Institute
for Healthcare Improvement.
The study, done by researchers at
Brigham and Women’s Hospital and
Harvard School of Public Health, both
in Boston, was published in Thursday’s
New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers checked insurance
records from about 800,000 operations
in Massachusetts for 16 yea^s ending
in 2001. They counted 61 forgotten
pieces of surgical equipment in 54
patients. From that, they calculated a
national estimate of 1.500 cases year
ly. A total of $3 million was paid out in
the Massachusetts surgical cases,
mostly in settlements.
Two-thirds of the mistakes hap
pened even though the equipment was
counted before and after the proce
dure, in keeping with the standard
medical practice.
Most lost dbjects were sponges, but
also included were metal clamps and
electrodes. In two cases. 11-inch
retractors were forgotten inside
patients. In another operation, four
sponges were left inside someone.
Most patients needed additional
surgery to remove the object, but
sometimes it came out by itself or in a
doctor’s office. For other cases,
patients were not even aware of the
object, which turned up in later sur
gery for other problems.
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More than just another pretty face.
We've changed our name. But we're not stopping there
We're moving in a whole new DIRECTION as well.
That movement is forward.
Forward, into the future.
Forward, with a new way of doing business.
Forward, with innovative products and services to meet your needs.
Keep watching ... And we'll keep listening.
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