Lawmaker to press for digital TV deadline

updated 7:40 p.m. ET April 19, 2005

LAS VEGAS - Rep. Joe Barton, a strong supporter of speeding the shift to digital television, recently bought a new analog TV set — the kind that will be obsolete if Congress mandates a nationwide conversion by the end of next year.

"The salesman absolutely guaranteed that Congress wouldn't do a thing about it," the Texas Republican joked while appearing on a panel this week with other congressional leaders at the National Association of Broadcasters convention.

Not true, said Barton, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He intends to introduce a digital transition bill within three weeks.

"It will have a hard date and that hard date could be Dec. 31, 2006," he told broadcasters.

Proponents believe setting a firm date would bring down the price of digital sets — which can now cost thousands of dollars — and increase production by companies anxious to meet the demand.

"The market is beginning to go digital," Barton said, noting that about half of all TV sets sold this year will be digital-ready.

The federal government is anxious to make the change because the analog spectrum now used by broadcasters could be used by police and firefighters who are running out of communication frequencies.

Digital, meanwhile, provides sharper pictures than analog and allows broadcasters to offer multiple channels over the same signal.

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