Embassy Information
Embassy Event
U.S. DIGITAL TV STANDARD (ATSC) FEATURES SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY
February 9, 2006
Deputy Assistant Secretary David Gross, U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the Department of State, spoke with the Argentine press via video teleconference at the U.S. Embassy on February 9, 2006. Mr. Gross spoke about the merits of the U.S. digital TV standard, the Advanced Television Systems Committee, or ATSC system, noting its technological superiority, lower cost for consumers, and ease of transition from analog broadcasting. Digital TV broadcasting is taking off in the United States, and by March 2007, all TV sets sold in the U.S. must be capable of receiving DTV broadcasts; analog broadcasts will be turned off by February, 2009. It is estimated that, with the coming mandatory conversion to the ATSC standard, 152 million devices, including TV sets and converters, will be sold in the U.S. by 2009.