For example, it won't be the Web capabilities in a digital TV set that will sell the consumer on the product. Short term, information capabilities on HDTV will be an added benefit, but the reasons people will buy HDTV will be for better picture and sound. The local retailer is just as important to the success of HDTV as the broadcasters, manufacturers and cable companies. The V-chip is yet another technology destined to change the face of the TV set. From a manufacturer's standpoint, V-chip implementation is on schedule, and most manufacturers have planned to live up to the FCC requirement that 50 percent of TV sets by July 1999 incorporate the technology.
Discussions regarding the blockage of non-rated programs is a separate issue.
The danger is if those discussions ultimately change the implementation plans. Manufacturers are already building the V-chip technology into TV sets to adhere to the FCC timeline. This far into the timeline it is not realistic to start changing things around. DVD has been a huge success. Movie channels like HBO and Showtime did not cause the demise of video rental.