No one seems to know. EC scientists and policymakers are concerned that, although the first generation of HDTVs are being built for fall sales, neither manufacturers nor British broadcasters have revealed the technology's service specifications nor given any indications as to whether they can be modified to consume less electricity. In the US, regulators are even more in the dark. The DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency, Codes and Standards, informed the Journal that TVs are a special kind of home appliance. There is a 'no standard' standard.
People living near proposed HDTV antenna sites are up in arms, as well.
With only 2.8 percent of major US broadcasters are minority-owned, HDTV conversion will drive that slim margin even lower, removing local programming, local news, and the airing of ethnic, noncommercial and progressive voices. The owner was lucky enough to find a new broadcast channel. Across the country, low power stations carrying both community news, foreign- language news, sports and cultural broadcasts will likely be blown off the air by new HDTV broadcasters. In place of broadcast diversity, HDTV will inaugurate a new era of corporate broadcast saturation.