HDTV Standards Setting: Politics, Technology, and Industry

David F Donnelly, The University of Houston

1/01/2005
(Original Publish Date: 1995)

Over the course of the past several decades, we have witnessed a tremendous surge in the number of communication and information technologies. These technologies have spread throughout various facets of our society and have influenced the way we live our lives in many ways. As they have become increasingly integral to our day-to-day existence, our need to understand the phenomenon of technological innovation has become more critical. The early stages of technological innovation are extremely important, though often overlooked. One particularly important aspect of the early development of an innovation involves the establishment of appropriate technical standards which govern the operation of the innovation. This lack of attention is both surprising and problematic given the critical role standards can play in the timing of the introduction of an innovation, the effect they have on the capabilities and nature of the technology, and the influence they exert in determining the eventual degree of success experienced by the innovation. Typically viewed as an inconsequential part of the comparatively unimportant technical prehistory of an innovation, the standards-setting process is not merely a technological issue. It is, in fact, a complex and fascinating amalgam of public and private concerns, a nexus of economic, sociological, and political forces. An examination and analysis of the standards-setting process yields important information concerning the origins of a technology, and helps to provide a fuller, richer understanding of the entire technological innovation process. This article explores this neglected dimension of technological development by examining the standards-setting process connected with high definition television (HDTV).