Introduction

The decision of the FCC in the United States to select an all-digital television system was a surprise to HDTV supporters in Europe and Japan. Both had adopted hybrid systems with both analog and digital features. Both had decided to use direct broadcast satellites as the primary means of delivering HDTV signals. Both had counted on their ability to market HDTV programming and equipment in North America, as well as in their home region. Now they were confronted with criticisms at home about the obsolescence of analog technologies and the need to keep up with the United States in digital technologies. To these criticisms the already existing complaints were added, mainly from private broadcasters and pay-TV operators, about the high expense and low benefit for both consumers and broadcasters of making the transition to HDTV. As a result, both regions reconsidered their earlier decisions.

Western Europe was somewhat quicker than Japan to move away from its previous arrangements. It dropped HD-MAC in June 1993 and moved on to create the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) group to support digital television. It also responded by increasing EU support for widescreen standard definition television programming and manufacturing. In Japan, NHK and its allies strongly resisted the idea of abandoning MUSE Hi-Vision but some of the major consumer electronics manufacturers and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) wanted to speed up the transition to an all-digital HDTV system.