By Walter S. Ciciora, Ph.d, American Television & Communications Corporation
The consumer electronics interface with cable has been a growing problem for the past decade. The principal cause of the difficulties is that the two industries developed independently without much communication. Initially, that wasn't a big deal since both cable systems and television receivers were rather simple from a technological perspective. However, as technology opened more and more options, incompatible choices were made in the two industries. Neither industry took a homogeneous stand. The various television receiver manufacturers made different choices and the large number of cable systems chose different methods of implementation. The cable subscriber, who is simultaneously a consumer electronics product buyer became caught in the middle.