TV TO GET BETTER BY DEFINITION : FCC OKS STANDARDS FOR HIGH-QUALITY SETS.

Byline: Jeannine Aversa Associated Press 

It's the biggest change to television since color. The government approved a plan Thursday to deliver crisp, movie-quality TV signals, CD-quality sound and sharper pictures in a format called high definition.

It could appear as early as 1998, but probably only in the nation's largest markets such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

TV stations, which will each spend millions to go digital, will use the high-tech specifications approved by the Federal Communications Commission to send the higher-quality digital TV signals to America's homes.

Manufacturers will use the FCC's standards as a framework to build new digital TV sets and computers called digital PC-TVs that can receive the higher-quality TV signals.

While the Federal Communications Commission's action is a regulatory formality, it marks a crucial step in the nine-year journey to implement higher-quality digital television in the United States. It's also the biggest change to television since the FCC adopted the standard for color TV in 1953.

``What we've done here is guarantee there will be dozens of different kinds of digital television receivers of many, many different prices. Some with software, some with big screens, some suitable for your wristwatch,'' said FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, referring to the standards' flexibility.

Before broadcasters can provide digital TV, however, the FCC must take two other steps: It must make slices of the public airwaves available for the service, and it must issue new digital TV licenses.

Both steps are expected to be finalized early next year unless broadcasters fight the FCC's allocation plans or if Congress makes TV stations pay for digital TV licenses.

National Association of Broadcasters President Eddie Fritts said the FCC's action ``brings a new generation of communications one step closer to America's living rooms.''

``What a terrific way to usher in the new year,'' said Peter S. Willmott, president of Zenith Electronics Corp., which said it plans to introduce high definition TV sets in 1998.

Wider-screen digital TV sets could be sold at prices at least $1,000 to $1,500 higher than the cost of sets today.

The FCC's action formalized a delicate compromise reached last month among the broadcast, computer and consumer electronics industries. The agreement sets many technical specifications but lets the marketplace decide the format for displaying images on TV and the size and shape of screens.

The standard is based on technology developed by a consortium called Grand Alliance, composed of General Instrument Corp., Lucent Technologies, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Philips Electronics, the David Sarnoff Research Center, Thomson Consumer Electronics and Zenith Electronics.

They hailed the FCC's action, saying it would ``enable a wide range of information-age applications.''

Broadcasters are expected to initially spend an estimated $6 billion to convert their stations to the new digital format, said the Harris Corp., a broadcast equipment maker.

Bob Weirather, director of Harris' TV products line, said the price of their digital transmitters are in line with existing ones: from $400,000 to $1 million, depending upon where they will be located.