i3 - November/December 2016 - 51

Recall Conflict, Triumph
Richard E. Wiley, a former FCC Chairman, the competing technologies vying for selection
create a "best of the best" proposal for government consideration.

- DR. JAE LIM

- JERRY PEARLMAN

- DONALD RUMSFELD

much in favor of the pooling
of resources required by the
Grand Alliance. As you might
expect, differing company
cultures and individual
personalities had to be
accommodated. However,
we did manage to do the job,
and we're all still on speaking
terms."

Grand Alliance phase. I
believe the competitive
phase was the key to our
success as opposed to
the Japan and European
approach," explains Sarnoff's
Carnes.
Philips' Bingham learned
how expensive it can be to
lobby for new standards and
develop new technologies,
and he says leadership at the
top is important.
"Regulatory bodies need
to avoid the stuttering that
slowed the introduction
of the current system. I
personally recall investing
much time and energy inside
Philips to keep the R&D ball
rolling. Most of the internal
Philips management was
ready to give up the whole
effort, because the FCC
credibility was diminishing."
MIT's Lim says success
will follow a better system.
"Make sure that the
service provided by the
new standard delivers a
truly different and better
experience to consumers
than other existing services."
AT&T's Crawford says

the lesson of compromise
should be learned from the
past. "The experience of
compromise is etched in my
mind. Even when you know
you have the best technology
solution, we must recognize
it is only valuable when it is
recognized and adopted by
the industry. The best ideas
are often enhanced when
integrated with great ideas
from others. No solution is
perfect for all."
But in reflection, the
creation of the Grand
Alliance sparked more than
just workhorse technology.
Zenith's Pearlman says
HDTV rollout issues could
have been accelerated by
more cooperation. "The
Grand Alliance wouldn't
have been necessary if GI
(General Instrument) had
joined with AT&T and Zenith
for an 'all-digital' solution
and presented it as a 'fait
accompli' to the FCC. It
would have sped up adoption
by two to three years,"
Pearlman says.
Some memories evoke
smiles, now that the years

RUMSFELD BY CHAD J. MCNEELEY

Lessons Learned

With the broadcasting
industry now standardizing
ATSC 3.0, a next-generation
TV system, there may be
lessons from the past worth
considering.
Zenith's Pearlman has
straightforward advice. "Keep
out of the process those not
in the industry who want to
slow or derail the adoption of
new technology."
"Competition is a very
powerful incentive. In Japan
and Europe they did the
smoke-filled room consensus
thing and see what that got
them. In the U.S. we had
a competition with actual
hardware that got rigorously
tested, not pieces of paper,
followed by the cooperative
C TA . t e c h / i 3

have softened the blow. "One
of my favorite memories,"
Carnes says, "was drawing
the short straw and having to
call Dick Wiley to tell him that
our system would be late for
the advanced television test
center or that we discovered
a problem that needed to
be fixed. I think it happened
three times. Dick would get
mad and scream at me and
then hang up. Fifteen minutes
later he would call back,
apologize for his outburst and
we would get on with solving
the problem. He did a really
good job in a difficult role."
Crawford says, "I have very
vivid memories, receiving
a call from FCC Advisory
Committee Chairman,
Dick Wiley, encouraging
a compromise. Then,
discussing strategy with
my Bell Labs colleague,
Arun Netravali, and coming
to the conclusion that it
is time to tell the team
that compromise is the
only way to victory. I also
remember meeting with
General Instrument's former
CEO Donald Rumsfeld at
Chicago's O'Hare airport
to discuss a compromise.
And later, a dinner at
Jerry Pearlman's house to
celebrate our progress,"
Crawford concludes.
n
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

51


http://CTA.tech/i3

i3 - November/December 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i3 - November/December 2016

Contents
i3 - November/December 2016 - Cover1
i3 - November/December 2016 - Cover2
i3 - November/December 2016 - Contents
i3 - November/December 2016 - 2
i3 - November/December 2016 - 3
i3 - November/December 2016 - 4
i3 - November/December 2016 - 5
i3 - November/December 2016 - 6
i3 - November/December 2016 - 7
i3 - November/December 2016 - 8
i3 - November/December 2016 - 9
i3 - November/December 2016 - 10
i3 - November/December 2016 - 11
i3 - November/December 2016 - 12
i3 - November/December 2016 - 13
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i3 - November/December 2016 - 16
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i3 - November/December 2016 - 19
i3 - November/December 2016 - 20
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i3 - November/December 2016 - 22
i3 - November/December 2016 - 23
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i3 - November/December 2016 - 27
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i3 - November/December 2016 - Cover3
i3 - November/December 2016 - Cover4
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