Why Japan Is Facing A Delayed Digital D Day

If you think the picture for high-definition TV is blurry in the U.S., take a look at what's happening in Japan. Once leaders in the field, Japan is now in the unfamiliar role of playing catch up. What happened? A combination of placing bets on the wrong technology, national pride, and bureaucratic bumbling. But while Japanese TV viewers may not be enjoying latest, greatest thing in electronics as quickly as they once expected, at least a few of the country's consumer electronics giants stand to cash in on the transition, however slow, to digital TV worldwide.

Starting in 1964, Japanese engineers began striving to create crystal-clear TV images through analog technology. By 1984, Japan impressed the world with its analog system when it broadcast the Los Angeles Olympic Games in HDTV. But 10 years later, Japan's Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications (MPT) finally admitted what had become obvious to many industry observers: The country's HDTV system, developed over a 20-year period at a cost exceeding $1 billion at the time wouldn't make the grade in the digital age. Known as MUSE, the hybrid analog/digital system nurtured by NHK (the public Japan Broadcasting Network) and Japan's major electronics makers had been left behind by all-digital systems developed in the U.S. and Europe.