Digital TV Moves A Step Closer

The computer industry and U.S. broadcasters, who have been at odds over development of a new generation of digital television sets, agreed Monday on how digital signals would be transmitted but said the fight over other standards would take place in the marketplace.

While the agreement in principle means that digital TV appears to be a go, the two sides avoided several contentious proposals that would determine how digital sets would display broadcast signals.

The computer industry favored an all-digital standard, while broadcasters sought to preserve some compatibility with existing analog sets.

The agreement, which must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission, could mean digital TV would be available in the next five to seven years.