Technology, Television, and Competition: The Politics of Digital TV / Edition 1

by Jeffrey A. Hart

Overview

The advanced industrial countries considered replacing the existing analog television infrastructure with a new digital one in the late 1980s and 1990s. Jeffrey Hart's study demonstrates how nationalism and regionalism combined with conflicting ideas over technology to produce three different and incompatible DTV standards in the U.S., Japan and Europe. The outcome has led to missed opportunities in developing new technologies. Hart's work contributes to our understanding of relations between business and government, and of competition between the world's great economic powers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521826242
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/05/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Jeffrey Hart is Professor of Political Science at Indiana University, Bloomington, where he has taught international politics and international political economy since 1981. His first teaching position was at Princeton University from 1973 to 1980. He was a professional staff member of the President's Commission for a National Agenda for the Eighties from 1980 to 1981. Hart worked as an internal contractor at the Office of Technology Assessment of the US Congress from 1985 to 1986 and helped to write their report, 'International Competition in Services' (1987). His books include The New International Economic Order (1983), Interdependence in the Post Multilateral Era (1985), Rival Capitalists (1992), Globalization and Governance (1999), Managing New Industry Creation (2001), Technology, Television, and Competition (2004), The Politics of International Economic Relations, 7th edition (2010) and he has published scholarly articles in World Politics, International Organization, the British Journal of Political Science, New Political Economy and the Journal of Conflict Resolution.

Table of Contents

Preface; Acknowledgments; List of acronyms; 1. Introduction; 2. The institutional setting for advanced TV; 3. Digital convergence: consumer electronics; 4. HDTV in Japan; 5. HDTV in the United States; 6. HDTV in Europe; 7. Digital television in the United States; 8. Digital television in Europe and Japan; 9. Examples of global standards; 10. Conclusions; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...a must for those researching the political and technical issues that determined the outcome of an international battle to achieve world standards. [T]he book is an excellent review of what has been a ground breaking period for the industry as it moved into the digital age." Richard J. G. Ellis, Multimedia Communications

"...the discussion of the broader meaning of the case of digitalization for the present and future of the political economy is well developed and contributes to our understanding." Journal of Common Market Studies, Gabriele Suder Ceram, Sophia-Antipolis

"This is a thoroughly researched book based on documentary sources, field research, and elite interviews. Anyone interested in the very detailed history of the development of DTV standards—or technical standard setting in general—would find this an exceptionally valuable addition to their library." American Journal of Sociology, John L. Campbell, Dartmouth College/Copenhagen Business School

"Anyone interested in the very detailed history of the development of DTV standards—or technical standard setting in general0would find this an exceptionally valuable addition to their library...this book does a splenddid job of documenting the pivotal struggles around the standard setting in one of the digital age's most important technologies and is worth the effort for readers who are interested in this sort of thing." —John L. Campbell, Damtmouth College/Copenhagen Business School: American Journal of Sociology

From the Publisher