Abstract
In 1989 a bipartisan group of US congressmen attempted to use high-definition television (HDTV) as a vehicle to redirect government policy toward the consumer electronics industry. The authors explore why that effort ultimately failed. It is noted that important technical issues were rarely reflected accurately in the public policy debate. In spite of efforts by the IEEE, engineers were largely absent from the debate and failed to influence it. Technical arguments were carried on primarily by those who did not understand the technical issues involved or who distorted them to fit an established political philosophy. How technical information about HDTV was used by the participants, and how political factors set the terms by which technical information could or could not be presented are examined. How engineers might have made a more effective technical case for HDTV is considered.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
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