Suppose FCC set up guidelines for cable industry. [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

PDA

View Full Version : Suppose FCC set up guidelines for cable industry.



Tony_Montana
08-08-2004, 04:29 PM
What type of guidelines will be effective as so nobody get ripped off?

Cable industry can do like medicine industry does if government get involve. Venders can put a disclaimer on their cables that their cables does not necessary been approved by FTC and/or does not follow their guidelines, but their cable performance is equal its price :)

markw
08-08-2004, 05:29 PM
To get involved with cables would seem to be the exact opposite of their charter. Their mission is to oversee over the air communications.

skeptic
08-09-2004, 02:44 AM
Why would the FCC get involved? OTOH, the FTC is already involved. They didn't set up guidlines. They set up the law on fair advertising. And if they ever enforced the laws already on the books by applying them to the audiophile cable industry, in all likelihood these guys would all be out of business. I wrote an entire thread about this within the last year or two citing chapter and verse and providing a hot link to the FTC's website and to the law. I'm sure you can find it in the archives. I think it was before the format changed.

Tony_Montana
08-09-2004, 12:37 PM
The FTC is already involved. They didn't set up guidlines. They set up the law on fair advertising. And if they ever enforced the laws already on the books by applying them to the audiophile cable industry, in all likelihood these guys would all be out of business.

Are the law on books specifically deal with cable, or is it just some general guidelines?

I thought some laws that specifically deal with cables might be warranted. Such as law on book that require power amplifiers to rate their power output according to standards set up by FTC.

skeptic
08-09-2004, 01:17 PM
No they don't deal with cables specifically. They deal with the definition and proof of what may be claimed in advertising so that the customer understands what he has a right to reasonably expect. Among the provisions of the law, any claims for performance such as improved performance over competitive products must include prior scientific proof and the definition of what that consists of is both specific and severe. It also says that a money back guarantee if the customer is not satisfied is not an acceptable substitute for proof and that offering proof AFTER the claim has been made is also insufficient. The FTC has the right to order manufacturers to cease and desist misleading advertising and if the manufacturer doesn't, to impose fines. Manufacturers skate around this law in several ways including leading customers to draw conclusions that are not explicitly stated but merely suggested, outright lies, and shifting the claims from the manufacturer's written literature to the retailer's oral claims which could theoretically be disavowed by the manufacturer at a later time.