This paper opens with a brief discussion of what some have seen as an unusual threshold decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a broadcast high definition television (HDTV) system. It then identifies the spectrum and standards tradeoffs which are posed by the establishment of a HDTV broadcast transmission standard, and discusses the approach the FCC has taken in addressing the technical and policy issues involved. The argument is presented that the FCC must make hard choices in that spectrum must be allocated and assigned, and standards must be chosen. The difficult aspect of these choices--and the thing that makes them interesting to policy analysts--is that there is unlikely to be only one set of "right answers" emerging from the debate, although only one of many good solutions may be best for consumers. The paper concludes with the warning that, although the temptation to hold off making final judgments in these matters is likely to be strong, delay could prove costly to both consumers and firms. (GL)