|
|
 |
|
|
Chris Iannicello, January 17, 2006 HDTV Solutions What is HDTV? High-Definition Television is part of the ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) digital broadcast programming standard that includes increased resolution and wider field of view compared to the existing conventional analog broadcast standard, NTSC (National Television System Committee). Here is a comparison of programming standards available within the United States:
NTSC includes over the air (OTA) analog broadcasts which can be displayed on conventional televisions. While the horizontal resolution (scan lines running left to right) is fixed at 480, the vertical resolution
When will all broadcasts be in HDTV? Congress has recently approved a "hard date" deadline of February 17, 2009 to turn off analog NTSC broadcasts, which means after that date, all broadcasts will use the ATSC digital broadcast programming standard. Congress is also proposing a $3 billion dollar program to help consumers buy adapters that will allow existing conventional analog televisions to receive digital broadcasts. The hard date legislation is significant because originally, the official cutoff was not a specific date, but was to be implemented when 85% of all households were considered "capable" of receiving digital broadcasts via either a digital television or converter. This deadline could have been pushed back indefinitely because in order to achieve that percentage, broadcasters have to upgrade their equipment to send digital signals and consumers have to purchase televisions to receive them. In fact, several 'proposed deadline dates' have already come and gone because the 85% threshold was not close to being met. While broadcasters have been sluggish in upgrading their equipment, consumers have been even slower to purchase new digital televisions. This unexpected delay in consumer adoption, as well as the increased need for the estimated $10 to $30 billion that will be generated from the sale of the analog spectrum available after the deadline, prompted Congress to approve the new legislation. Although all broadcasts will be digital after the deadline, not all broadcasts are required to be HDTV, as part of the ATSC standard is 480p/i, which includes current satellite/digital cable transmissions. So even though there is a hard date for digital television, it will likely be much longer before all broadcasts will be in HDTV as there will be no hard date and will likely depend on consumer demand. What HDTV programming is currently available? Over the Air (OTA). The major networks (CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, etc) have been broadcasting HDTV over the air since 1998, primarily consisting of 'primetime' programs between 8-11pm EST, with some weekly late night talk shows and weekend sporting events. Other broadcast networks (UPN, WB, etc) also have limited primetime offerings. The programming is free provided you have HDTV OTA antenna and an HDTV receiver either external or built into your HDTV. Cable/Satellite. Cable and Satellite companies currently offer various HDTV packages to most of the United States (Cable is offered to over 80 major US markets; Satellite is offered almost everywhere, provided you have a clear angle to mount the satellite dish). Most HDTV packages offered by Cable and Satellite companies are modest, consisting of 10-20 channels, and include the major networks and other various types of channels including:
One exception to the modest HDTV offerings is a satellite provider called Voom, which recently was purchased by a larger satellite provider, Dish Network. Voom offered over 35 HD channels, many of them proprietary channels that were exclusively created and broadcast for HDTV and included movies, sports, music, travel, fashion, the arts, cartoons, and news. Dish Network now offers a standard 6 channel HD offering and also offers a 'Voom' package, which includes 10 proprietary HD channels for an extra $5 per month. What to expect in the near future. New Channels: Food Network HD Increased Satellite Offerings. The most significant improvement in Satellite HDTV broadcasting comes from a new compression technology (MPEG-4) that can carry more than twice as much HDTV video in the same amount of bandwidth as the current HDTV compression standard, MPEG-2. In addition to improved compression, the major satellite providers are launching more satellites to accommodate the MPEG-4 standard. This will result in more bandwidth capacity and increased HDTV programming. An example of the potential increase in programming, DirecTV has recently launched 4 new satellites that they claim will broadcast 1500 local HD stations and 150 national HD networks by 2007. The improved compression and increased capacity will also allow Satellite providers to offer 'local-into-local' (LIL) channels for the first time, which will eliminate one of the major competitive differentiators between Cable and Satellite, as Cable has offered LIL for years. A New National Competitor. Verizon is starting to offer a new Cable Televsion service called 'FIOS'. This service offers the highest speed and capacity of any current Cable offering because it is using fiber optic cable as opposed to conventional copper cable. The result is a larger amount of HDTV programming channels (over 20 currently offered) compared to existing Cable HDTV offerings. Verizon is currently offering FIOS in Texas and will expand to other states in 2006. 1080p Broadcasting Standard? Many HDTVs on the market feature a new 1080p resolution, which is 1920x1080 pixels rendered progressively, or all at once. This resolution standard is actually better than any current broadcasts offered, with 1080i being the closest. Will HDTV eventually be broadcast in 1080p? While some television network executives have expressed an interest in pursuing 1080p, there are many issues that have to be addressed before it becomes feasible. Some of the major issues include the increased bandwidth required to broadcast 1080p, the required upgrade of television cameras and other broadcast equipment, and the limited benefit to existing 720p/1080i HDTV owners who would not be able to see the increased resolution. Because of these and other reasons, it will be 5-10 years before 1080p can even be considered and there is a chance that 720p/1080i will be the major broadcast standard for decades. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bookmark:
del.icio.us
Reddit
Google
| Send this Page | Print this Page | Report Errors |
