Beauty and the pixel beast
Digital TV Anyone who wants to watch TV in the USA from 2009 as before will need additional equipment.
television in the USA, the legislator plays an important role. According to
After years of back and forth, the US Congress decided that the
The transition phase is scheduled to end on December 31, 2008. From then on
the remaining 20 percent of households that still receive analog
television via the antenna will no longer be possible without
technological upgrade. As early as 1997, the
media regulatory authority FCC adopted new guidelines according to which
the TV operators free licenses for the transmission of a
digital signal to drive forward new technologies.
Originally, by the end of 2006, all 1500 TV stations in the USA were to be
have implemented digital equipment and then their analog licenses
return. However, the legislators' ideas could not be
realize. "There is still a lot of confusion to be ironed out,
until analog television will really be history," says Brad
Adgate, Research Director of the media services company Horizon in
New York.
The government can hardly wait until the changeover is complete.
is completed, a huge volume of analog data is created.
frequencies that belong to the public sector. For a long time now
not only the civil protection authorities are pushing for access to the
analog spectrum. New high-tech companies that are developing wireless
services are eagerly waiting for the vacant positions to become available.
Capacities. "The government could use it to restore billions of dollars of
to plug their budget hole," says Adgate.
Technology gurus of all stripes are also pushing content providers
on the use of new technologies. "Make high-definition commercials
a priority," advises Josh Bernoff, for example, analyst at
research company Forrester. "Every advertisement that
entertainment-hungry audience - and that includes commercials for
movies, videogames and electronic devices -, should be in the
widescreen format and with surround sound."
However, many consumers are still unclear about the difference between
the Standard Digital Television (SDTV) and the high-definition
Television, HDTV. Regular digital television is already received by
around 45 percent of Americans via digital cable or satellite. To
the slightly improved image quality and the frequently offered
To get the additional channels that SDTV promises, you need a
decoding device or a new television. HDTV goes one step further
further. It promises crystal-clear images and a movie theater screen
format of 16:9 instead of the previous 4:3, but HDTV is spreading.
was slow to take off in the USA. One reason for the delay was
the high cost of a terminal device for a long time. At least 3000 dollars
is what televisions cost in the early years, today the cheapest televisions are
for 600 dollars. Around 15 million Americans now have
have an HDTV-compatible device at home, but many of them know that
viewers do not realize that only a fraction of the programmes they watch are
were also produced in HDTV quality. Many TV broadcasters
still shy away from the high conversion costs for new cutting and
transmitters. However, prices tumbled here too: One
HDTV camera still costs 80000 dollars today, compared to the 200000
dollars ten years ago.
The gradually growing number of users increases the pressure on the
producers to offer correspondingly high-class programs. Goods
initially only live events such as the Superbowl or the
Oscars, which were broadcast in HDTV, there are now also
the NFL football league games, the "Late Night Show" with David
Letterman on CBS, the popular NBC early morning program "Good Morning America"
and the ABC hit "Desperate Housewives". The sports company ESPN
now broadcasts an entire channel, ESPN 2, in high definition
(HD) via the satellite operator DirecTV, the pay-TV provider
HBO and Showtime offer their entertainment and sports programs in HD
an.
Production companies are also gradually jumping on the bandwagon. The
High Noon Entertainment in Colorado, for example, has developed the new
technology into a market niche and produces HD shows for the
Discovery Channel, the Food Network, Pax and ABC Family. "The
Changeover is not difficult," says Creative Director Chris Wheeler. "The
HD cameras are very user-friendly. An experienced cameraman learns
it in a few hours." The main things to consider during the changeover are
that the lighting needs to be handled more carefully and that the
post-production usually takes longer than with analog television.
However, many US viewers still do not realize what HDTV can do.
can. According to Forrester Research, only 30 percent of Americans are also
only half familiar with the new technology. "HDTV needs a
Campaign to promote public awareness", recommends
Forrester analyst Bernoff. "30-second spots in national and local
Television would be a good idea." The government has the idea
and intends to invite the broadcasters to a meeting in due course.
force such an educational campaign. Others are not keen on
the crystal-clear images, and not even for the money.
Philip Swann, for example, doesn't make a murder pit out of his heart. "Cameron
Diaz has had an acne problem since school, and her cheeks are full of acne.
Scars," reveals the media critic on the "HDTV Celebrity List"
(www.tvpredictions.com), on which Diaz ranks first among those stars
which clearly makes the new technology look worse
lets. "HDTV turns her into a different person. She looks more
looks more like Charlie than an angel."
Gerti Schön
