[opendtv] Tuning up for HDTV
- From: Monty Solomon <monty@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 15:14:55 -0400
Tuning up for HDTV
By Richard Shim and Jim Hu
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Story last modified September 15, 2004, 9:00 AM PDT
When Riddhi Patel watched her first high-definition television show,
one of her suspicions about celebrities was confirmed--they aren't as
glamorous as they seem on regular TV.
"It was really amazing. I could see the pimples on the faces of some
stars. They really cake on the makeup for the Academy Awards,"
quipped Patel, an analyst at research firm iSuppli.
News.context
Patel isn't alone. Millions of viewers are discovering new depths and
surprises in the old "boob tube," thanks to a long-planned transition
from analog to digital transmissions . At the same time, the future
of television itself appears to be coming into razor-sharp focus. And
it's revealing new vistas for studios, manufacturers and
broadcasters--but also some warts, particularly for consumers eager
to jump on the trend early.
The new style of television uses digital rather than analog signals
and has the potential to be much clearer than old-style TV, whether
it's received via cable or over the air. High-definition television
(HDTV) is the type of digital TV (DTV) that offers the highest
resolution available, above standard-definition and
enhanced-definition TV.
DTV and HDTV have been stalled in the wings for years. They're now
gaining momentum, thanks to a confluence of forces, including a
long-standing federal mandate to shift over-the-air TV broadcasts
from analog to digital signals; improvements and lower prices in
display and digital storage technologies; heated competition between
satellite and cable TV providers; and Hollywood's growing acceptance
of the inevitability of the digital evolution.
"There's still a lot of maneuvering, positioning and lobbying that
needs to be done," said Michelle Abraham, an analyst at In-Stat/MDR.
"But there's no way it's not going to happen. It's just a matter of
timing and what kind of effect it will have on the consumer."
Perhaps most significantly, the chicken-and-egg problem that had hurt
both HDTV programming and device sales finally shows signs of
cracking. Manufacturers were reluctant to invest in HDTV sets without
HDTV shows to watch, while programmers didn't want to make the shows
before the consumers had the appropriate sets.
Despite that foot-dragging, adoption is picking up speed.
Shipments of digital televisions increased 113 percent, from 1.7
million units to 3.7 million units, from 2002 to 2003, according to
iSuppli. Sales estimates predict even faster year-over-year growth
this year, up 134 percent to 8.6 million units. Compound growth over
the next four years is expected to reach about 46 percent, from 8.6
million units this year to 38.8 million in 2008.
Those sales figures are helping motivate cable operators and
broadcasters to fulfill the other half of the digital-TV promise:
delivering programming in formats that can take advantage of new
devices and high-resolution screens. Commitment to high-definition
programming hit a new high this summer, with special high-definition
broadcasts of the summer Olympics on NBC .
"New life has been pumped into the DTV transition," Federal
Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell told Congress last
week in a written report on the progress of HDTV. This summer, he
said, 1,445 DTV stations were on the air, compared to fewer than 200
just three years ago. "High-definition content is booming. Cable has
gone from virtually no HDTV programming to offering HDTV service to
84 million homes nationwide."
...
http://news.com.com/2100-1041-5366749.html
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