Digital-TV: “final-cut-off-date” for “OTA” (Over-The-Air) Analog TV Broadcasts”

On Wednesday, February 8th, 2006 – President George Bush signed the “Deficit Reduction Act,”
which also included the “Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act”.
This sets February 17th – 2009, as the "final-cut-off-date" for "OTA" (Over-The-Air) Analog TV Broadcasts."

And it means, finally some of the uncertainty that has contributed to public confusion concerning the Digital TV Transition has been removed.

“The Digital TV Transition” – moving the nation from traditional Analog TV to Digital TV – started with “one-small-step” taken ten-years ago, with the signing of the “Telecommunications Act of 1996”.  The first Digital TV Broadcast aired the same year, when WRAL, Raleigh-Durham, N.C. became the first Local TV Station to transmit Digital TV.

After a decade of debate and indecision, speculation and rumor, mis-information as well as
dis-information – all of which generated mass confusion among consumers – it appears the end
is in sight.

With the "end-date" of February 17th, 2009 "fixed in law," U.S. TV Broadcasters are required to
STOP transmission of OTA Analog Television Signals, and move to All-Digital-TV-Broadcasts.

So ends the TV Era – and "20th-Century (analog) TV".  The new era of Digital TV – SDTV .. EDTV ..
and HDTV begins.  
 

What Does This Mean To You – The Consumer? 

   1.

      If you have an Analog TV (and) receive OTA (Over-The-Air) Broadcasts of Analog TV Signals – as of Feb.17th, 2009 – You will NO Longer be able to view Local Analog TV Broadcasts.
         1.

            Local-OTA Analog TV will NO LONGER be broadcast.  All Local-OTA Stations will now broadcast Digital TV Signals – ONLY.
            
         2.

            To view Digital TV Signals requires a Digital Television – Capable of Receiving and Displaying Digital TV – "SDTV" (Standard Definition (Digital) TV).
                *

                  Important: Does NOT require an HDTV (High Definition TV) set.
                  
   2.

      However – Consumers (affected as in #1 above) who choose to continue using Analog TV sets after Feb. 17th, 2009, will be able to do so – BUT ONLY if they have an external, “D/A- Converter" – (DIGITAL TO ANALOG TV Signal CONVERTER) installed.
      
         1.

            A D/A Converter will be similar in appearance to a Cable or Satellite "STB" (set-top-box).  These are expected to be readily available within a "nominal" price range – early estimates are from about $40.00 to $65.00.
                *

                  NOTE: Depending on demand volume for converters,
                  the price range may be more or less.
                  
         2.

            The bill signed into law by President Bush, also includes up to $1.5 billion in funding, (by U.S. Taxpayers) to provide – up to two (2) $40 Vouchers (per household) for consumers who choose to buy Digital-to-Analog Converter boxes.
            
   3.

      Important Exclusion: Cable TV Subscribers are NOT directly impacted by this new law.
         1.

            Since Cable TV Signals are not transmitted OTA, this law does NOT apply to Cable Analog TV programs as currently written.
            
         2.

            At the present time, Cable Companies generally provide their Subscribers with Analog TV programming.  While many Cable providers offer an "optional" Digital Program Package, (for an additional monthly charge) – this consists of a nominal number of 'pre-selected' (by the Cable Provider) Digital TV Channels.
            
         3.

            When OTA-Analog Broadcasts End, the Cable Companies will have to make a decision: to continue transmitting Analog TV (with 'some' 'optional' Digital TV) to their Subscribers, or to switch to All Digital Broadcasts.

      Important Notes:
          *

             Since all Local TV Stations – Independents, as well as Affiliates (carry the Major TV Network Broadcasts) will now be broadcasting only Digital TV Signals, the Cable Companies will confront a more complex choice.
            
          *

            In order to continue providing Cable TV Customers with Analog TV Programming, will require the Cable TV Companies to CONVERT the new, Digital TV "feeds" (which are received from either National Network Broadcasts or Local Affiliate Broadcasts) to Analog TV Signals …
                o

                  BUT! … Current reports indicate that the Major Networks are NOT Likely to be willing to permit the "down-conversion" of their Digital TV Signals to Analog.
                  
          *

            If unresolved, this would mean Cable (Analog TV)  Subscribers would NOT have any access to Network or Local TV Broadcasts.
            
          *

            Alternatively, the Cable Companies will have to decide whether or not to switch completely to Digital TV…
            This will involve "upgrading" all their Subscribers who presently have "standard" Cable STB's (set-top-boxes) to Digital STB's – AND require their Customers – who still have "Analog TV Sets" – to buy an additional D/A Converter.  Another alternative is for the Cable Company to provide all their customers with an "Analog-Digital-Combination" STB – a costly solution at best!
            
   4.

      Satellite TV Subscribers will likely be less affected, since most have a Satellite-STB, with the capability of automatically providing either an Analog TV Signal or Digital TV Signal – whichever is required by their TV.
      
   5.

      An important point for All Analog TV Viewers to consider -  Although you CAN choose to continue using your Analog TV – even after All Analog TV Broadcasts cease – the picture quality displayed on your TV will be diminished to some degree.  Each time the TV Signal is "converted" – from Digital to Analog, or the reverse – some picture quality is lost.
         1.

            Individual TV Viewers will have to decide, whether it is worth holding on to their traditional Analog TV, with degraded picture quality, or to go "digital" and see what they have been missing.
            
   6.

      And a Last Important Note: None of the above refers to HDTV.
      Consumers are NOT required to buy an HDTV.
         1.

            Digital TV does NOT mean HDTV!  The two terms are NOT interchangeable – in spite of continued, wide-spread public mis-use.
            
         2.

            While HDTV (High Definition TV) is "digital," it is a unique – completely separate and different TV Format.  HDTV requires its own unique "High Definition Television" equipment, from start to finish – from production studio to broadcast station, from transmitter to in-home receiver.  All Components must be HDTV capable and compatible.
            
         3.

            As used in the general sense, Digital TV refers to "SDTV" – Standard Definition (Digital) TV.
            
         4.

            The Digital TV Transition applies "only" to the change-over from Analog TV to Digital – SDTV; it does NOT include or involve "HDTV" – at all!
                *

                  TV Broadcasters are mandated to broadcast Digital TV Signals (SDTV) – only.  The decision, whether or not, to transmit HDTV programming remains the voluntary choice of each Broadcaster.

The Digital TV Transition:

    *

      Digital TV (SDTV) provides significant improvement in picture quality, compared to traditional Analog TV.
      
    *

      The Digital Transition opens up a significant area of 'highly-coveted' radio spectrum to new mobile broadband applications, as well as to public safety agencies.
      
    *

      The move from the (upper-700-MHz) band frees (60 MHz) of wave-space, making it available for auction to wireless-mobile carriers, while also providing (24 MHz) to be used for emergency response agencies.
      
    *

      The upper-700-MHz band enables wireless signals to travel (4 to 5) times as far, as existing mobile phone signals travel.  It is this extended range that has high value to mobile-broadband providers, police and fire departments, who need improved communications capability.

Source From Al & Mike News http://alandmike.wordpress.com

How Blu-ray Discs Work

In 1997, a new technology emerged that brought digital sound and video into homes all over the world. It was called DVD, and it revolutionized the movie industry.

The industry is set for yet another revolution with the introduction of Blu-ray Discs (BD). With their high storage capacity, Blu-ray discs can hold and playback large quantities of high-definition video and audio, as well as photos, data and other digital content.

In this, you will learn how the Blu-ray disc works and how it was developed, and we'll see how it stacks up against some other new digital video formats on the horizon.

The Name
The Blu-ray name is a combination of "blue," for the color of the laser that is used, and "ray," for optical ray. The "e" in "blue" was purposefully left off, according to the manufacturers, because an everyday word cannot be trademarked.

What is a Blu-ray Disc?
A current, single-sided, standard DVD can hold 4.7 GB (gigabytes) of information. That's about the size of an average two-hour, standard-definition movie with a few extra features. But a high-definition movie, which has a much clearer image (see How Digital Television Works), takes up about five times more bandwidth and therefore requires a disc with about five times more storage. As TV sets and movie studios make the move to high definition, consumers are going to need playback systems with a lot more storage capacity.

Blu-ray is the next-generation digital video disc. It can record, store and play back high-definition video and digital audio, as well as computer data. The advantage to Blu-ray is the sheer amount of information it can hold:

    * A single-layer Blu-ray disc, which is roughly the same size as a DVD, can hold up to 27 GB of data — that's more than two hours of high-definition video or about 13 hours of standard video.

    * A double-layer Blu-ray disc can store up to 54 GB, enough to hold about 4.5 hours of high-definition video or more than 20 hours of standard video. And there are even plans in the works to develop a disc with twice that amount of storage.

Blu-ray discs not only have more storage capacity than traditional DVDs, but they also offer a new level of interactivity. Users will be able to connect to the Internet and instantly download subtitles and other interactive movie features.

Blu-ray Advantages

    * record high-definition television (HDTV) without any quality loss
    * instantly skip to any spot on the disc
    * record one program while watching another on the disc
    * create playlists
    * edit or reorder programs recorded on the disc
    * automatically search for an empty space on the disc to avoid recording over a program
    * access the Web to download subtitles and other extra features

How Does Blu-ray Work?
Discs store digitally encoded video and audio information in pits — spiral grooves that run from the center of the disc to its edges. A laser reads the other side of these pits — the bumps — to play the movie or program that is stored on the DVD. The more data that is contained on a disc, the smaller and more closely packed the pits must be. The smaller the pits (and therefore the bumps), the more precise the reading laser must be.

Unlike current DVDs, which use a red laser to read and write data, Blu-ray uses a blue laser (which is where the format gets its name). A blue laser has a shorter wavelength (405 nanometers) than a red laser (650 nanometers). The smaller beam focuses more precisely, enabling it to read information recorded in pits that are only 0.15 microns (µm) (1 micron = 10-6 meters) long — this is more than twice as small as the pits on a DVD. Plus, Blu-ray has reduced the track pitch from 0.74 microns to 0.32 microns. The smaller pits, smaller beam and shorter track pitch together enable a single-layer Blu-ray disc to hold more than 25 GB of information — about five times the amount of information that can be stored on a DVD.

Each Blu-ray disc is about the same thickness (1.2 millimeters) as a DVD. But the two types of discs store data differently. In a DVD, the data is sandwiched between two polycarbonate layers, each 0.6-mm thick. Having a polycarbonate layer on top of the data can cause a problem called birefringence, in which the substrate layer refracts the laser light into two separate beams. If the beam is split too widely, the disc cannot be read. Also, if the DVD surface is not exactly flat, and is therefore not exactly perpendicular to the beam, it can lead to a problem known as disc tilt, in which the laser beam is distorted. All of these issues lead to a very involved manufacturing process.

On Guard
Blu-ray discs are better armed than current DVDs. They come equipped with a secure encryption system — a unique ID that protects against video piracy and copyright infringement.

Building a Blu-ray

The Blu-ray disc overcomes DVD-reading issues by placing the data on top of a 1.1-mm-thick polycarbonate layer. Having the data on top prevents birefringence and therefore prevents readability problems. And, with the recording layer sitting closer to the objective lens of the reading mechanism, the problem of disc tilt is virtually eliminated. Because the data is closer to the surface, a hard coating is placed on the outside of the disc to protect it from scratches and fingerprints.

The design of the Blu-ray discs saves on manufacturing costs. Traditional DVDs are built by injection molding the two 0.6-mm discs between which the recording layer is sandwiched. The process must be done very carefully to prevent birefringence.

   1. The two discs are molded.
   2. The recording layer is added to one of the discs.
   3. The two discs are glued together.

Blu-ray discs only do the injection-molding process on a single 1.1-mm disc, which reduces cost. That savings balances out the cost of adding the protective layer, so the end price is no more than the price of a regular DVD.

Blu-ray has a higher data transfer rate — 36 Mbps (megabits per second) — than today's DVDs, which transfer at 10 Mbps. A Blu-ray disc can record 25 GB of material in just over an hour and a half.

Blu-ray vs. Other New Disc Formats

Will Blu-ray replace previous DVDs? Its manufacturers hope so. In the meantime, JVC has developed a Blu-ray/DVD combo disc with an approximate 33.5-GB capacity, allowing for the release of video in both formats on a single disc. But Blu-ray is not alone in the marketplace. A few other formats are competing for a share of the DVD market.

HD-DVD
The other big player is HD-DVD, also called AOD (Advanced Optical Disc), which was developed by electronics giants Toshiba and NEC. HD-DVD was actually in the works before regular DVD, but it didn't begin real development until 2003.

The advantage to HD-DVD is that it uses the same basic format as the traditional DVD and can therefore be manufactured with the same equipment, saving on costs. The disadvantage is that it can't match the storage capacity of Blu-ray. A rewritable, single-layer HD-DVD can hold 20 GB of data; a double-layer disc can hold 30 GB (that's compared to 27 GB and 50 GB for Blu-ray). The read-only versions hold slightly less data. Also, HD-DVD doesn't offer the interactive capabilities of Blu-ray, although it will probably be less expensive than its competitor.

Other Competitors

Blu-ray and HD-DVD are the two major competitors in the market, but there are other contenders, as well. Warner Bros. Pictures has developed its own system, called HD-DVD-9. This system uses a higher compression rate to put more information (about two hours of high-definition video) on a standard DVD. Taiwan has created the Forward Versatile Disc (FVD), an upgraded version of today's DVDs that allows for more data storage capacity (5.4 GB on a single-sided disc and 9.8 GB on a double-sided disc). And China has introduced the Enhanced Video Disc (EVD), another high-definition video disc.

There are also professional versions of the blue laser technology. Sony has developed XDCAM and ProData (Professional Disc for Data). The former is designed for use by broadcasters and AV studios. The latter is primarily for commercial data storage (for example, backing up servers).

Formats
Unlike DVDs and CDs, which started with read-only formats and only later added recordable and re-writable formats, Blu-ray is initially designed in several different formats:

    * BD-ROM (read-only) – for pre-recorded content
    * BD-R (recordable) – for PC data storage
    * BD-RW (rewritable) – for PC data storage
    * BD-RE (rewritable) – for HDTV recording

When Will Blu-ray Become Available?
Blu-ray recorders are already available in Japan, where more consumers have access to HDTV than in the United States. Outside of Japan, once more TV sets come equipped with a high-definition tuner and more films and television shows are produced in high-definition (which is expected to happen by late 2005 or 2006), Blu-ray movies and TV shows on disc should become widely available. But the format is already available for home recording, professional recording and data storage.

Another important factor is cost. Just as with most new technologies, Blu-ray equipment will be pricey at first. In 2003, Sony released its first Blu-ray recorder in Japan with a price tag of around $3,000. The price is expected to drop as the format gains popularity. Blu-ray discs may also be initially more expensive than today's DVDs, but once demand grows and they can be mass-produced, manufacturers say the price will drop to within 10 percent of the price of current DVDs.

Even when the new video standard begins to replace current technologies, consumers won't have to throw away their DVDs, but they will need to invest in a new player. The industry is planning to market backward-compatible drives with both blue and red lasers, which will be able to play traditional DVDs and CDs as well as Blu-ray discs.

Source From Al & Mike News http://alandmike.wordpress.com

‘Blu-Ray is key for games,’ says Sony’s UK MD

SCE UK boss Ray Maguire has dismissed suggestions that Sony is bullying gamers by forcing them to adopt its movie-playing technology with PlayStation 3 – claiming Blu-Ray is essential to the next-gen gaming experience.

Speaking in an interview with Eurogamer TV, published today, Maguire vigorously defended the decision to include its proprietary Blu-Ray format as standard on the GBP 425 console – amidst accusations levelled by Microsoft, which claims it is offering real consumer choice by launching a rival HD-DVD add-on for Xbox 360 later this year.

"Blu-Ray is really important for the games side of our business because what it does is it give us the ability to have 50Gb of information actually on the disc," Maguire said.

"With PlayStation 3 you're looking at a Cell chip that has immense computing power. That means you're going to need a huge amount of storage as well – we really need that Blu-Ray disc because what we don't want to be doing is swapping discs half way through loading. It's really important to us."

Maguire was also keen to stress that consumer appetite for HD was not just restricted to the burgeoning US market, despite relatively poor uptake levels in the UK.

"High definition is the way of the future; everyone's looking forward to it," he insisted. "Sky are eagerly trying to get boxes out for the World Cup and people are buying flat panels especially for HD."

"The reality is there's not very much High Definition content at the moment, and in a way PlayStation 3 is going to legitimise the whole of the High Definition experience for people."

"Right now 25 per cent of homes have got HD panels in the US. You've only got to go into stores now to see the old CRT is hardly available and it's all flat panels labelled 'HD Ready'. We know that there's an appetite from consumers and we're going to give them the product that makes it really sparkle."

Also in the interview, Maguire defends PS3's $399.99, reveals plans to continue to support PS2 for years to come and claims he is confident of a successful launch despite widespread fears of major stock shortages.

Source From Al & Mike News http://alandmike.wordpress.com

Online TV Network Channels

 

Well, looks like we have a new budding form of a TV Station Channels now,

“Online TV Network Channels”. Maybe the new term should be OTNC steaming!

With viewers trying to download the newest mp3 songs, and using software to download tv shows. The networks are going to beat the hacking of the tv shows to place them on a the web. ABC Network, and CBS Networks now have their own streaming of OTNC.

OTNC is steaming original network program shows over the internet like television network channel programing. Is it like have another channel on your dial on your cable box, or turner. But, using the internet with a high speed internet connection to received the programing, and this is not paid service (as of now). Networks are trying this as a test for now, to gain viewers!

I think it is a great ideal to offer shows already aired to be available to people to download, or view them online at anytime of the day. Keeps viewers, and keeps people happy to view shows over again without filling up TIVO, or other forms of storage. It will allow people all over the word to see what just happen in other countries on the weekly shows, or daily shows.

This all was all in the working stages around 2 years ago, when at the time AOL wanted to offer already aired tv shows on a free services to AOL customers. At that time, the networks did not think it would take off without the networks to received some money for the shows. Now, with OTNC they can air the shows themselves, and also include the original tv spots in the programs. Another way to gain extra revenue for the networks, and the tv spots get more coverage over time for the tv spots they paid for. I am sure that the networks will do something about adding a fees to the services later in time.

With the HDTV channels coming soon to local area tv channels, I guess they need to have another way to show off the shows, for people who can not get HDTVs, due to lack of money, or locations to the local cable, or towers. The networks maybe testing the waters over adding additional HD channels out in a lower cost transmition, by testing out how, who, and what is going on with “already aired tv programs”to maybe add to local networks.

HDTV has the advantage to add additional channels to the same channel to be broadcast without getting another FCC license to broadcast another channel. So, you are watching your local FOX network channel, right now in regular tv you are watching it as the channel say “36”, in HD format you will be able to see channels 36.1, 36.2, 36.3. So, say the same channel now can have FOX NEWS on channel 36.3, also have local news on channel 36.1, and broadcast a live concert on channel 36.2 all at the same time, so you can change the channel, and still received your local FOX channel but with additional programing to fit the viewers of the channels.

Try out these new OTNC steaming channels online now:

ABC Networks: http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing

CBS Networks: http://www.cbs.com/innertube/index.php

Blu-ray debut delayed

 

Is first-mover advantage important when it comes to expensive, new technologies? We may soon get a chance to find out as it pertains to next-generation optical discs. HD DVD's lead time to market is about to get a bit longer, as the initial batch of Blu-ray titles will not be hitting store shelves until June 20, nearly a month after the previous May 23 target.

Sony says the actual Blu-ray movies are still going to be ready on time. It's just that its partners aren't quite prepared for a launch later this month, according to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment President Benjamin Feingold:

"[T]he majority of our retail base and hardware partners have requested that we reconsider this date to better coincide with the first commercially available Blu-ray-compatible hardware."

If Sony Pictures was to go ahead with the launch as planned this month, the eight titles planned for the format's debut would be gathering dust on shelves as shoppers found themselves unable to buy actual players on which to watch them. It's actually surprising that Sony has waited this long to announce what looked to be an inevitable delay. After all, Samsung told us last month that its BD-P1000 Blu-ray player would miss its planned May 23 appearance due to a need for "additional testing."

HD DVD managed to launch just over two weeks ago with four titles (now up to a whopping 16!) and a couple of players from Toshiba, which means that it will have a two-month head start on the Blu-ray competition by the time Samsung's first Blu-ray player hits the big box electronics retailers.

If HD DVD has any advantage at the outset, it's not likely to come from having two months of additional market exposure or having 16 movies available instead of the eight titles currently primed for the Blu-ray launch. Instead, any upper hand gained will likely be attributable to its price. That's because the HD DVD player from Toshiba is about US$500 less than Samsung's player, which is available for preorder at a number of consumer electronics retail.

Should the price gap remain over the first several months of life for both formats, it may lead price-conscious early-adopters (if such an animal exists) in the direction of HD DVD. Naturally, Sony and the rest of the Blu-ray Forum are counting on the arrival of the PlayStation 3 to shore up its cause. That's not going to happen until the beginning of November at the earliest, and when the PS3 finally does show up, how much is it going to cost?

Having said that, we're still in the very early stages of what is likely to be a protracted format war. With both formats having very committed backers with very deep pockets, it may very well be years before the war is over and a victor declared.

Source From Al & Mike News http://alandmike.wordpress.com

ABC Network: Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America

 

Well, looks like that a USA TV NETWORK has finally has America going crazy over the BIRD FLU! May 9^th, 2006 ABC Network has a made for tv movie about the bird flu. Will we be watching it? I don't know how many people will, I know my Tivo machine will be recording it, and we will watch it later on.

Here is the press release from ABC Network on the new movie:

Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America

Tuesday, May 9 at 8/7c

Starring Joely Richardson, Stacy Keach, Ann Cusack, Justina Machado, Scott Cohen and David Ramsey

Informational Announcement

To date, there have been no cases of the H5N1 virus in the United States nor has there been a human transmission of the disease in a form that could fuel a pandemic. However, experts around the world are monitoring the Avian Flu situation closely and are preparing for the possibility that the virus could begin to spread from person to person. For information on the virus log onto pandemicflu.gov.

There are times that test humanity and challenge the soul of a community or a nation. News images and headlines tell stories of rising waters, quaking ground and tragic acts by man himself. But the real story, the human story, is found in the lives changed forever, in the strength of the survivors, and the resilient hope that gives them the courage to recover.

Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America follows an outbreak of an Avian Flu from its origins in a Hong Kong market through its mutation into a virus transmittable from human to human around the world. The meticulously researched film stars Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck), Stacy Keach (Prison Break, Blackbeard), Ann Cusack (Grey's Anatomy, Ghost Whisperer), Justina Machado (Six Feet Under), Scott Cohen (Street Time, Law & Order: Trial by Jury) and David Ramsey (All of Us).

John M. Barry, Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Tulane University and writer of the New York Times bestseller, The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, served as a consultant on the project. Barry's book, which includes a new afterword on today's Avian Flu, focuses on the 1918 Spanish Flu which killed between 50-100 million people.

[Editors Note: The film deals with the current threat of the Avian Flu virus (H5N1). Scientists continue to debate the degree to which the virus can mutate and be easily passed among human beings.]

The movie opens with an American businessman flying to Hong Kong to meet with his Asian manufacturers. After 11 meetings in three countries in six days, he starts his return to Virginia. But before he returns home, the Chinese government has informed the World Health Organization that a new strain of the Avian Flu virus was discovered in a local marketplace. Over 1.2 million infected birds were killed in an attempt to eradicate this strain. Dr. Iris Varnack (Richardson) of the Epidemic Intelligence Service receives an emergency summons to China, where she discovers these efforts may have come too late. Despite the early warning, the H5N1 virus has mutated into a version that can spread from human to human — shown in eye-opening detail whenever the microbes start to permeate the atmosphere – across races, nationalities, genders and ages.

The story is seen through the eyes of other key characters, including Collin Reed (Keach), Secretary of Health and Human Services, who is the primary go-between for Dr. Varnack with the state and local leaders back in America; Denise Connelly (Cusack), wife of the American businessman, as she deals with his illness and then helps to support other infected people; Governor Mike Newsome (Cohen) of Virginia, who, upon learning of this deadly virus, puts his city in quarantine and then breaks down the state into communities that can nurture each other; Alma Ansen (Machado), a hospital nurse in New York City who suddenly finds herself in the midst of escalating chaos working at a new and hastily constructed flu facility; and Curtis Ansen (Ramsey), Alma's husband in the National Guard who was brought back to New York.

Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America is executive-produced by Diana Kerew (Surrender Dorothy) and Judith Verno (The Hunt for the BTK Killer) for Sony Pictures Television. The movie was written by Ron McGee (Atomic Twister) and directed by Richard Pearce (Academy Award winner for Hearts and Minds, Peabody Award winner for Nothing Sacred).

Broadcast In HD (Check Your Local Listings)

Which disc will win out?

It could be the 21st-century version of Beta versus VHS.

In a scenario reminiscent of the 1980s battle over how VCRs should be formatted, two technologies are wrangling for supremacy in high-definition DVDs and, ultimately, in the $24 billion-a-year market for home videos.

But for now, consumers might be well-served to wait for a winner.

Like the VHS-Betamax struggle 25 years ago, today's competing technologies are more similar than different. But the stakeholders couldn't agree last year on a unified format. Toshiba wanted to finalize production of its new HD-DVD players and laptops. Sony balked at downgrading its higher-capacity Blu-ray Disc devices, which will go into its new PlayStation console this year.

Which One Do I Get?

Learning The Basics Of HDTV (update 3)

HDTV resolutions
Resolution, or picture detail, is the main reason why HDTV programs look so good. The standard-definition programming most of us watch today has at most 480 visible lines of detail, whereas HDTV has as many as 1,080. HDTV looks sharper and clearer than regular TV by a wide margin, especially on big-screen televisions. It actually comes in two different resolutions, called 1080i and 720p. One is not necessarily better than the other; 1080i has more lines and pixels, but 720p is a progressive-scan format that should deliver a smoother image that stays sharper during motion (for more on progressive scanning, see our primer). Another format is also becoming more well-known: 1080p, which combines the superior resolution of 1080i with the progressive-scan smoothness of 720p. True 1080p content is extremely scarce however, and none of the major networks have announced 1080p broadcasts. Check out our comparison chart to see how HDTV stacks up against standard TV and progressive-scan DVD.
Name Resolution HDTV? Wide-screen? Progressive-scan?
 
 
1080p 1,920×1,080 Y Y Y
 

1080i 1,920×1,080 Y Y N
 
720p 1,280×720 Y Y Y
 
Wide-screen 480p (DVD, EDTV) 852×480 N Y Y
 

Regular TV Up to 480 lines N N N
 

Videophiles are quick to point out that not every HDTV can actually display all the resolution of an HDTV program. That's true; all but the most expensive sets with 9-inch CRTs, LCoS engines, or the very highest-resolution DLP and LCD panels are incapable of resolving every detail of 1080i material. Plasma, LCD, LCoS and DLP TVs have a fixed number of pixels, known as native resolution, and the higher that number, the more detail you'll see. Naturally, higher-resolution fixed-pixel displays, such as 1080p sets with 1,920×1,080 pixels, cost more money. At the end of the day, however, even the staunchest video critics will admit that a high-definition picture on any HDTV looks far superior to regular TV.

Regular TV and DVD on an HDTV

Regular TV on an HDTV: Aside from being able to display high-resolution HDTV shows and movies, a high-definition set can also make regular TV look a little better. Almost every HDTV has a processor that takes the regular TV image and converts it to progressive-scan for a more stable image. This conversion won't work miracles, however, and many HDTV buyers are disappointed by how regular television looks on their new sets. That's because the big screen exaggerates the flaws in standard TV programs. No matter how nice a TV you buy, there isn't much you can do to make regular TV, including digital cable or satellite, look better.

DVD on an HDTV: Since most people don't buy HDTV tuners and converted TV doesn't really leverage the full potential of a new high-def television, you may wonder why people buy HDTVs today at all. Most of them will probably tell you it's because of DVD. HDTVs can make DVD, a very high-quality source, look spectacular. Progressive-scan DVD players have their own internal processors that are generally superior to the ones inside most digital sets. Mating a prog-scan DVD with an HDTV will give you the best picture you can get outside of HDTV itself.

Learning The Basics Of HDTV (update 2)

Analog TV broadcast switch-off: In December 2005, the Senate passed a budget bill that calls for over-the-air television stations to cease their analog broadcasts by February 17, 2009. After that date, TVs and other gear with old-style NTSC tuners would be unable to receive over-the-air broadcasts. Part of the government's quandary is that the switch-off would cause thousands of TVs to go dark and would deprive many lower-income viewers of their only source of television. To address this issue, lawmakers propose to subsidize converter boxes that would allow people to watch the new digital broadcasts on their old analog TVs. Further details on the transition to digital and the converter box subsidy are still being worked out, and given the slow progress over the last 9 years since the introduction of digital and HDTV, we wouldn't be surprised to hear of more changes before 2009.

Cable and satellite: The FCC's plans for ATSC tuners have nothing to do with HDTV over cable and satellite. Subscribers to pay TV services can simply get a set-top box that tunes HDTV channels, plug it into their HDTV-ready sets, and watch HDTV.

DCR
Some new HDTVs are digital cable ready (DCR), meaning they can tune digital cable channels, including HDTV if the cable provider has HDTV channels, without needing an external cable box. To use a DCR television, you'll need to get a special access card from your cable provider, called a CableCard. Unlike actual digital cable boxes, current DCR TVs can't do video-on-demand at all, and you must pick up a phone if you want to order pay-per-view programs. Using the card with some sets also means you can't access the electronic program guide (EPG), although many new DCR HDTVs include a third-party EPG, such as the TV Guide system, as a substitute.

Learning The Basics Of HDTV (update 1)

I thought I would post some information about HDTV, so you could learn about it, and fully understand the new system of TV that is coming for all of us very soon!

Analog, digital, and HDTV

Analog: An analog TV cannot display progressive-scan DVD or HDTV. It can show only standard-definition programs such as those found on regular TV, cable, or satellite–including digital cable and DirecTV or Dish Network.

Digital: A digital television, sometimes called a DTV, can also display progressive-scan DVD and almost always HDTV.

EDTV: This stands for Enhanced-Definition TV, and usually it describes a television that can display HDTV signals but doesn't have enough resolution to really do them justice. Most often it applies to plasma TVs and denotes 852×480 pixels.

HDTV: High-definition televisions, or HDTVs, can display standard TV, progressive-scan DVD, and HDTV signals. They're by far the most common type of digital television.
HDTV tuners

Over the air: Not all HDTVs actually come with a built-in tuner (called HDTV, digital, or ATSC tuners) that can receive high-definition programs over the air by simply connecting an antenna. Sets that have them built in are called integrated HDTVs, and those that don't are sometimes called HDTV ready or HDTV compatible; mostly they're all lumped together under the name HDTV. If you buy an HDTV-ready set, you'll also need to connect a separate tuner (or cable or satellite box) to watch high-definition programming. External over-the-air HDTV tuners currently cost at least $150.

FCC tuner mandate: You may have heard that all TVs will have to be HDTVs by a certain date. That's not technically correct. The FCC has mandated that certain sizes of televisions on sale on certain dates are required to have built-in ATSC tuners–but the TVs don't necessarily have to be able to display HDTV resolutions. Here's a look at the FCC's proposed rollout as it stands as of January 2006:
 
Date
  
TV sizes that must include ATSC tuner*
 
 
March 1, 2006
  
All TVs 25 inches or larger
 
 
March 1, 2007
  
All TVs regardless of screen size
 
*Note: Does not apply to monitors, such as many plasmas and front-projectors, that lack built-in standard (NTSC) tuners.