The Future of Television

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The Future of Television...

Introduction: HDTV is a new form of advanced entertainment bringing television lovers an even more intense viewing experience. HDTV not only provides lifelike pictures, but brings America's favorite sitcoms right into living rooms with its digital sound capabilities. With recent advancements in technology and the availability of HDTV products, prices are becoming more and more reasonable every day. Today, only 5 million households in the United States are able to receive HDTV signals. This number is expected to grow to more than 10 million in just two years. By the year 2006 all stations must be capable of broadcasting HDTV.

Discussion of Physics: The basic form of TV today is analog TV. The analog TV uses a 6 MHz signal to relay information to each scan line of a TV picture. A typical analog TV signal has 525 scan lines. It has a picture resolution of 210,000 pixels, and it has a horizontal resolution of 500 dots for a color set. Of course, high definition television (HDTV), is revolutionizing the experience of television entertainment in many aspects. HDTV has an astounding 720 or 1080 lines of resolution. Quite a bit clearer than the now outdated 525. There are 3 formats used in HDTV.

720p - 1280x720 pixels progressive
1080i - 1920x1080 pixels interlaced
1080p - 1920x1080 pixels progressive

The interlaced and progressive formats are scanning systems. Interlaced format separates even and odd lines so that they flicker interchangeably. With a smaller TV, interlaced systems work well enough, but when the screen is larger we may be able to notice it reframing 30 times per second even though it's separated by even and odd. Progressive simply reframes 60 times per second eliminating any notice-ability. The biggest difference a person may recognize in HDTV compared to analog is the aspect ratio. We are used to seeing a screen that is 4 wide and 3 high. The HDTV supports a ratio 16 wide and 9 high. This is much closer to the aspect ratio seen in theatrical movies. Another component of HDTV is how the digital signal is relayed to your home. They now use MPEG format to compress the data. This allows 55 times more data than before.

1. What Physics did these articles teach me?
These Articles taught us about the complexity of physics and how each component creates a wonderful scientific work of art. We had never known about the aspect ratios different types of signals, or the different forms of scanning. All of these elements have helped each of use gain knowledge in distinguishing between analog TV and High Definition TV. Lastly, many of us never had thought of the physics of TV. We all seemed to take it for granted, but now we have gained a greater appreciation for High Definition TV.

2. How could this physical science be utilized by today's society?

The first step in enabling society to take advantage of high definition television is for consumers to buy new equipment. Consumers must either buy a whole new TV set or a conversion box that will convert digital signals to analogue signals. If a conversion box is used, the consumer will not be able to experience the high definition digital picture and sound. Next, broadcasters will need to switch to HDTV. This will be a very expensive investment, as they have to buy new cameras, new tape machines, new titling and editing equipment, and lastly new devices for their vans. Once the broadcasters have converted to HDTV, cable operators will have to also convert all of their equipment and their conversion boxes as well. Cable operators will also have to decide which HDTV format they will want to use. Most will push for the 720p so that they will be able to fit more HDTV channels onto the cable. Lastly, communities will have to make an investment and agree to install new towers that will be able to broadcast the HDTV signal.

Links to 3 additional websites:

HDTV Television - An Introduction

HDTV Pictures

HDTV Net Shopping Resourse

Conclusion:

Many Americans today are not familiar with the ins and outs of HDTV. Having just recently entered the mainstream market, this new technology faces an uphill battle if it wishes to enter the ordinary American household. One reason that most families have decided to hold off on high-def. for now seems to be the hefty price tag. With recent increases in production and availability of HDTV equipment, however, this excuse could soon be extinguished. Additionally, if only the consumer could experience the tremendous clarity of high-def. and see the improvements that it has over standard NTSC television, they could get hooked. Even then, if HDTV is going to reach its full potential, TV producers and communities will have to make adaptations to their equipment. In all, while high-def. television has its undeniable upsides, it still faces obstacles before it can become the force that we can only dream it will be.

Annotated Bibliographies:

How HDTV Works

What is HDTV?

The Television of the Future

Falling Costs, Rising Interest; State of the Union, Super Bowl whet Appetite for HD technoloy.

HDTV Takes Off After Initial Hiccups

FAQ's:

What is the history of HDTV and when was it introduced into the market?

Are technological developments such as HDTV, nice to have but relatively unnecessary, brought about by businesses and producers, or are they more society-driven?

With the development of new technology such as high definition television, what are some of the potential social problems that may arise? (Ex. Health concerns, social skills etc.)

Do you think that equipting communities with HDTV compatable towers is a more beneficial use of funds than using this money for educational purposes, city maintenance, and other nonentertainment projects?

Do you feel that HDTV will create as big of an impact on our economy and technology market as DVD technology did?