Modern Television Changing Ame
Modern Television Changing AmeTelevision; Changing American Standards
The year is 1999 and the entire world is looking toward the United States for leadership in technology. Since the end of the cold war, the nations of the world have agreed that the United States is the leader in defense and freedom, but what about technology in the household? Is it possible for the U.S. to remain the world leader if we fall so far behind other countries when it comes to the issue of advanced household technology? Has Japan become so much more technically advanced than America, that the mere idea of ever catching up seems ludicrous? What about the French and Germans; does America have the educational system in place to keep up with these two powerful nations? These are questions that every American should ask themselves. One thing is for certain, when it comes to the issue of high quality television; America falls in dead last against Japan, France, and Germany.
The main reason the U.S. has fallen so far behind is because in the early 1950's when television was beginning to be broadcast across the country, the Federal Communications Commission made several bold and new decisions. First, The FCC had to decide on a bandwidth for which all television signals could occupy. The FCC had no problem in selecting a frequency at the time, considering the limited amount of signal producing devices that were available to the public. Second, the amount of resolution that the television sets could receive had to be determined. The FCC based this decision on the amount of information that black and white signals transmitted. The amount of resolution that the FCC decided on was and still is 525 lines. These two decisions by the FCC were put into law in the 1950's and all broadcasters who wished to broadcast in the U.S. were required to send 525 lines of resolution on the designated bandwidth to every household across America. It should be noted that in the 1950's the only form of a signal that humankind had invented was called an analog signal (Huering and Pizzello 209).
In the 1950's, the mere idea of television and all of its capabilities was a miracle in itself. People across America couldn't believe that one could actually look into a little box and see other people talking. Another interesting point about the early stages of television is that only a few people could actually afford one; typically, one had to have an income of an upper middle class family or higher in order to afford a television set. Although there were only a few television sets on the streets in the early 1950's, people across America knew that this invention was here to stay.
The original standards that the FCC imposed on broadcasters were very practical. The amount of lines of resolution and the signal bandwidth for which television signals would travel made perfect sense. However, those standards were based on the limited knowledge of 1950's engineering; since that time when those original standards were set by the FCC, no change has yet been made in reference to the signal frequency broadcast or lines of resolution (Department of the Army A15).
When color television was invented in the 1960's, engineers from universities throughout America told the FCC that changes would have to made concerning resolution. The engineers told the FCC that the original bandwidth which was assigned for black and white TV was not wide enough to carry all the information that a color signal required and that it had to be changed in order to meet the new requirements. Sadly, the FCC insisted that the bandwidth remain the same and ordered all manufactures of home television sets to only tune in to the FCC designated bandwidth (Sony Institute of Applied Video Technology 17).
The shock waves that the FCC's decision sent down the hallways of universities and institutions across America are still felt today. It seems that over the past forty years there has been a built in animosity between the engineers and politicians that work for the FCC and every other television engineer in America. Whenever an American television engineer came up with a plan or idea to make the television picture look better, he or she knew that it will have to be approved by the FCC and all of its red tape. The Friction that this type of relationship between engineers and the FCC has been costly in regards to technological advancement and research and development.
Today, all of the engineers (FCC and civilian) want to put the long-standing feud on hold, and look toward the future (Picard 1). American engineers have traveled around the world and they see the progress that other nations are making. Due to their travels, most U.S. engineers have realized that the modern nations of the world are leaning toward a format called high definition television (HDTV). High definition television, described simply, is 1080 lines of interlaced resolution.
For the past several years American engineers have been working on a process called digital transmission. Digital transmission is the different from analog transmissions in the sense that analog signals travel in waves and digital signals travel as zeros or ones. For example, when an analog signal wave travels through the air it either raises higher for one response or lowers for another. However, when you send a digital signal through the air it can only be a zero of a one, nothing in between. The difference between an analog signal and a digital signal is that an analog signal runs the risk of receiving interference when it travels through the air and a digital signal does not (Petch, Chuck, and Colburn 9). Typically, the types of interference that today's analog signal experiences is crosstalk between two very similar signals and the color crunching that takes place due to clogged airways. Crosstalk is seen at home when your picture seems to have two images on the screen at the same time and color crunching is noticed by the poor color saturation of American television sets.
What digital television offers is a guaranteed crystal clear picture, elimination of crosstalk (also referred to as ghosting) on the screen, access to the Internet, on-screen data, and six channels of CD quality surround sound (Sharp Electronics Corporation 1.)
The first move to introduce digital television in America was made by the Sony Corporation of America and the Grass Valley Group (based out of southern California.) Back in 1993 these two corporations offered to the FCC the format known as HDTV. Since that time, there have been many debates on Capitol Hill and we are just now getting to the point of broadcasting the first digital signal in America.
The television industry is very aware that Americans have invested billions of dollars in their analog televisions and that some people are going to be very reluctant to throw away their TV sets. Therefore, the FCC has agreed to move very slowly toward digital TV.
HDTV BROADCAST TIMELINE
April 1997-FCC allocated digital channels to broadcasters.
November 1998-Up to 26 stations begin HDTV broadcasts in the top 10 TV markets.
May 1999-Network stations in the top 10 markets must simulcast at least 1/2 of their analog programming on HDTV.
November 1999-Network stations in the next 20 largest markets must broadcast HDTV. (1/2 of all households)
May 2002-Remaining commercial stations must begin HDTV broadcasts.
2003-Non-commercial stations must begin HDTV broadcasts.
2004-Stattions must broadcast at least 3/4 of their analog programming on HDTV.
2005-Stations must broadcast all programs in both analog and HDTV signals.
2006-Subject to FCC review, all stations will cease analog broadcasts.
Most engineers believe that once Americans learn of all the advantages of HDTV they will invest in the upgrade to digital television. The primary advantage is of course the brilliant picture quality, but also, a wide-screen presentation. Analog televisions have an aspect ratio of (the picture width to height) only 4:3, digital allows a ratio of 16:9. The combination of a wide screen and photographic quality resolution ultimately will allow for the presentation of an entire football game using a single camera, showing the viewer all of the field as it can be seen form seats on the 50-yard line (CEMA 1). Another advantage of wide-screen television is that film companies can release their new movies for home viewing at the same time they are released in the theater. Lastly, the safety factor involved with viewing HDTV versus analog is considered to be more safe and comfortable to the human eye because of the superior clarity and reduced flicker in the screen.
The first steps towards digital took place last year when DVD (digital videodisc) was introduced. DVD will eventually replace VHS, just like the CD replaced the record album. DVD, however, is only 740 lines of resolution, so HDTV will actually be much clearer, if you can imagine that. One good thing about DVD is that it's already formatted for six channels of audio, instead of the two channels of stereo offered by VHS. Lastly, some directors in Hollywood have agreed to only release their films on DVD in a wide-screen format; hence, almost forcing the public to go digital if they want to watch the movie at home in a viewable manner.
The initial cost of a digital television set is estimated to cost between $2,000 and $5,000 more than today's analog sets. However, in 1999, when mass production of digital sets begins, it is anticipated that prices will drop rapidly. For those who don't want to give up their analog set, a converter box will be sold to switch the digital signal back to analog. Due to the fact that broadcasters will be required to broadcast both signals simultaneously, some clogging of the airways is expected.
The politics involved in this transition are mind-boggling. The FCC and lobbying groups in Washington will undoubtedly go back to the bargaining table once the digital broadcast places an impact on the American public. Certainly, some people will feel that they are being forced to upgrade and others will insist that this is some type of monopoly being run by the FCC and television set manufactures. Lastly, others in congress will protest that the major Japanese manufactures (Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, and Mitsubishi) stand to gain too much from this mandatory upgrade. Digital television is the dawn of a new era in communications. There is unlimited potential for cross-level communications: the video telephone, the computer television, the Internet television, etc..
The choice is simple. The television industry wants a long over due upgrade because analog television is too primitive towards new technology. The America public wants to be the world leader in technology on the home front.
In conclusion, I have tried to show that the American standard for television currently rests on the technology of the 1950's, not on the digital era of tomorrow. With the new millenium rapidly approaching, Americans must prepare for the digital domain. A new attitude towards technology will be required!
Works cited
Department of the Army. "Camera composition tips." Soldier's Manual/Trainer's Guide MOS 25P. Washington: U.S. Army, 1990. A8-A15.
Heuring, David, and Stephen Pizzello, eds. "Intermediate NTSC video testing." American Cinematographer Video Manual. Hollywood: ASC Press, 1992. 209-235.
Petch, Chuck, and David Colborn, eds. "Digital video standards." Designing Digital Systems. Grass Valley: The Grass Valley Group, 1993. 6-13.
Picard, joe, ed. "Why digital television?" Digital television: The transition. Grass Valley: The Grass Valley Group, 1992. 1-2.
Sony Institute of Applied Video Technology. Electronic News Gathering: Covering the Live Event. Hollywood: Sony, 1992. 15-18.
CEMA. "Essential facts about Digital Television." Consumer Electronics Manufactures Association, 1998. 1.
Sharp. "the ABCs of of DTV." Sharp Electronics Corporation, 1998.