The Future of Television

Contents

1. The Future Of Terrestrial Television.

1.1 High Definition Television.
1.2 The problems of HDTV.
1.3 Digital broadcasting.
1.4 The future.

2. Cable Television.

2.1 The history of Cable Television.
2.2 The advantages of having a large cable network.
2.3 The possibilities of combining telecommunication and television networks.

3. British Telecom.

3.1 British Telecom and its interactive services.

4. Interactive Television.

4.1 What is Interactive Television.
4.2 What technology is needed for Interactive Television.
4.3 How the interactive signal is transmitted.
4.4 The cost of Interactive Television.

5. Future Television Display Devices.

5.1 Present Display Devices and there problems.
5.2 The Plasma Display Panel.
5.3 The multimedia applications of the PDP.

6. Appendix.

6.1 Diagram of Cable Network System.
6.2 Diagrams showing principles of PDP display.
6.3 Diagram showing PDP screen upgrades.
6.4 Table of PDP specifications.

7. Bibliography.

1 The Future Of Terrestrial Television

1.1 The future of television is very much in the hands of remarkable advancements in digital technology and the entrepreneurs
who see the profit to be made from this recent progress. In the search for higher definition programme formats to give us large,
crisp, sharp images with less apparent line structure, digital television has been leading the way for the last three years. High
Definition Television or HDTV will fulfil all these requirements, with the receiver using around twice as many lines on screen as
the standard 625 we are used to in our living rooms. The wide-screen, razor sharp images with crystal clear sound offered on
HDTV broadcasts require the transmission of vast amounts of data, thus necessitating large bandwidth requirements. In fact
HDTV operates between 20-22MHz ;a staggering four times the bandwidth of our current 5.5MHz PAL system. Yet this is
not a problem, because of the recent technological advances in signal compression. Replacing the analogue waves of television
today are digital data transmission systems which would integrate a number of broadcasting services into a single broadcasting
wave.

1.2 Having said all of this, HDTV has a lot of problems, the main one being that it is not cost effective. To gain control of the
market, it will have to replace a massive 750 million television sets world-wide. Equally, the high bandwidth at which it operates
means that each HDTV receiver will be considerably more expensive than a cathode ray tube. In order to make HDTV
programmes, whole sets, scenery and backdrops would have to be completely redesigned to be shot on a camera which costs
about six times the amount of one found in a television studio today. Generally it seems that the expense of the equipment will
make it hard for HDTV to make an impact on the market in the near future...especially as Phillips are still producing close to
three quarters of a million television sets a week in this country, proving that the old cathode ray tube is still very much in
demand.

1.3 A change to digital broadcasting now would ensure easy viewer access for a start, certainly ending the geographical
problems of analogue waves. For example, Bradford is difficult to transmit to and from due to its surrounding topography.
More importantly though, digital transmission would change the face of terrestrial television altogether as it increases channel
capacity. The new compressed signal would only take up one quarter of the space that BBC, ITV and Channel 4 currently use
to be transmitted on. Thus terrestrial television would not be restricted to a maximum of only six channels as it is now...indeed it
has proved difficult enough trying to transmit just five!

1.4 It is at this point that entrepreneurs have shown an interest in the path that television of the future is taking. With the
possibility of dozens of new channels thanks to signal compression with digital broadcasting, the most likely outcome is that
television companies will merge with cable. As far as satellite television goes, 12.1% of all homes already have Sky and have
subscribed to channels devoted to movies, sport and cartoons. Nothing exciting is planned for the future other than adding to
existing channels, yet the cable network (which is best placed to take advantage of the current technology) has the potential of
sending between 1000-2000 channels to your home in ten years time because of digital technology. November 1996 sees
Rupert Murdoch signing contracts with three manufacturers to start producing T.V. set-top boxes that will deliver 150 channels
with wide screen format and high quality sound, letting viewers shop, bank, call up films, book tickets or join in gameshows
interactively. The box receivers will sell at #200, though cost #400 to make...the heavy subsidy provided by Murdoch, banks,
manufacturers, retailers and British Telecom in what looks like a monopolistic broadcasting alliance. So eventually BBC, ITV
and Channels 4 and 5 will have to agree to Murdochs terms and pay for the privilege of using his exclusive system which does
not possess a common interface to allow competitors in. The danger of having so many channels at our fingertips is low quality
television. With viewers split up into watching so many different stations, large companies T.V. commercials will be seen by less
people, so subsequently they are reluctant to advertise and pay broadcasters who therefore have less money to spend on
making good quality programmes. The consequence is cheap programming such as gameshows and minority sports, putting
British television in a similar situation to American T.V., and making its future appear very bleak.

2. Cable Television

2.1 Born in the 1970s, the cable architecture was established to bring satellite channels straight into the home. This brought with
it speciality channels including news, sports and movies. Another advantage of the cable system is the ability to send phone
messages down the line. This is one of the reasons cable has been able to make such a big name for itself. Possible
developments in the cable industry are restricted by the fact that it has only 3% coverage of the market. Only 21% of the
households along a street will except cable installation. This is after the cable company has spent money digging up the road to
lay the copper lines down. For cable to develop any further it must expand its network to a far greater extent than is presently
evident. Information is a crucial growth commodity in an increasingly global service economy. So the quicker cable expands the
firmer the grip it will have on the market. (Appendix 6.1)

2.2 Telecommunication is one of the most profitable forms of communication at present. Once they have a large enough
network of avid cable viewers they can start introducing a larger telecommunications service and make a lot more money. The
biggest problem at the moment is that the cables are made from copper which isnt very practical when dealing with a large
amount of information. To overcome such a problem the cable companies must replace the copper wires with optical fibres.
The fibres would be able to carry several times more information than previous copper wires. If this development was to take
place which it most probably will then, keeping in mind the present architecture, it will lead to a host of possibilities. The cable
network would have the infrastructure to bring high-capacity communications to the world.

2.3 Such possibilities as interactive services might become a thing of the future. The sort of services available to the consumer
would be:

- Video-on-demand: Movies, sports events, concerts using interactive demand.
- Educational and distance learning: Courses, interactive link with your teacher.
- Interactive Entertainment: Games, statistics of players in a sport, news-on-demand, detailed reports on desired stories.
- Interactive personalised navigation facility: More choice would be available to the viewer so how would we find what
we need? A computerised agent would seek out your favourite programmes and offer an index or catalogue of productions
available.
- Civic networking: This would serve as a town hall where debates, ventures, education and issues concerning the
community are discussed.

With those kinds of services other companies and infrastructures would become possible partners. For example, if the internet
were to combine with the cable network we would have a practically singular information network offering all the services
possible now and several times more besides.

3. British Telecom

3.1 Being the biggest telecommunication network in Britain, BT has quite an advantage over the interactive market. Having
realised this BT plan to offer a fully interactive service and have recently concluded trials in Colchester and Ipswich.

The service will include nine main services:

- High Street: Thomas Cook, Natwest, WHSmiths etc
- TV: BBC, Carlton, Central, Granada, BSkyB etc
- Education: BBC, Channel 4, Dorling Kindersley Vision etc
- Adland: Amstrad, Apple Computers, Nescafe Gold Blend, Vauxhall etc
- Movies: Columbia/Tristar, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney etc
- Games: Nintendo, Sega etc
- Local Life: Age concern, DSS benefits, Careers Service, Disability, Electricity, Commerce, Kids Club etc
- Childrens TV: BBC, Carlton, Granada, Walt Disney etc
- Music Video: Polygram, Sony, Warner etc

During the trial more than 150 content providers were involved and gave customers access to 200 movies, 500 TV
programmes, 800 educational programmes, 500 childrens programmes, 200 music videos and 15,000 different product
options. These services are ordered and controlled via a standard remote control and delivered to a normal TV over copper
telephone lines. The service is accessed through a set top box which is based on a Apple Mac LC475 running the Mac
operating system and modified to support MPEG and 2Mbit/s network interface.

4. Interactive Television

4.1 At the present, the majority of all television systems operate using a one way medium, i.e. the television signal is sent from
the broadcaster to the consumer, because of this one way communication, the viewer has not really got any direct input into the
programmes that they are watching at that particular time. Interactive television allows the viewer to directly interact with the
programmes that they are watching. There are many variations or levels of interaction that can take place. In its simplest form,
the viewer can participate with the programme they are watching. For example an aerobics instructor can teach an exercise
class via the television. Instead of just watching the programme they viewer participates in it. This simple type of interactivity
can also be applied to chat shows where a view calls in and can voice their opinion.

4.2 In order for more advanced types of interactivity to take place via the television, then additional hardware must be
purchased, in order for traditional equipment to be interactive. This hardware must have the ability to communicate in both
directions between the between the viewer and the broadcaster. In order for this to be successful the data transfer rate between
the hardware and broadcaster must be very fast, almost instantaneous, for the viewer not to get annoyed waiting for information
to be received. Depending on the technology used, a variety of methods can be used to send the additional information that is
needed to make television programme interactive. These methods include embedding it in the existing television signal, using a
different channel, existing telephone lines, or direct optical fibre link into the house. As well as transmitting the broadcaster must
be able to receive information from each viewer watching, so the systems mentioned using traditional methods i.e. transmitting
data on a different wavelength (channel) would have major bandwidth limitations, so would not be very viable, as the signals
would be subject to interference. The most reliable method of transmitting interactive television would be, a fast digital optical
fibre connection, directly into the viewer's house, connected via a modem to the television, which would insure high quality
digital transmission with minimum interference from other sources.

4.3 This signal, that contains the picture data, also carries the interactive information at the same time, allowing both signals to
be overlaid on the display at the same time. If a decision is made from the house, (for example to watch a certain film) then a
signal is sent to the broadcaster, and the relevant information is sent back. This two way communication between the viewer
and the broadcaster is what makes the interactive television to be truly interactive, so allowing the viewer to be able to directly
choose what the broadcaster is sending to their house.

4.4 A basic interactive television decoder should be relatively cheap, just a box of electronics on top of the TV, (similar to
today satellite decoders) and a remote control to select what you want to do. If more hardware is added to the system, (faster
modem, CD-ROM drive, high specification processor - similar to a multimedia PC) the price of the equipment rises
considerably. Of course, in the future an all in one unit, with all the equipment needed to receive, decode, watch and take part
in interactive television, all in a single television set. This will be the equipment that consumers will more than likely prefer, but
this situation will be undoubtedly arise where the television companies may abuse the situation. If the consumer has an all in one
set that will probably be hard to upgrade, (as new technology is developed) then the producers will be able to transmit
programmes that can only be watched/taken part in by the latest television set. Care must be taken that a monopoly situation
cannot get out of hand or is strictly regulated, or viewers could be potentially exploited with expensive equipment, that is limited
to interactive television, that cannot be used due to being out of date for improved interactivity. After the unit has been
purchased, then charges for line rental, and program subscription will also be a factor to take in to account when the system
becomes available. As well as a more traditional system of program subscription a new system may come into use where you
would pay for exactly what you watch, similar to telephone billing. Because there is a two-way communication channel between
each viewers' television set and the broadcasting station, then information on what programs are being watched will be available
to the producers. This information can also be used for rating statistics as well as direct program billing.

5 Future Television Display Devices

5.1 As technology progresses then the main display device, which is at present the cathode ray tube, (CRT) will eventually be
surpassed, both in quality and in the possible screen dimensions. CRTs have always been popular because of there good image
quality, and relatively low cost. However CRTs are also bulky and heavy, so there usage in future television display devices
seems uncertain. A present alternative to a CRT is the Liquid crystal display (LCD), which is quite widely used in portable
computers and hand held television sets. LCDs are light, slim and consume relatively small amounts of power. However these
displays are unacceptably small, they have limited visibility angles and the screen update rate is too slow to be used as television
display units.

5.2 A new display device that is being considered, is the Plasma Display Panel (PDP) (if you need a higher res pic mail me).
These devices combine the image quality and fast screen update of CRTs with the light weight portability of LCDs. The PDP
uses a different technique from a CRT, instead of electrons being fired at a phosphor screen, Ultra Violet (UV) radiation is fired
at phosphor dots, which are activated and visible light is emitted. A colour display is achieved by controlling the luminance from
the individual three prime colour phosphors. (Appendix 6.2)
Due to this new technique, the screen thickness for a unit 21 inches diagonal and a resolution of 640 x 480 is only
35-mm thick, (1.38 in.) and only weighs 4.8kg, (Appendix 6.4). Because of these specifications, the PDP can easily be used as
a wall mountable screen, whereas mounting a CRT on a wall has been difficult.
To enable the PDP to be so thin, the receiver/tuner and general electronics have to be in another location, i.e. a separate
box that is connected to the display. Even though this box is likely to be as bulky as a traditional CRT, it can be stored in
another location, away from the display. This separation between the screen and the rest of the device, also hold another
advantage. New bigger screens (up to 60 inches) can easily connected to the existing equipment, thus lowering the cost of an
upgrade. (Appendix 6.3)

5.3 Even multiple screens linked to a central device, making the unit cost of each PDP cheaper, by using the same electronics
and just connecting a number of screens up, the possibilities of many multimedia applications are potentially huge. With
multitasking equipment, different applications can be performed at the same time, so having television, video and computer
technologies in a single piece of equipment. By connecting a number of PDPs to this one piece of equipment then the need for a
stand alone computer, television and video will be a thing of the past.

Diagram showing the basic principal behind the PDP display.

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