'The Future of Digital TV': Conference Sponsored by
Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
Date:
Thursday, November 13, 1997
Location:
Davis Auditorium
Schapiro Center for Engineering and Physical Science Research (CEPSR)
About the Conference:
Digital TV is beginning to cover the globe, reaching homes by satellite,
terrestrial broadcast, cable, fiber, Internet and DVD. Traditional industries
envision different technical scenarios. Strategies abound.
This conference investigates the technical, business, and content
implications of digital TV for companies, industries and society. It is
organized into four parts: economics and finance, content and programming,
technology, and international issues.
* The new infrastructure required for digital TV as well as the increased
costs for expanded content production must be financed. New distribution
opportunities are emerging. What impact will digital TV have on industry
structures and economies of scale? Will the proliferation of specialized
narrowcast channels provide sufficiently large markets for TV programs and
advertisers?
* Digital TV enables interactivity which will change news, entertainment
and education programs. Content is already being direct linked to shopping
and transactions. Will digital TV change viewing habits? Will server-based
TV increase the number of voices, or will major mainstream firms continue to
dominate the market?
* Over-the-air broadcast, optical fiber, Internet and server-based systems
provided digital TV with various levels of support for interactivity.
Interoperability issues need resolution. How will the computer industry's
progressive scan approach to digital TV be reconciled with broadcast's
interlaced scan? What additional technologies are needed to bring high
quality video to the Internet?
* Today DBS is providing interactive programs to a growing international
audience. Will digital TV serve national culture segments of globally
dispersed groups, with common interests and vocations? Will a single
worldwide standard emerge or will digital TV technology accommodate multiple
regional standards?
Program:
Time Scheduled Event
8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Registration
9:00 - 9:15 a.m. Opening Remarks
Eli Noam, CITI
9:15 - 11:00 a.m. The Changing Economics of TV Industries
How will the investment required for a new digital TV
infrastructure and expanded content production be
financed? What new distribution opportunities are
emerging? How will the traditional advertiser
supported broadcast model change? What is the impact
of the new broadcast and satellite channels on cable
distribution and video rental? How will video servers,
affect video rental chains and traditional
broadcasters? What will be cable's alternate
strategies for bandwidth, new service offerings and
pricing?
Consolidation in both the cable and telephone
industries, and vertical integration in the
entertainment industry, have produced large companies
with broad media scope. How will industry structure
and economies of scale be affected by digital TV? Will
the proliferation of specialized narrowcast channels
offer sufficiently large TV markets? How will network
affiliate relations be affected? What new financial
support mechanisms will emerge? Will the release
sequence of movies and syndicated programs change?
Moderator: David Roddy, Chief Telecommunication
Economist, Deloitte & Touche
Papers: W. Russel Neuman, Professor of Communications,
Annenberg School for Communications, U. of Pennsylvania
What are Broadcast Networks likely to do with the
additional spectrum allocated to them for digital TV
and what is their obligation to society for the use of
free bandwidth?
David Waterman, Associate Professor, Department of
Telecommunication, Indiana U.
Does digital TV change the economics of the TV
Industries?
Richard Parker, Director and Senior Fellow, Harvard's
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard U.
What's the Role of Economics in the Race Toward Digital
TV?
Respondents: Francine Sommer, Gabelli Multimedia
Edward Bleier, Warner Brothers
11:00 - 11:15 a.m. Coffee Break
11:15 - 1:00 p.m. Impact on Content and Programming
Digital TV may significantly change the number and
nature of programs. How will interactivity affect
entertainment, news and education: If the Internet is
the testbed for interactive TV, how will it influence
future TV content? Will digital TV change viewing
habits? Will it become a more active and social
experience, or a more solitary computer TV viewing
event? Will groups be targeted by focused programs and
advertising? What will the effect be, on content
production, of the opportunity to provide multiple
language audio tracks? Will TV programs work with
information on DVD and the web for news, shopping, and
transactions? Will TV content be direct linked
shopping and transactions? Will server-based TV
increase the number of voices, or will major mainstream
firms and their content dominate? Will local cable
companies continue to serve as input points to media
distribution?
Moderator: John Redpath, Home Box Office, HBO
Papers: John Carey, Director, Greystone Communication
Interactive Services: Where Will Content Come From?
Jessica Josephson, CEO, International Media Strategies
Commercial Broadcast's Public Service obligations.
Respondents: Robin Mudge, BBC
Sue Treiman, ABC
John Reed, Source Media, Inc.
Gary Poon, PBS
1:00 - 2:15 p.m. Luncheon (Faculty House)
Speaker: Richard Wiley, Attorney, Wiley, Rein &
Fielding
Public Interest Standards for Digital TV
2:15 - 4:00 p.m. Delivery Systems and Technology Issues
Several systems for digital TV distribution are being
deployed, including today's digital DBS and DVD.
Delivery systems, including over-the-air broadcast,
optical fiber, Internet and server-based systems can
all provide digital TV with various levels of support
for interactivity. How will interoperability issues
for these delivery systems be resolved? Is an
integration of some of these technologies likely to
occur? Which suite of technologies is likely to
prevail? Broadband loop technologies and cable modems
promise increases in Internet access speeds. What
additional technologies are needed to bring high
quality video to the Internet? Will the computer
industry's progressive scan approach to digital TV be
reconciled with broadcast's interlaced scan? How will
heterogeneous scan systems impact content providers and
consumer electronics manufacturers? What improved
forms of compression are on the horizon? Will advances
in compression, cellular cable and low orbit satellite
enable wireless digital TV?
Moderator: William Schreiber, Professor of Electrical
Engineering Emeritus, MIT
Papers: Eugene Miller, Technical Director, Bell
Atlantic, Science and Technology
Television Systems Evolution
A. Michael Noll, Professor, Annenberg School of
Communications, U. of Southern California
The Digital Mystique: A Review of Digital Technology
and its Applications to Television.
Respondent: Alvy Ray Smith, Graphics Fellow, Microsoft
Mahesh Balakrishnan, Phillips Research
4:00 - 4:15 p.m. Afternoon Break
4:15 - 6:00 p.m. International Perspective
Digital TV is a global phenomenon, but analog HDTV
continues to be broadcast in Japan while the US and
Europe are each developing their own digital TV
broadcast standards. Will digital TV serve national
culture segments of globally dispersed groups of common
interests and vocations? Will digital TV increase
content internationally? Will digital TV technology
accommodate multiple regional standards or will a
single standard emerge? What impact will DVD have on
consumer electronics companies? Will the World Wide
Web evolve to provide instantaneous global access to
digital TV?
Moderator: Rhonda Crane, AT&T
Papers: Peter B. Seel, Assistant Professor, School of
Journalism and Technical Communications, Colorado State
U.
Is there a transition path from HDTV to DTV in Japan?
Jeffrey A. Hart, Professor, Dept. Political Science,
Indiana U.
International political issues raised by digital TV.
Respondents: Wen Liao, Director Marketing
Communications, The Fantastic Corporation
Louis Bransford, Pres. and CEO, ESATEL
Herbert Schiller, Professor Emeritus, University of
California, San Diego
Closing Remarks:
Dr. Benjamin Barber, Director, The Walt Whitman Center,
Rutgers University
A critical response to the views and ideas presented at
The Future of Digital TV conference from the
perspective of public discourse, civil society and
global communications.
6:00 p.m. Cocktails (Faculty House)
Organized by:
Eli Noam, Professor and Director
Darcy Gerbarg, Research Fellow
CONTACT:
Register Online or Send Questions and Comments to:
The Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
Columbia Business School
809 Uris Hall
New York, NY 10027-6902
Tel: 212-854-4222
Fax: 212-932-7816
Email: citi@research.gsb.columbia.edu
SOURCE Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
/PRNewswire -- Nov. 10/
/Web site: citi.columbia.edu / |
