The killer app isn't E-mail and I know it can't be Wink. I wonder what it is?
HDTV -- Coming soon to a screen near you
By MIKE McDANIEL
Houston Chronicle TV Editor
Last week, Channel 11 became the first Houston television station to broadcast a signal for the next generation of TV.
Nobody saw it -- it was too weak to reach anyone.
But over the next two years, the new technology know as digital television -- and a special form of it called high definition television, or HDTV -- will become widespread, promising the biggest improvement in the TV picture since the introduction of color.
New digital TV sets will go on sale this fall and, by October, Channel 11 hopes to be offering some form of HDTV programming. By the end of next year, all Houston stations will be offering a digital signal.
In simple terms, digital signals are clearer than the analog radio-wave signals we now receive. They provide a picture that is laser-disc quality and sound that is CD quality, provided you have a TV set or other receiver to translate the signal.
HDTV is a superior form of digital signal. Today's television sets transmit a picture in 480 lines. If you get close enough to the screen, you can see them. With HDTV, the number of lines can range from 720 to 1,080 -- so many that they virtually disappear, even upon close examination.
When it is running correctly, an HDTV picture is as clear as looking through a window. Colors seem more vibrant. Images seem to come alive.
It is an astonishing advance in television -- so good that TV manufacturers say consumers won't be able to live without it.
In fact, they're counting on it, because as astounding as HDTV is, it comes with an equally astounding price tag, not only for everyday viewers but also for broadcast companies and television stations.
The first digital TV sets are expected to cost $5,000 -- and more. At the same time, networks and TV stations will have to dig deep for the multimillion-dollar cameras, transmitters, antennae and playback systems needed to get higher-quality pictures into peoples' living rooms.
Last April, the Federal Communications Commission mandated that every TV station in the country begin broadcasting a digital signal -- not necessarily HDTV -- by the year 2006. The government is offering stations a free digital channel to go with the analog one they're now using.
Stations in the 10 largest TV markets must start their digital channels by May 1999. Those in the next 20 markets -- including No. 11 Houston -- join in November 1999.
Variations on a theme
With digital television, networks and TV stations will have to make a difficult choice between offering additional programming and providing a better picture.
With compression technology, a digital signal can carry four times the information of today's analog signals. In other words, each digital TV station soon will have the ability to provide up to four channels of programming.
But as more of the signal is used for additional programming, the less there is available to devote to HDTV.
So far, the networks have been hush-hush about their transmission plans, but industry observers believe they will compromise, providing some HDTV programming during prime time only.
Even with HDTV, there is a range of quality. The number of lines on the screen can vary from 720 to 1,080. They can be transmitted interlaced, where every other line is transmitted and the screen is swept again for the missing lines, all at the rate of 30 times a second. Or, they can be sent in progressive format, in which every line is transmitted consecutively 60 times a second.
Most TV engineers favor the interlaced format because it is capable of handling moving pictures better. Computer manufacturers favor the progressive format because it is more readily compatible with computers and displays still pictures better.
ABC and NBC are said to be most interested in 720 lines, progressive, which will allow room in the signal to provide additional programming. CBS, which initially said it would broadcast HDTV in 1,080 lines interlaced, has since backed off and may end up following the others. Fox is looking at 480 lines, progressive.
Channel 11 and all other stations owned by A.H. Belo Corp. of Dallas are investing now in equipment delivering 1,080 lines interlaced.
Most Houston stations plan on using today's transmission rate of 480 lines interlaced and applying a technology called "up-converting" to simulate HDTV quality.
An up-converter outputs a signal with double the lines of normal transmission. The picture will not be as sharp as HDTV, but will be close.
Chicken and the egg
Television manufacturers are excited about the conversion to digital TV because they see an opportunity to replace every television set in the United States, said Dale Bennett, regional vice president of the Texas division of Tele-Communications Inc. "But it's not going to happen. It will take a long time for the product to roll out."
The problem is price. Manufacturers will not discuss prices, but do not argue with estimates of $5,000 to $8,000 per set.
To replace the nation's 220 million analog TV sets would cost $187 billion, according to a 1996 estimate by the National Association of Broadcasters.
Jerry Marcus, general manager for Fox station Channel 26, agrees that price is a deterrent, but offers another reason why the conversion will be slow.
"I was watching 60 Minutes not long ago," Marcus said, "and (Andy) Rooney was saying that people watch television not to see the sweat on someone's brow but to see a program that entertains them. Are people going to pay all this money to see the sweat on someone's brow?"
On the other hand, without a digital receiver, viewers won't be able to receive the multiple broadcasts the stations will be able to offer.
Multiple broadcasting, or multicasting, offers up all kinds of program possibilities.
Let's say the WB is offering the movie Goodfellas. Channel 39 could show it in a censored, PG version on its analog channel and on one of its four digital channels (38A). It could show the R-rated version on a second digital channel (38B) and would still have room to show kids programming -- say, back-to-back episodes of Moesha -- on 38C and an infomercial on 38D.
Similarly, CBS could be offering two versions of, say, L.A. Confidential. KHOU could show the PG version on Channel 11 and the wide-screen, R-rated version -- in HDTV -- on the digital channel it's been assigned by the FCC, Channel 31.
Not everyone sees additional programming as a draw.
"I don't believe the viewer is going to buy a television set just to get more channels," said David Carr, chief of engineering at KHOU. "That doesn't make sense, because right now he's got all the channels he can handle. He will go out and buy a new TV set if the quality is there."
Manufacturers say the quality will be there.
Initially, probably by the Christmas shopping season, manufacturers will come out with large rear-projection sets only. They are waiting until next year to introduce direct view sets -- those with picture tubes -- primarily because the difference in quality is not as apparent, while the problems in engineering are greater.
While the improvement in the picture is less dramatic in the direct view sets, so is the price -- $3,000, maybe less, for the larger models.
What will set the new sets apart, besides the quality of the picture, are the proportions of the viewing screen. Promising a movie-theater experience, the new sets, which should be in stores by Thanksgiving, will be much wider. The wide-screen sets will use the 16-9 aspect ratio, commonly used for motion pictures, vs. the boxy 4-3 ratio in today's sets.
The best of the new sets also will offer Dolby AC-3 sound, with built-in front speakers, subwoofer and jacks for rear speakers.
To receive HDTV, the sets will have to offer at least 720 lines of resolution. Models offering 1,080 lines also will be available. You can expect that the cost of the TV will go up as the resolution increases.
Makers of the new digital televisions include Sony, Panasonic, Pro-scan, RCA, GE, Zenith and Philips.
For most people unable or unwilling to pay $5,000, a set-top box is the next best option. The estimated cost is about $350 per box and falling; six months ago, it was $500.
The box will interpret digital signals, but it cannot increase the number of lines on your television. If you want true HDTV, you'll have to buy a new set.
For those with the new sets, Channel 11 will be offering an HDTV signal by Christmas, but will not have local programming in that format unless it invests heavily and quickly in the cameras and other equipment necessary to deliver it.
Those investments are being made, but slowly. Like the price of TV sets, the equipment is prohibitively expensive -- up to $250,000 for a camera -- but the price is expected to come down as more orders are placed.
Here's another topic that TV manufacturers are not so eager to bring up: Some VCRs and laser-disc players are digital, but none is capable of delivering content in 720 lines and higher.
Even if you have digital broadcasts and a digital television to receive them, you still may need to buy an antenna.
And for cable?
Houston's cable companies are digital-conscious, but not exactly digital-ready. TCI recently introduced TCI Digital Cable to the Greater Houston area, but it has purposely been slow in making it widely available. In fact, it won't be available in Houston itself until May.
A second-gener-ation cable box to handle digital TV will be available "late this year," said TCI's Dale Bennett.
Warner Cable is even further behind.
"We're moving forward on digital as quickly as we can," said Mike Luftman, vice president of corporate communications for Time Warner. He could offer no time frame on when a box might be available, saying it's still in the research and development phase.
After initially ignoring digital television, the cable operators are coming on board, because they have realized digital's inevitability. They need the major broadcast channels, and HBO already has signaled its desire to offer HDTV programming.
But even in a digital environment, cable companies say, they will have a finite number of channels to offer broadcasters.
"We will do whatever there is a public demand for," said Bennett of TCI. "If they create a compelling product, we will figure out how to get it on the cable system, because that's the business we're in."
Direct broadcast systems -- DirecTV, Primestar, Echostar -- have made their claim to fame by offering digital service from the beginning. But they are not capable of offering HDTV with their current set-top boxes.
Consumers will find some of the new TV sets have a connection for a direct broadcast set-top box that will make HDTV viewing possible. Otherwise, they'll have to purchase a new direct broadcast receiver.
Echostar plans some undefined HDTV programming later this year.
DirecTV plans to have two HDTV channels up and running by year's end. What those channels will offer has not been firmly decided, but the "likely possibility" is pay-per-view movies, said Jeff Crosby, a senior vice president at DirectTV. Prices for those offerings have not been set, and the transmission format has not been decided.
Finding the 'killer app'
To make digital television a must-have, the hunt is on for the best application to take advantage of its capabilities.
"There will be a killer app," says Channel 11's Carr. "There just isn't one yet because the thing is so new."
There are some early candidates. One, from Wink Communications, offers what it calls "enhanced broadcasting." Wink has signed deals with CNN, TNT, ESPN and other cable channels to provide interactive overlays with those channels.
For example, as CNN runs down its headlines, a viewer will be able, via remote, to ask for more information about a particular news story than CNN is providing. Or, if they're watching the Weather Channel, they'll be able to click a remote and get local weather instantaneously, without waiting for the channel's normal cycle to run.
Another possible "killer app" comes from ACTV, makers of Fox Sports Plus. This one puts the viewer in the director's chair, allowing him to choose from various camera angles. In a basketball game, for example, the camera could focus exclusively on action in the paint. Other options could include instant replay and instant stats.
ACTV's programming partner is Fox Sports Net, and its cable provider is TCI Digital Cable. Fox Sports Plus has debuted in Dallas and is expected to roll out in Houston any day. It will cost the consumer $9.95 per month.
Digital is here to stay
Like it or not, digital is about to transform television as we know it, and it's likely to happen faster than the last great innovation in television -- NBC's introduction of color 45 years ago. It took 13 years for it to catch on, primarily because the sets were made only by RCA, NBC's parent company at the time. The sets were prohibitively expensive -- $1,000, or two to three times the cost of an average black-and-white.
These days, few people forgo color, and its use is so prevalent, it hardly figures in the cost of a set.
Optimists say the digital revolution will occur much more quickly, that set prices will drop by the thousands of dollars in as little as a year's time.
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Television glossary
Analog -- In television, the transmission of picture and sound via radio waves.
Digital -- In television, the breakdown of picture and sound into combinations of 1s and 0s, which can then be recalled, providing truer picture, truer sound.
FCC -- Federal Communications Commission, an appointed government body that regulates the airwaves.
HDTV -- Acronym for high definition television, a superior form of digital TV transmission that permits TV pictures of film quality.
Interlaced -- In television transmission, the picture is interlaced when every other line is transmitted, then the screen is swept again to fill in the lines that were missed.
Progressive -- In television transmission, the picture is scanned one line at a time, in order. This is how pictures are displayed on a computer screen.
Up-conversion -- Term for a method broadcasters will use to double the lines of a TV transmission, giving an old program that wasn't filmed in HDTV the appearance that it was. |
