DIGITAL TELEVISION BROADCASTING:
Perspectives on the Future
Jeffrey Bird
A minor thesis for Partial Fulfilment of
the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Multimedia
see below for downloadable PDF's
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to BroadbandBananas for permitting the use of numerous iTV screendshots in this thesis. Also thanks to a number of other organisations/individuals for providing visual material, including: Sony; the European Broadcasting Union; Ray Cordero/Home Theatre Magazine; CEA; Lemac; iTV Marketer; eMarketer; Access Conferences; UEC; and TiVo.
SUMMARY
Today the international broadcasting community is on the verge of a revolution in television content creation and transmission, brought about by a range of stunning digital technologies. Digital television, High Definition Television, 24p High Definition production, as well as Interactive TV are all technologies that will have far reaching consequences for the television industry, affecting program producers, broadcasting entities, advertisers, electronics manufacturers, as well as television viewers. It is a technological environment complicated by legacy issues, competing acquisition and transmission formats, revolutionary new methods of content creation and delivery, as well as a whole host of emerging content consumption structures that threaten the established order of television communication.
The situation is further complicated by differing approaches to digital television implementation in different parts of the world, with Europe and the United States charting their own digital directions, developing their own niches of expertise, while also exposing themselves to a range of unique creative and commercial risks. Surrounded by rapid technological change, untried business models, and uncertain viewer expectations, countries such as Australia attempt to navigate their own course in what is fundamentally uncharted territory. It is also an environment that is politically charged, with a range of media interests, both established and aspiring broadcasters, staking out their territory in the early days of the digital television landscape. It is within these difficult technological, commercial, and political parameters that content program creators must now operate - creating content for today as well as for tomorrow.
Chapter Two of the paper will provide readers with a basic understanding of both analogue and digital television technology, including a discussion of aspect ratios, bandwidth, scanning modes and the various competing international transmission formats. This chapter will also provide the reader with a brief overview of the potential features that digital television affords, together with a discussion of multi-channeling and its impact on viewer fragmentation and established broadcasting business models.
Chapter Three will build on the knowledge gathered in chapter 2, introducing the reader to High Definition Television broadcasting, detailing its underlying technology, how it differs from standard definition television, as well as the differing HDTV transmission formats. This chapter will also investigate the latest developments in HDTV display technology, the movement to a mass HDTV consumer market, while addressing viewer choice and expectation. Further discussion will focus on the opposition to HDTV and its implementation in various broadcasting markets. The chapter will conclude with an overview the new high definition acquisition formats.
Chapter Four will first seek to define Interactive Television, before providing a detailed exploration of the various Interactive Television applications currently in the marketplace. This exploration will also seek to evaluate the relative success of these applications, providing an insight into viewer expectations, as well as viable business models. The chapter will also include a discussion of Australia's controversial Datacasting legislation.
Chapter Five provides content producers with an overview of the various film and video acquisitions formats that they are likely to confront during the transition to digital television, highlighting the need to protect content assets from technological obsolescence.
ABOUT THE WRITER JEFF BIRD
Jeff Bird is a film-maker, writer and multimedia creator. After completing a Bachelor's degree in Media Studies (Film & TV) at Deakin University, Jeff has spent the last 10 years working in the film and television industries, both in Australia and overseas. This included a number of years working on commercials in Scandinavia as a camera assistant, and a stint in Washington DC working for a documentary production company. Jeff has worked in many different capacities, including producing, directing, editing, cinematography, and writing. his documentary film, 'Black Gold, Kindred Spirits', which was screened on ABC TV, won a number of awards, including the Gold Award for best documentary at the Worldfest Charleston International Film Festival. Recently, in addition to completing a Masters degree in Multimedia at Swinburne University, he has worked closely with December Films as a writer/director developing a number of documentary projects.
Swinburne University of Technology
July, 2002 (Updated 2003)
© 2002, 2003 Jeffrey Bird
PO Box 455, Cheltenham, Victoria 3192, Australia.
jeffbird@compuserve.com
Click on the associated .PDF icon to download the file...
 COVER / CONTENTS PAGES / © & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS / REFERENCE PAGES- (8pp) - 55k |
| CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION - (4pp) - 32k |
| CHAPTER TWO - DIGITAL TELEVISION - (19pp) - 155k |
| CHAPTER THREE - HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION- (34pp) - 540k |
| CHAPTER FOUR - INTERACTIVE TELEVISION- (48pp) - 3.0Megs |
| CHAPTER FIVE - CONTENT AQUISITION- (17pp) - 985k |
| CHAPTER SIX - CONCLUSION - (22pp) - 77k |