The article chosen for this assignment is “Preparing for Next-Gen HD”, that appeared in Broadcasting & Cable issue on February 16, 2009. The article written by George Winslow talks about the inevitable future for High Definition (HD) and higher frame rate technology for television to replace today’s technology, mostly of which is available on analog. This article has been chosen specifically in light of the new developments in the electronic media of digitalization or television in US. Through this article, an insight into the television industry will be acquired and light will be shed on the new technologies that are being developed since any such change affects the whole industry. According to the author, the time has come to start investing in technology that supports a higher quality and frame rate. The author also talks about how many companies have already started moving towards adopting a proactive approach to high quality television viewership. (Winslow, 2009)
Our technology today supports the viewing of High Definition media on television at 24 frames per second (fps) at 720 progressive (p) or 1080 interlaced (i) resolutions. This is mostly the norm for recording of TV programs but the author argues that Blu-Ray offers a higher resolution of 1080p which improves the quality of the media. Although Blu-Ray emphasizes on the quality, its cost is letting it down. Whereas the other sources of 1080p media like satellite and internet have been quite useful in delivering international programs all over the world. (Winslow, 2009)
Where the decision of opting towards a higher quality is concerned, several other factors too must be analyzed. Firstly the increased quality will increase the bandwidth available to the data transmitters thus increasing the costs. Secondly, 3D viewing has gained popularity and there must be adjustments made to ensure that 3D viewing can be available to home viewers in the future. The solution, the author says, lies in new technologies to compress the media like the MPEG-4 advanced compression systems so that the cost is controlled. Another point to consider is the ability of such high quality media made viewable on cable TV. By going digital, and by reducing the cost of transmission, cable can win over the Blu-Ray audience due to high availability of content at lower price. (Winslow, 2009)
In my opinion, going for High-Definition vowing is the way to go forward. The application of a higher frame rate of 60fps is not limited to just sports where a higher frame rate improves the smoothness of the media’s visibility. Fast paced thrill action sequences are an important part for any movie or series thus by applying 60fps at 1080p will greatly improve the visibility of media content. The complete digitization of the TV networks is already on the cards with its effecting set date in June and the media is already is recorded on high quality equipment (Kindig, 2009). These arguments are already in favor of providing a higher quality to the audience. This said, I still believe that it is too early to commit the 3D viewing to Television due the high cost of changeover required (Ricker, 2008). With the current economic turmoil, and expenditure on digitization no additional expenditures should be made on technologies that will take some years to fully develop into customer’s homes.
Works Cited
Kindig, S. “HDTV: Everything You Need to Know”. Crutchfield. 2009. Web.
Ricker, T. “World’s first 46-inch stereoscopic 3D TV from Hyundai on sale in Japan”. Engadget. 2009. Web.
Winslow, G. “Preparing for Next-Gen HD” Sponsoring Broadcasting and Cable. 2009. Web.