10. New picture formats

There used to be only one format that an UK television could handle, namely PAL 625 lines. Now you can often choose to see a certain program in various formats, namely 'standard', 'High Definition' or even '3D'. The latest televisions can handle all three formats.

 

The impact of the new formats on viewers, broadcasters and TV companies:

Viewer
Needs to invest in the right television to be able to handle the HD and 3D
Most HD content tends to be a premium service at the moment. So they have to be willing to pay extra.
Seeing a program in HD is said to be a better experience than seeing the same material in standard form
Need to have the right equipment to view 3D
Although most HD is a premium service, Free-to-View HD will become more available e.g. Freeview HD. This will need Freeview HD capable set top box or a Freeview HD TV to view the new channels.
Not all areas in the UK can receive terrestial HD yet. The official web site www.freeview.co.uk has a checker that simply asks for your post code and it tells you when Freeview HD will be available in your area
Free to air HD content is also available by satellite i.e. Freesat. which is a joint venture of the BBC and ITV But you need the right decoder to view the content.

 

Broadcaster
There needs to be equipment out there that can view the new formats. Millions of 'HD ready' TVs have been sold in anticipation of HD content
HD takes more bandwidth than standard transmissions and so there is a cost involved in new transmission equipment.
Offering a film in both standard and HD formats is an opportunity to make more money through premium subscriptions and more advertising
They can charge extra for HD capable set-top boxes
To create more HD content quickly, a technique called 'upscaling' is used. This takes a standard definition signal and tries to introduce more detail into it with some clever maths. It works, but not as well as true HD sources
Satellite broadcasters are able to cover the entire country with HD. But terrestial broadcasters are gradually rolling out the HD transmitters through the country. Not everywhere is covered as yet

Television company
They have to invest in the right cameras to create HD content
They can create programs in spectacular detail, whiich is satisfying from an artisitc point of view. For instance an epic nature series such as the BBC produce
Creating content for 3D transmission needs new expensive cameras and more thought about camera angles.

challenge see if you can find out one extra fact on this topic that we haven't already told you

Click on this link: Freeview Freesat HD and 3D