Progress Toward Digital TV


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Tutorial Home >Music and Video >Digital Video >About Capturing Digital Video >Analog, DV, TV/Radio >Progress Toward Digital TV
Tutorial Home >Music and Video >Image Editing >About Capturing Digital Video >Analog, DV, TV/Radio >Progress Toward Digital TV

  Step 1:  Consumer Acceptance

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While DVD player sales are very strong, the same cannot be said for "DTV" or digital television receivers. While there are hundreds of millions of conventional analog television in daily use in the U.S., and billions worldwide, U.S. shipments to dealers of DTV receivers are less than 150,000, of which most are not yet sold to consumers. And not all of these DTV receivers can handle high definition pictures, so market penetration is minimal at this time.
  Step 2:  Pitfalls

Consumers receiving are already receiving digital signals through satellite and digital cable, and are viewing them with good quality on their existing sets. They see little reason to buy new sets when there is almost no over-the-air digital broadcasting. And some consumers are aware that controversies still surround digital and high definition broadcasting.
  Step 3:  Broadcasters

Broadcasters are required by current FCC regulations to have completely converted to digital transmission by 2006. But some are asking for an extension to this deadline while some of the uncertainties are resolved. Others have already invested in the new technologies and face disaster if the standard is changed to the European system. Nobody wants to be pioneer if it means "getting an arrow in their backs", and that may happen to early adopters.
  Step 4:  Kickstarting DTV/HDTV

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is pushing for Federal regulations requiring all new television sold to be DTV capable. There is a general feeling that without this regulation, consumers will not buy DTV sets, which have little use now. But if enough sets are sold with the ability to receive digital signals over the air and directly from digital cable, the technology may yet reach a critical mass of viewers to enable the 2006 deadline for digital to be realized.