In the thrilling days when TV first switched from black-and-white to color, there were a few slip-ups. For one thing, bananas looked blue! In 1956, TIME magazine called color TV a flop. But quality improved, and after a few years (and a lot of pestering by their kids!), folks were trading in black-and-white sets for the ones that showed green grass and blue sky.
Now another makeover is about to hit your set: high-definition TV (HDTV). Digital signals will make screens sparkle with crystal-clear images. A wide picture and cd-like sound will transform homes into high-tech theaters.
This month, the Federal Communications Commission, the government agency that regulates television, gave HDTV the go-ahead in the U.S. It voted to assign stations free channels on which to broadcast digital versions of their current programs. Says FCC Chairman Reed Hundt: "The future is now."
So, How Will It Work?
Now, when you tune in a baseball game or All That, TV stations send the picture and sound signals to your home as a stream of constantly changing radio waves. The picture on the screen is actually made up of 480 horizontal lines. This analog technology gives today's TV images a flickering, slightly blurry quality.
But when you switch to HDTV, the station will use electronic 0s and 1s to send signals to your set, just like the information a computer can read. The picture will be divided into as many as 1,080 lines, creating a much sharper image. You'll be able to see incredible detail: the veins on an athlete's muscle and the wrinkles on a newscaster's forehead.
Programmer Barry Rebo helped develop HDTV for other countries, and calls it the third generation of television. HDTV makes a big impression on people, he reports. According to him, "Everybody says, 'Gee, that's cool! When can I have it?'"
Back To The Future
By late next year, 26 TV stations in the 10 largest U.S. cities will go digital. But don't expect to see garbage trucks hauling away heaps of old TV sets that Christmas. The first HDTVS will cost around $2,000. Families that don't want to pay that much money will be able to buy analog-to-digital converter boxes for their old sets for about $250. Or they can stay with old-fashioned TV. Broadcasters will continue to deliver the analog signals until 2006. Eventually, the new TVs will get less expensive.
Computer companies want a role in the future of television. In their view, adding TV to Internet services will create a world where people can channel-surf for their favorite shows and surf the Web on one giant computer screen.
Is the line between computers and TV getting as fuzzy as an old black-and-white set? Says Gary Arlen, who studies the future of digital TV: "Absolutely!"
The Sharper Image
Analog TV Analog signals are delivered to the TV as a stream of constantly changing radio waves. The nearly square picture is made up of 480 horizontal lines. The result: a blurry picture that can be topped by newer technology.
Digital HDTV The signals will come to your TV as electronic 0s and 1s--computer language. The rectangular picture will be made up of up to 1,080 lines for supersharp screen images. The difference between HDTV and analog TV will be as dramatic as the difference between a CD and a scratchy vinyl record.
Source: Advanced Television Systems Committee