Future Of Television Essay, Research Paper

The Future of Television

Hello, and welcome to the wonderful world of time travel. Technology is a

growing part of our society today, and it is going to be very important part of our future. I am going to show you what technology is doing for television from now, into the next century. Sit back, relax, and buckle up as we embark on our journey through time.

To start off, HDTV(high definition television) is what we have to look forward to in the next three to five years. Now, you are probably asking yourself what is HDTV? HDTV is an all-digital TV broadcast signal that delivers high-resolution, wide-screen picture, and six channels of digital sound. Though computer experts and scientists are working on a more advanced 3D and polygraphic television, it is too far away to tell when it will be done, and how much it can do. As of now, twenty-six stations have filed their

intentions to begin digital broadcasts. Digital television sets are on sale now, though the price is between five to ten thousand dollars. There is a converter box on sale as well that you hook up to your TV, and it changes the regular signal to digital to your TV screen you have at home now. That is approximately three to six thousand dollars. You are probably saying to yourself at this point, Other than being more expensive, what am I

getting out of a HDTV that I am not getting from the TV at home? To start with, as of now, we use 525 lines of resolution,(makes up the screen, with colors) where HDTV has anywhere from 720 to 1080 (Sobel 73). Next, is the difference between the picture screens. The HDTV has a width to height ratio of 16:9. The average TV now is 4:3. Other than getting a bigger screen with a great picture, you are getting digital sound. HDTV broadcasts will be encoded with Dolby Digital (AC-3) audio, featuring 6 separate audio tracks. Each track can be sent to a different speaker allowing detailing and realistic sound (Sobel 74).

Now, as the tour rolls on, we take a look to see what is in store for us in the near future. By November of 1999, the FCC is requiring that the top 30 markets (cities) join the digital broadcasts. By that time, the average price will drop dramatically(Zwirn interview). On average, the first HDTVs made will be between twenty-four to sixty-four inches. The fact is, the more markets that join digital broadcasts, the less the price will be for an average HDTV(Veilluex The Selling of DTV).

The make of the HDTV is very complex, though it can be easy to understand. First, the screens are much wider and more flat. In addition to the obvious weight and and size of the picture, the resolution and luminance of a flat panel display are uniform over its entire surface; cathode-ray tubes and projectors are what we have now. They tend to lose resolution and luminance at their corners and edges. Flat panels are generally

better-looking, more efficient, and uses less power(Mitchell 48).

As of now, we are in the computer age. Computers are involved in almost every aspect of our lives. Just face it, they are everywhere we go. By the year 2002, computers and TV will be integrated. You can surf the web, talk to a buddy from Chicago, and watch a news cast from Ontario through the Internet. There will be live digital feeds going from your phone line to your HDTV. If you are tired of watching the NBA, you can find a website and watch a televised basketball game as far away as Egypt (Zwirn Interview). Just imagine playing one of those action thriller computer games on your giant

big screen HDTV.

Now, as we time travel even further into the future to the year 2006, the number of HDTVs will be outrageous. Every single TV out there will be all digital. There will be as many HDTVs there, as there are TVs now in our present time. The numbers will increase by the second as soon as we really start moving towards the middle of the zens, says Steven R Forrest of a newly developed digital TV corporate center. Even the price will be on a normal level, not like they are now, where only people such as Bill Gates and

Michael Jordan can afford it. With the price going down by the mid zens, the picture screen will expand. The average size of a screen will be between fifty and seventy inches diagnolly(Lim78).

Finally, as we get out of the HDTV era, we will now move to another ten to fifteen more years into the future to take a look at one of the most astonishing things man will ever come out with. The next form of TV will be holographic image. It will have a three dimensional look without those uncomfortable glasses you have to wear in the movie theater. It will have the feel of reality. This is called hyper-reality (Zwirn interview).You can watch a whole three hundred and sixty degree shot of any program. This means you

can watch a football game from any part of the field. Change the channel to channel 3 and you can watch David Letterman from the audience point of view, or Dave s point of view. Hyper-reality is going to be the most amazing, and breathtaking thing that you will ever see in your life (Kirkus Barnes and Nobel). Just like HDTV, hyper reality will start off extremely expensive, though just be patient, and in no time you will have one.

I know after that wonderful trip into the future, it is tough to come back to the somewhat boring present. Think about the next time you are watching TV, what it will look like digitally, or in hyper-reality. The way TV is going, it is going to change the way we think, live and learn. It is amazing how far we have come from the first TV, when critics said it turned you into a zombie. Well if TV back then turned you into a zombie, just think about the TV of tomorrow will do to you. The future is waiting at our doorstep, and it is our turn to let it into our lives.