Transition Checkpoint: 2007
Jan 6, 2007 8:00 AM
If all had gone exactly according to plan, NTSC over-the-air broadcasting would have been replaced by high-definition DTV everywhere in the United States as of Jan. 1, 2007. Why didn’t this happen as planned?
First, a year was lost debating the ATSC Table 3 scanning formats while the computer and film industries used their political clout to bend the proposed ATSC DTV standard to benefit themselves. This delayed an FCC adoption of a DTV standard until December 1996. Then, bickering over COFDM vs. VSB and predictions of multicast windfalls into 2001 thwarted the rollout of HD as Congress had intended, with the loan of a second channel. Cable systems finally agreed to deliver HD programming beginning in 2003. Anyway you count it, this is about five years wasted in the HDTV rollout.
While delays impeded OTA HD delivery, cable viewers grew in number. With the advent of smaller dishes, DTH satellite services became a practical reality and a viable alternative to rising cable prices. Today, cable and satellite dominate broadcast TV delivery, and an estimated 15 percent of total TV homes get OTA. So, the NTSC turnoff is really something of a non-event.
HDTV’s image hasn’t faired so well either. Statistical multiplexing, rate shaping and grooming lowered bit rates, production formats and countless conversions during distribution, all contribute to the lowering of image quality, often to the point that HD isn’t really HD anymore. Multicasting additional services while an HD program is on the primary channel hasn’t helped the perception of HD quality much either. Neither has stretching SD 4:3 aspect ratio content to fit a 16:9 display. In such scenarios, artifacts are observable. This is certainly not what the creators of HDTV had in mind.
The DTV Transition Bill
The DTV Transition Bill sets Feb. 17, 2009, as the day that NTSC terrestrial transmission will cease to exist. Spectrum auctions have been held, and companies such as Qualcomm are making plans to exploit this spectrum.
Some provisions of the DTV Transition Bill were hotly debated. Programs receiving funding from auction proceeds that are authorized to begin this year include:
- Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Assistance: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is authorized to administer a digital-to-analog converter box assistance program that provides up to two $40 coupons to consumers for use toward the purchase of digital-to-analog converter boxes.
- Public Safety Interoperable Communications: Development of interoperable first responders communication systems will receive $1 billion.
- NYC 9/11 Digital Transition: NYC will be assisted with interim broadcast facilities until the Freedom Tower is completed.
- Low-Power Television and Translator Digital-to-Analog Conversion: Low-power TV licensees fall under separate rules than full-power stations and will receive assistance. Transitioning to digital will entail a flash-cut turn off of analog service and immediate initiation of digital broadcasts.
Feb. 18, 2009, will be the first day of all-digital over-the-air broadcasting. At this point, the significance of the event is questionable, even if broadcasters meet the deadline.
The DTV business model
The big news at the start of 2007 is the practical realization in 2006 of the anticipated three-screen scenario. Technology that now enables TV, PC and handheld device content reception has changed the very nature of the broadcasting business.
Broadband Internet connections threaten to dominate content delivery, just as cable invaded OTA territory two decades ago. The three-screen content delivery and consumption scenario is here.
Three key attributes mark the current state of the digital transition. New system engineering methods are needed to address digital media system infrastructures. These new infrastructures incorporate new technology that is not traditionally associated with broadcasting. These new infrastructures and technologies enable and require new digital workflows.
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