The Big "Switch-Over"

Since analogue television relied heavily on magnetic signals, electronic waves and chemical changes, some would say analogue is a thing of the past. With the creation of digital television, which is simply a series of 0s and 1s placed into a specific format that can be easily transcribed by microchips, television production became much faster, cheaper, and easier. Everyone probably remembers when the United States make a big hoopla about the big "switch-over" from analogue to digital. Most countries have already replaced all analogue televisions with digital, except the UK; they plan to make the big "switch" this year.

So aside from being cheaper and faster, why is digital better? Well, let's start with the ratios. Analogue ratios were 4:3, whereas digital ratios are 16:9; this allows for less boxy television viewing. Basically, you can now watch your favorite movie at home without each side being cropped by a few inches.

But let's backtrack even further and take a look at how television works. Typically, the United States used a 525-line picture and each line was scanned from top to bottom starting with odd numbered lines first (1,3,5 and so on), then back to the top to get those even numbered lines. But the digital world of television has many different terms. For instance, 1280 x 720 (in terms of pixels in scan mode) is shortened to 720p; 1920 x 1080 is shortened to 1080i (or 1080p depending on what scanning mode). Even though it sounds more complicated, digital television is better because the screen is easier to view and the amount of "noise" interference is limited.



When the public caught wind of the digital television wave, they were sold. There are many different ways of viewing digital t.v. such as through satellite, cable, Internet, and DVD. With so many choices, people couldn't help but be forced to use digital.

Digital television became much more convenient for viewers when systems like DVR and TiVo came out. These boxes allow the user to pre-record their shows and watch them later. So for instance, if you are out a a company dinner and your favorite show comes on at 8 p.m., you no longer have to purchase a blank tape and set the VCR to record. You just set up your shows on the DVR systems with a click of a button and it does the work for you.

Having the capability to view shows online is also more convenient to the public. Some people do not have time to sit in front of a television set and watch programs, but are making time or prefer to sit in front of their computers. This allows viewers to catch their favorite sports programs, realitytv, or news on the go. This is becoming more of a fad for the younger generations as computer technology continues to grow.

Even more interesting is the new way of reporting the news. There are many news stations taking on this idea of the viewer reporting. CNN has the iReport and many local news stations urge people to call in, text, tweet, or upload breaking news or videos. The underlying question is does this make jobs easier for reporters or harder?

I look at this two-fold. A reporter should be reporting the news to the public; plain and simple. They should already know the breaking story because that is their job. However, given the many capabilities of technology, I believe that the public gets excited about the idea that they can send in home-made videos. The quality of what the public sends in is probably not as good as the edited news reel, but this idea still offers user interaction with their television.

One of the newer capabilities of television is Internet interaction, also known as SmartTvs. We see this with video games and televisions. Consumers have the option of purchasing a t.v. that has Internet. This allows people to browse the Internet and watch YouTube videos right on their t.v. These can get pricey ranging anywhere from $900 to $5,000.

With all these new options to choose from, one might wonder "what's next?"