From three direct broadcast satellite (DBS) providers, dozens of cable companies and more than 1100 local digital-TV stations, high-definition television (HDTV) programming is exploding into homes from coast to coast, just about everywhere the eye can see. Believe it or not, there is more HD programming available on a daily basis than one can watch. If all this doesn’t convince you that it’s time to take the plunge into HDTV, you are probably reading this issue of Digital TV Magazine in a candlelit room with a dirt floor (my sincere apologies to President Lincoln).
Broadcast Networks
As the programming grid on page TK shows, most of the filmed episodic TV shows from ABC, CBS and NBC are available in HDTV. PBS, the WB and UPN also have HD programs on their schedules, and all plan to offer even more HD in the near future. The list of sports and special events that were available in HDTV this past year included the Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four, the U.S. Tennis Open, The Masters Tournament, Monday Night Football and Sunday Night Football, the NASCAR Daytona 500, an NFL Sunday HD Game of the Week, the college football BCS Championship Game, the Grammys, the Academy Awards and even the State of the Union address. Reality TV is currently unavailable in HDTV (thank God!), but this will change in the near future. What’s the expression that comes to mind? The end of civilization as we know it? Onward and upward….
This year, look for numerous PGA events and more NFL football from CBS, the Athens Summer Olympics from NBC, the NHL Stanley Cup and the NBA Finals from ABC, and new digital programming from PBS. The FOX network made its long-expected announcement that it will join the other networks in offering HDTV this fall. In addition to shows like The Bernie Mac Show and 24, it’s also possible that we’ll see the World Series and The NFL on FOX in HDTV. Currently, FOX digital programming is in the enhanced-definition (EDTV) format (i.e., 480p widescreen).
In addition to network HDTV programming, a few local broadcasters and cable companies across the country are offering unique news and local-interest programming in HDTV. Contact your local HD providers for details.
Satellite and Cable Networks
The programming guide [real title TK] also lists the regularly scheduled HD programs that appear on HBO, Showtime, HDNet, HDNet Movies, Discovery HD, and INHD. These networks have dedicated HD channels that are only available via satellite or cable.
Not listed in the programming guide are the numerous movies and special-interest programs that appear on these and other networks at various times. For example, like HBO and Showtime, Cinemax, The Movie Channel and Starz! have dedicated HD channels that offer varying amounts of HD movies. When not showing native HD, these channels upconvert programming to the HDTV format; nice, but not the real deal. Full-time 24/7 native HDTV providers include HDNet, HDNet Movies, INHD, INHD2, and Bravo HD+, which all offer a variety of HD entertainment, sports, movies and specialty programming. You can even get HD pay-per-view movies and free HD special events from satellite and some cable providers. DirecTV, for example, recently introduced the first adult pay-per-view HD offering, Spice HD.
Professional and college sports are well represented in HDTV. ESPN HD is currently doing 3 to 4 live events per week and will soon have more. In April, the network will begin broadcasting studio programs like SportsCenter in HDTV. HDNet offers NHL (National Hockey League) and MLS (Major League Soccer) games, and INHD has MLB (Major League Baseball and NBA (National Basketball Association) matchups (with limited availability). Both HDNet and INHD offer collegiate men’s and women’s sports. For the die-hard pro-football fan, DirecTV has promised to show all games in HD on the ever-popular NFL Sunday Ticket. A growing number of regional sports networks are coming online with HDTV. Check with your local cable company for details.
Many other popular cable and satellite entertainment networks offer select programs in HDTV but don’t have dedicated HD channels of their own. USA Network, for example, has provided HD coverage of the U.S. Tennis Open’s early rounds, the Masters Tournament, and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. E! network's first HD production was an 8-hour Oscar preshow (yes, eight solid hours of Joan and Melissa Rivers in HDTV!) broadcast live from the Red Carpet. NBC Cable Networks is said to be considering bonus Athens Summer Olympics coverage on a separate HD channel, in addition to primary HDTV coverage on NBC and Bravo HD+. TNT has provided NBA playoff and All-Star games in HDTV, and the NFL Network offered Playbook: HD Game of the Week. Hallmark, A&E, The History Channel, The Biography Channel, The Tennis Channel and The Outdoor Channel are all producing shows in HD for other networks. Many of these programs are available as special events on INHD and on DirecTV and Dish Network’s special-events channels.
New DBS provider VOOM brings 21 unique HD channels to the market. They include RAVE (music), Rush (X-game action sports), Worldsport (European soccer, etc.), Ultra (global trends), Gallery (art) and others, plus 10 dedicated channels showing a different HD movie every day. To date, the unique content has been somewhat repetitive, and only time will tell if VOOM can develop the volume and type of programming that will attract and retain subscribers. Also currently exclusive to VOOM are East- and West-coast HD feeds of HBO, Showtime and Starz!
The Future, in HD
My Magic 8-Ball says the remainder of 2004 will bring much in the way of HDTV. (The following programming has been formally announced and is expected this year.) By May we should have classic movies from the Starz!/Encore film library on Encore HD and the best of Turner network programming on TNT HD. A new channel called Wealth TV—about what else, money—should be on the air this summer. You can expect even more sports with high-definition video-on-demand (HD VOD) of popular ESPN HD programs. The Playboy Channel should appear as a VOOM exclusive for a while. Other exclusives include iN Demand’s HD pay-per-view on cable systems. There’s even an HD network for Generation X called the 29HDNetwork. And while the exact timing is uncertain, The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS and Late Night with Conan O’Brien on NBC are both anticipated to air in HDTV this year. HDNet is also working on its third channel, the aptly named HDNet Sports.
More HDTV than one can watch? Yes indeed, but it’s a great problem to have as digital television comes of age. To find out what programs you can receive in your area and to view daily show schedules, go to www.titantv.com. For updates to this synopsis, visit www.dtvmag.com or my online home at the AVS Forum. The only question that remains is where are all those HD personal video recorders I keep hearing about?