The Not So Brief History Of Digital Television

Michael Hedges November 5, 2012 Follow on Twitter

Digital broadcast television has arrived across much of the world. With it has come sharper pictures, more channels by a quantum and greater flexibility for broadcasters and producers. Television has been forever changed. It has been a struggle.

The science and technology making digital terrestrial television (DTT) possible coincides with the rise of semiconductors (chips) as an efficient replacement for vacuum tubes, the essence of analogue technology. Broadcast television by the 1960’s was maturing and engineers, driven by the commercial promise, were hot on the path to reinventing TV technology. But the digital architecture, standards and the like, had to be built from the ground up.

As with analogue television, digital TV technologies developed along fairly distinct regional lines: a Japanese system (ISDB-T), a European system (DVB-T) and a US system (ATSC). Control over the architecture was vital to the powerful commercial interests involved and governments did their part to protect those interests. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) organized a formal study group in 1972 to negotiate technical issues through an international body and recently commemorated 40 years of digital broadcast television development.

The architecture of digital television had to be developed, “from the lens to the screen,” noted DVB Chairman Phil Laven at the ITU meeting (October 30). The giant step forward came in the mid-1990’s with the universal adoption of MPEG standards for audio and video compression, without which there would have not been CDs, a noteworthy presence as major consumer electronics manufacturers vigorously pursued export markets. MPEG-2 compression was integrated into the DVB-T architecture in 1995. The ATSC standard incorporated MPEG-2 the following year.

But, alas, audio and video compression are components of the larger DTT picture, standards remaining divided regionally. “Different regional standards for digital TV might have been excusable when TV sets were rarely moved between countries,” said Mr. Laven, noting that mobile devices “dramatically change the environment. But it would be sad if the next-generation of digital terrestrial TV perpetuated the existing fragmentation of standards.”

What’s next is UHDTV – Ultra-High Definition TV. Developed by Japan’s NHK Research Laboratories UHDTV promises the detail of an IMAX theater in every home, 16 times more pixels than HDTV. NHK has also produced a shoulder-held UHD camera. Yes, UHDTV is the way forward for broadcast 3D TV. Test broadcasts in UHDTV will begin next year in South Korea. ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Touré called UHDTV “earth-shaking.”

Enthusiasm for the visual media is palpable among the technologists. “This component will remain forever,” said Professor Mark Krivocheev, chief scientist at Russia’s Radio Research and Development Institute, “because more than 80% of the information obtained by a person is acquired through eyesight. Video information is demanded by our life activity and the functioning of the human body.” Professor Krivocheev, now in his 90th year, was honored by the ITU for contributions to digital TV standards development.

Even with inroads from cable and internet distribution broadcast television holds many advantageous, free-to-air TV remaining far more palatable to consumers than costly subscriptions or data plans. Technology is but one part of the equation. Content and convenience will always drive choice.

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