HDTV Divas

[Gregg Lengling]

From TV Technology by Jorh Merli:

The good news for HD proponents on the eve of 2005 is that if you have an HD-capable monitor, you can view a lot of channels today with the right set-top box - if you live in a top-20 market, or almost anywhere in Pennsylvania.  The bad news is there still isn't much 1080i or 720p in a lot of the smaller markets, although that may not be HD's biggest problem right now.  And no cable companies are bragging about (or publicly releasing) how many HD subs they have.
HD is not cable's priority these days.  Endlessly prompting subscribers to leapfrog from analog to digital tiers - and heavily promoting Internet Broadband, cable telephonny and VoIP - are proving to be lucrative, albeit distracting, diversions from the HD build-out that seemed so promising a few years ago.  The high churn rate of digital cable customers who went back to analog tiers or to DBS, hasn't helped ratchet up the HD market either,  outside the largest DMAs.  Nor has an elusive digital must carry rule.
WHAT REVOLUTION?
Yet three different industries don't hesitate to take credit anyway for "leading the digital revolution" (as the National Cable & Telecommunications' Web site labels it) toward HD growth.  NCTA says it is clearly the leader.  Not so fast, says NAB.  Don't forget about those local broadcasters who started on-air with HD signals nearly six years ago.  In the other corner, the Satellite Broadcasting & Communicaitons Association says DBS is the true leader in propelling HD's growth.
"In the last two years, cable has gone from zero to 90 million homes now technically capable of receiving HD programs from their local operators," said Brian Dietz, NTCA senior communications director.  "Cable has now thoroughly embraced HD and is not just talking about it.  We've invested a lot of money in  order to bring consumers HD.  Today every cable company out there provides digital services, and with it, HD in [some markets], in different ways."


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The argument continues on for another full page in the magazine and quotes figures from a couple cable companies that release HD figures, but the overall consensus is that Satellite is providing the biggest share of HD programming and has much greater numbers of viewers of HD programming and is continuing to lead the way in HD offerings.  For more info go to http://www.tvtechnology.com