Starz touts 'high-res' TV

[Gregg Lengling]

Exec says service uses less bandwidth than high-definition
By Jennifer Beauprez, Denver Post Business Writer
CHICAGO - Starz Encore Group has come up with new technology that will let consumers watch cable-TV movies with crisper pictures and digital sound this fall. But it's not called high-definition television, the technology talked about for nearly a decade.  
 
It's called high-resolution TV and is practically indecipherable from high-definition TV. Yet the high-resolution service ultimately promises to save cable-TV operators valuable space on their channel lineup, John Sie, chief executive of Arapahoe County-based Starz Encore, told reporters at a cable trade show.

The technology uses about one- third the bandwidth that HDTV requires, Sie said. That's important to cable companies, which only have about 33 channels available for HDTV and other services such as interactive TV and on-demand movies and TV shows, he said.

Sie said the cable-TV industry would be wise to switch to such technology that saves space on broadband networks.

"Eventually, spectrum is king," Sie said. "I'm calling for a big movement called spectrum efficiency. Spectrum is limited, and Wall Street is not going to permit another rebuild" of cable networks.

Starz, however, plans to offer its movie packages both in high-definition and in so-called "high-res" this fall.

"There are a lot of people talking about high-def TV," said Rod Stoddard, spokesman for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, which runs the annual cable-TV trade show. "Consumers are excited about it."

Cable firms promised the government they would aggressively roll out high-definition programming for consumers who have the HDTV sets, which cost $1,200 to $15,000 each.

The TV sets, which deliver better picture and sound quality, have been on the market for seven years. But people weren't buying them - in part because they were too expensive - and thus programmers didn't offer HDTV content. Broadcasters, in particular, had no financial incentive to convert signals to digital.

Today, about 4 million people own HDTV sets, and most of them watch DVD movies on them, Sie said.

Enter the federal government, which recognized that digital compression could allow 12 HDTV channels to be delivered in the space it takes to deliver one analog channel. The Federal Communications Commission pushed broadcasters and cable operators to develop more HDTV content with hopes of freeing up more public airwaves for other uses, including local police and emergency communication.

Broadcasters will be required to switch to HDTV and return analog spectrum to the government by 2006.

Other cable forays into high-definition technology include:

Cable network Discovery's plan to spend $65 million over the next five years on Atlas HD, a series of two-hour high-definition documentary specials on countries around the world. The first episode should premiere in 2005.

ESPN's launch of ESPN HD in March, offering live broadcasts of professional sports in HDTV. Next year, the X Games and NCAA basketball will be in HDTV.

USA Network's transmission of its first HD telecast, the Masters Tournament in April.

HBO, which started airing 70 percent of its programming in HDTV last year.

Comcast, which offers HDTV programming in 17 markets, said on Monday that it would launch the programming in Chicago. The cable company does not yet offer the programming in Denver.