The NHK MUSE technology, which is the analog HDTV, was far ahead
anything else available at the time. The Advanced TV systems that the
FCC were looking at were a joke by comparison. However, NHK, and the
rest of the TV industry, was blindsided by General Digital, who figured
out a way to get a high quality digital signal. At that point, all
analog technologies were doomed, and every country went back to the
drawing board and redid the HDTV roadmap with digital.
The problem with the introduction of HDTV, at least in the US, have
been: a) the removal of all fair use capability from the system (time
shifting, archive for multiple replay, etc.), b) lack of bandwidth for
the signals in terrestrial broadcast, c) no support for HDTV on cable
(especially with basic service), d) high cost of equipment throughout
the stream.
People buy things for two reasons: a) it lets them do something they
are already doing better (easier, cheaper, etc.) or b) it lets them do
something they want to do that they could not previously. HDTV, as
currently situated, fails on both counts - you can already watch TV,
and you can do less with it than you can with current TV.
Eric
On Feb 19, 2004, at 6:57 AM, Paul Hardy wrote:
> I can't follow the quoting here, so I don't think I'm actually
> replying to
> Darren. But let's not make the mistake in Japan that widescreen TV ==
> HDTV.
> Most widescreen TVs are not HDTV. Japan's HDTV service is
> analog-based, and
> it will be swept aside by the move to digital terrestrial broadcasting.
> (Which is sad, in one sense, for the technology effort NHK made, but
> good in
> terms of the bandwidth soon to be available).
>
>> CJ wrote >>Next time you're in Japan, let's go out to Bic
>> Camera or Akihabara together so you can show me the evidence
>> of this "popularity."
[ excessive quoting removed by moderator ]
Received on Thu Feb 19 19:43:13 2004