CES 2000 Part 3

DTV & HDTV

What's the difference?

DTV (Digital TV) refers to the new digital television system adopted by the FCC in December 1996. Both HDTV (High Definition Television) and SDTV (Standard Definition Television) fall under DTV, but, for the most part, DTV and HDTV are used interchangeably.

According to CEMA, the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association, HDTV refers to a complete product or system that meets the following minimum performance standards:

The "p" in 720p indicates progressive, non-interlaced scanning, and the "i" in 1080i indicates interlaced scanning where the screen only refreshes every other line. In the past, monitors used to be interlaced, but now all modern monitors are non-interlaced. There are "line-doublers" available that convert interlaced frames into progressive images. DVDO had its impressive low cost iScan Plus 480i->480p line doubler on display.

We've been hearing about HDTV for at least a decade now, but HDTV sets have only been available since November of 1998. Commercial television stations in the top ten US markets were required to support DTV by May of 1999, and the top thirty markets were given a November 1999 deadline. All stations should be broadcasting DTV by May 2002. In its first year of availability, DTV sales have been brisk -an estimated 110,000 sets by the end of 1999. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) estimates that DTV sales will rise to 600,000 this year, but this still pales in comparison to the 42 million sales estimate for regular televisions.

Still Expensive

Not surprisingly, HDTV prices are still going to be expensive this year. Normal aspect (4:3) 720p, 1080i sets will be available for under $1000, but wide aspect HDTVs start at $3,000 with Plasma Panels going for upwards of $15,000. After watching the Detroit/Washington NFL playoff game on a huge HDTV set in the press lounge, I have to say that I have finally seen football as it should be -in all its high definition mass market glory.

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Analog Televisions

While all commercial television stations are required to support DTV by 2002, that doesn't mean analog sets are going away anytime soon. Although, analog broadcasts are scheduled to be terminated in 2006, many believe that the actual termination date will be moved farther back.

Analog televisions will remain the bread and butter of all the major manufacturers for the next couple of years. After walking around the show floor, you notice the Wega factor in effect. Sony's high-end Wega (pronounced VAY-guh) line of flat screen televisions was a huge hit this past year, and at this year's CES almost every manufacturer had its own line of flat screen TVs on display. You can look forward to seeing flat screen televisions from Panasonic, Philips, Toshiba, Proton, and Zenith.