Future Progress in Television - Essay Example

The Future of Television I remember well when I was ten years old. I was living in Vietnam and one day my neighbor, who lived next to my house, bought a television set. In 1990, my neighbor was the only person in my village who had a television. This television had just two colors, black and white. At that time, everybody in my village and family thought that television was a magical thing to help them relax and enjoy. After seven years, my family moved to America. People in American society go to work, come home, have dinner, and sit down to watch television. Most people in America have a television in their home and the average American watches more than four hours of television each day (Herr). Television is their way to watch the news, hear the weather forecast, and watch their favorite shows or movies. Today, the development of technology has improved the quality of television. The future of television will develop more and more, and it should never stop. Television has changed over the past century. It was created by not one, but many inventors. From 1831 to 1862, inventors Joseph Henry and Michael Faraday, who were important American scientists of the 19th century and the fathers of electricity, worked together. They contributed to the evolution of television while working with electromagnetism; that is, the relationship between electricity and magnetism. In 1862, Abbe Giovanna Caselli modified and contributed to the evolution of TV. He was the first person who could transmit a complete image over wires, and his invention was called the “Pan Telegraph” or the Picture Right. In 1900, Russian Constantin Perskyi made the first television in Paris. From 1928 to 1933, inventors Charles Jenkins, Vladimir Zworkin, and John Baird were the first inventors who had success with television transmission (Bellis). In 1937, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) introduced the first high definition system, and this system consisted of 405 lines (Schoenherr). The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), then the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, began to use it for high definition broadcasts in London. In 1964, they introduced a second high definition set; this was a 625-line set, so it enabled an even higher picture resolution than before (Berry 2).  From 1989 to 1996, the International Telecommunications Union successfully created the high definition television. This was a 1080 line system, so it had extremely high picture resolution (Schoenherr). Step by step, the development of television shows us that there were many scientists who made contributions in order to make it more convenient and modern. Television technology has changed over the past five years. Until recently, most television sets were capable of receiving only up to four basic channels. Naturally, to see and compare it to the past, current cable television has grown rapidly. Today, cable still continues to advance with new developments and satellites. There are over 100 different channels available to cable subscribers, ranging from 24 hour music channels, 24 hour movie channels, and 24 hour news channels (Greenblatt 7). Technology development has made a great change, such as digitization and high-definition plasma. High–definition plasma (HDTV) is a digital television system that broadcasts with more outstanding diffusion. HDTV receives free broadcasts via the airwaves. One just needs a HDTV and an antenna, so they can pick up HDTV signals from local broadcasters. These channels include all the major networks such as NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and PBS. The other way to watch HDTV is to have a cable or satellite signal piped into the home using an addressable set top box (“What is HDTV?”). HDTV has been a great change in terms of color and clarity. If we compare HDTV with analog TV’s 400 or so horizontal lines, the current HDTV picture can compose up to 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. Therefore, it can quickly catch many channels in a day. In addition, 24–hour NHL Hockey Network is available in HDTV. Now, DIRECTV will offer 74 full-time national HD channels that include 18 sports networks in HD, more than any other television provider. DIRECTV is expected to have up to 100 national HD channels by year-end (Sturgeon 1). Now, HDTV wasn’t enough because the third dimension High–definition plasma (3D HDTV) became popular in the United States. It looked the same with HDTV, but it makes one feel the live action. A 3D HDTV and active shutter glasses are only part of the picture when it comes to 3D television; these glasses are very important because they make one experience more action and reality when they watch the movie. Therefore, 3D HDTV makes one feel like they have a small theater at home (Donnell 2). While 3D HDTV currently remains cost prohibitive for most individuals, it’s believed that individuals who consistently watch sports or play video games will be drawn to these televisions and propel the market (Donnell 2). In the future, television programs will be shown on the Internet. This will make it more convenient for individuals to travel. For example, when one travels, they will be able to watch television on the internet. The amount of people who watch videos on the web have increased dramatically. Magid Associates released a new survey on the growing popularity of watching videos on the web, and the results were surprising. He states that “the online audience has increased fifty-six percent over 2006, with fourteen percent of 12-64 year old Americans watching daily, compared to just nine percent last year” (Collins 2). Most people like to watch AOL (America Online), YouTube, Yahoo, and Comcast because these websites are available 24/7. For example, AOL has live videos on every Tuesday. They offer live music and comedy online, as well as via satellite (Lieberman 1). YouTube has 70,000 new videos a day (Greenbelts 3). Yahoo has online TV games, and it has 10,000 music online videos (Caplan 1). Moreover, Comcast says that will be adding about 800 movies in a month (Reardon 3). Recently, television has moved to cell phones. Young people like to watch movies and listen to music from their cell phones. People would have thought this impossible in the near past and wondered how they could watch a movie or listen to music from their cell phone. These days, it is possible to access both video and music online on your cell phone. Some companies are very successful in this realm, including Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile. Currently, a new Apple cell phone (the iphone) includes a digital broadcasting system and an Intel Corporation microprocessor. An Apple cell phone can have videos, photos, and music online within the wireless range. According to “Apple Unveils Cell Phone,” Steve Jobs, who is the Apple CEO, states, “It works like magic. It’s far more accurate than any touch display ever shipped. It ignores unintended touches. It’s super smart” (3). This iphone has a 40-gigabyte hard drive that contains up to 50 hours of video, and it offers downloadable music and a portable music. On June 27, 2010 the iphone 4 was released in the United States. This iphone 4 is a slate smartphone and is the fourth generation of iphone 3GS. It has uploaded a lot of consumption of media, such as movies and music player (“Apple Unveils Cell Phone”). Therefore, televisions will move to other forms of technology in the future. People will not only watch movies on television, but also watch movies and listen to music on their cell phones. Therefore, television will move to other forms of technology in the future. People will not only watch movies on television, but also watch movies and listen to music on their cell phones. Will the internet ultimately compete with television? This question has been hotly debated. While no one can know how the development of technology will change television in the future, many questions have threatened the traditional television. It is important to understand how the internet connects us together. The internet can be utilized to make a phone call, view a website, exchange email, and watch a video stream all at the same time (Greenbelts 4). In 2006, the internet and television combined to make a new product, IPTV (Internet Protocol television). IPTV is a system that transmits digital television through data networks, such as DSL, cable or wireless broadband (Anderson 1). IPTV can access the Internet without adapter boxes or media gateways. Therefore, IPTV allows access to many available channels (Harte 1). In June 2006, there are over 1,300 free IPTV channels. Moreover, AT&T offered over 300 channels in 11 cities, and AT&T will be adding more in 2007 (Reardon 1). Moreover, personal media channels allow viewers to create their own television channel. Viewers can upload their content, such as pictures and videos. They can also share their content with other IPTV viewers. IPTV systems provide access to many television channels throughout the world. Some of the popular global television channels are available on IP television such as news channels, business channels, and music channels. IP television can provide access to interactive media such as games, chat rooms and e-commerce shopping (Harte 4). In the coming years, IPTV is expected to grow more. In fact, in 2005 IPTV was available to more than 200 million households worldwide. Therefore, residential IPTV believes that it will grow to 400 million households by the year 2010 (“IPTV”). Therefore, the internet will not compete with television in the future because the internet and television will combine in many new high tech products to continue making many modern televisions in the future. Today, the development of television is still one of the most important sources of information. It plays such a significant role in people’s everyday lives. It’s almost impossible to imagine how we would live if there was no television. According to Michelle Wu, chief executive officer of MediaZone, “People can watch a lot more and at a more convenient time” (Greenblatt 4). Television is one of the greatest inventions in our modern world, and it has become increasingly popular. The future of television will continue to develop, and will never be limited. Read More