Future Products

Interactive TV (ITV) is made possible by the transmission of additional audio/video or data to the HD television, enabling the viewer to interact to create service enhancements, such as statistics for sports, alternate views, and customized product information. ITV is currently in the early stages of development and deployment and is not widely available.

HD DVD
Developments in DVD technology will soon make recording of a complete HDTV program on a single disc possible, opening the way for the distribution of movies in the HD, widescreen format. The “Blue Ray” laser technology is anticipated to be coming to market in 2005, once the competing standards and patents issues are resolved. Current DVD players will not be able to play these new discs, however it is expected that new HD DVD players will be able to play both regular DVD’s as well as the newer HD format DVDs.

HD Camcorders
Camcorders with HDTV capability are becoming available from the leading manufacturers, opening the way to HD home movies and productions. Their output can be edited with a computer-based editing system into very sophisticated home productions.

HD Recorder/Player
One manufacturer has recently introduced a compact recorder/player for HDTV using digital VHS technology, making editing and distribution at the home level possible.

HD Over the Internet and other Telco Lines
As the capacity of the Internet increases and compression technology, such as MPEG-4 and MS WM-9 are introduced, the possible distribution of HDTV in this media becomes feasible. Good quality HDTV programs, in real time, using these compression techniques require approximately 2 – 3 Mbps for transmission, getting them within the capabilities of ADSL and cable high-speed connections.