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| Posted: December 14, 2007 |
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Starting Monday December 17, the NewsHour began broadcasting in HDTV-- high-definition television. While this gives viewers a bigger and better picture, it provides an array of challenges for our newsroom. To better explain what you're seeing and why, NewsHour staff answered your questions. |
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| Bradford Hollingsworth of Ramona, Calif., asks: |
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| Thanks for showing us your transition to HDTV. What you didn't mention are the HDTV pitfalls: the much high TV prices, higher cable prices, and technological problems with sound decoupled from video frames. What are the cons to HDTV? |
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| Chris Dee responds: |
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I personally feel there are very few cons. Yes, there are the growing years when the innovation comes at a higher cost, but as the format gains strength the costs could possibly come down. But in a sense HDTV is sort of a preference - one could choose to purchase a digital to analog converter and remain with the same television set for quite some time. But one could also choose to view the new signal in a new way that improves the overall viewing experience. |
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| Steve Howard responds: |
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There certainly are additional expenses involved in HDTV from the consumer side, although I think you will see prices of sets and cable services continue to decline. HDTV set prices are higher than analog CRT sets in part because they are generally much larger sets and a more expensive technology. This would be the case even if they did not display HD signals. In other words, newer sets are more expensive, in part for reasons unrelated to HDTV alone. Cable prices are higher because (fairly or not) cable systems feel the need to recover the costs of installing fiber transmission lines quickly. As for your final comment, which seems to imply that we are not concerned about maintaining the synchronization between sound and picture I must respectfully disagree. We have spent endless hours discussing how to avoid this very problem. The problem arises because the sound and picture are processed separately and differently. Each step of the process potentially introduces a slight delay in processing time. For the program originator, it is a constant concern and we have equipment in place and daily tests throughout the facility to preclude such a thing happening. Once it leaves our facility (presumably in sync) it is processed further at PBS, the local PBS affiliate and (perhaps) your cable system before it reaches your set. If you notice a sync problem on the NewsHour, it would be helpful if you write us again and mention the PBS affiliate and cable system (if any) from which you receive the program. In short, all you know about how you receive the program. This will help us track down any sync problems directly from our facility to your home. |
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