High-definition television in the United States

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[edit] High definition versus standard or enhanced definition

It is not clear whether broadcasting HDTV or multiple standard definition (SD) channels during non-primetime hours will become common. Many Public Broadcasting Service member stations are now carrying SD multicasts when not broadcasting in HDTV; but unlike many commercial stations, most of these multicasts are suspended while HDTV programs are being broadcast.

The prevailing expectation is that native HDTV (i.e., programming recorded with a digital HDTV camera) during primetime will predominate. The great majority of primetime television shows in the United States are available in HDTV at the network level. It is up to the affiliates, not all of which have HDTV broadcast capability, to retransmit these shows at HDTV resolutions. A number of non-primetime shows, including morning news shows and some soap operas, are also available in HDTV.

[edit] From proposals to introduction

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began soliciting proposals for a new television standard for the U.S. in the late 1980s and later decided to ask companies competing to create the standard to pool their resources and work together, forming what was known as the Grand Alliance in 1993.

On July 23, 1996, WRAL-TV (the CBS affiliate in Raleigh, North Carolina) became the first television station in the United States to broadcast a digital television signal.[1]

HDTV sets became available in the U.S. in 1998 and broadcasts began around November 1998. The first public HDTV broadcast was of the launch of the space shuttle Discovery and John Glenn's return to space; that broadcast was made possible in part by Harris Corporation.[2] The first major sporting event broadcast in HD was Super Bowl XXXIV on January 30, 2000.

[edit] Satellite and cable

Satellite television companies in the United States, such as Dish Network and DirecTV, started to carry HD programming in 2002. Satellite transmissions in the U.S. use various forms of PSK modulation. A separate tuner is required to receive HD satellite broadcasts.

Cable television companies in the U.S. generally prefer to use 256-QAM to transmit HDTV. Many of the newer HDTVs with integrated digital tuners include support for decoding 256-QAM in addition to 8VSB. Some cable television companies, such as Comcast, started carrying HDTV in 2003. As of September 2005, HD programming is carried by all major television networks in at least some broadcast markets, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, The CW, and MyNetworkTV.

[edit] List of satellite and cable high-definition channels

Main article: List of United States cable and satellite television networks in High Definition

[edit] Basic services

[edit] Regional public broadcasting services

[edit] Regional sports networks

[edit] Premium services

  • HBO HD(HBO HD, HBO2 HD, HBO Signature HD, HBO Signature HD, HBO Comedy HD, HBO Zone HD, HBO Latino HD)
  • Max HD(Cinemax HD, Moremax HD, Actionmax HD, Thillermax HD, 5starmax HD, Wmax HD, Outermax HD, @max HD)
  • Movie Channel HD
  • Showtime HD(Showtime HD, Showtime 2 HD)
  • Starz HD(Starz HD, Starz Comedy HD, Starz Edge HD, Starz Kids and Family HD)
  • Encore HD

[edit] References

  1. ^ History of WRAL Digital
  2. ^ "HDTV: Launched and Counting.". Broadcasting and cable (BNET). 1998-11-02. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5053/is_199811/ai_n18386452?tag=content;col1. Retrieved on 2008-10-24. 
  3. ^ http://www.wxxi.org/about/index.html
v • d • e
High-definition television broadcasting by country
United States · United Kingdom · Singapore
in order of deployment
v • d • e
Digital television in North America
Terrestrial
Digital standards
Digital networks
National deployment
Cable
Technical issues
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