High-definition television in the United States
High-definition television (HDTV) in the United States was introduced in 1998 and has since become increasingly popular and dominant in the television market. Hundreds of HD channels are available in millions of homes and businesses both terrestrially and via subscription services such as satellite, cable and IPTV. HDTV has quickly become the standard, with about 70% of all TVs used being HD as of 2015.[1] In the US, the 720p and 1080i formats are used for linear channels, while 1080p is available on a limited basis, mainly for pay-per-view and Video on Demand content.
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.[2]
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.[3] The first commercial broadcast of a local sporting event in HD was during Major League Baseball's Opening Day on March 31, 1998, the Texas Rangers against the Chicago White Sox from The Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, TX. The telecast was produced by LIN productions and broadcast locally on Fort Worth, Texas NBC affiliate KXAS channel 5. This telecast was also the first commercial HD broadcast in the state of Texas.[4] The first major sporting event broadcast nationwide in HD was Super Bowl XXXIV on January 30, 2000.
Satellite and cable
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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 for OTA digital. Cable television companies started carrying HDTV in 2003.
Currently, HD programming is carried by all major television networks in nearly all DMAs, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, The CW, MyNetworkTV and Telemundo; and on many independent stations. All but a select few of cable networks offer an HD broadcast to cable and satellite companies.
List of current American high-definition channels
| Name | HD Format | Category | Type | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antenna TV | 1080i | Sports – Regional | Broadcast | |||
| A&E | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| ABC | 720p | Broadcast | Broadcast | |||
| Animax (German TV Channel) | 720p | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Animax Eastern Europe | 1080p | News | Cable | |||
| Adult Swim | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Al Jazeera Documentary Channel | 720p | News | Cable | |||
| Altitude | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| AMC | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| American Heroes Channel | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Animal Planet | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Audience Network | 720p | Entertainment | Satellite | |||
| AWE | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| AXS TV | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Azteca | 1080i | Broadcast – Spanish | Broadcast | |||
| BBC Knowledge (International) | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Bedroom TV | 1080i | News | Cable | |||
| beIN Sport | 720p | Sports | Cable | |||
| beIN Sport en Español | 720p | Sports | Cable | |||
| Business (TV Channel) | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Big Ten Network | 720p | Sports – College | Cable | |||
| Bloomberg TV | 1080i | News | Cable | |||
| BravaNL | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| BYU Televsion International | 1080i | Sports – Regional | Cable | |||
| Cartoon Network | 1080i | Family & Kids | Cable | |||
| The CW | 1080i | Broadcast | Broadcast | |||
| CBS Sports Network | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| Cinemax(MoreMax, ActionMax, ThillerMax, 5starMax, MovieMax, OuterMax, MaxLatino) | 1080i | Movies and Entertainment | Premium | |||
| C Music TV | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| TVN CNBC Africa | 1080i | News | Cable | |||
| CNN | 1080i | News | Cable | |||
| CNN International | 1080i | News | Cable | |||
| Comcast SportsNet (All Networks) | 1080i | Sports – Regional | Cable | |||
| Cooking Channel | 1080i | Lifestyle & Home | Cable | |||
| Crime & Investigation Network (South East Asia) | 720p | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Comedy Central (UK and Ireland)) | 1080i | Broadcast | Broadcast | |||
| Daystar | 720i | Religion | Cable | |||
| Destination America | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Discovery Channel Finland | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Discovery Family | 1080i | Family & Kids | Cable | |||
| Disney Junior (English Canada) | 720p | Family & Kids | Cable | |||
| Disney XD | 720p | Family & Kids | Cable | |||
| Diva TV | 1080i | Lifestyle & Home | Cable | |||
| Disney Channel (Turkey) | 1080i | Family & Kids | Cable | |||
| E2 (TV Channel) | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| El Rey | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Encore (Encore Action, Encore Black, Encore Classic, Encore Suspense) | 1080i | Movies and Entertainment | Premium | |||
| Epix (Epix 2, Epix 3) | 1080i | Movies | Premium | |||
| ESPN | 720p | Sports | Cable | |||
| ESPN2 | 720p | Sports | Cable | |||
| ESPNews | 720p | Newsw | Cable | |||
| ESPNU | 720p | Sports – College | Cable | |||
| ESPN Deportes | 720p | Sports – Spanish | Cable | |||
| Esquire Network | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| EVINE Live | 1080i | Shopping | Cable | |||
| Food Network | 1080i | Lifestyle & Home | Cable | |||
| Fox | 720p | Broadcast | Broadcast | |||
| Fox Business Network | 720p | News | Cable | |||
| Fox College Sports | 720p | Sports – College | Cable | |||
| Fox Deportes | 720p | Sports – Spanish | Cable | |||
| Fox News Channel | 720p | News | Cable | |||
| Fox Soccer Plus | 720p | Sports | Cable | |||
| Fox Sports 1 | 720p | Sports | Cable | |||
| Fox Sports 2 | 720p | Sports | Cable | |||
| Fox Sports Networks (All Networks) | 720p | Sports – Regional | Cable | |||
| fuse | 1080i | Music | Cable | |||
| Fusion | 1080i | News | Cable | |||
| Fox (Turkey) | 720p | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Fox Movies (Middle East | 720p | Movies | Cable | |||
| Fox Sports Wisconsin | 720p | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| FYI | 720p | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| GAC | 1080i | Music | Cable | |||
| Gol TV | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| Golf Channel | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| GSN | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| H2 | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Hallmark Channel | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | 1080i | Movies & Entertainment | Cable | |||
| HBO (HBO2, HBO Comedy, HBO Family, HBO Latino, HBO Signature, HBO Zone) | 1080i | Movies and Entertainment | Premium | |||
| HDNet Movies | 1080i | Movies | Cable | |||
| HGTV | 1080i | Lifestyle & Home | Cable | |||
| History (Southeast Asian TV Channel) | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| HLN | 1080i | News | Cable | |||
| HSN | 1080i | Shopping | Cable | |||
| IFC | 1080i | Movies and Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Ion Life | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Ion | 720p | Broadcast | Broadcast | |||
| JewIsh Life Television | 1080i | Shopping | Cable | |||
| Kidsco Central and Eastern Europe, Western Asia | NBCUniversal | Corus Entertainment | Lifetime | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable |
| LMN | 1080i | Movies and Entertainment | Cable | |||
| MASN (MASN2) | 1080i | Sports – Regional | Cable | |||
| MavTV | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Mega TV | 1080i | Broadcast – Spanish | Cable | |||
| MGM HD | 1080i | Movies | Premium | |||
| Midco SN | 1080i | Sports – Regional | Cable | |||
| MLB Network | 720p | Sports | Cable | |||
| MLB StrikeZone | 720p | Sports | Cable | |||
| The Movie Channel (The Movie Channel Xtra) | 1080i | Movies and Entertainment | Premium | |||
| MoviePlex (IndiePlex, RetroPlex) | 1080i | Movies | Premium | |||
| MSG (MSG Plus) | 1080i | Sports – Regional | Cable | |||
| MSNBC | 1080i | News | Cable | |||
| MTV Hits New Zealand | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| MTV Shows | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Music Choice | ??? | Music | Cable | |||
| MyNetworkTV | 720p | Broadcast | Broadcast | |||
| Nat Geo Music | 720p | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Nat Geo Wild (Europe) | 720p | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| NBA TV | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| NBC | 1080i | Broadcast | Broadcast | |||
| NBCSN | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| NESN | 1080i | Sports – Regional | Cable | |||
| NFL Network | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| NFL RedZone | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| NHL Network | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| Nick at Nite | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Nickelodeon | 1080i | Family & Kids | Cable | |||
| Nicktoons (Germeny And Netherlands & Flanders) | 1080i | Family & Kids | Cable | |||
| Nick Hits (Netherlands & Flanders) | 1080i | Family & Kids | Cable | |||
| Outdoor Channel | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| Ovation | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| OWN | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Omusic TV | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Pac-12 Network | 1080i | Sports – College | Cable | |||
| Palladia | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| PRime HD | 1080i | Broadcast | Broadcast | |||
| PTV News | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Playboy TV | 1080i | Adult | Cable | |||
| Pop | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Qubo | 1080i | Shopping | Cable | |||
| Reelz | 720p | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| RTL 8 | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Retro jams | 720p | Sports – Regional | Cable | |||
| Science | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| SEC Network | 720p | Sports – College | Cable | |||
| Shorts | 1080i | Movies | Cable | |||
| Showtime (Showtime 2, Showcase, Showtime Extreme, Showtime Beyond, Showtime Next, Showtime Women) | 1080i | Movies and Entertainment | Premium | |||
| Smithsonian Channel | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| SNY | 1080i | Sports – Regional | Cable | |||
| Sony Movie Channel | 1080i | Movies | Cable | |||
| Spike | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Sportsman Channel | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| Sprout | 1080i | Family & Kids | Cable | |||
| Starz (Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, Starz Kids and Family, Starz InBlack, Starz Cinema) | 1080i | Movies and Entertainment | Premium | |||
| Seven HD | 1080i | Movies and Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Syfy Universal (Poland, Romania, Benelux, and America | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Ten HD | 1080i | Religious | Cable | |||
| Teletoon retro | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| TCM | 1080i | Movies | Cable | |||
| Telemundo | 1080i | Broadcast – Spanish | Broadcast | |||
| Tennis Channel | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| TWC Deportes | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| TWC SportsNet | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| TLC | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| TNT | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Travel Channel | 1080i | Lifestyle & Home | Cable | |||
| truTV | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| TV Land | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| TV One | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| UniMás | 1080i | Broadcast – Spanish | Broadcast | |||
| Universal HD | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Universal Sports | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| Univision | 1080i | Broadcast – Spanish | Broadcast | |||
| Univision Deportes | 1080i | Sports - Spanish | Cable | |||
| UP | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| USA Network | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| Velocity | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| V-me | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| We TV | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| The Weather Channel | 1080i | News | Cable | |||
| WeatherNation TV | 1080i | News | Cable | |||
| WGN America | 1080i | Entertainment | Cable | |||
| World Fishing Network | 1080i | Sports | Cable | |||
| YES | 1080i | Sports – Regional | Cable |
See also
References
- ^ HDTV SETS NOW IN OVER 80% OF U.S. HOUSEHOLDS Leichtman Research Group March 16, 2015
- ^ History of WRAL Digital
- ^ "HDTV: Launched and Counting". Broadcasting and Cable. BNET. 1998-11-02. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) [dead link] - ^ KXAS Texas Rangers vs Chicago White Sox introduction – March 31, 1998
High-definition television broadcasting by country | ||
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