Fibre Optics
TV On Demand
CD/DVD
Chapter 2:
Tomorrow’s
Technology Today
In 1997 when this textbook was first
published, there were a few technologies
that were covered in the “Future of Video”
section which have now become a reality. At
that time, Plasma TV's were the newest
thing costing over $25,000 for a single set.
High Definition Television (HDTV) was
close to implementation and would begin
broadcasts not long after the book was
released.
DVD's and DVD-ROM's were heading
for the market with the promise of being
able to record on them within 5 years. All of
these insights came true and are currently in
use today. Maybe not as extensively as
people originally thought, but nonetheless,
they are here. In this chapter, we will further
discuss the future of communications and
cover such topics as fibre optics and TV on
demand while updating and revisiting
DVD's, Plasma and LCD TV's, HDTV and
High-Definition DVD’s.
Plasma/LCD TV’s
TV “Definitions”
to happen. The solution to this problem is
fibre optics.
HD DVD/Blu-Ray
Production Notes
! Introduction
A fibre optic line uses light to transmit
digital information across a network that can
stretch around the world. The transmission
travels at the speed of light which is over
16,000 kilometres per hour (10,000 MPH).
A single fibre optic cable can handle every
phone call made in North America in one
day. This is a large amount of information in
one tiny cable. An entire network of these
cables could handle all data transmissions
for the internet, television and telephone.
The possibilities are endless. Each home
would only need one cable entering it to
receive each of these items. And they could
all be used at the same time without
interfering with each other.
Since 2000, many fibre optic pilot
projects have begun across the United States
and Canada. The concept is that each city
will be wired with a fibre optic network
giving them high speed services. This new
infrastructure will eventually link all North
American homes.
! Features and
Characteristics of
Fibre Optics
! Speed of Light
DID YOU KNOW?
It is a common myth that
fibre optic cables have a
hole in the middle where
the light travels. This is
not so. The light actually
travels through glass,
which it what a fibre
optic cable is made of.
There are over 5 million
miles or 8 million
kilometres of fibre optic
cable in North America.
?
Source:
http://www.scatmag.com
Fibre Optics
The vision of many technologists for the
future involves the combining of internet
applications, TV, movies, and audio all into
one system that is accessed from a central
location. This is called convergence. It's
been a buzz word for a few years now, but
the problem is that technology isn't quite at
the level that technologists are at. Our
current system of accessing the internet
involves either using a phone line or cable
modem. Neither of these methods can
handle the bandwidth (amount and flow of
information) necessary to allow convergence
A fibre optic cable
13
Fibre Optics
TV On Demand
CD/DVD
TV On Demand
One of the inventions that is counting on
fibre optics being a success is TV on
demand. What TV on demand does is
essentially get rid of network scheduling. So
instead of watching Survivor at 8pm on
Thursday night, you will be able to watch
the new episode whenever you want. The
exact details have not been worked out
regarding when shows would be released.
The most common theory is that the network
will still have a release time each week for a
show and it is up to the viewer to decide
when they want to watch it. Each subsequent
week, a new show would be released for
people to watch. Live events would still
be broadcast live but would also be archived
for viewers so they could go back later and
watch the event if they missed it.
Plasma/LCD TV’s
TV “Definitions”
Another feature of TV on demand is that
all of the old TV shows from the past would
be archived and could be accessed by
viewers whenever they want. This means
that you could watch every episode of Star
Trek or I Love Lucy all in a row without
having to leave your chair and hunt these
shows down. The same theory also applies
to movies which can now be delivered
directly to your TV any time of day. This
would mean the demise of your corner video
rental store but the convenience would make
your average couch potato very happy.
HD DVD/Blu-Ray
Production Notes
! TV On Demand
! CD and DVD
! Diagram: How Much
Information Can
Different Types of
Cables Carry
CD and DVD
Until 1997, the best way of storing digital
information was to record or write it to a
Compact Disc (CD). The format was
How Much Information Can Different Types of Cables Carry?
Fibre Optic Cable
Coaxial Cable (TV cable
and High-Speed Internet)
Phone Line
14
Fibre Optics
TV On Demand
CD/DVD
permanent, durable, and produced
outstanding results. The CD was adopted for
use not only with audio enthusiasts but also
by the computer industry. The term CDROM entered our vocabulary courtesy of the
computer giants.
The Compact Disc appeared in 1982 and
was developed by a partnership between
Philips and Sony. The first CD player was
introduced by Sony as well as the first
manufactured CD, Billy Joel's 52nd Street.
This was the beginning of a revolution in the
audio industry. In 1984, the first portable
and car CD players appeared making
Compact Discs the medium of choice for
audiophiles. The CD-ROM was also a
project which combined the talents of both
Philips and Sony engineers. CD-ROM's
changed the way computer data was stored
when they were released in 1985.
By 1989, over 25 million CD players
were in existence in the United States. It was
at this time that interactive CDs (CD-I)
became a reality. Just one year later Sony
and Philips combined once again to set the
standard for the recordable CD (CD-R).
The CD and CD-ROM had become very
popular with consumers. In 1993, Sony
introduced the first 100 disc changer while
the United States. saw CD players surpass
the 100 million mark by the following year.
The versatility of the CD became apparent
when a new video game system called the
Sony Playstation was the fastest selling new
video game system in history.
DVD was unveiled in late 1996 at the
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The features of this new format pushed the
capabilities of the Compact Disc beyond
what was thought possible. Not only did it
change the way we store data, but it altered
the face of video storage, home theatre
Plasma/LCD TV’s
TV “Definitions”
systems and video production.
DVD's use a menu system that comes up
at the start of every disc. From that menu
you can choose what you want to watch. If
you are watching a movie, it will be
organized into chapters, kind of like the
organization of a book. You can skip through
chapters to access points on the DVD
instantly. This is a big advantage over
videotape which needs to be fast forwarded
or rewound to find the spot you want.
HD DVD/Blu-Ray
Production Notes
! History of the CD
! DVD
! DVD Types
! DVD Video
DID YOU KNOW?
Other bonuses of the menu system is that
when additional video documentaries or
commentaries are added to the movie, they
can be accessed directly from the menu,
with no searching required. DVD's also
contain various soundtracks that may have
different languages contained on them. One
DVD could be produced and sold for North
America with English, French, and Spanish
on it whereas before, three separate
videotapes would have been needed.
The technical term for DVD is Digital
Versatile Disc, not Digital Video Disc as
most people assume. The latter term has
been ingrained in our thinking now and has
stuck. DVD extends beyond just video.
DVD's come in a wide variety of forms from
DVD-ROM to DVD-R. Let's look at some
of the DVD formats available for home use
today.
The partnership
between Sony and
Philips has spawned
many firsts in the world
of Compact Discs. They
are responsible for the
CD, CD-ROM, CD-I,
CD-R, DVD, and
DVD-ROM. Sony has
been responsible for
home carousel CD
players, car CD players,
car CD changers, and
portable CD music
systems.
?
DVD Video
This is the most common form of the
product. DVD Video is what we play in our
home DVD player when we watch movies.
The information is stored on the disc using
MPEG-2 compression and is decoded by our
DVD player to create a picture on the
screen.
15
Fibre Optics
TV On Demand
CD/DVD
Plasma/LCD TV’s
TV “Definitions”
DVD-RW and DVD+RW
DVD-ROM
This is the same as a CD-RW but in DVD
form. The DVD is re-writeable and can be
erased. These formats come in a single layer
4.7GB and dual layer (DL) 8.5GB capacity.
Minus RW’s and plus RW’s record
information differently and are not
compatible with each other. There are now
multi-format drives which will read and
write both types of discs so the user can
choose the format they want.
DVD-ROM is the equivalent of a CDROM. The difference is the DVD-ROM can
store 4.7 GB of information as opposed to
700 MB for a CD-ROM. The “ROM” part
stands for Read Only Memory. That means
that you can only read information from the
DVD and not record video or data to it.
DVD-ROM’s are becoming more popular in
the computer world for distributing games
and software. DVD-ROM drives now cost
about $30 and are standard on most new
computer systems. They can also be used to
play back movies on your computer.
DVD-R and DVD+R
This is a recordable DVD that can store
4.7GB of data. It can only be written on
once. Like the RW formats, you cannot
record on a plus disc using a minus drive
and vice versa. However, the 2 formats can
usually be read on each other’s drives.
DVD-RAM
This is a re-writeable format for DVD
that has two storage levels. The first is the
standard 4.7 GB and the second is a 9.4GB
double sided disc. These DVD's can be
erased and used again. They will not work in
any other type of DVD unit.
16
DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio discs can store a lot of
music. In fact, almost 9 hours can be stored
on 1 disc. This is compared to the 1 hour
and 20 minutes of music that can currently
be stored on the longest CD. This form of
DVD is not very prominent yet since the
audio CD is such a universal standard in the
music industry. Besides, no artist or band
would have enough songs to take up
9 hours for just one album.
HD DVD/Blu-Ray
Production Notes
! DVD-RW, DVD+RW
! DVD-R, DVD+R
! DVD-RAM
! DVD-ROM
! DVD-Audio
Fibre Optics
TV On Demand
CD/DVD
Plasma/LCD TV’s
TV “Definitions”
HD DVD/Blu-Ray
A Standard Compact Disc (CD)
Spacing 1.6 um
Information
A Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)
Spacing 0.74 um
Information
17
Fibre Optics
TV On Demand
CD/DVD
DVD recording is becoming more
accessible to consumers. The costs for a
blank DVD-R varies from $0.30 to $3
depending on the brand. DVD-RAM
discs cost between $5 and $15. This is pretty
steep considering the cheapest DVD-R or
+R drive on the market in 2008 cost $29.
The format is great for putting home
movies on and allows you to record about
two hours on one DVD. Again, this requires
special software like iDVD for the Mac or
DVDit! for the PC. The discs claim to work
on all DVD players but some of the older
original DVD models do not read them
properly.
The first DVD home recorder was
released in November of 2001 by Panasonic.
It worked just like a VCR but recorded onto
DVD-RAM discs (the expensive one) which
can be re-written on and erased. The
machine now retails for $199. More of
18
Plasma/LCD TV’s
TV “Definitions”
these machines are now in production and
use various formats (-R, +R, -RW, +RW)
and can be found for as little as $100.
HD DVD/Blu-Ray
Production Notes
! DVD Cont.
! DVD Recorders
Plasma and LCD TV’s
Plasma and LCD TV’s are the best
televisions that money can buy today. What's
not to love about these machines? Most are
only 3 inches thick (8cm), come in
widescreen format, can receive HDTV, have
component hookups for DVD players and
accept RGB inputs so the TV can be used as
a computer monitor. New models will even
accept the new HDMI cable (HighDefinition Multimedia Interface) to provide
the viewer with the best possible home
theatre experience. Not to mention the fact
that the colour is outstanding. But plasma
and LCD TV’s are still relatively expensive
compared to traditional tube TV’s. A basic
42 inch plasma model now retails for less
! Plasma and LCD TV’s
! Costs of Plasma and
LCD TV’s
! HDMI (High-Definition
Multimedia
Interface
Fibre Optics
TV On Demand
CD/DVD
than $1,000 and the largest models go for
over $10,000. Plasma’s range in size from
37 inch to 103 inches. LCD TV’s can come
in very small 5 inch sizes that can be found
for about $100 and go up
to 65 inches that cost
over $20,000. These
prices will continue to
drop over time.
What makes plasma
and LCD TV’s
different is that they have
no tube or projection
system to take up space. The
average 27 inch tube TV is 15 inches deep
taking up a lot of space in the family room.
A plasma or LCD TV is thin enough to hang
on the wall freeing up space for most rooms
they are put into.
TV “Definitions”
Lately, consumers have become very
confused with the different types of
television “definitions”. Essentially there
are three types: HDTV (High Definition),
EDTV (Enhanced Definition) and SDTV
(Standard Definition). There are big
differences between each one which will be
explained to help you understand what they
are.
HDTV is the most vivid picture ever seen
on a television set. There are two methods
that HDTV’s use to display a pictureprogressive scan (720p) and interlaced
(1080i). So what is interlaced and
progressive scan?
These terms refer to the way the picture
is scanned or the scanning system that is
Plasma/LCD TV’s
TV “Definitions”
used to display a picture. The interlaced
format works the same as analog television.
One video frame is made up of two fields,
each containing 540
lines. The odd fields are
displayed first which
contain every other
line on the screen. The
even fields are shown
second. When these two
fields are put together
they make up one frame
of 1080 interlaced lines.
The process occurs so
quickly that the human
eye does not notice it. Each field is only
1/60 of a second. Interlaced pictures are the
easiest to broadcast and colour quality is
slightly better than progressive scan.
Progressive scan technology works
differently. Every field contains the full
picture (720 lines). In a sense, it changes the
video format from 30 frames per second to
60 fps. This makes any motion in the picture
appear to be smoother giving a more
realistic picture. DVD players now employ
this technology to make movies look even
better. But since there is more information
on the screen at one time, it is difficult to
broadcast.
HD DVD/Blu-Ray
Production Notes
! TV Definitions
! HDTV
! Interlaced
! Progressive Scan
! Enhanced Definition
Television (EDTV)
! Standard Definition
Television (SDTV)
! First TV Station
Broadcasting in
HDTV
! HDCAM Videotape
High-definition video
equipment
Photos courtesy of Panasonic Canada
Enhanced Definition Television
(EDTV) will display 480
lines using the progressive
scan mode (480p). It will
receive HD broadcasts but
will only display them
using 480 lines. The picture quality
is lower but still significantly better than a
standard definition TV. These TVs will
receive Dolby Digital audio, like the HDTV
format but these are not High Definition
Tv’s.
19
Fibre Optics
TV On Demand
CD/DVD
Plasma/LCD TV’s
TV “Definitions”
HD DVD and Blu-Ray
Standard Definition Television (SDTV)
displays 480 interlaced lines (480i). Each
frame is made up of two 240 lines fields
producing a good picture but not nearly as
clear as the other 2 formats. Audio is good
with quality varying from TV to TV. This is
the standard we are use to seeing.
Broadcasts of standard definition use the 4:3
ratio which is more like a square than the
16:9 widescreen broadcasting used for
HDTV.
So when will HDTV be entering a home
near you? Well, it has already started. The
first station to start broadcasting in HD was
in Raleigh, North Carolina. WRAL led the
pack by starting HD broadcasting on July
23, 1996 even though they did not have to
be broadcasting in High Definition until
2006. That is when all stations in the United
States must be capable of broadcasting in
HDTV. However, this deadline will be
extended until 85 percent of homes in the
US are capable of receiving these
broadcasts.
HD video cameras have started to appear
on the market with consumer models from
Sony starting just below the $2000 level and
prosumer cameras averaging between $5000
and $10,000. HDCAM which is a
professional tape format was developed by
Sony in 1999 and was used for a small part
of Star Wars Episode I. The result looked so
good that people could not distinguish it
from film. George Lucas used the format
extensively for the filming of Star Wars
Episodes II and III because it has the
advantage of not having to be developed like
film. The tape can be rewound and reviewed
on location without having to wait. If a
change needs to be made, it is done on the
spot saving the time and expense of
reshooting scenes later.
20
Technology companies always seem to
have a hard time agreeing on industry
standards. DVD’s are no exception to this.
High definition DVD’s are now on the
market and come in 2 forms: HD DVD and
Blu-Ray. HD DVD was released in March
of 2006 with the first player coming from
Toshiba ($499US was the initial price). BluRay debuted in May with a model from
Pioneer. It’s initial selling price was $1800
US, significantly higher than the HD DVD
player.
There are a few key differences in each
technology. HD DVD can store 30GB of
high definition information, they cost less
and have more titles available for viewing.
Blu-Ray can store 50GB of high definition
information, they are much more expensive
and there are fewer titles available for
viewing. As of 2008, Blu-Ray players
retailed for about $500 while HD-DVD
players cost $300. Blu-Ray discs for data
storage retailed for $15 for the 25GB disc
and $40 for the 50GB disc.
What is the same about the two
competing formats is that they both use a
blue laser for reading
information (red is the standard),
each plays high definition video
and neither one has home
recording capabilities yet.
Drives for home computers are
available and can record on
blank data discs. With Sony and
Pioneer backing Blu-Ray and
Microsoft and Toshiba backing HD DVD,
you can be assured that the battle has just
begun. Hopefully Sony will have learned
it’s lesson from the infamous VHS vs. Beta
war in the 1970’s. The only company that
has created a player that can play both
formats is LG. The player retails for about
$700.
HD DVD/Blu-Ray
Production Notes
! HD DVD
! Blu-Ray
! Features of Each
High Definition DVD
Format
The original concept
for Blu-Ray DVD’s
The first HD DVD player
from Toshiba
Photo courtesy of Toshiba
R
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The second chapter has revealed some interesting possibilities for the future. Look at the questions below and answer
them as best you can.
Chapter Two Review Questions
1.
What are the features of Fibre Optics and how does it differ from today’s technology?
2.
What is TV on Demand? How will it work?
3.
List and describe at least three ways that CD’s and DVD’s differ.
4.
List and describe 4 types of DVD formats.
5.
How are Plasma and LCD TV’s different than standard TV’s? List these differences and explain how it will
impact the way we watch TV.
6.
Of the 6 topics covered in this chapter, which invention do you think is the most exciting? Explain why. Which
will have the biggest impact on the future of communications?
21