Compared to analogue broadcasts:

• Better, sharper video (with spectacularly detailed video if High Definition)
• Better, digital sound (with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround available on selected programs)
• Extra content and channels (including SBS World News Channel, ABC2)
• Program information (electronic program guides that can be fully browsed, although usually limited to descriptions of the ‘now and next’ programs)
  

Digital television also improves on your analogue reception in many cases. Slightly snowy analogue reception is likely to give you a crystal clear digital picture (of course, depending on your antenna setup and location). Most people will be able to use their existing antenna setup with no changes.

A phenomenon called the ‘Digital Cliff’ means with digital television, you can either receive the entire, perfect broadcast, or you get no reception at all. This is unlike analogue, where as your reception becomes poorer, the picture simply becomes noisier.

Who is broadcasting digital television in Australia today?

In all major metropolitan areas, the big 5 networks (ABC, SBS, Seven, Nine and Ten) are all broadcasting digital signals. Community television stations (i.e. Channel 31) haven’t gone digital, as they haven’t been allocated a space on the television spectrum to broadcast digitally.

In regional areas, the picture isn’t as simple – some areas have full digital coverage, while some have only ABC and/or SBS. Major regional areas will tend to have more complete coverage, but more remote areas may be missing one or a few broadcasters.

Some areas have digital only channels (for example, Tasmania) – meaning an entire network is available on digital broadcast only, with no analogue equivalent.

To find out which digital broadcasts are available in your area, visit Digital Broadcasting Australia’s Reception Locator.

http://www.dba.org.au/index.asp?sectionID=22

What are each of the networks doing for High Definition television?

Every network has to broadcast at least one standard definition channel at all times (the ABC and SBS have standard definition multichannels), and at least 1040 hours of high definition programming each year.

In Australia, High Definition is defined as a broadcast with a format of 576p, 720p or 1080i.

Nine and Ten both use 1080i, while ABC uses 720p. 576p is used by Seven and SBS. Regional affiliates follow the format of their metropolitan station – WIN and NBN use 1080i, Southern Cross Ten uses 1080i and Prime uses 576p.

Aside: Seven is using 1080i in Sydney and Melbourne – as a technical test. Hopefully they’ll roll it out nationally soon!

Update 24th June 2007: Seven is now 1080i in Perth and Adelaide as well.

Every station is required to meet a quota of at least 1040 hours of HD programming per year. For the commercial stations, these 1040 hours must comprise of native high definition programming. The ABC and SBS are given special conditions, and can count up-converted (meaning scaling up the standard definition to high definition, then broadcasting it in a high definition format) content towards their 1040 hours. However, even though the ABC doesn’t have to broadcast native HD programming – they still commit the resources and effort to do so – with much praise due to the operations team at the ABC.

SBS is the only station to not broadcast any native HD – they up-convert only. This is because they do not have the necessary equipment for native HD. However, they have plans to go to 720p from 2008.

The difference between 1080i, 720p, 576p and 576i


1080i is usually regarded as the highest quality format for free to air HDTV – it provides the highest vertical and horizontal lines of resolution, and is the international standard for HDTV production and distribution.

720p also is a great improvement over standard definition (576i), but has less vertical and horizontal lines of resolution than 1080i. The ABC uses 720p as it is less bandwidth intensive, meaning it can fit into a smaller space. The advantage of 720p over 1080i is that it is a progressive signal – meaning each frame is a complete, full resolution image – versus each frame being made up of two fields, which have to be somehow combined.

However, broadcasting progressively is only useful if the source is progressive – which isn’t the case for most programs – they’re usually supplied as 1080i negating the benefit of the progressive format.

Australia’s situation is unique, as internationally 576p is not recognised as High Definition, but rather as Enhanced Definition. 576p isn’t much of an improvement over 576i, as it has the same 576 lines of resolution, but is progressive rather than interlaced. The decision to allow 576p as HDTV has had much criticism from the enthusiast and technical communities – but we’re stuck with it for now.

576i is the format for standard definition television (SDTV), and is very similar to DVD (which is also 576i for PAL countries).

What can I see in High Definition?

A lot of primetime programming, as well as feature films are broadcast in High Definition. Anthonysimilion at DTV Forum Australia maintains a list of High Definition programming, updated weekly:

http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=28574

Many US-produced regular series (e.g. CSI, Law & Order, Supernatural, House, NCIS, Numb3rs, Cold Case) are broadcast in High Definition.

High Definition sport is a recent development, but it is here to stay. Ten is the current leader in HD sport – broadcasting Saturday Primetime AFL matches in High Definition (with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio), as well as making commitments to broadcast a number of international sporting events in High Definition, such as the upcoming 2007 Rugby World Cup, and the US Open and Masters Golf Tournaments. This year’s AFL Grand Final will be the first to be broadcast in High Definition. HD sport is a true treat for any die hard sports fan.

There are also locally produced programs – ranging from morning programs like Today and 9am with David and Kim, to children’s programming such as Totally Wild and even sports related programming such as The NRL Footy Show and Before the Game. For an entire list of the week’s HD programming, visit the link provided above. Digital Broadcasting Australia also produces a general list of HD and SD programming:

http://www.dba.org.au/index.asp?sectionID=126

Movies as well, such as The Lord of The Rings, Harry Potter and Spiderman were all broadcast in HD with Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks – giving an immersive experience. Once you’ve seen a movie in HD on a HD display, with a great sound system – you won’t want it any other way.

What do I need to receive High Definition television?

As a minimum, you need a receiver capable of decoding High Definition. This can include a High Definition Set Top Box to connect to your existing television, a television with an in-built High Definition tuner, or even a Digital Television Tuner card for your computer.

To truly experience High Definition television – you need a display that can display at a High Definition resolution. While you could connect a High Definition Set Top Box to your 34cm goldfish bowl CRT – you wouldn’t take advantage of the great picture quality.

Any display of 1280x720 or above is generally considered a High Definition display. A very common High Definition display resolution is 1366x768. Most LCDs 26 inches (66cm) and above have this resolution.

Viewing distance and display size also have an effect. For example, if you’re watching HD on a 26 inch (66cm) LCD from 5 metres away – your eyes may not be able to see a big difference between HD and SD. However, on a 32 inch (81cm) LCD from 2 metres away – it makes a big difference.

As we move towards larger displays, as well as higher quality displays – the need for High Definition is greater than ever. The most common LCD television size sold today is 32 inches – and it will only increase in the future. High Definition is not the future – it is here now.

Feel free to ask any questions or discuss anything about this article or digital television in the comments. I’ll do my best to help you out!

If you're interested in talking to a helpful community of enthusiasts about digital television, home theatre or even advice on purchasing your next HDTV, DTV Forum Australia is a great place to start.

In the next article, we’ll talk more about High Definition tuner cards and Home Theatre PCs.

Links

DTV Forum Australia - helpful community of digital television enthusiasts.
Digital Broadcasting Australia - a wealth of useful information on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in Australia, including reception advice.
Site Offline - over 400 screen captures of High Definition programs broadcast in Australia. The images in this article have been used with permission from Site Offline - many thanks!