Between 2008 and 2012, the analogue TV signal will be switched off in the UK, meaning the country will have to be 100% digital. Digital TV can be sent through an aerial, satellite, cable or phone line, and to watch it you need a set-top box or a built-in decoder in your TV set. As well as extra channels, digital also provides improved quality, electronic programme guides and interactive features via the red button, like voting or extra coverage. While analogue signals work by transmitting sounds and pictures as continuously varying waves, digital information is sent as compressed computerised pulses of information, coded as 1s and 0s, because these signals take up much less space than analogue, more channels can be squeezed into the same airwaves.
Digital television has helped move television from a push technology to a pull technology. This is due to companies such as Sky have enabled television to go from an analogue setting where only four channels are available, to a digital setting where on such devices as Sky around 900 channels can be viewed. As well as viewing a number of different channels you can also record programmes and pause and rewind live television. There are also a number of catch up programmes available from different companies including BBC iPlayer so people in essence can watch what they want.
High Definition
High definition television, or HDTV, is a new format for watching programmes, offering sharper, clearer and brighter pictures and better sound. You need an HD-ready TV and an HD set-top box or decoder to receive the programmes, which are sent through digital signals. Televisions are considered HD-ready if the screen has enough pixels to display a high definition picture and must be capable of displaying pictures with either 720 or 1080 vertical lines. The programmes themselves must be made and transmitted in HD. The BBC is running free trial HD broadcasts, and Sky and Telewest are offering a commercial HD service. HD films are also available, but in two different formats - Blu-ray and HD-DVD.
Personal video recorders (PVRs) record digital television straight onto computer-like hard drives. They let you pause, rewind and replay action on screen while you are recording a programme - allowing for time-shift viewing of live TV. PVRs have built-in programme guides, making it easier to choose what to record. Some models let you tell them to always record your favourite soap, or tape all programmes on a specific subject. Most PVRs are combined with a digital TV service - such as Sky or Freeview.
On Demand
On demand means being able to throw away the TV schedule and watch what you want, when you want. Dedicated services - such as HomeChoice and BT Vision in the UK - send shows and films over a broadband connection to your TV via a set-top box. Or viewers can watch at leisure on a computer, with many US networks already offering hit shows online and UK broadcasters fast catching up. The missing link with this option is the device that connects or combines the computer and the TV.
Institutions
Sky Digital
Sky Digital is subscription television service in the UK and Ireland owned by BSkyB. There are over 900 channels available over Sky which by June 2006 already had over 8,000,000 customers. Sky Television began in 1989 as a four-channel satellite television service launched by Rupert Murdoch's company News International. Sky Television merged with collapsed rival British Satellite Broadcasting in 1990.
Sky Digital starts from £16 and goes up to £45 a month. The Sky packages include the following mixes; Entertainment Mix, Sports Mix, and Movies Mix. These mixes include Variety channels, Style channels, News Channels, Music channels, Kids channels, Knowledge channels, Sports channels and Movie channels. A standard Sky box comes free with the TV package you buy.
Sky+ is a personal video recorder (PVR) service for Sky Digital. Launched in September 2001, Sky+ allows the user to record, pause and instantly rewind live TV. There are 3 versions of Sky+; Sky+ 40GB which was the first version of SKy+ and offers an average of twenty hours of recording time. Sky+ 80GB which is now the Sky+ is now the standard Sky+ box from September 2005, the box has an average of foutry hours of recording time. The drive has a 160 GB hard drive installed, however half of this is reserved for use by the Sky Anytime TV service. Sky+ 160 GB had over eighty hours of recording time. A Sky+ box costs from £149.
Sky HD is the brand name of the HDTV service launched by BSkyB on 22 May 2006 in the UK and the Republic of Ireland to enable high definition channels on Sky Digital to be viewed. The service requires the user to have a Sky HD Digibox (costing upwards of £249), and a HD ready TV
Competitors
Virgin Media Television is a British television company which is owned entirely by the United Kingdom based cable company Virgin Media, previously known as NTL:Telewest. Like Sky, Virgin Media offers High-definition television services. However, the number of channels available is limited by BSkyB's refusal to allow the HDTV channels it owns to be broadcast by other companies. This situation is somewhat addressed, however, by the fact that Virgin can provide HDTV content using its Video on demand services and the fact that the V+ HDTV-supplying box can upscale all of its received transmissions to near-HDTV quality.
Sky is facing increased competition from telecommunications providers delivering pay television services over existing telephone lines using ADSL. Such providers are potentially able to offer "triple-play" or "quad-play" packages combining land-line telephone, broadband Internet, mobile telephone and pay television services. To compete with these providers, in October 2005, BSkyB bought the broadband Internet Service Provider Easynet for £211 million. This acquisition has allowed BSkyB to recently start offering its "Sky Anytime on PC" service as well as a "triple play" package combining satellite television, land-line telephone and Broadband service.
Future
The Economist has suggested that News Corporation would eventually like to merge BSkyB with its US satellite operation, DirecTV and possibly its STAR TV network to form a global satellite TV company.
EPG
Sky has developed a new version of its Sky Guide electronic programme guide (EPG) service, which includes new genres, easier access to channels, and a complete renumbering system. It also includes new hotkeys to get into new menus quicker. This is the biggest change to the Sky EPG since its launch in 1998.
On Demand services
Sky Anytime is the current brand for Sky's on-demand services currently available on TV (Sky+ and Sky HD), PC and 3G mobile phones. It is designed to compete with other video on demand services such as BBC iPlayer and Virgin Media.
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