As part of the move to digital TV, scheduled for Feb 2009, the FCC has officially notified U.S. television broadcasters that the standard for transmitting TV over-the-air will change from analog to digital.
This means every conventional TV with an antenna will become obsolete, unless it is connected to a digital tuner. After the changeover to digital transmission, TVs will be unable to receive terrestrial analog RF TV broadcasts unless connected to a set-top box or other device that contains a digital tuner.
However, the majority of TV watchers will not be affected, because 80% of television viewers use cable or satellite television and virtually all satellite users and an increasing number of cable users already use set top boxes to view programming. Many of these set top boxes can receive digital transmissions.
Satellite TV vs Cable TV
In the battle between satellite television services and cable TV, satellite continued to gain market share this year, in doing so pushing cable penetration to a 17-year low.
Direct broadcast satellite TV is now used by approximately 27.6% of US TV-owning households, up from 24% this time last year. In the same period, wired cable penetration fell slightly from 62.1% to 61.3%, the lowest it’s been since February 1990.
As a result, there are now 15 U.S. markets where satellite television has overtaken cable as the dominant TV subscription method, the study found. These markets include Albuquerque, New Mexico; Springfield, Missouri; and Shreveport, Louisiana.
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Based on industry trends and price projections, by the fall of 2008, you should be able to buy 52-inch LCD TV sets at the current price of 40-inch LCD TVs.
Market researcher DisplaySearch predicts the price of 52-inch LCD TVs will fall to $2,300 by the third quarter of 2008.
In addition, the major makers have targetted 52-inch LCD TV as the major item for the flat-panel TV market for the next year and they are competing to get their share of the market.
For example, Samsung this year sold around 790,000 52-inch LCD TVs, but expects the sales to grow to 1.95 million units next year aided by new products based on 120Hz technology and equipped with LED backlights.
Samsung’s LE52F96BD’s 52-inch LCD TVs is a leading example of the category. It uses Samsung’s Digital Natural Image engine to improve colour saturations/tones and fine detailing, as well as providing further boosts to black levels and motion control.
The most interesting capability of the TV though is LED backlighting using an array of LED backlights, which are all individually controllable.
The advantages of this approach are much deeper black levels and a jaw-dropping contrast ratio of 500,000:1.
So get ready to see your favorite cable TV shows on even bigger screens.