8.4 Developing Technologies

Digital TV

Digital tv is where many channels have been transmitted digitally moving through the same band width. This differs to the old use of analogue signals which were slower and used up more data for less, however now that the channels have added more to themselves they have created a more expanded service tho their audiences.  

Channel 4 would be an example of a digital broadcaster, as they used to only have 1 channel, which would have made them analogue. However now that they have many others such as Film 4, E4 etc. they are now all digital.

From an audience perspective digital tv means a better quality in video and audio which leads on to HD tv. It also allows for more interactive services such as the red button, box office and many more. However digital tv does cost a lot to install and sometimes there are many repeats which of course are boring, for instance E4 will exhibit episodes from the big bang theory, from season 8, which have been repeated numerous times, as well as the series being in season 9. 

For channel 4 it meant that they could expand and offer more channels, which can bring in a more diverse audience. But as they are a profit driven institution they cover more entertainment rather then informative programs, so their audience may grow but it would be with age and not what different people are interested in.  However they (channel 4) would of course had to make their money stretch further as they had more channels to fund. but would gain their investment back very quickly as they exhibit programs that are very successful which would generate a greater profit, e.g. 'The Big Bang Theory' on E4 and then 'Big Brother' on Channel 4. 

Satellite TV

Satellite tv works on the basis of delivering tv programs from the broadcaster with sending signals up into space and then relayed back to your home.

The biggest example of satellite tv in the uk would be sky, they are the only broadcaster to use satellite tv in the uk. Virgin and other companies such as talk talk will use cable tv.

Satellite tv does offer 100’s of channels and can be viewed in very remote areas, both of which are very positive for the audience. However satellite tv is very tricky to install and requires a trained technician, as well as being very expensive. to have Sky, the audience, need to have a date for a technician to come install all cables and then the box, which takes up a whole day and carries and added charge.  

Sky though, through the many channels they have, are able to have many different audiences, for example, a male audience for the sky sports channels, as well as targeting at niche audiences with sky arts. Which would relate back to a bigger profit as more people would pay the subscription fee. There was though a huge gamble on whether spending a lot of money on creating this new technology would even catch on.

Cable TV

Cable tv essentially are cables that run underground, feeding in to the box at home, as well as various other systems such as the broadband and landline. Recently we have switched to fibre optic cables instead of the old regular ones as they are much faster.

Virgin is the biggest cable provider in the uk, its used for tv and also virgins broadband, however it does have a minimum contract which is now 12-24 months.

For the audience cable is more reliable then satellite, Virgin have recently introduced their new fibre optic cables, which are more reliable and faster then any one else. Whereas satellite can often lose connection, it also has a good variety of channels to chose from, as Virgin is becoming increasingly popular more channels wish to use them. But a major negative is the fact that its hard to install and set-up, much like sky where a technician from virgin still has to come to your house to set everything up. 

For Virgin they have to pay a lot if cables underground are broke and needed repairing, and if one cable is broken that may effect many users not just one person. Moreover, it cost a lot for Virgin to even fit the cables in the first place. 

Interactive TV

This platform is an add on for the channels, an extra service that the broadcaster provides, it allows the audience to explore extra things. It gives the audience a little more freedom in what they watch.

An example would be the BBC red button, for instance when broadcasting Wimbledon the red button service allows the audience to choose a variety of matches instead of the main one that the channel is exhibiting.

The interactive service does allow for more choice, and more freedom, which we prefer. As well as being at no extra cost the audience like it even more.  But the red button service is particularly slow and can be frustrating which means the audience lose patients and just watch what the main channel is exhibiting. The BBC's red button service for the olympics was particularly good as it offered the audience a range of different sports to watch, but sometimes it was slow and the audience would rather just watch what sport was already showing as that could be the biggest event on the day anyway. 

For the BBC they have to decide whether or not the red button is even working. Although it is offering wider range, is anyone actually watching it or are people just sticking to what the main channel is broadcasting. Whilst they aren't a profit driven institution, the government will ultimately decide whether to cut the funding for the service or not. 

Internet TV

Internet tv is content exclusive online, and can not be seen on actual tv. It will have original content that would have never been seen before.

An example on internet tv would be Amazon Prime, this is where amazon have produced their own content and have created their own platform to exhibit it on, some of their original content will not be available anywhere else.

For the audience they are able to watch on demand whether that’s an episode a night or a complete binge watch. Amazon prime especially will release the whole series as oppose to channels that will release one per week.  Amazon prime allows the audience a wider range of choice on what they want to watch and when they want to watch it, ultimately that pleases the audience. However if you wanted to watch a series on Netflix and a separate series on amazon prime then you would have to subscribe to both as the content is mutually exclusive.

Amazon prime don’t have to worry about a schedule or slots for channels they can upload the content altogether and let the audience watch freely. Of course there is still is age old problem of needing an internet connection in order to access amazon prime.  

High definition

High definition makes the image clearer on screen. It uses more pixels as opposed to regular definition allowing for the more crisp looking image on your tv or pc monitior etc.

BBC hd is a channel that broadcasts its content in hd for the audience, they offer extra channels and more services for the audience to use. As the BBC are a PSB they don't charge more money as an extra package for the HD channels, they continue to pay the standard licence fee, which would be good for the audience. 

For the audience the the hd quality means that they receive a better looking picture as well as a better quality of audio. However not everyone is aware of the certain cables you need in order to get the hd on screen (HDMI cable) Of course the audience will feel like they are getting something extra for their money by the BBC allowing for HD channels to be no extra cost, which will leave them with good publicity. 

For BBC they can use it as a chance to re-brand themselves, they are able to market themselves as more of a new and improved broadcaster, trying to add more appeal to the public and constantly gain a bigger audience. However they can only provide some of the channels in hd format and does cost more to produce and provide it the the public.  

Streaming content

Streaming content is simply broadcasting live over the Internet. It can be done personally using apps and websites or it can be professionally done with institutions exhibiting special events.

Younow would be an example of a more personal broadcasting platform, anyone can download the app and start to live stream what they are doing at any time, using the Internet. However UFC fight pass would be an online website created by UFC to exhibit their special events to their audience.

Younow has a live messaging system whilst a broadcast is happening, which means that you are able to interact with others from the audience and directly to the broadcaster. This gives the audience a really welcoming and warm environment to watch with others that have similar interests. But you do need that internet connection to join the broadcast, which is the same with UFC fight pass in the sense that you need the internet connection.

For UFC they are able to see the viewer ratings from a special event and really understand what was done well and what needs to be improved on. Younow is also very cheap to run and set up not much has to be set up and they don’t have to charge a subscription fee because they can make money from advertisement.

 

On demand-viewing

On demand viewing means that people are able to watch programs/film whenever they want to. They can catch up if they missed an episode or they may be some original content that cant be viewed anywhere else.

BBC iplayer is an on demand viewing platform as people can watch past episodes or a documentary that aired up to 7 days ago, but people are still able to go back and watch it.

BBC iplayer allows for the audience to be able to watch what they want when they want, but more importantly they can watch on any device. BBC iplayer is also free to anybody, however in theory you should be paying a TV licence to be able to watch BBC iplayer. But for elder people they are closed out as they don’t have the education in what different technologies they need to have in order to watch it. Which is another point is the fact that the audience need the right technologies which some people just cant afford to buy.

But for BBC they are able to see viewer ratings on particular programs, which can indicate to them what’s popular and what’s not on their channel. Although it doesn’t apply to the BBC as they don’t work for profit but for other institutions they could lose money if their app/website is free.

Digital recorders

Digital recorders are a physical piece of hardware that has the ability to play, pause, record, rewind and fast-forward and tv program/film.  They also contain a hard-drive which stores all of the recordings.

Sky +HD is a box which contains a sky planner, this stores all of your recording, the actual box does allow for 2 recordings to happen but you have to be watching one of them.

Being able to use Sky and record a program/film does means that you are free to watch it on demand, and whenever you want. You can also skip through the annoying adverts and continue to watch rather then the program/film constantly being broken up by the adverts. Sky allows the recording to be fast forwarded, paused and rewinded whenever and how ever many times you want.  However interruptions can happen thus leaving you with a part recorded program/film, which is never a good thing, e.g. he sky box may automatically turn off if there is a timer set, or someone else in the house may turn the box off if no one is using it. 

For sky it does mean that they can charge more subscription money for this package as they can class it as more off a ‘premium package.’ But by sky having this package as well as a basic one, they now have to produce 2 different types of boxes & controllers which could be costly, if a package isn’t particularly popular.

Pay per view

Pay per view is a platform in which it is rapidly becoming redundant. It allows people to purchase and then view special events that are usually live that cant be seen any where else.

An example of pay per view would be sky box office, they allow people who already have a subscription with sky, to be able to buy special events such as, a boxing fight and watch it live exclusive to them only.

The audience, watching through Sky Box Office, are able to watch it live, and really feel like they are apart of the event. However, the audience does have to pay on top of their subscription, a boxing fight on Sky typically will cost £19.99, and there is no guarantee that the fight will even be good plus it is already very expensive. As Sky box office is dyeing out the variety of what is shown is very miniscule for the audience.

For sky though it does mean that they are able to have another platform to bring in more money, people may have to pay and watch the event on sky or people have stumbled on the event and bought it. By exhibiting the event sky are able to have exclusivity to the event, which means none of their rivals will be competing to exhibit the show.

However more and more companies are moving away from sky box office and are starting to set up their own online websites for their audiences, which of course would lose money for sky.