After a slow start, digital television is finally taking off in Australia as the broadcasters take the leap into high definition.
Currently each of Australia's five major television networks are broadcasting three signals; analogue, standard definition digital and high definition digital. Many regional networks are also broadcasting digital television in SD and HD. Analogue broadcasts have been granted a stay of execution until perhaps 2012.
Until recently all three signals showed the same thing, but as of this year the commercial networks are allowed to "multi-channel" in HD. For example, while they're showing football on the analogue and SD channels, they can screen a movie on the HD channel.
High definition broadcasts look sharper because they use more dots, or pixels, to make up the image. Unfortunately it gets confusing because there are different definitions of "high definition". Video comes in three main resolutions - 576, 720 and 1080 - according to the number of horizontal lines in the image. This number is followed by an 'i' for interlaced or 'p' for progressive. Interlaced only displays every second horizontal line, rapidly switching between the odd and even numbered lines to build the entire image. Progressive displays the every line at once, creating a sharper picture.
Most Australian HD broadcasts are in 1080i, compared to SD's 576i. The ABC's HD channel is only 720p, while SBS's is a measly 576p. To do full HD broadcasts justice you need a television screen with 1920x1080 pixels, know as "True" or "Full" HD. Other so-called HD televisions only have 1366x768 pixels, but will downscale 1080i to 720p with minimal quality loss. Be careful when buying a television, as some HD televisions only have a SD tuner built-in.
This year sport led Australians into the promised land of high definition, with both the AFL and the Rugby World Cup broadcast in 1080i. This is important because fast-moving sport often looks terrible on a big screen in SD. In 2008, Ten is set to broadcast all its AFL games in 1080i, as is Seven with the Beijing Olympics.
The broadcasters aren't granted enough bandwidth to create a second HD channel, so the commercial networks are overhauling their existing HD channels (70, 90 and 12 respectively for networks Seven, Nine and Ten).
Common sense would suggest they'll still simulcast programs filmed in HD, such as CSI, but when the program on their main SD channel isn't available in HD, such as M*A*S*H, they'll show a different HD program on the HD channel.
In October 2007, Seven became Australia's first network to take the plunge into HD multi-channelling. Unfortunately so far Seven has often pulled off one HD program to screen another, which is annoying for those who want watch Seven's existing line-up in HD. Worse still, at times Seven is upscaling SD on the HD channel while downscaling HD on the SD channel. It's not a good start, but it's only temporary until Seven relaunches its HD channel in November.
All three commercial networks expect to be HD multi-channelling by the end of the year and Seven has already announced plans for a second SD channel when the ban on commercial SD multi-channelling is lifted in 2009. The commercial networks originally had multiple SD channels (such as Seven's 71, 72 and 73), for broadcasting multiple camera angles of sporting events, but the novelty quickly wore off and they gave it away.
The rules are more lax for the government broadcasters and they've both have dipped their toes into SD multi-channeling. The ABC ran two niche digital channels, ABC Kids and Fly, but they only lasted two years. ABC2 and SBS World News are still on air but, thanks to tight government genre restrictions, they've have had scant original content until this year.
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