High-Definition TV - technological transition or new market?

This publication has been discontinued on July 19, 2011.

Introduction

Renewed interest in high-definition television (HDTV)

• after service deployment in Japan and the US, with digital migration freeing up a number of terrestrial frequencies over the next decade, is the time right for HDTV in Europe?
• growth of the HD base (DVD players, Home Cinema equipment and flat screen TVs) raises consumer quality standards and convergence of service offerings. Mass market or complementary market?

HDTV offering

• technical architecture: standards, networks, devices
• first lessons from pioneer markets (US, Japan), Europes delay
• impact of high-definition on TVs value chain (production, operation, broadcasting, device manufacturers) through case studies (HBO, VOOM)

Challenges

• business models: what revenues will compensate for the added costs involved?
• what conditions must be met to enable HDTV deployment? Should the various players policies be coordinated? Which players will drive market development?
• can HDTV help the migration to digital television in Europe?
• HDTV: a growth relay for the TV market?
• player issues: satellite operators, channel operators

Presentation

After the deployment of services in Japan and the United States, is the HDTV era beginning in Europe?

HDTV: a long term evolution involving deep-seated changes

• High-definition requires that equipment changes be made throughout the value chain: from production to reception devices
• The migration to HDTV means that quality will be chosen over the number of available TV channels
• To date, HDTV has generated sizeable added costs for operators: can the content and TV distribution industries support such investments?
• The pioneer launch of services in Japan and the United States reveal that HDTV penetration rates are still low

HDTV is a source of opportunities

• Can TV broadcasters afford to ignore HDTV when it could well prove to be:
  • a growth relay for the TV market
  • an incentive for creating higher value-added services and programmes
• Will high-definition allow TV to consolidate its position, faced with growing competition from other digital media?

Conditions for high-definition deployment in Europe

• Chief lessons learned from pioneering countries
• HDTVs place in the current audiovisual landscape

Case studies

ABC/NBC, BBC, Cox Communications, Discovery HD Theatre, Euro 1080, ESPN HD, HBO HDTV, NHK-Hi Vision, TPS, Voom:

• Features of the offer, scope of deployment, technological choices
• Choice of HD programming and content supply
• Added costs, bottlenecks, business models
• Strategic positioning of the HD offer

Table of Contents

1/ REVIVED INTEREST IN HIGH-DEFINITION FORMAT

• HDTV: presentation
• New TV consumption standards
  • Development of DVD, Home Cinema equipment, flat screen televisions
• Digitisation and new capacities on broadcast networks
  • Digitisation of TV services around the world: number of digital TV households (terrestrial, cable, satellite) in Europe (17 countries), the United States and Japan
  • Digital compression techniques
  • TV broadcasting networks: continued digitisation of TV networks, increased network capacity, digital transition and frequencies, development release of xDSL and fibre optics
  • Impact on video distribution

2/ LEVEL OF HDTV SERVICES DEPLOYMENT AROUND THE WORLD

• The forerunners
  • The United States and Japan
    • level of HDTV services deployment
    • factors contributing to and preventing successful service deployments
  • Other countries: Australia, Canada, South Korea
• The European gap: explanations
  • Failure of the HD-MAC standard
  • HDTV in Europe in 2004

3/ HIGH-DEFINITIONS IMPACT ON THE TV VALUE CHAIN

• Content supply: production, video contribution, post production
• TV service integration or packaging: TV channels, TV packages
• Distribution: TV distribution networks, HD reception devices (HD set-top boxes, HD TV sets)
• Players roles throughout the TV value chain
  • Impact of high-definition: costs and bottlenecks
  • Viewer consumption

4/ HDTV: STAKES & CHALLENGES

• General-interest TV channels: finding the right position
  • Public and private operators: different viewpoints?
  • Defensive or proactive strategy?
  • Cost of programmes
• Cable and satellite channels: varying situations
  • Does HDTV favour any given genre/theme?
  • Editors business models
  • Service positioning strategies
• TV platform operators: distinguishing from the competition
  • Distribution networks impact on the service offering
  • The offers strategy and business models
  • Renewal of the set-top box base
• TV network operators: HDTVs "network compatibility"
  • Satellite network
  • Cable network
  • Digital terrestrial network
  • ADSL network
• High-definition production: sharing the risks
  • Programme costs and financing
  • HD master and programme variation
  • Mandatory investments?
  • Role of the professional equipment leaders: Thomson, Sony
• New forms of video content distribution
  • Physical HD platforms: cassettes, computer discs, high-definition DVD (HD DVD, Blu-ray, EVD, the role of Microsofts Windows Media 9)
  • Role of the personal computer
  • "New" TV services: personal video recorders (PVR), PPV, VoD
• CPE manufacturers key role
  • New generation set-top boxes: STB +PVR, MPEG-4
  • HD TV sets: mass production, dropping prices

5/ HDTVS DEPLOYMENT PROSPECTS IN EUROPE

• Lessons learned from pioneer HD service launches around the world
• HDTV: more an evolution than a revolution?
• Market forecasts for Europe up to 2008

Related Reports