BY CHRIS THOMAS

Although it seems a well-kept secret, the United States is in the seventh year of a 10-year transition to a new form of television broadcasting. The analog television system that we use today was designed by a national consortium of engineers in the years following World War II. That system has worked so well that there has been little need to alter it during the intervening 65 years, except to add color.

High Definition TV (HDTV) sent over digitally equipped stations now makes it possible to deliver a much sharper and clearer picture. Major sporting events such as the Super Bowl and the NBA All-Star game are being transmitted in HDTV, and the recent Grammy Awards were broadcast in HDTV with Dolby 5.1 surround sound. Networks are also broadcasting some of their prime-time fare in HDTV. Response to these broadcasts has been enthusiastic but, so far, only about 10% of viewers have equipment to receive HDTV.

In order to view HDTV broadcasts, one needs a new digital television set and often a TV antenna since many digital cable and satellite service providers are still evaluating how they will provide HDTV signals. In January 2007, existing analog TV broadcasting in the United States will shut down, and only digital TV will be available. At that time, current analog television sets and VCRs become obsolete. The FCC has also mandated that virtually all television sets sold after 2006 be digital. Converters will allow old analog equipment to continue to be used, but the digital transition clearly will have a financial impact on many viewers.

It is unfortunate that digital broadcasting renders existing sets obsolete, but substantial engineering changes are involved. On the positive side, digital TV stations have new options for serving the public interest, including the ability to broadcast several simultaneous channels of educational or ethnic programming. When high-definition video CD standards are finalized, many consumers will be able to enjoy theater-quality movie viewing in the comfort of their homes.

Public interest is not the only force driv-ing the move to digital broadcasting — there are many conflicting economic interests involved. The FCC plans to decommission and auction UHF TV channels 52-69 after analog TV shuts down, raising an estimated $20 billion — and Congress clearly approves. The Consumer Electronics Association, representing television manufacturers, sees a huge oppor-tunity as the country replaces its existing television sets. Broadcasters, on the other hand, are looking at millions of dollars in expenses to upgrade their stations while reaching no additional viewers, and many do not believe HDTV is necessary. Content providers continue to be concerned with theft of their intellectual property and are at odds with consumers who see their fair use rights being trampled.

Once the dust has settled, digital television will provide increased opportunities for both educational and recreational viewing. However, due to increased receiver costs, television may become, at least temporarily, a somewhat less universally accessible medium.

Thomas is a computer network engineer in Academic Technology Services and holds an FCC broadcast engineer’s license. He will present a technical discussion of digital television March 13 at noon in the Visualization Portal, 5628 Math Sciences. RSVP: www.ats.ucla.edu/portal/events.htm.