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Steven Levy

"Television Reloaded"

Published in Newsweek, May 30, 2005

Many experts claim that the turn of the twenty-first century marked the beginning of a revolution in American television. Since that time, a series of technological breakthroughs has changed some of the most fundamental aspects of the TV viewing experience. People increasingly can choose not only what TV programs to watch, but also when, where, and on what type of device to watch them.

One of the most important technological developments of the early twenty-first century is the switch to digital transmission of television signals, which was scheduled to be completed by 2009. In digital transmission, information is stored as a binary code consisting of long strings of the digits zero and one. These numbers indicate whether tiny electronic circuits should be switched on or off. Digital transmission of TV signals offers a number of advantages over analog transmission (the original system, which involved sending TV signals through the air as waves of electromagnetic energy). For instance, binary code can be understood by computers and all other types of digital devices, making television and computer technology compatible for the first time. Another advantage to digital transmission is that signals can be simplified and compressed by computers so that a great deal more data can be sent in the same amount of channel space. For television signals, this means that digital technology can provide viewers with movie-quality picture and sound, as well as a variety of interactive features.

"The ethos of New TV can be captured in a single sweeping mantra: anything you want to see, any time, on any device."

One of the first technologies to take advantage of the compatibility between digital TV and computers was the digital video recorder (DVR). This type of device records television programs onto a computer hard drive. Although videocassette recorders (VCRs) have long given viewers the option of taping TV programs to watch later, a DVR makes the process much simpler. The growing popularity of DVR technology could have a major impact on the television industry in the future. For instance, DVRs allow viewers to watch programs according to their own schedules, rather than following the broadcast schedules devised by the television networks. The technology also makes it easy for viewers to skip all the commercials in TV programs, which poses a threat to the future of advertising on television.

The change to digital transmission of TV signals also makes high-definition television (HDTV) possible in the United States. In order to be scanned by a TV camera and reproduced on a TV screen, a visual image is divided into horizontal lines. The original American technical standard, which was established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1941, dictated that TV screens would have a resolution of 525 lines. Increasing the resolution provides for clearer, sharper, brighter images on the screen. The FCC established a new technical standard for HDTV in 1994. This standard said that HDTV in the United States would have a resolution of up to 1,080 lines, making it more than twice as good as standard-definition images. In addition to sharp picture detail in a widescreen format, HDTV also provides for Dolby digital surround sound, like that found in movie theaters.

Another development in TV technology allowed for more interaction between the sender and receiver of TV signals. Modern interactive TV gives the audience more control over programming. Viewers can select, respond to, and even change the content of some programs. The main application of digital interactive TV technology in the early 2000s was video-on-demand (VOD) services, which allow customers to select new-release movies and real-time games from a menu. Interactive technology was anticipated to have the potential to redefine the relationship between television broadcasters and viewers.

TV promises to become more fully interactive when signals are delivered over the Internet through a new service called Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). Internet Protocol (IP) is a set of rules that guide how computers around the world communicate with each other over the vast network known as the Internet. In the 2000s, faster Internet connections and improved digital compression technology made it possible to adapt IP to carry TV signals. IPTV services offer a number of potential advantages over traditional broadcast, cable, and satellite delivery methods. For example, the Internet has a virtually unlimited capacity to host billions of Web pages, so it may also be able to deliver thousands or even millions of TV channels. In addition, people using IPTV would also have access to the Internet and all of its resources. This access would allow them to interact with TV programming in many new ways or perhaps to watch television programs and receive e-mail or use other Internet functions at the same time. Finally, IPTV could make producing a TV show as cheap and easy as creating a Web site, allowing viewers to create their own TV content and make it available online.

All of these advances in technology promised to help American viewers gain more control over how and when they watch television. Meanwhile, the introduction of portable video devices and TV programming for mobile phones made it possible for people to watch their favorite shows virtually anywhere.

In "Television Reloaded," the 2005 Newsweek article reprinted below, technology writer Steven Levy outlines some of the major trends affecting American television in the twenty-first century. Levy was born in Philadelphia and earned a bachelor's degree from Temple University and a master's degree from Pennsylvania State University. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of technology journalism, having written on the subject for more than twenty years. The author of five books, Levy joined the staff of Newsweek in 1995. His article "Television Reloaded" discusses the potential for various new technologies to change the entire broadcast industry. In the end, though, Levy questions whether all the changes will really improve the TV viewing experience for average Americans.

Things to remember while reading "Television Reloaded":

In his article, Steven Levy makes reference to a famous speech by Newton N. Minow (1926–; see Chapter 7). Minow served as the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)—the U.S. government agency in charge of regulating television and other electronic communication technologies—under President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963; served 1961–63). In a controversial 1961 address to the National Association of Broadcasters called "Television and the Public Interest," Minow criticized the content of TV programming as a "vast wasteland." He also argued that the broadcast networks had a responsibility to serve the public interest by providing educational and informational programming.
In "Television Reloaded," Levy also provides some information about how people watched television in the early years of broadcasting. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, black-and-white television sets were a new invention, and color sets were not yet available. There were three major broadcast networks in the United States, which only aired programs for a few hours each evening. People who owned TV sets often invited family members, friends, and neighbors over to share the unusual experience of watching television. Levy compares this past era to today, when most American families own more than one TV set and viewers can choose from hundreds of specialized channels that air programs twenty-four hours per day.

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What happened next …

Levy and many other technology experts claim that "choice" will be the watchword for the future of television. They predict that the number of programming options available to viewers will increase dramatically until people can choose from among thousands or even millions of TV channels. They also claim that American viewers will soon be able to choose not only what programs to watch, but when and where to watch them. While having a broad range of programs and viewing options to choose from might allow viewers to find more shows that fit their individual interests, the expansion of choice also has some potential drawbacks.

Some critics believe that increasing channel options will encourage Americans to spend even more time watching television. They claim that an increase in TV viewing will reduce the amount of time people spend interacting with each other. They worry that this will cause social isolation, especially when every member of a family is watching a different TV program on a different sort of receiving device. Some experts claim that making TV programs available on all sorts of portable viewing devices will encourage people to watch television instead of pursuing healthier lifestyle alternatives, such as reading books, playing outdoors, or engaging in family activities. Finally, some critics argue that when there are TV programs targeted toward every imaginable interest, viewers will exclusively watch shows that confirm what they already think and believe, rather than expanding their horizons and learning new things.

Of course, no one really knows what the future will hold. The extensive changes taking place in television technology have the potential to bring many exciting changes to the industry. Whether or not the changes will lead to significant improvements in the viewing experience remains to be seen.

Did you know …

Technology writer Steven Levy is also the author of The Unicorn's Secret, a nonfiction book published by Prentice-Hall in 1988. This book explored a sensational real-life murder case that had taken place in Levy's hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A prominent figure in the counterculture movement of the 1960s, Ira Einhorn, was the prime suspect in the disappearance of his former girlfriend, Holly Maddux. In 1979, more than a year after she was reported missing, police found Maddux's decomposing body in a trunk in Einhorn's apartment and charged him with murder. Einhorn declared his innocence, claimed that he was being framed by his political enemies, and hired a big-name lawyer who got him released on bail before his trial. Then Einhorn fled the country, and his whereabouts remained unknown for the next sixteen years. He was finally captured in 1997 in France, where he had been living under a false name. But it took four more years of legal wrangling before Einhorn was sent back to the United States to stand trial. He was convicted of murder in 2002 and began serving a life sentence in prison. Levy's work on The Unicorn's Secretuncovered important new information in the case, and it was used as evidence in court to help convict Einhorn of the crime.
Levy collects steel lunch boxes from the 1960s. Some of his favor ites feature characters and scenes from early TV series like The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Flying Nun, and Laugh-In. On his Web site, Levy noted that he is "always on the lookout for a well-priced pail with some camp panache [out-of-date style]."

Consider the following …

Research shows that the average American household watches fifteen television channels regularly, regardless of how many additional channels are offered by their cable or satellite systems. What channels do the members of your household watch regularly? If your cable or satellite service allowed subscribers to order channels "a la carte" (one at a time, rather than together as a package), how many would your family pay a separate fee to keep?
Despite the hundreds of channels available to American television viewers today, the same broadcast networks that dominated TV fifty years ago still attract the largest audiences. Is television really changing as much as Levy claims? Present arguments for both sides.
What do you think television will be like in fifty years? Make a list of five predictions for the future.

For More Information

PERIODICALS

Balint, Kathryn. "For Television via Internet, the Future Is Now." San Diego Union-Tribune, July 13, 2005.

Gwinn, Eric, and Mike Hughlett. "TV-for-Phone Content Seen as Having Big Future." Chicago Tribune, October 5, 2005.

Levy, Steven. "Television Reloaded." Newsweek, May 30, 2005.

WEB SITES

Constantakis-Valdez, Patti. "Interactive Television." Museum of Broadcast Communications. http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/I/htmlI/interactivet/interactivet.htm (accessed on July 31, 2006).

Federal Communications Commission. "FCC Consumer Facts: Digital Television," February 7, 2006. http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html (accessed on July 31, 2006).

Grant, August. "Digital Television." Museum of Broadcast Communications. http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/D/htmlD/digitaltelev/digitaltelev.htm (accessed on July 31, 2006).

Rose, Frank. "The Fast-Forward, On-Demand, Network-Smashing Future of Television." Wired.com. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.10/tv_pr.html (accessed on July 31, 2006).

Seel, Peter B. "High-Definition Television." Museum of Broadcast Communications. http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/H/htmlH/high-definiti/high-definiti.htm (accessed on July 31, 2006).

Steven Levy Home Page. http://www.echonyc.com/&thksim;steven (accessed on July 31, 2006).

Levy, Steven

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