Digital revolution gathers pace

[NewsMan]

It is little surprise that flat-screen televisions, digital cameras and DVD
players were among the most popular Christmas gifts this year. A recent
survey reveals the Australian home entertainment market is booming.

Consumers have spent $2 billion this year on everything from digital TVs and
cameras to set-top boxes, game consoles and video phones.

According to the survey by GfK Marketing Services - which collects sales
data from all major consumer electronic retailers - this figure is 25 per
cent more than we spent in 2002 and twice as much as the year before
that.....

<SNIP>



.....Meanwhile, the uptake of digital television has risen steadily over the
past year as Australians warm to the prospect of better-quality television
viewing and a wider choice of channels.

According to Digital Broadcast Australia, by the end of 2003 the number of
homes receiving a digital television signal - either through a digital TV or
a set-top-box decoder - will be nudging 250,000. That's up from just 75,000
at the end of April.

The penetration rate might seem slow, but commentators point out that it's
in line with the take-up of colour TVs and VCRs when they were relatively
new.

"Digital TV has been called a lame duck in Australia, but this is a gross
misconception," says Swinburne University film lecturer Jeff Bird. "Like any
technology, it needs time to catch on."

He says that while basic digital transmission will enable viewers to
interact with their television, give them access to video-on-demand and
different camera angles, the most attractive aspect of digital TV is
high-definition broadcasting.

"The picture resolution is three to four times as good as both
standard-definition analogue and digital. It's really like looking out of a
window."

Australia's free-to-air broadcasters have been required to broadcast a
digital signal for the past two years, with more than three-quarters of the
shows we watch available in wide screen. Since July, they are now also
required to each broadcast 1040 hours in HDTV.

"HD sets and plasma screens are thus only just starting to take off here,"
Mr Bird says. "If you look at the US, where they've had HD programming for
two years, the uptake of HD televisions is really reaching critical mass."

Pay TV operator Foxtel is set to launch its digital service in 2004,
promising more than 100 channels to both satellite and cable subscribers.
The company - jointly owned by Telstra, News Corp and Publishing and
Broadcasting Ltd - will install a set-top box in the homes of each of its
1.07 million subscribers early next year.

Subscription TV is already found in 23 per cent of Australian homes. A
spokesman for Foxtel says the digital roll-out will mean that by 2008
between 35 and 40 per cent of homes will be connected.




--
Details:

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/25/1072308627640.html
More news:
http://www.auspaytv.com.au/forums/ipdl.php

***

On cable TV they have a weather channel - 24 hours of weather. We had
something like that where I grew up. We called it a window.
-- Dan Spencer

[Jay]

NewsMan wrote:

>
> It is little surprise that flat-screen televisions, digital cameras and
> DVD players were among the most popular Christmas gifts this year. A
> recent survey reveals the Australian home entertainment market is booming.
>
> Consumers have spent $2 billion this year on everything from digital TVs
> and cameras to set-top boxes, game consoles and video phones.

It is impossibile to broadly categorize items such as "... from digital TVs
and cameras to set-top boxes, game console and video phones ..." and
concoct a very rounded $2 billion dollars as the amount spent.
I mean, are electronic toasters included?

If the stated amount was $1.8 billion then it would sound more convincing.
Or perhaps $2.2 billion. Whatever the true amount is it seems quite
odd that someone thinks it is an even $2 billion.

I reckon the margin of error must be at least 25%.

So isn't it even sillier that Gfk (Great f..king Kon) Marketing reckons
that this figure is 25% greater than last year.

Are we all to be taken for idiots. Yes, I suppose, if you are conducting
GfK market research.

>
> According to the survey by GfK Marketing Services - which collects sales
> data from all major consumer electronic retailers - this figure is 25 per
> cent more than we spent in 2002 and twice as much as the year before
> that.....

Sure. They collected all of their data and summarized it on Xmas Day.
Even before the retailers had balanced their own books!

>
> ....Meanwhile, the uptake of digital television has risen steadily over
> the past year as Australians warm to the prospect of better-quality
> television viewing and a wider choice of channels.

What wider choice?
The number of FTA channels is still stuck at what it was in 1960 for
goodness sake!
And the content has sunk to the lowest quality that has been seen over
the last coupld of decades. And all the so-called extra channels provide
is continual repeats of 1960's and 1970's programs with a few decades-old
movies thrown in here and there.

The uptake of digital television most probably indicates a desperate
desire for something visually better because the programming content
has definitely undergone a massive downward spiral.

Maybe if we get a bigger screen it will look better?

>
> According to Digital Broadcast Australia, by the end of 2003 the number of
> homes receiving a digital television signal - either through a digital TV
> or a set-top-box decoder - will be nudging 250,000. That's up from just
> 75,000 at the end of April.

That is because Foxtel will be going digital soon.
After having dumped old ex-US cable equipment on an unsuspecting
Australian public. At the very time that the US was going digital
Foxtel introduced cable to Australia using cheap discarded US analog
cable systems.

One would think that our own Murdoch would have rolled out a nice
new digital system for his fellow Australians. No. He rolled
out the cheapest analog crap that he could get away with. Ditto for
the content.

>
> The penetration rate might seem slow, but commentators point out that it's
> in line with the take-up of colour TVs and VCRs when they were relatively
> new.

Sure! While they have PVRs etc is the US what do we have in Australia?
Will we have anything in Australia? Will Foxtels new rollout included
recording capability in their set-top boxes? No! But they are getting that
in NZ ... yes, in backward NZ!! But not Australia. I suppose it must
have something to do with the ratio of sheep to population. With Australia
as some 13 sheep per person, and NZ down to about 7 per person, then
Australia is therefore not ready for something so sophisticated as a PVR.

>
> "Digital TV has been called a lame duck in Australia, but this is a gross
> misconception," says Swinburne University film lecturer Jeff Bird. "Like
> any technology, it needs time to catch on."

No, Foxtel is the lame duck.

>
> He says that while basic digital transmission will enable viewers to
> interact with their television, give them access to video-on-demand and
> different camera angles, the most attractive aspect of digital TV is
> high-definition broadcasting.

Nobody is going to be using different angles. Why use a different angle
when the best angle, chosen by the director, is not much good!
And it is well-known that high-definition braodcasting is of little
interest to consumers used to a relatively high quality PAL signal.

>
> "The picture resolution is three to four times as good as both
> standard-definition analogue and digital. It's really like looking out of
> a window."

Rubbish. It is nothing of the sort!
Double the resolution and the picture *might* look twice as good at the
most, but there is also an equal chance that it will look worse because
sometimes too much detail is repulsive.

But where does this three or four times as good crap come from?

>
> Australia's free-to-air broadcasters have been required to broadcast a
> digital signal for the past two years, with more than three-quarters of
> the shows we watch available in wide screen. Since July, they are now also
> required to each broadcast 1040 hours in HDTV.
>
> "HD sets and plasma screens are thus only just starting to take off here,"
> Mr Bird says. "If you look at the US, where they've had HD programming for
> two years, the uptake of HD televisions is really reaching critical mass."

Have you ever seens NTSC? No wonder the take-up is better.
But they could have achieved that by simply converting to PAL.
But did they? No, they stuck with NTSC for 50 years!
Even after NTSC had reached critical mass!!

Think about it. In spite of the deficencies of NTSC, despite proven
systems that were superior, despite US fervour for creating new markets
and selling new products ... they stuck with NTSC for 50 years!
Unbelievable!!

>
> Pay TV operator Foxtel is set to launch its digital service in 2004,
> promising more than 100 channels to both satellite and cable subscribers.
> The company - jointly owned by Telstra, News Corp and Publishing and
> Broadcasting Ltd - will install a set-top box in the homes of each of its
> 1.07 million subscribers early next year.

And will the set-top box be able to record?
No. I wont! Because Foxtel know that Australian consumers are
so undemanding and will accept whatever crap is offered their way.

>
> Subscription TV is already found in 23 per cent of Australian homes. A
> spokesman for Foxtel says the digital roll-out will mean that by 2008
> between 35 and 40 per cent of homes will be connected.
>

So I assume the programing will therefore also improve by 3% per annum?

[yipee yahoo]

Digital tv will *eventually* take off in Australia -- but not until
there are more commercial tv channels......Why spend so much money on
a digital STB or a digital television set when there are less than a
handful of commercial tv channels to choose from in Oz.....

One would be better off pouring their dough into a FTA digital
satellite system for just a few grand......


"NewsMan" <cocopops@nospam.hotpop.com> wrote in message news:<bsfk3h$2cfk$1@otis.netspace.net.au>...
> It is little surprise that flat-screen televisions, digital cameras and DVD
> players were among the most popular Christmas gifts this year. A recent
> survey reveals the Australian home entertainment market is booming.
>
> Consumers have spent $2 billion this year on everything from digital TVs and
> cameras to set-top boxes, game consoles and video phones.
>
> According to the survey by GfK Marketing Services - which collects sales
> data from all major consumer electronic retailers - this figure is 25 per
> cent more than we spent in 2002 and twice as much as the year before
> that.....
>
> <SNIP>
>
>
>
> ....Meanwhile, the uptake of digital television has risen steadily over the
> past year as Australians warm to the prospect of better-quality television
> viewing and a wider choice of channels.
>
> According to Digital Broadcast Australia, by the end of 2003 the number of
> homes receiving a digital television signal - either through a digital TV or
> a set-top-box decoder - will be nudging 250,000. That's up from just 75,000
> at the end of April.
>
> The penetration rate might seem slow, but commentators point out that it's
> in line with the take-up of colour TVs and VCRs when they were relatively
> new.
>
> "Digital TV has been called a lame duck in Australia, but this is a gross
> misconception," says Swinburne University film lecturer Jeff Bird. "Like any
> technology, it needs time to catch on."
>
> He says that while basic digital transmission will enable viewers to
> interact with their television, give them access to video-on-demand and
> different camera angles, the most attractive aspect of digital TV is
> high-definition broadcasting.
>
> "The picture resolution is three to four times as good as both
> standard-definition analogue and digital. It's really like looking out of a
> window."
>
> Australia's free-to-air broadcasters have been required to broadcast a
> digital signal for the past two years, with more than three-quarters of the
> shows we watch available in wide screen. Since July, they are now also
> required to each broadcast 1040 hours in HDTV.
>
> "HD sets and plasma screens are thus only just starting to take off here,"
> Mr Bird says. "If you look at the US, where they've had HD programming for
> two years, the uptake of HD televisions is really reaching critical mass."
>
> Pay TV operator Foxtel is set to launch its digital service in 2004,
> promising more than 100 channels to both satellite and cable subscribers.
> The company - jointly owned by Telstra, News Corp and Publishing and
> Broadcasting Ltd - will install a set-top box in the homes of each of its
> 1.07 million subscribers early next year.
>
> Subscription TV is already found in 23 per cent of Australian homes. A
> spokesman for Foxtel says the digital roll-out will mean that by 2008
> between 35 and 40 per cent of homes will be connected.
>
>
>
>
> --
> Details:
>
> http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/25/1072308627640.html
> More news:
> http://www.auspaytv.com.au/forums/ipdl.php
>
> ***
>
> On cable TV they have a weather channel - 24 hours of weather. We had
> something like that where I grew up. We called it a window.
> -- Dan Spencer

[Rod Speed]

"yipee yahoo" <yipeeeyahooo@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:d52f86ab.0312261941.4f0acd5b@posting.google.c om...

> Digital tv will *eventually* take off in Australia -- but
> not until there are more commercial tv channels......

Or when the pollys pull the plug on the analog service.

If they ever have the balls to do that.

> Why spend so much money on a digital STB or a digital
> television set when there are less than a handful of
> commercial tv channels to choose from in Oz.....

Basically to get a decent service with those.

> One would be better off pouring their dough into a
> FTA digital satellite system for just a few grand......

Nope, there is **** all thats FTA that
anyone except wogs want to watch.


> "NewsMan" <cocopops@nospam.hotpop.com> wrote in message news:<bsfk3h$2cfk$1@otis.netspace.net.au>...
> > It is little surprise that flat-screen televisions, digital cameras and DVD
> > players were among the most popular Christmas gifts this year. A recent
> > survey reveals the Australian home entertainment market is booming.
> >
> > Consumers have spent $2 billion this year on everything from digital TVs and
> > cameras to set-top boxes, game consoles and video phones.
> >
> > According to the survey by GfK Marketing Services - which collects sales
> > data from all major consumer electronic retailers - this figure is 25 per
> > cent more than we spent in 2002 and twice as much as the year before
> > that.....
> >
> > <SNIP>
> >
> >
> >
> > ....Meanwhile, the uptake of digital television has risen steadily over the
> > past year as Australians warm to the prospect of better-quality television
> > viewing and a wider choice of channels.
> >
> > According to Digital Broadcast Australia, by the end of 2003 the number of
> > homes receiving a digital television signal - either through a digital TV or
> > a set-top-box decoder - will be nudging 250,000. That's up from just 75,000
> > at the end of April.
> >
> > The penetration rate might seem slow, but commentators point out that it's
> > in line with the take-up of colour TVs and VCRs when they were relatively
> > new.
> >
> > "Digital TV has been called a lame duck in Australia, but this is a gross
> > misconception," says Swinburne University film lecturer Jeff Bird. "Like any
> > technology, it needs time to catch on."
> >
> > He says that while basic digital transmission will enable viewers to
> > interact with their television, give them access to video-on-demand and
> > different camera angles, the most attractive aspect of digital TV is
> > high-definition broadcasting.
> >
> > "The picture resolution is three to four times as good as both
> > standard-definition analogue and digital. It's really like looking out of a
> > window."
> >
> > Australia's free-to-air broadcasters have been required to broadcast a
> > digital signal for the past two years, with more than three-quarters of the
> > shows we watch available in wide screen. Since July, they are now also
> > required to each broadcast 1040 hours in HDTV.
> >
> > "HD sets and plasma screens are thus only just starting to take off here,"
> > Mr Bird says. "If you look at the US, where they've had HD programming for
> > two years, the uptake of HD televisions is really reaching critical mass."
> >
> > Pay TV operator Foxtel is set to launch its digital service in 2004,
> > promising more than 100 channels to both satellite and cable subscribers.
> > The company - jointly owned by Telstra, News Corp and Publishing and
> > Broadcasting Ltd - will install a set-top box in the homes of each of its
> > 1.07 million subscribers early next year.
> >
> > Subscription TV is already found in 23 per cent of Australian homes. A
> > spokesman for Foxtel says the digital roll-out will mean that by 2008
> > between 35 and 40 per cent of homes will be connected.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Details:
> >
> > http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/25/1072308627640.html
> > More news:
> > http://www.auspaytv.com.au/forums/ipdl.php
> >
> > ***
> >
> > On cable TV they have a weather channel - 24 hours of weather. We had
> > something like that where I grew up. We called it a window.
> > -- Dan Spencer

[ferret]

Since the Gov forced stations to go digital FTA TV has really taken a
nose dive in the quality of shows.

So why spend a fortune on a wide screen to watch brand spank'n crap.

[Thomas 'bacco|007' Baxter]

On Sat, 27 Dec 2003 15:05:15 +1100, Rod Speed wrote:

> Or when the pollys pull the plug on the analog service.
>
> If they ever have the balls to do that.

it will happen, its only a matter of when

[Kevin Hendrikssen]

"ferret" <nobody@localhost.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:j09Hb.402$ma.13490@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
> Since the Gov forced stations to go digital FTA TV has really taken a
> nose dive in the quality of shows.
>
> So why spend a fortune on a wide screen to watch brand spank'n crap.

So you can watch your DVDs the way they were meant to be seen?

[ferret]

Kevin Hendrikssen wrote:

> "ferret" <nobody@localhost.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:j09Hb.402$ma.13490@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
>
>>Since the Gov forced stations to go digital FTA TV has really taken a
>>nose dive in the quality of shows.
>>
>>So why spend a fortune on a wide screen to watch brand spank'n crap.
>
>
> So you can watch your DVDs the way they were meant to be seen?
>
>
>

Its not I just sit in front of the TV, just watching endless DVD's.
In fact my life doesn't revolve around the TV.

[Rod Speed]

Thomas 'bacco|007' Baxter <bacco007@bacco007.com> wrote in
message news:jxwyidzznjuk$.q5aie5aamq6n$.dlg@40tude.net...
> Rod Speed wrote

>> Or when the pollys pull the plug on the analog service.

>> If they ever have the balls to do that.

> it will happen, its only a matter of when

We'll see. I doubt either of the two pack of pollys that are in any position
to have any say on that will actually be that stupid any time soon.

Its MUCH more likely that the official date wont see it happen
and that eventually hardly anyone uses it anymore like the pom
407 line service and the plug is pulled on it them.

[Rod Speed]

ferret <nobody@localhost.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:j09Hb.402$ma.13490@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...

> Since the Gov forced stations to go digital FTA TV
> has really taken a nose dive in the quality of shows.

Just another of your pathetic little drug crazed fantasys.

And the ratings have shown nothing like that terminally silly claim.

> So why spend a fortune on a wide screen to watch brand spank'n crap.

Most of those who use it dont do that, stupid.

[bort]

"ferret" <nobody@localhost.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:dx9Hb.411$ma.13648@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
> Kevin Hendrikssen wrote:
>
> > "ferret" <nobody@localhost.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:j09Hb.402$ma.13490@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
> >
> >>Since the Gov forced stations to go digital FTA TV has really taken a
> >>nose dive in the quality of shows.
> >>
> >>So why spend a fortune on a wide screen to watch brand spank'n crap.
> >
> > So you can watch your DVDs the way they were meant to be seen?
> >
> Its not I just sit in front of the TV, just watching endless DVD's.
> In fact my life doesn't revolve around the TV.

You asked why spend "a fortune" on a widescreen TV and I offered a possible
reason.

Why spend a fortune on an overseas holiday? A 5.1 surround system? A spa
pool? A fridge with its own internet connection?

[Kevin Hendrikssen]

"ferret" <nobody@localhost.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:dx9Hb.411$ma.13648@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
> Kevin Hendrikssen wrote:
>
> > "ferret" <nobody@localhost.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:j09Hb.402$ma.13490@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
> >
> >>Since the Gov forced stations to go digital FTA TV has really taken a
> >>nose dive in the quality of shows.
> >>
> >>So why spend a fortune on a wide screen to watch brand spank'n crap.
> >
> > So you can watch your DVDs the way they were meant to be seen?
>
> Its not I just sit in front of the TV, just watching endless DVD's.
> In fact my life doesn't revolve around the TV.

You asked why spend "a fortune" on a widescreen TV and I offered a possible
reason.

Why spend a fortune on an overseas holiday? A 5.1 surround system? A spa
pool? A fridge with its own internet connection?

[Thomas 'bacco|007' Baxter]

On Sat, 27 Dec 2003 19:26:09 +1100, Rod Speed wrote:

> We'll see. I doubt either of the two pack of pollys that are in any position
> to have any say on that will actually be that stupid any time soon.
>
> Its MUCH more likely that the official date wont see it happen
> and that eventually hardly anyone uses it anymore like the pom
> 407 line service and the plug is pulled on it them.

Very True. I suppose there is light at the end of the tunnel though, with
the Americans looking at analogue switchoff [at least one country will have
at least started]

[Byron John Forbes]

Well, they're meant to be seen at a cinema in 2.35:1 actually. Obviously
though, a widescreen TV should cost a fortune because it is, after all, a
different shape to a 4:3 tele and.....................

"Kevin Hendrikssen" <spam@spam.com> wrote in message
news:3fed2006$0$1735$5a62ac22@freenews.iinet.net.a u...
> "ferret" <nobody@localhost.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:j09Hb.402$ma.13490@nnrp1.ozemail.com.au...
> > Since the Gov forced stations to go digital FTA TV has really taken a
> > nose dive in the quality of shows.
> >
> > So why spend a fortune on a wide screen to watch brand spank'n crap.
>
> So you can watch your DVDs the way they were meant to be seen?
>
>
>

[Kevin Hendrikssen]

"Byron John Forbes" <hosh@spamdodo.com.au> wrote in message
news:3fed7efe@news.comindico.com.au...
> Well, they're meant to be seen at a cinema in 2.35:1 actually.

If you've ever paid attention at the cinema you'll have noticed that most
movies are not in 2.35:1 at all.

[Mike]

yipee yahoo wrote:
> Digital tv will *eventually* take off in Australia -- but not until
> there are more commercial tv channels......Why spend so much money on
> a digital STB or a digital television set when there are less than a
> handful of commercial tv channels to choose from in Oz.....

Because when you've just spent $2000 on a widescreen TV for your DVDs,
whats another $200-ish on a STB?

[Rod Speed]

Thomas 'bacco|007' Baxter <bacco007@bacco007.com> wrote in
message news:16sx0kppdk0rj$.1szwh9xm54vk5.dlg@40tude.net.. .
> Rod Speed wrote

>> We'll see. I doubt either of the two pack of pollys that are in any position
>> to have any say on that will actually be that stupid any time soon.

>> Its MUCH more likely that the official date wont see it happen
>> and that eventually hardly anyone uses it anymore like the pom
>> 407 line service and the plug is pulled on it them.

> Very True. I suppose there is light at the end of the tunnel
> though, with the Americans looking at analogue switchoff
> [at least one country will have at least started]

Bet they wont any time soon either.

And there is a lot more reason to dump theirs than
ours. The quality is obscene in poor reception
conditions. PAL does a lot better there.

[Jim Vatunz]

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 05:32:09 +1100, "Rod Speed" <rod_speed@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>
>Thomas 'bacco|007' Baxter <bacco007@bacco007.com> wrote in
>message news:16sx0kppdk0rj$.1szwh9xm54vk5.dlg@40tude.net.. .
>> Rod Speed wrote
>
>>> We'll see. I doubt either of the two pack of pollys that are in any position
>>> to have any say on that will actually be that stupid any time soon.
>
>>> Its MUCH more likely that the official date wont see it happen
>>> and that eventually hardly anyone uses it anymore like the pom
>>> 407 line service and the plug is pulled on it them.
>
>> Very True. I suppose there is light at the end of the tunnel
>> though, with the Americans looking at analogue switchoff
>> [at least one country will have at least started]
>
>Bet they wont any time soon either.
>
>And there is a lot more reason to dump theirs than
>ours. The quality is obscene in poor reception
>conditions. PAL does a lot better there.
>
NTSC quality is obscene in good reception conditions.
i doubt there'd be any mourning of it's passing.

For the latest weather where i am click
http://ii.net/~farmerjim/

[Thomas 'bacco|007' Baxter]

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 05:32:09 +1100, Rod Speed wrote:

> Bet they wont any time soon either.

For sure, from memory they are only about 50-60% digital.
England are aiming at between 2006 & 2010 [again there is considerable
doubt about it actually happening]
Japan only launched Digital Television earlier this month, and they are
targeting 2011 for switchoff

[yipee yahoo]

Edward Ozgo <adslenkn@tpg.com.au> wrote in message news:<5u3ruvcm46sb1b9ug7t1cd9uhpb483a1l7@4ax.com>...
> On Fri, 26 Dec 2003 08:16:36 +1100, "NewsMan"
> <cocopops@nospam.hotpop.com> wrote:
>
> >
> >It is little surprise that flat-screen televisions, digital cameras and DVD
> Most people that have bought a wide screen TV lately will tell you
> that they regret it. Unless it is in wide screen the picture to me is
> unwatchable it is SHIT!! I know of at least one friend who bought one
> and sent it back the next day. Have a look at a 68cm Sony and if you
> don't like what you see then you will never be happy.
> Besides who wants to play around with the remote while watching
> sport?? Pie in one hand and a beer in the other is the most
> interactive the average aussie wants to get.


Sad, so sad -- but so true !!! Aussie TV virtually all frickin'
sport.....

Let some people come in from overseas to take over the running of our
TV stations -- souldn't be any worse than the Neanderthal Philistine
rubbish
already shown here !

================================================== =========================