High-definition television in the United States

Last updated

High-definition television (HDTV) in the United States was introduced in 1998 and has since become increasingly popular and dominant in the television market. Hundreds of HD channels are available in millions of homes and businesses both terrestrially and via subscription services such as satellite, cable and IPTV. HDTV has quickly become the standard, with about 85% of all TVs used being HD as of 2018. [1] [ failed verification ] In the US, the 720p and 1080i formats are used for linear channels, while 1080p is available on a limited basis, mainly for pay-per-view and video on demand content. Some networks have also began transmitting content at 1080p via ATSC 3.0 multiplex channels, with CBS and NBC affiliates being the main stations that transmit at 1080p.

Contents

Proposals and introduction

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began soliciting proposals for a new television standard for the U.S. in the late 1980s and later decided to ask companies competing to create the standard to pool their resources and work together, forming what was known as the Grand Alliance in 1993.

On July 23, 1996, WRAL-TV (the then CBS affiliate in Raleigh, North Carolina; now affiliated with NBC) became the first television station in the United States to broadcast a digital television signal. [2]

HDTV sets became available in the U.S. in 1998 and broadcasts began around November 1998. The first public HDTV broadcast was of the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery and John Glenn's return to space; that broadcast was made possible in part by the Harris Corporation. [3] The first commercial broadcast of a local sporting event in HD was during Major League Baseball's Opening Day on March 31, 1998, the Texas Rangers against the Chicago White Sox from The Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, TX. The telecast was produced by LIN Productions, and overseen by LIN Productions president and Texas Rangers television executive producer Lee Spieckerman. The game was also the inaugural telecast on the digital channel of Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas NBC affiliate KXAS channel 5. The event was simultaneously shown via satellite at a reception attended by members of congress, the FCC and members of the industry in Washington, DC. This telecast was also the first commercial HD broadcast in the state of Texas. [4] The first major sporting event broadcast nationwide in HD was Super Bowl XXXIV, broadcast by ABC on January 30, 2000. By the 2014–15 season every network show producing new episodes had transitioned to high definition. [5]

Satellite and cable

Satellite television companies in the United States, such as Dish Network and DirecTV, started to carry HD programming in 2003. Satellite transmissions in the U.S. use various forms of PSK modulation. A separate tuner is required to receive HD satellite broadcasts.

Cable television companies in the U.S. generally prefer to use 256-QAM to transmit HDTV. Many of the newer HDTVs with integrated digital tuners include support for decoding 256-QAM in addition to 8VSB for OTA digital. Cable television companies started carrying HDTV in 2003.

Currently, HD programming is carried by all major television networks in nearly all DMAs, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, The CW, MyNetworkTV, Telemundo, Univision, and UniMás; and on many independent stations. All but a select few of cable networks offer an HD broadcast to cable and satellite companies.

HD programming on broadcast and premium networks such as HBO and Showtime had Dolby Digital 5.1.

List of current American high-definition channels

NameFirst-launched HD serviceHD Format [6] Letterbox/PillarboxCategoryType
A&E September 4, 20061080iN/AEntertainmentCable
ABC September 16, 2001720pPillarbox (2001–2016)
Letterbox (2016–present)
Broadcast
AccuWeather Network March 10, 20151080iN/ANewsCable
Adult Swim October 15, 2007Pillarbox (2007–2013)
Letterbox (2013–present)
Entertainment
Altitude N/ASports - Regional
AMC Entertainment
American Heroes Channel
Animal Planet Lifestyle
AT&T SportsNet April 1, 20111080pSports – Regional
ASPiRE June 27, 20121080iEntertainment
AWE June 1, 20041080iLifestyle
AXS TV September 6, 2001Entertainment
Azteca July 16, 2012Broadcast – SpanishBroadcast
BBC America July 20, 2009EntertainmentCable
BBC World News August 5, 2013News
beIN Sports June 1, 2012720pSports
beIN Sports en Español Sports – Spanish
BET March 23, 20111080iEntertainment
BET Her
Big Ten Network 2009720pSports - College
Bloomberg TV May 9, 20111080iNews
Boomerang (TV network) March 4, 2019720pFamily
Bravo 20071080iLifestyle
Cars.TV May 2009Sports
Cartoon Network October 15, 2007Pillarbox (2007–2013)
Letterbox (2013–present)
Family
CBS September 1998Pillarbox (1998–2018)
Letterbox (2018–present)
Broadcast
CBS Sports Network August 2008SportsCable
Cinemax (MoreMax, ActionMax, ThrillerMax, 5starMax, MovieMax, OuterMax, MaxLatino)September 1, 2008Premium MoviesPremium
CMT N/AEntertainmentCable
CNBC October 10, 2007News
CNN September 6, 2007
Comedy Central January 13, 2009Entertainment
Comedy.TV May 2009
Cooking Channel March 31, 2008Lifestyle
Crime & Investigation Network April 1, 2005720pPillarboxEntertainment
The CW September 18, 20061080iBroadcast
Daystar N/A720pReligionCable
Destination America March 31, 20081080iLifestyle
Discovery Channel June 2002Entertainment
Discovery en Español July 2016Spanish
Discovery Familia July 2016Spanish
Discovery Family October 10, 2010Family
Discovery Life February 1, 2011Lifestyle
Disney Channel March 19, 2008720pPillarbox (2008–2017)
Letterbox (2017–present)
Family
Disney Junior March 23, 2012Pillarbox (2012–2017)
Letterbox (2017–present)
Disney XD February 13, 2009Pillarbox (2009–2017)
Letterbox (2017–present)
E! December 8, 20081080iLifestyle
Epix (Epix 2, Epix Hits)October 30, 2009Premium Movies
ES.TV May 2009EntertainmentCable
ESPN March 30, 2003720pSports
ESPN2 January 2005
ESPNews March 30, 2008
ESPNU March 23, 2010
ESPN Deportes January 7, 2004Sports – Spanish
EVINE Live February 13, 20151080iShopping
Flix August 1, 1992Premium MoviesPremium
FM September 30, 2015MusicCable
Food Network March 31, 2008Lifestyle
Fox September 12, 2004720pPillarbox (2004–2007)
Letterbox (2007–present)
Broadcast
Fox Business Network October 15, 2007NewsCable
Fox Deportes N/ASports – Spanish
Fox News Channel April 29, 2008News
FS1 N/ASports
FS2
Fox Soccer Plus June 15, 2010
Fox Sports Networks (All Networks)July 2010Sports – Regional
Freeform 2008Family
Fuse N/A1080iMusic
FX 2007720pEntertainment
FXM Movies
FXX September 2, 2013Entertainment
FYI January 1, 1999Lifestyle
GAC Family October 1, 20131080iFamily
GAC Living 2014Lifestyle
Galavisión June 1, 2010Spanish
Gol TV August 1, 2010Sports – Spanish
Golf Channel January 2007Sports
Game Show Network September 15, 2010Entertainment
Hallmark Channel N/AFamily
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries January 20, 2004Movies
HBO (HBO2, HBO Comedy, HBO Family, HBO Latino, HBO Signature, HBO Zone)March 6, 1999Premium MoviesPremium
HDNet Movies January 13, 2003MoviesCable
HGTV March 31, 2008Lifestyle
History January 2008Entertainment
HLN December 15, 2008News
HSN August 2009Shopping
HSN 2
IFC 2007Movies
Investigation Discovery N/AEntertainment
Ion February 16, 2009720pBroadcast
Justice Central N/A1080iNewsCable
Lifetime April 16, 2008Lifestyle
LMN June 29, 1998
Logo TV June 30, 2005
Magnolia Network May 1, 2010
MASN (MASN2) September 16, 2008Sports – Regional
MAVTV October 1, 2004Sports
Mega TV March 1, 2006Broadcast – Spanish
MGM HD October 10, 2007MoviesPremium
Midco Sports Network N/ASports – RegionalCable
Minnesota Channel October 2012EntertainmentBroadcast
MLB Network December 17, 2008720pSportsCable
MLB StrikeZone
Motor Trend June 17, 20021080i
The Movie Channel (The Movie Channel Xtra)December 1, 2003Premium MoviesPremium
MoviePlex (IndiePlex, RetroPlex)February 11, 2010
MSG (MSG Plus, MSG Western New York)January 22, 2009Sports – RegionalCable
MSNBC June 29, 2009 [7] News
MTV January 2006Entertainment
MTV2 2012
MTV Live January 16, 2006Music
MyDestination.TV N/ALifestyle
MyNetworkTV September 5, 2006720pBroadcast
Nat Geo Wild March 29, 2010LifestyleCable
National Geographic January 2006Entertainment
NBA TV October 30, 20071080iSports
NBC April 26, 1999Pillarbox (1999–2002)
Letterbox (2002–present)
Broadcast
NBC Sports Regional Networks 2010Sports – RegionalCable
NBC Universo February 1, 2015Spanish
NESN April 2006Sports – Regional
Newsmax TV June 16, 2014News
NewsNation N/A
NFL Network August 2004Sports
NFL RedZone September 13, 2009
NHL Network October 1, 2007
Nick at Nite November 14, 2007Pillarbox (2007-2020)
Letterbox (2020-present)
Family
Nickelodeon
Nicktoons August 13, 2013Pillarbox (2013–2020)
Letterbox (2020–present)
Nick Jr. Channel August 1, 2013
One America News Network July 4, 2013News
Outdoor Channel 2004Sports
Ovation July 2010Lifestyle
OWN January 1, 2011
Oxygen March 2011
Pac-12 Network August 15, 2012Sports – College
Paramount Network N/AEntertainment
PBS March 1, 2004BothBroadcast
Pets.TV N/ALifestyleCable
Playboy TV 2008Adult
Pop N/ALifestyle
QVC May 2009Shopping
Recipe.TV N/ALifestyle
Reelz August 1, 2010720pEntertainment
Revolt October 21, 20131080iMusic
RFD-TV July 26, 2007Lifestyle
Science September 1, 2009Lifestyle
SEC Network August 14, 2014720pSports - College
ShortsTV February 17, 20101080iMovies
Showtime (Showtime 2, Showcase, Showtime Extreme, SHO×BET, Showtime Next, Showtime Women)July 25, 2013Premium MoviesPremium
Smithsonian Channel September 26, 2007LifestyleCable
SNY March 16, 2006Sports – Regional
Sony Movie Channel October 1, 2010Movies
Spectrum SportsNet LA February 25, 2014Sports – Regional
Spectrum SportsNet N/A
Sportsman Channel January 25, 2010Sports
Starz (Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, Starz Kids and Family, Starz InBlack, Starz Cinema)December 2003Premium MoviesPremium
Starz Encore (Starz Encore, Starz Encore Action, Starz Encore Black, Starz Encore Classic, Starz Encore Suspense)March 22, 2003
SundanceTV July 1, 2011MoviesCable
Syfy October 3, 2007Entertainment
TBS September 1, 2007Pillarbox (2007–2010)
Letterbox (2010–present)
TCM June 2009Movies
Telemundo April 23, 2009Broadcast – SpanishBroadcast
TeenNick July 2011FamilyCable
Tennis Channel December 31, 2007Sports
TLC September 1, 2007Lifestyle
TNT May 21, 2004Entertainment
Travel Channel N/ALifestyle
truTV March 2011Entertainment
TUDN April 7, 2012Sports – Spanish
TV Land November 2011Family
TV One January 19, 2004Entertainment
UniMás January 1, 2010Broadcast – SpanishBroadcast
Universal Kids September 2010Pillarbox (2010–2013)
Letterbox (2013–present)
FamilyCable
Univision January 1, 2010Broadcast – SpanishBroadcast
UP tv N/AFamilyCable
USA Network October 2007Entertainment
Viceland February 29, 2016Lifestyle
VH1 2005Entertainment
WE tv N/ALifestyle
The Weather Channel September 26, 2007News
WeatherNation TV October 27, 2011
World Fishing Network November 2007Sports
YES July 2004Sports – Regional

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cable television</span> Television content transmitted via signals on coaxial cable

Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadcast television, in which the television signal is transmitted over-the-air by radio waves and received by a television antenna attached to the television; or satellite television, in which the television signal is transmitted over-the-air by radio waves from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth, and received by a satellite dish antenna on the roof. FM radio programming, high-speed Internet, telephone services, and similar non-television services may also be provided through these cables. Analog television was standard in the 20th century, but since the 2000s, cable systems have been upgraded to digital cable operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NBC</span> American broadcast television network

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The headquarters of NBC is in New York City at the Comcast Building. NBC also has offices in Chicago at the NBC Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ATSC standards</span> Standards for digital television in the US

Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standards are an International set of standards for broadcast and digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable and satellite networks. It is largely a replacement for the analog NTSC standard and, like that standard, is used mostly in the United States, Mexico, Canada, South Korea and Trinidad & Tobago. Several former NTSC users, such as Japan, have not used ATSC during their digital television transition, because they adopted other systems such as ISDB developed by Japan, and DVB developed in Europe, for example.

Digital cable is the distribution of cable television using digital data and video compression. The technology was first developed by General Instrument. By 2000, most cable companies offered digital features, eventually replacing their previous analog-based cable by the mid 2010s. During the late 2000s, broadcast television converted to the digital HDTV standard, which was incompatible with existing analog cable systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRAL-TV</span> NBC affiliate in Raleigh, North Carolina

WRAL-TV is a television station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Research Triangle area. It is the flagship station of the locally based Capitol Broadcasting Company, which has owned the station since its inception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All-Channel Receiver Act</span> United States legislation

The All-Channel Receiver Act of 1962 (ACRA), commonly known as the All-Channels Act, was passed by the United States Congress in 1961, to allow the Federal Communications Commission to require that all television set manufacturers must include UHF tuners, so that new UHF-band TV stations could be received by the public. This was a problem at the time since most affiliated stations of the Big Three television networks were well-established on VHF, while many local-only stations on UHF were struggling for survival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTVT</span> CBS TV station in Fort Worth, Texas

KTVT, branded CBS Texas, is a television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States, serving as the CBS outlet for the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent outlet KTXA. The two stations share primary studio facilities on Bridge Street east of downtown Fort Worth; KTVT operates a secondary studio and newsroom—which also houses advertising sales offices for the stations, as well as the Dallas bureau for CBS News—at the CBS Tower on North Central Expressway in Dallas. KTVT's transmitter is located in Cedar Hill, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAGM-TV</span> CBS/Fox/CW affiliate in Presque Isle, Maine

WAGM-TV is a television station in Presque Isle, Maine, United States, affiliated with CBS, Fox, and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Fort Kent–licensed low-power NBC affiliate WWPI-LD. The two stations share studios on Brewer Road in Presque Isle; WAGM-TV's transmitter is located on the northern section of Mars Hill Mountain among the wind turbines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HD ready</span> European certification label

HD ready is a certification program introduced in 2005 by EICTA, now DIGITALEUROPE. HD ready minimum native resolution is 720 rows in widescreen ratio.

QAM is a digital television standard using quadrature amplitude modulation. It is the format by which digital cable channels are encoded and transmitted via cable television providers. QAM is used in a variety of communications systems such as Dial-up modems and WiFi. In cable systems, a QAM tuner is linked to the cable in a manner that is equivalent to an ATSC tuner which is required to receive over-the-air (OTA) digital channels broadcast by local television stations when attached to an antenna. Most new HDTV digital televisions support both of these standards. QAM uses the same 6 MHz bandwidth as ATSC, using a standard known as ITU-T Recommendation J.83 Annex B ("J.83b").

KXII is a television station licensed to Sherman, Texas, United States, serving the Sherman, Texas–Ada, Oklahoma market as an affiliate of CBS, MyNetworkTV, and Fox. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Texoma Parkway in northeastern Sherman, with an additional studio on South Commerce Street and Elks Boulevard in southwestern Ardmore, Oklahoma. KXII's transmitter is located along US 377 in rural northeastern Marshall County, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KFDA-TV</span> CBS affiliate in Amarillo, Texas

KFDA-TV is a television station in Amarillo, Texas, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Borger-licensed Telemundo affiliate KEYU. The two stations share studios on Broadway Drive in northern Amarillo, where KFDA's transmitter is also located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KWTX-TV</span> CBS affiliate in Waco, Texas

KWTX-TV is a television station in Waco, Texas, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for Central Texas. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Belton-licensed CW affiliate KNCT. The two stations share studios on American Plaza in Waco; KWTX-TV's transmitter is located near Moody, Texas.

In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual program stream, and multiplexing to combine them into a single signal. The practice is sometimes called "multicasting".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KBMT</span> ABC/NBC affiliate in Beaumont, Texas

KBMT is a television station in Beaumont, Texas, United States, affiliated with ABC and NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside low-power MyNetworkTV affiliate KUIL-LD. Both stations share studios along I-10/US 69/US 96/US 287 in Beaumont, while KBMT's transmitter is located in Mauriceville, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FTA receiver</span>

A free-to-air or FTA Receiver is a satellite television receiver designed to receive unencrypted broadcasts. Modern decoders are typically compliant with the MPEG-2/DVB-S and more recently the MPEG-4/DVB-S2 standard for digital television, while older FTA receivers relied on analog satellite transmissions which have declined rapidly in recent years.

Digital television in the United States is available via digital terrestrial television (DTT), digital cable, satellite television, and IPTV providers.

High-definition television (HDTV) describes a television or video system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since at least 1933; in more recent times, it refers to the generation following standard-definition television (SDTV). It is the current de facto standard video format used in most broadcasts: terrestrial broadcast television, cable television, satellite television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KEYT-TV</span> ABC/CBS/MyNetworkTV affiliate in Santa Barbara, California

KEYT-TV is a television station licensed to Santa Barbara, California, United States, serving the Central Coast of California as an affiliate of ABC, CBS, and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG) alongside San Luis Obispo-licensed low-power, Class A Fox affiliate KKFX-CD ; NPG also provides certain services Santa Maria-licensed Telemundo affiliate KCOY-TV through a shared services agreement (SSA) with VistaWest Media, LLC. KEYT-TV's studios are located on Miramonte Drive on TV Hill, overlooking downtown Santa Barbara; KCOY-TV and KKFX-CD share separate facilities at West McCoy Lane and Skyway Drive in Santa Maria north of Santa Maria Public Airport. KEYT-TV's transmitter is located atop Broadcast Peak, between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez in the Santa Ynez Mountains.

References

  1. "HDTV SETS NOW IN OVER 80% OF U.S. HOUSEHOLDS". Leichtman Research Group. March 13, 2015. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  2. History of WRAL Digital
  3. "HDTV: Launched and Counting". Broadcasting and Cable. BNET. November 2, 1998. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved October 24, 2008.
  4. First HDTV Baseball Game. Jivyjives. December 6, 2009 via YouTube.
  5. End of an era: the last US broadcast network TV shows finally switch from SD to HD. Diverse Tech Geek. 11 June 2014.
  6. "HD Channels". HD Report. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  7. "MSNBC to Go HD on June 29". TVWeek. April 2, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2022.