Malaysia Prepares for High-Definition

The introduction of television in Malaysia in 1963 marked a new era in entertainment and broadcast technology. Although much of the TV set did not change until 28 December 1978 – when the switch to colour TV paved the way forward for home entertainment systems – the broadcast industry experienced a couple of evolutionary changes along the way – from analogue transmission to digital; from free-to-air broadcasting to multi-channel broadcasting.

As we look at the headlines that have made today’s TV broadcasting in Malaysia, the industry will realise that the potential for the future television is rather soon.

Astro introduced itself back in 1996 as the first digital broadcast company in Malaysia. Through the launch of the Measat-1 satellite, Astro took full advantage of digital transmission and was able to provide a wide spectrum of TV programming through its first set-top box, the Digital Multimedia Terminal (DMT) I. With more than a decade of service to millions of customers, the company aims to remain relevant and innovative as it constantly advances its technology to enhance the customers’ experience with Personal Video Recording (PVR), Video on Demand (VOD), interactive Electronic Program Guide (EPG), and many more.

This year marks yet another of such evolution as High-Definition (HD) is destined for an introduction into Malaysia. Recognised as the future of home entertainment, this feature will set the benchmark for the nation’s home viewing experience. High-Definition will inevitably replace SD viewing just as colour television swept away black and white decades ago. HDTV represents a confluence of interests among all the major factors in the audio-visual value chain, as each subsector of the industry moves towards HD in its own way.

Fundamental Difference: High-Definition versus Standard-Definition

HD channels present a sensory viewing experience with sharper pictures, more vibrant colours, cinematic surround sound, and a wider screen – giving audiences crystal clear details and colours like never before. It delivers details that are five times greater than that of regular Standard-Definition (SD) programming, and it comes with the 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound.

With such differences in HD transmission, the compatibility of TV sets is an issue that needs to be raised and addressed. To display the HD channels, several guidelines have been put in place to make it easy for customers as they prepare for the upgrade.

Entertainment Ecosystem Migration: From Behind-the-Scenes to Post-production

The deployment of HD technology does not begin from acquiring an HDTV in the household. The end-to-end delivery of HD broadcast will change throughout every process – from the behind-the-scenes production to post-production editing, broadcast facilities, until the HDTV home experience.

Looking backstage into the behind-the-scenes processes, the requirements from HD broadcasting have become a learning curve for the production crew and studio operators. Make-up artists and hairstylists have to reinvent their work as the application of cosmetic products is easily visible in HD quality. The sharper image quality reveals the layers of make-up applied on an actor/actresses’ complexion. As a result, a host of cosmetics companies such as MAC and Makeup Forever have introduced products specifically for HD to go along with the array of workshop hosted to educate artists in overcoming the HD phenomenon.

Production houses had to adapt as well, with the call for newer investments in HD cameras, video recording equipments, and lightings. The myth of HD being too expensive and difficult to author is no longer the case, as manufacturers have made significant price slashes to make way for the industry demand. A recent report by Adobe shared that an entry-level HD editing system, including storage, software, and camera, goes for under USD 10,000. This is, however, more relevant for digital film recording, which has sparked an independent cinema revolution in the mid 2000s.

Even the prominent international news room studios are making the giant leap to HD recording. UK’s Sky News, for example, will be launching an HD version of their popular news channel, to be broadcasted alongside the current standard definition version from Spring 2010.

In America, the big networks, like Sky’s cousin Fox, already broadcast some of their news on HD. Everything in the studio is HD but films taken outside are not always in HD. Sky, on the other hand, is planning to make all of their coverage, wherever possible, HD.

The involvement of HD at every stage from production to the delivery illustrates the groundbreaking phenomenon of HD. The paradigm within such an evolving space has called for innovative offering, and in achieving such a milestone in Malaysia, Astro is proud to be leading the way to offer this service to Malaysian audiences.

Preparation for HD: Things to consider when choosing your HD TV

There are three forms of HD resolutions: 720p, 1080p, and 1080i. Such resolution has a direct linear effect towards the picture quality, as higher resolution will result in sharper images.

The term 720p means that 720 lines of pixels are used to create the TV picture. The “p” stands for progressive scanning, a technique that scans and displays all of the lines in one frame. 1080p displays in progressive scanning but has 1080 lines of pixels in a single frame, resulting in a clearer and more defined picture quality. 1080p are formats used to produce Blu-Ray discs but are rarely used for TV broadcasts.

On the other hand, 1080i has the same number of projected lines in a single frame, but the “i” stands for interlaced scanning, where half the lines are displayed in one frame and the other half in the frame that follows.

Both 720p and 1080i are resolutions in which most TV programmes are being produced around the world, and are in line with the industry standards for HD. This means that a 720p “HD-ready” television is enough to fully enjoy the HD experience of sharper images and more vibrant colours.

Aside from the TV resolution, other important factors include the contrast ratio, aspect ratio, and the HDMI port. Contrast ratio is a measure of the ratio of the luminance of the brightest colour (white) to that of the darkest colour (black) that the TV is capable of producing – the higher the contrast ratio, the greater the ability to show subtle colour details. For the benefit of good picture quality, a contrast ratio of 10,000:1 or above is recommended.

Aspect ratio, on the other hand, measures the width of the TV screen against the height. As most HD TVs in the market comes in the standard ratio of 16:9, that varies from the older SD TVs which commonly comes in 4:3 ratio. HD transmission is received at ratio of 16:9, hence a compatible TV display is recommended or it will result in a distorted viewing experience with black bars on either side of the display screen.

Lastly, HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a compact audio/video cable for transmitting uncompressed digital data. This is used for any device which requires HD transmission and is usually found in Blu-Ray Disc players, audio systems, personal computers, as well as video game consoles (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360). As all HD TVs come with the HDMI port, it is recommended to get one with multiple HDMI ports to allow other devices to be connected to the HD TV at the same time.

The Future of Home Entertainment

From content creators to equipment manufacturers, commercial interests are combining around the growing popularity of HDTV and supporting its development. And on the demand side, HDTV is acknowledged universally as a compelling consumer proposition limited only by availability and complexity.

In December 2009, the nation will see the arrival of the first High-Definition broadcast. With Astro’s proven track record of being a top-notch industry innovator, the arrival of High-Definition will certainly break new grounds towards the future of home entertainment.