We went to the HDTV Conference sponsored by DisplaySearch. We spoke with industry leaders and asked them what was on the HDTV horizon. The next two Podcasts will cover some of the highlights from the conference. 

Mark Cuban kicked off the conference with his keynote speech. His message was clear to HDTV manufacturers - insist the content providers serve up the highest quality signal possible.  He also wants the broadcast industry to use the benefits of MPEG4 to create a better viewing experience, not squeeze more channels into the same space.  TV's keep getting better, but there's no content to really take advantage of it - it's just too compressed.

 

He went on to say that HDNet is producing movies that will premiere in theaters and on HDNet Movies simultaneously. Their movies are shot in 1080i and are moving to 1080p.

 

There is a lot of movement in the HD camera front. The cost and size are coming down. This will speed the transitions of news to the HD format. Also, in the very near future you will be able record your family videos in HD.  All the tools are out there to let every budget level shoot in high definition - even Reality TV!

 

We found out that Voom will be adding 11 new HD channels and that Dish Networks plans on carrying them in the first quarter of 2006.  We were all shocked to find out that Voom still has employees.

 

ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC will carry the 2006 World Cup Soccer tournament in the United States.

 

By happenstance the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD representatives were seated next to each other. There is still no agreement in the format wars.  Both agree that the interactive experience will be as important as the feature; BluRay will feature a "java layer" for interactivity.

 

Dell announced that they won a four city head to head  HDTV challenge versus SONY for a 42 inch plasma TVs. Dell really has the buying experience right. Quite frankly its a no risk way to buy a Plasma TV. Listen to the podcast we'll go into more detail about this subject.

 

EchoStar is pursuing MPEG4, both CBS and ABC agreed that MPEG4 isn't in the cards for them any time soon.  Not within the next 5 - 7 years.

 

 

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