tv and film industry

1. DEVELOPING
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE
TELEVISION AND FILM
INDUSTRIES

2. CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Consumer products are defined as goods that are sold for use in or around a
permanent or temporary household/institution. In terms of technology there
are countless products on the market in the current day and age and they
lead the way we live in the 21st century. A well-known, big name is Apple,
who have become the largest and most successful technology company in
the world. They provide countless different devices for people to use,
making it more and more easier to access the internet, socialise, game and
do important tasks such as banking. Examples of products are the iPhone,
iPod, iPad and iMac. Recently has been the launch of the Apple iWatch, a
watch that does just about everything all of the other Apple products, easily
accessible and compact on the wrist.
Another modern consumer product in households are Smart TV’s. They are
digital televisions with the added functionality of connecting to the internet
with capabilities like web browsers and apps.
Digital cameras and editing software on computers also provide a platform for
making films and other productions in the comfort of your own home. An
example of this is Youtubers who make a living from this, such as gamers
like Seananners, or vloggers like Caspar Lee.

3. TELEVISION
Satellite:
This form of television is provided by multiple signals being relayed by satellites
across the globe. These signals are received by a an exterior dish on the building.
After the signals are received they are decoded by the antenna ready for viewing
on a television set. Benefits of satellite television include the vast range of
channels on offer, signal can be received in dead areas and you can also use ‘pay-
to-view’ services. On the other hand, they can be awkward to set up, the satellite
must be in clear line of site and it can be very expensive with the initial cost, fitting
and subscriptions.
Cable:
This form of television that is delivered through transmitting signals through coaxial
cables or light pulses through fibre-optic cables. Benefits of this are that hundreds
of channels can be delivered through the same system by integrating them onto
specific frequencies along the spectrum instead of have a separate signal for each
channel with satellite television. Also cable systems often are able to offer a
telephone service and internet access in packages through high speed modems.
Reasonable prices and stability are also benefits worth mentioning for cable TV. In
terms of disadvantages include terrible to non-existent customer service, and
privacy, as using such a mass market, cheap and public service means that its
easy for companies to track what you are watching and when.
Examples of the largest television providers include Sky, Virgin and BT, all in
competition with each other providing exclusive content, like sky sports and BT
Sport for example. A new competitor in TV is online services like Netflix and NOW
TV, as its becoming easier and cheaper than ever to access these services.

4. THE WAY WE WATCH TELEVISION
Analogue:
This is the original television technology that used analogue signals to
deliver video and audio to viewers. With an analogue broadcast,
everything from the brightness colours and sound quality all relied on
the strength of the analogue signal. Over a five year process, gradually
all analogue signals were turned off as the digital age took over for the
foreseeable future. The switchover started in October 2007 and was
completed five years later in October 2012.
Digital:
This is the new, modernised way of delivering television which uses
digitally processed and multiplexed signals. It allows multiple channels
to use the same bandwidth meaning hundreds more channels are easily
accessible for viewers now that analogue has been left behind. Digital
television was a blessing for the television and film industries as it
acted as a platform, providing many more channels for programs and
movies to be broadcast on.

5. INTERNET AND INTERACTION
Internet:
The internet provides easy access to pretty much every television and movie ever
broadcast to those using the web on computers, tablets, phones and even smart
TV’s. This can be a positive for the television industry, as it allows them to target
an even wider audience with streaming services such as Netflix and NOW TV,
which are subscription services that allow you to watch a huge variety of content,
whilst still earning money for the producers and television industry. However,
there are millions of illegal sites, such as torrent websites that allow you to
illegally download and watch content that is breaking copyright laws and making
no money for the producers of the media. This is a big problem for the television
and film industry as its decreasing their profits massively, as there is no need to
pay to watch media when you can download it for free in a few clicks on the web.
Interactive:
The way a consumer can interact and manipulate the content they watch has grown in
recent years. In todays day and age there are things such as competitions and
polls that people can enter and vote in, in order to effect say a character or a
storyline of a certain show. This means that the consumer feels more involved and
interested in watching, creating a larger, more enthusiastic audience for the
industry as a whole.

6. BREAKTHROUGHS IN TECHNOLOGY
High definition: With the introduction of HD channels on television with the host of
technology inside the modern television sets, it allows for a much more crisp, slick
picture quality for the viewer, providing a more thrilling viewing experience than
ever before. It provides a higher resolution image by having many more pixels in
each frame. Its proven that audiences love HD and want more of it with specific HD
versions of channels being implemented into televisions such as BBC ONE HD,
ITV HD and Channel 4 HD to name a few.
3D:
This is a very current and up-to-date service, that is an attempt to mimic reality. It is an
optical illusion that makes viewers see an image with a sense of depth that isn't
really there. Cinemas especially have taken advantage of this, advertising the
incredible experience of viewing films on the big screen in 3D, with things jumping
out of the screen towards giving you the richest and involved cinema experience
ever. Recently televisions have been released that include a 3D function. The 3D
feature, all be it impressive, does require anyone viewing to wear special glasses
in order to get the full effects of the illusion, that can be inconvenient and
uncomfortable. 3D is slowly growing and making a new branch of audience and
profit for the television and film industry, but its is an expensive service to
produce.

7. ON-DEMAND, PAY PER VIEW AND STREAMING
Pay per view:
This is has been recently introduced allowing audiences to watch only what they want. This
works by purchasing the channel for a specific amount of time, whilst whatever they
want to watch is being broadcast, or by purchasing something like a day pass, that
gives you access to the TV channel for 24 hours. Typically sports channels use this like
Sky sports box office as they are for a specific market, and are exclusive and wont be
able to be viewed anywhere else, so you either pay or don’t see it at all.
On-demand:
This is a service that many channels provide so viewers can catch-up and watch shows that
they have missed when they were originally broadcast. By cutting up the production and
having countless adverts in-between still allows profits to be made from the on-demand
viewing.
Streaming:
The difference between steaming and downloading is that when you download something,
you have the whole thing there, and can watch it whenever you like and wont be met
with buffering times. However with streaming, you don’t actually have the media
yourself, but are watching from another platform that the content is coming from,
meaning when signal is weak you can experience long waiting times whilst the content
buffers, and if it’s a live stream you also typically cannot rewind if you miss something.
Examples of streaming sites include Blink box and Netflix.