Developing Technologies

The development of technology for decades now has allowed for the television and film industries to provide a better viewing experience for their audiences. Before the 20th century there was no such thing as television- or at least for the public, it was available in crude experimental forms in the late 1920s. It became available for the public to buy black and white television sets in America and Britain, after WWII had ended. With the introduction of television, came about analogue viewing on television which was the beginning of how people would view television shows. 

I will discuss the benefits of analogue TV and how this improved the audiences viewing experiences, then I will go on to discuss how this developing into digital broadcasting. 

What is analogue?

Analogue is the original television technology which uses analogue signals to transmits video and analogue to the television. 

This method of watching television was the beginning of the development of the television industry, as there was no other method of television delivery until the 1950s. The method involved the encoding of image and sound information which is transmitted as an analogue signal which is them composed of amplitude and/or frequency, this then appears on your television screen. 

Although, it was the start of something revolutionary which would later develop into a fast growing successful industry there were also many cons involved at the time it had started. 

Firstly, analogue provided the television audience with a motion picture which was all in all better than reality as it meant people could develop broadcasting ideas. This would benefit an audiences watching experience as they are now able to watch something on their TV's (even if it was a 9 by 9 inch) without having to experience it real life. 

However, one thing which was probably a con, was the resolution and image quality on screen. Although it was exciting to now have the pleasure of watching something on TV whilst sat at home on your living room sofa, it was also disappointing to endure bad quality picture quality because of a satellite issue for example. The analogue screen is said to be very ''fuzzy'' at times, not only this but as the image is moving, it makes the quality even more unclear. Not forgetting the sound and how this may vary from time to time depending on the satellite quality.
Another way analogue improved the audiences viewing experiences is in film. This is because film's were now filmed digitally using a digital camera and then edited on a computer software such as final cut pro, this would replace filming on camera reel's and then physically cutting and sticking the reel's together to edit, which would obviously take up a lot of time and effort. This was a huge benefit to the audiences watching as it meant they were experiencing far better quality images in film, which would make it more engaging to them and keep them watching. It also meant that the audiences were getting the films they were waiting for much quicker than before, which would also add to their viewing experience.

What is digital?

Digital broadcasting came into existence in 2012, where a switch over took place from analogue television. This started on 17th October 2007 and was completed on 24th October 2012. This allowed for huge growth in the media industry with regards to film and especially television benefiting the most. This allowed for the audiences watching the various service broadcasters the chance to experience a more advanced version of their shows, but this time with better quality. 

One obvious advantage of digital TV to the audience is that they get to watch with better picture and reception quality. This is because unlike analogue the signals are more concise ; this allows for the various channels to occupy the same air space. There is also an improvement in the sound compared to analogue TV, this is because the reception is less affected by the weather. 

Another impact this had on television and film, was that it brought about better graphical quality. Where before there was black and white television and film, now using digital, production teams were able to use colour and even CGI to create fake characters and locations/ backgrounds.  This in turn improved the viewing experiences of the audience. Above is the a video showing the visual effects behind the film 'The Avengers' where almost all the way through the film digital plays a massive role in the use of CGI effects as part of the editing. 

The video on the left shows exactly the differences and similarities between analogue and digital. It is essential to understand this because it is the only way of knowing which is better in terms of the audiences viewing experience, considering that technology has in fact developed.  

The Internet

The internet is or has become a huge tool in our everyday lives, whether that be for a social or educational reason. The more technology continues to evolve the greater and more powerful the internet becomes. This in turn has aided our viewing experience on the internet, where the different platforms such as YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime etc allow us to continue watching the TV shows/ Films we've missed.  

Once connected to the Internet, users can access Internet services and various other platforms such as Youtube, twitter and many more.  It will improve the viewers as they will have various different platforms to visit and ca entertain themselves. There is a lot of freedom on what you can watch as you tube has various different channels that people can watch. The Internet also gives people the chance to get a subscription for Netflix and they can watch films on that without having to go to the cinema.

SkyGo

The internet can also be used to spread trailers on websites such as IMDb (Internet Movie Database) or YouTube. People can search the internet for sneak peeks on the latest films, find out who is in the film, learn the storyline and find fan websites dedicated to getting more people interested in a franchise. Sky and other television companies have websites like Sky Go which allows you to access channels, programmes and recorded items via devices connected to the internet such as an Ipad or tablet. This also means that if you missed a programme you can catch up, for example, you can use BBC iplayer which allows you to see, or re-see, all the content of the past couple of weeks. This gives the audience more chance to watch films and television and the company can monitor how many people are watching the programmes to gather information on how popular it is. Audiences are now able to sign up for subscriptions to websites that allows the audience to stream films and programmes.  Another advantage is that you can shop online which means you don't have to go out to the shop and you can shop online and have the good delivered to your door. It also means that people that compare prices and see what prices suit them. The disadvantage of using the Internet is that spending too much time on the Internet can affect your physical and mental health. Such people can become reclusive and lonely. This could lead to low self-esteem and a whole psychosomatic conditions.
Below is a video showing the development of technology in television from standard TV to 4K TV. This is recent development which has transformed the way audiences view television and has enhanced the television industry. 4K television as mentioned in the video, ''refers to the number of pixels that a TV has'' which takes up as much resolution as a standard television, but the difference is that it shows a more crisp and  sharper content.Thus this is one of the reasons why 4K TV is benefiting the modern day audiences.