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HDTV is available via antenna, cable and satellite. Free over the- air HDTV is available to 99 percent of U.S. households. There are 1,625 stations in 211 markets delivering digital TV now. As of November 2007, about 100 million households were in an area served by a high definition cable provider. Major cable TV providers, including Time Warner, Comcast, Cox, Insight, Charter, Cablevision and Armstrong all offer high-definition services. Satellite TV services, including DirecTV, Dish Network (which carries the Voom network channels) are available anywhere in the country and offer several HDTV options.
>>> Over-the-Air Broadcast
The major commercial networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and WB) offer more than 50 hours of HDTV each week. Most primetime dramas and sitcoms are broadcast in HDTV, as well as ABC Saturday Night at the Movies, CBS Sunday Movies, and ABC’s Wonderful World of Disney. HD sports includes NCAA college football and basketball, golf, tennis, the Stanley Cup, the NFL playoffs, the NBA finals and, of course, the Super Bowl. All of this HD programming is available free with an ATSC tuner and antenna!
>>> Cable and Satellite
Now, virtually everyone with cable or satellite is able to experience the crisp picture quality that is HDTV. With the growing amount of channels that are broadcasting in HD, the cable and satellite providers are keeping up by offering more and more of these channels in their packages for high quality television viewing 24 hours a day.
The major cable and satellite companies actively try to provide the most HDTV channels they can so their customers are able to experience high def with even the simplest package. The packages and the amount of HD channels vary among cable provider’s regions, however, the basic packages generally include a substantial amount of HD channel options. Some of the cable companies that provide its customers with HDTV are, Comcast, offering over 25 HD local and premium channels, Cable Vision with 40 channels in HD, Time Warner cable offering over 10 local and premium channels, and Verizon FiOs with over 20 channels (Verizon plans to more than double that in 2008). Some provider’s amount of HDTV channels, like Charter Communications, vary based on service area.
Satellite providers offer an array of HD channels as well. Dish Network offers up to 38 channels in addition to local broadcasts while DIRECTV currently has 13 HD channels available but plans on offering up to 100 by the end of 2007.
>>> Other Sources:
Aside from the high definition disc formats discussed earlier in this book, HDTV can also be found from such services as Moviebeam and iTunes.
Most TV program guides will tell people where and when the HDTV programs are on.
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