Digital Television In The Future Will Replace The Traditional One

The essay is aimed to establish that digital TV in the future will replace traditional televisions. In the essay it is discussed that it is good development because it will not be easily accessible mode but will become affordable to masses and will provide more liberty in selection of broadcasts to be viewed. Innovation in the field of technology and science has affected every field of life. Media, journalism and modes of communication have witnessed drastic changes over the last decades. From print to television, media communication has become an integral part of a successful political campaign or promotion of any movie. The 21st century of digital media has brought immense transformation in television industry. Due to activation of internet services and easy access to internet has opened the doors of amalgamation of television and internet and have laid foundation for the new concept of digital TV. Talking about initial days, there was not much of difference between radio and television set, the timed schedule of the programs and means to adjust volume or picture quality were basic, but technology has completely revolutionised the concept of television and media. Digital television mode is advanced mode of displaying moving pictures with ability to project better sound and pixel clarity of the images. It comes in the package of liquid crystal display or plasma display to give an unique experience to the audience. The market of digital television is new and has already replaced the television industry. It has proved to be a paradigm shift in term of completion and economic viability. Digital television has forced the tradition media organisation to implement change in their strategies and introduce tech and user-friendly modules to benefit the customers. Television is the most widely famous and easily mode of media available to masses. It can mould and shape perception and sentiment of general people. Even in the era of internet, the television has not vacated the popularity chart. The data suggests that number of hours spent by common Australian watching television is way overt than any other digital or print mode of media. Therefore, it is wise to discuss or argue the evolution of television over these years and forecast the effect of these transformations in future. The start of television was very interesting phase. It added a new flavour if entertainment in lives of a common house hold. The fascination and charm soon made it an integral part of people’s lives. From news to sports, all the basic information was made available by television set. That is the reason, still the easiness and nostalgia associated with traditional television has still made the memories fresh in the mind of the people. Amidst this time when television was gaining popularity and reaching new heights of demand and reach, the negative controversy also get stick with it, which included to considering it as evil invention.

The cable mafia got associated with it, because various channels could only be displayed with the help of cable connection. Due to all these reasons and availability of internet connection has made sure that audience is swiftly moving from television to internet. Television has limited amount of options in terms of channels, but digital platform aided with internet has numerous channels, resulting in the decline of the popularity of television shows. From Netflix to movie on demand, all the modes of subscriptions are made available in the digital world, which has fragmented the audience. The young generation found the concept of traditional television as monotonous and found the digital television means where they don’t have to invest much effort to search for their favourite shows and everything. The rate at which subscription of Netflix users are increasing day by day, tells the story how young base is motivated to adopt to digital mode of television. Talking about Netflix in particular or such channels, they were initiated as computer website, but with time and the moderations it got changed into app, now this app is not available at the mobile sets, but have become the part of the televisions as well. Nowadays people don’t have to browse a list of channels to explore the shows, but your favourite show can be found by merely typing the names of the show in the search bar. It is not a mystery to reveal that how big market such platforms like Netflix have become, billon dollar investment is behind the concept and stock of such companies have raised to maximum level I past half a decade or so. Television is moving towards Internet-based services with an increasing popularity of online streaming and connected TV sets. The Internet can of course be used for watching video without involvement of IPTV standards; a common example of this is YouTube. Subscription video on demand for watching full-length TV shows and movies for a monthly fee is also becoming increasingly popular (e.g. Netflix). Netflix is one of the most popular streaming platforms and played a quintessential role in the transition from traditional TV to a world of online media streaming. This service started as a computer-based service but then surprised everyone when they created a mobile app downloadable on Play Store and the App Store which allowed users to stream movies and TV content anywhere, anytime. Netflix has since grown to a subscriber base of 104 million subscribers and counting. Netflix generated a whopping $8.8 billion in revenue in 2016. Furthermore, many of the traditional broadcasters are making their content available to stream on their website, both live and on demand. Gone are the days when people spent so much time browsing through hundreds of TV channels to find something worth watching. Traditional TV watching continues to wane, especially among younger consumers, as more homes get connected devices and streaming services Jon LafayetteMar 19, 2011. The outlook for traditional TV is going from bad to worse, according to an extremely daunting article about the future of TV in The Wallstreet Journal. The growth of the internet is taking place faster than you can blink and is increasingly becoming reliable.

The reach of smart TVs and adapters is also on the rise with more and more people choosing these. The freedom to watch your favorite programs on demand on any device, with the experience personalized to cater to individual tastes is way too lucrative. The quality of internet TV apps is frequently updated and improvements take place at a quicker pace, assuring viewers of an amazing video experience. New technology is definitely disruption the cable TV business. Netflix and Amazon Prime are getting big enough to become a real threat to cable companies and TV networks. Traditional TV subscriptions are growing at a slower rate . Networks like HBO and CBS are starting to think about their own streaming services. This rapid growth in the popularity of streaming services and apps has seen the well-established entertainment networks and brands like BBC and Channel 4 adapt to the online revolution and offer on-demand streaming to their viewers. Apart from the ability to access content on demand with online streaming, traditional TV viewers have to deal with increasing subscription costs for selective packages. And if recent TV ratings are anything to go by, then traditional TV is poised for a steady downward spiral. Cable TV providers are ranked last in the American Consumer Satisfaction Index and even more evident is the fact that consumers are not only seeking alternatives to their cable operators, they are also exploring these alternatives. One of such alternatives that users are exploring is over-the- top (OTT) technology. OTT’s are systems that provide viewers with television content via broadband connections. No longer do people have to fear missing the first 10 minutes of their binge worthy TV show due to heavy traffic on the way home, or misreading a television schedule and wait for the re-runs. Now, they simply have to have a streaming app and a comfortable place to sit at any time of the day to catch up on the show of their choosing. Unrestricted by time slots set out by networks, streaming platforms allow users the freedom to choose the time that best suits them. Comparisons One of the biggest differences between television and streaming is the obvious flexibility that streaming services offer. Unlike networks, streaming companies offer the ability to cancel the services with no termination fees. Many also offer a free time period to explore the service, and ensure that it offers the type of viewing they are after. More than that, streaming offers an ability for viewers to choose their channels based on their personal taste.

In a household filled with multiple people, there is an ability for all to watch whatever they choose at the same time, inside the same service. Although that is available on TV, it is limited in its channel options and time constraints. One of the notable features of streaming is the ability to choose a television show or movie at any time, and usually have any seasons or sequels available to you. However, it seems that there isn’t double-ups across different streaming services, which may lead to a viewer signing up to more than one streaming service. An example of this would be that Stan houses the popular series Breaking Bad, whilst Netflix Australia doesn’t. Cable services offer a point of difference in that they allow people to discover shows they weren’t actively looking for a lot easier. More than that, live sports broadcasts are still quite popular across cable and satellite television. One downfall of streaming is that if you don’t have internet, you don’t have viewing. Any disturbances in your internet would leave you without entertainment if you solely rely on streaming for it. Cable and satellite television remain undisturbed for the most part, but can tend to get a poor signal through bad storms. Streaming can also tend to buffer or have the content unavailable if the internet signal is poor, which disrupts viewing or quality. Conclusion With the advancements in the digital sphere, it is no surprise that traditional media forms are falling behind. The demands for streaming only increase, with tech savvy millennials turning to it as their preferred form of viewing. Traditional broadcast companies have caught on, with most opening up their own streaming services and ‘on demand’ functionalities. It is no doubt that the future of broadcast is online. It depends. For countries where internet speed is slow online channels won't be able to replace traditional televisions. But with a high speed internet connection you can easily choose between them. And yes online TV perhaps comes with some extra benefits over traditional TV.

References:

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