Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 1, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
With broadcasts from the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, ZDF and ARD will begin regular high-definition television (HDTV) service in Germany on January 12, 2010. From that point, around a quarter of ZDF’s daily programming will be broadcast in brilliantly sharp digital images. Before the ZDF Television Council, meeting in Düsseldorf, ZDF Director-General Markus Schächter explained the intermediate steps on the way there. “It makes sense to use so-called showcases a few months beforehand to ensure that everyone involved can prepare for regular operation with sufficient thoroughness,” Schächter said. “The ideal starting point is the World Athletics Championships in Berlin in August. From there, ZDF and ARD will offer an HD signal worldwide as host broadcasters and will also broadcast in High Definition (HD) in Germany. We are coordinating this start date with ARD.”
High-definition and conventional digital television will coexist for many years. Schächter: “We are preparing for a lengthy so-called simulcast phase. After the experience of recent years, which has brought us only a very sluggish transition from analogue to digital television in Germany, we must also have staying power for the market-wide introduction of HD television”. The first important step now was to agree on a binding switch-off date for analogue distribution of television signals. A rapid shutdown of analogue television was in everyone’s interest, including that of private television providers, because broadcasting programmes in parallel via analogue, conventional digital and high-definition formats cost everyone a great deal of money.
With the nationwide introduction of digital terrestrial television (DVB-T) by the end of this year, public-service television providers had demonstrated how, with the appropriate commitment, a complete transition from analogue to digital television provision could be achieved within a manageable time frame. “The success story of DVB-T in Germany has earned us international recognition,” Schächter said in retrospect.
Preparing for high-definition television continued to represent a major additional effort for the broadcasters. “We have been building up our programme library in high-resolution or easily convertible formats for several years. We also make sure that all replacement investments are future-proof, wherever this is economically justifiable, including for a high-definition television future.” ZDF was concerned about the slow progress of discussions with cable companies, which had put forward enormous financial demands for the future retransmission of HD television signals. Schächter: “We are not going to pay money as well for helping cable companies offer their customers a better picture”.
Further information:
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