WINNIPEG – It’s still early days for high definition in Canada but with costs for broadcast equipment and the sets themselves coming down, it won’t be early for long.
Randall Dark, one of the speakers at the HDTV session Tuesday at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters annual convention in Winnipeg, runs HD Vision Studios and says he sees no reason why the whole industry can’t more quickly move into HD.
In the U.S., where he’s based, it’s taken off “like a rocket ship,” and if broadcasters and the production industry don’t move on HD, “you will lose market share,” he predicted.
HD production costs have dropped dramatically so that it’s now actually more economical for him to produce in HD, added Dark. Where it once cost a million each for an HD camera and VTR, the price is now a tenth of what it was. The same is true for HD sets.
But, what’s airing on those sets? Not enough, said Rogers Communications’ chief strategy officer Mike Lee. “I don’t believe there is enough (HD) content,” he said.
Rogers has been probably been the most aggressive BDU when it comes to adding HD channels (and pushing its own sports channel, Sportsnet, to do more high-def) but while adding the HD versions of Canadian broadcasters has boosted the number of channels on Rogers Cable, “you have no incremental increase in (HD) programming,” said Lee, thanks to the fact that much of the high definition content on Canadian broadcast stations is simulcast American prime time fare.
“Isn’t is great we have six other channels to watch the same programming?” he asked, paraphrasing the Canadian HD consumer.
Phil King, president of TSN, however, rose to the defense of his parent company, CTV, and outlined the HD content that both TSN and CTV are airing (Bell Canadian Open, some Canadian made-for-TV movies, the Governor-General installation, NHL Hockey).
When the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics comes around, added King, it’s likely that by then all of it will be done in HD. TSN, too, has been a strong proponent and producer of high-def.
As for when we might see Lloyd Robertson or Darren Dutchyshen in HD? “News is the toughest,” said King. “It’s the most expensive.”
It’s a timing thing, added Astral Television’s VP technology Chris Bell said. Progress is being made in HD in Canada, “but it takes a while to ramp up,” he added. Astral’s The Movie Network only launched a 24/7 HD channel this summer after having offered HD movies since 2000.
The panel also discussed the American plan to shut down analog TV on April 7th 2009 and all were certain the government there would go ahead with it. They also agreed that in Canada we will now be forced to harmonize our own HD plans with those of the U.S. The sets in stores will be all HD by then (indeed, it’s hard to find an analog TV in stores now).
All agreed that better customer communication was also important because for some, confusion reigns. While 20% of digital set tops now are HD boxes, only about 8% of those box owners subscribe to the HD services. The gap needs to be addresses.
While Rogers – and Bell ExpressVu – have been aggressive adding high definition, it’s not the same across all BDUs, cautioned King.
While a deal to add TSN HD to the channel lineups of Shaw Cable and its DTH division, Star Choice, is imminent, King was frustrated that it’s taken so long – and that it looks like his company’s Discovery HD won’t be carried by the western-based BDU in the near term.
“We were told by Shaw they don’t have room to carry it and they day after they launched Turner Classic Movies,” he said.
“We need all the distributors to embrace this.”
