For $2,100, see Sting in HD on standard TV

Corny, but true: November 25th — that’s 11/25, by the way — was officially declared “Hi-Vision Day” in Japan. The Japanese government, along with major broadcaster NHK and a group of consumer electronics manufacturers, decided it was the most appropriate day to celebrate high-definition TV (HDTV)’s 1,125 lines of horizontal resolution.

As part of the day’s festivities, those involved announced that they’d begun testing eight hours per day of HDTV broadcasts throughout Japan in Japan’s Hi-Vision HD format. According to NHK, which is providing about three-fifths of the programming, there is enough original material to last one or two months without repeats.

Initial offerings included a concert by the rock-jazz musician Sting, Kabuki theater productions, and nature programs. Consumers can view these programs on standard television sets by adding $2,100 worth of additional equipment.

HD hybrid. The Hi-Vision format is a digital/analog hybrid, and there is international agreement that it is probably inferior to the fully digital systems currently under consideration in this country by the FCC. The Japanese, however, are banking on the head start they would receive by programming and broadcasting now and upgrading as the market demands.

There is an additional problem, though. The only available HD monitors cost $30,000-35,000. And a VCR runs a mere $150,000. Sony has reportedly sold only 300 HD television units since last December. As a result of the cost, only NHK — and the Ministry of Postal Services, go figure — are really excited about this development.

The home electronics industry in Japan seems to have split in its support of the analog HD format. Sony and Matsushita are manufacturing monitors, but Matsushita is following Toshiba and JVC in producing and promoting the “enhanced definition” EDTV II format (called Clear-Vision, as opposed to Hi-Vision) which rates somewhere between the U.S. broadcast standard, NTSC, and HDTV in terms of resolution and picture quality, and is delivered over terrestrial radio waves (HDTV is transmitted via satellite). All of these companies are looking to the next generation of television, whatever that may be, to create new markets.

Indifferent to analog. Industry sources in Japan have said that they are indifferent to analog HDTV because it is of no particular benefit to them. If digital HD with interactivity were to be realized, the market would immediately respond.

The Japanese have long been willing to use a new technology for a few years and then scrap it as something better came along. This is not a philosophy that holds much sway in the U.S. It is interesting, however, to see which technologies and products become successful, and to use that information to examine the possibilities in this country. If improved picture quality alone does not pique the interest of the Japanese public, maybe a fully digital system is worth waiting for after all.

David Baron and High Technology Communications