3D Television
The way 3D television is created is actually quite simple. It's where 2 cameras are put close together while filming something, and each camera represents the left and the right eye. This gives us the illusion that we are more involved in the film or TV program. So it's taking two normal 2D shots and putting one infront of the other to create the 3D effect. When watching something in 3D you have to wear 3D glasses to get the full effect of what your watching, otherwise the picture would be blurred.
Satellite Television
Satellite television is television programming where the communications are received by an outdoor satellite. This is why sometimes yuo see big satellite dishes on the front or back of peoples houses. In many areas of the world satellite television provides a wide range of channels and services, often to areas that are not serviced by terrestrial or cable providers.
Direct-broadcast satellite television comes to the general public in two distinct flavors - analog and digital. This necessitates either having an analog satellite receiver or a digital satellite receiver. Analog satellite television is being replaced by digital satellite television and the latter is becoming available in a better quality known as high-definition television. With satellite television, there is more chance of losing the signal in bad weather because it affects the signals. So it is not always a reliable way to watch television.
Cable Television
Cable television is a system of providing tv to customers using signals that are transmitted through cables. Most television sets are cable-ready and have a cable television tuner capable of receiving cable TV already built-in that is delivered as an analog signal. To obtain premium television most televisions require a set top box called a cable converter that processes digital signals. It's been said that cable is better than satellite, as their is less chance of losing connection in bad weather.
Interactive Television
Interactive television (generally known as ITV or sometimes as iTV when used as branding) describes a number of techniques that allow viewers to interact with television content as they view it. The term "interactive television" is used to refer to a variety of rather different kinds of interactivity and this can lead to considerable misunderstanding. The most obvious example of 'interactive television' would be any kind of real-time voting on the screen, in which audience votes create decisions that are reflected in how the show continues. A return path to the program provider is not necessary to have an interactive program experience. Once a movie is downloaded for example, controls may all be local.
High Definition Television
HDTV is different from other types of television because the resolution is higher. The resolution being higher enhances the quality of the picture on screen. HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD (standard-definition). Early HDTV broadcasting used analog techniques, but today HDTV is digitally broadcast using video compression. Some people can't tell the difference between normal TV and HDTV but some can. The difference is that HD gives a better picture quality so the quality of what you are watching is higher.
Streaming Media and Internet Television
Streaming media is a 'multimedia'. It is content that is sent over the internet in a compressed form, whihc the user then watches. The distinction is usually applied to media that are distributed over telecommunications networks, as most other delivery systems are either inherently streaming (e.g., radio, television) or inherently non-streaming (e.g., books, video cassettes, audio CDs). The verb 'to stream' is also derived from this term, meaning to deliver media in this manner. Internet television is a commonly streamed medium.This also covers BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD etc. I think the good thing about these are that they are there at your ocnvenience. If you miss something on tv then you have the option to catch-up online or on television.
Digital Recorders
Digital TV recorders are similair to video recorders in that you can record television programmes to watch at a later date. Some other benefits of the new digital tv recorders are as follows; Pause and rewind live tv, recording a complete series in one touch and viewing electronic program guides. Sky and Virgin Media are good examples of this. The Sky+ HD Box can record up to 60 Gigabytes of programming, record entire series through series link, record up to two programms simultaneously and many more. Virgin TV uses the TiVo technology and works in the same way.
Pay Per View
Pay-per-view (PPV) provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it. Events often include feature films, sporting events and entertainment. An exmaple of this is Sky in the UK. They have the channel SkyBoxOffice for their pay per view options, ehich gives the customer a choice whether they want to pay to view whatever it is. At home we have the choice to pay extra for sky box office, but even though we dont its good that the option is still there. It's the customers choice whether to choose the pay-per-view option, but i suppose it depends on how much you want to spend when your bill comes in at the end of the month.
Film Based
Lots of films nowadays use computer-generated imagery (CGI). There are 2 different types of CGI, 3D Animation and Motion Capture Animation. 3D Animation is where 2D and 3D graphics are added to create 'special effects', and is use in both animated and non-animated films. The main reasons they use this is to create a high quality in the film and you become in control. It allows the user to create and produce images that wouldnt be real in life, but they try to make it as realistic as possible, and most of the time it works. Prime examples of films that use CGI is Toy Story, Shrek, Happy Feet and Pirate of the Caribbean. Aswell as CGI there are Motion Capture Animation which is used in all the old disney films such as Cinderella. The video below of Cinderlla shows a mass difference in the wuality of the films, and it shows how much technology has changed. Modern CGI in my opinion is much better, but there a few films where it has been overused and you lose interest in it. Some disadvantages of using CGI is that it a slow program due to how many codes and http requests it requires. Below are 2 examples of 3D Animation (CGI) and Stop Motion Animation.
3D Animation
Moion Graphic Animation
From all this i can see that there is so many different types of television, and everyones uuses atleast one of them. It's hard to come up with new ideas for televison as it is already so technically advanced 3D TV for example. But maybe there could be 4D in the future? Not many people are bothered about how advanced technology is, but its clear that designers will not stop at 3D television. Although 3D television is supposed to enhance the viewers experience, some people cant tell much difference between that and a normal standard definition tv.
