Gearing Up for a New Era in TV

Fran Drescher of “The Nanny” in wide-screen glory, with her nasal whine in five-channel, stereo surround sound.

Brilliant outer-space explosions on “Babylon 5” with bright sparks zooming in all directions.

Wide-screen “Seinfeld,” with viewers able to play games or read bios about the stars while watching the episodes.

Commercials with massive amounts of data about products.

Football games in which fans can watch the entire field, the sideline action and the cheering crowd all at once.

While these innovations won’t begin to be visible in consumers’ homes until at least the end of next year when digital television finally becomes a reality and high-definition television sets go on sale to the public, the four major TV networks and some Hollywood studios are already gearing up--technically and creatively--for the “digital revolution.”

ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are each completing new digital transmission facilities in New York costing about $50 million, while their owned-and-operated stations are spending about $2 million each in converting to digital-capable equipment that will offer viewers sparkling, distortion-free pictures and crystal-clear stereo sound.

Meanwhile, TV studios such as Columbia TriStar and Warner Bros. already have a head start. They have prepared for the digital switch-over by taping or filming shows in a wide-screen digital format that can be upgraded to high-definition.

Columbia TriStar shows already targeted for the new technology include “Seinfeld,” “The Nanny” and “Mad About You,” while Warner Bros. Television has been filming “ER,” “Friends” and other series in digital-ready wide-screen for about four years.

“When high-definition comes in, we’ll be protected for that format,” said Andrew Ackerman, senior vice president of TV production for Warner Bros.

Added Ed Lammi, executive vice president of production for Columbia TriStar Television: “We can up-convert the shows at a later date to high-definition. A few years from now, we may be able to shoot shows in true high-definition from the beginning. But that hardware is not readily available yet.”

The Federal Communications Commission on April 3 awarded new licenses to the major broadcast networks, which voluntarily pledged to launch digital transmissions at 23 of their owned-and-operated stations in the top 10 markets--including Los Angeles, the second largest--within 18 months. The mandatory deadline for high-definition television is May 1, 1999.

Network executives and producers are excited about the new creative territory digital television will open.

George Johnsen, senior vice president of technologies and co-producer at Netter Digital Entertainment, a state-of-the-art digital facility in North Hollywood, said: “It’s a broader brush that we can paint with. There will be more scope in the story. The special effects will be much larger. Right now, effects like explosions can’t really bloom out. Now you’ll be able to see things like that much sharper, and it will fill the screen.

“It’s taking the consciousness of film and transposing it into the consciousness of television,” said Johnsen, who is spearheading the post-production of the syndicated “Babylon 5,” which has been filming its episodes for broadcast in the high-definition format since its 1994 premiere.

With high-definition, programs will be much clearer, visually and audibly. Viewers will see 1,080 lines of resolution scanned across their screens instead of the current 525 lines, and will need a set that is one-third wider than those currently available.

The conversion to digital and high-definition is being touted by the industry as the most important transition in American broadcasting since the introduction of color TV in the late 1950s.

Said Joe Flaherty, senior vice president of technology for CBS Inc.: “In many ways, we’re starting over. We’re reinventing television.”

“It’s a whole new art form,” said Andrew G. Setos, executive vice president of the new technology group that is responsible for engineering for Fox. “We can’t tell you what our plans are going to be yet, because what we do will only be limited by our imagination.”

In addition to the vast improvement in picture and sound that will rival theatrical presentations, data about shows or products will also be available, transmitted much like the Internet. Viewers will be able to call up statistics of sporting events or information about stars while watching their favorite shows.

Said Michael Sherlock, executive vice president of technology for NBC: “There are going to be services offered that I can’t even imagine. The possibilities for getting information will be virtually unlimited.”

Preston Davis, president of broadcast operations and engineering for ABC, said: “Most studios and program suppliers should be enthusiastic about the opportunity this represents. The advertising community should be really thrilled.”

Network prime-time schedules will most likely be the first to be broadcast in digital, with sports and news programming to follow.

The new technology will require producers to pay more attention to sound, sets and lighting, Sherlock said. “Even hair will have to be combed better. Individual hairs will stand out. That’s how clear it will be. We’ll have to use different light. It will have a 3-D depth that you’ll see.”

Directors will have to compose their shots differently because the picture will be wider. That’s already happening on the shows being shot for high-definition, but current TV sets only show part of the frame.

“When the viewer watches ‘Babylon 5’ now, they’re not seeing the total thing that has been lit and is being shot,” Johnsen said. “There is more of the set, more people, more costumes. This allows us to have a bigger life to the show.”