Standards Of Television Production

Online videos have definitely lowered standards of television production. There are many websites including the popular ‘Youtube’ that host people’s amateur videos online. Illegal film websites are also circulating, providing the public with free but very poor quality versions of new films. Programmes such as ‘You’ve Been Framed’ and ‘RudeTube’ create whole shows using these amateur videos sent in by the public. Although this costs less than a full production it lowers the quality of the TV show.

The reason that these home videos are rarely good quality is that more and more devices such as mobile phones now include video recording capabilities, but these lack resolution excellence. If more programmes accept this cheap and poor quality footage, it may cause a decline in the standards of television production. However the up rise of High Definition and 3D television may counteract the small proportion of channels that succumb to this lower quality television.



The Changing Digital World

There are now many ways of watching television using the different broadcasting systems available to us today. Cable TV (e.g. Virgin Media), Digital TV (e.g. Freeview), IPTV (e.g. I-Player), Multiplex (e.g. BBC) and Satellite (e.g. SKY) all provide hundreds of different channels including specialist channels such as Music, Sport, News etc. This massive growth of channels in the digital world has changed how we view television. We now have a wide variety of channel choices along with TV systems creating ways to record programmes and TV obtainable on the Internet (including websites such as ‘BBC I-Player’).

There are certain advantages of using digital cameras over film cameras. With film cameras, you have to wait for the film to be developed in order to view what has been filmed. Digital cameras allow us to constantly monitor what is being filmed therefore preventing any on set problems that may affect the film.  There are also portability advantages as digital cameras are overall smaller than film cameras, making it easier to film different shots and in different locations. Digital cameras have a low light sensitivity that film cameras lack, allowing for less lighting involved in shooting and less irreversible lighting issues in post production. Although digital cameras do have electrical noise, grain from film cameras is more intrusive to the viewer’s experience.  As well as this digital cameras can shoot in High Definition, regularly used today. These both offer an aesthetic advantage over film cameras.

Editing in the digital world has improved along with the other technology in the digital world. Editing software such as ‘Final Cut Pro’ allows editors choose from a variety of shots and takes to edit together in order to make the final programme. Shows such as ‘Friends’ shoot with multiple cameras and it is the editor’s job to decide what shots are used and what aren’t. As the cameras are improving the quality of the picture, so are the post production stages. Editing now includes graphics, contrast and brightness levels, music and many more aspects that create a better show.

Broadcasting TV In The UK and Abroad

Broadcasting over the years has changed, and continues to do so. Here in the UK we have 5 free analogue channels, carried on regular terrestrial broadcasts. These are BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV 1, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Currently these channels are available, but as the digital switchover takes place this year, the channel and its programmes will have to be taken on board by satellite broadcasters (such as SKY) or cable (such as Virgin Media) if they want to continue.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) does not use commercial breaks in-between shows to produce revenue. They solely rely on money from television licences, unlike the other 3 terrestrial channels and satellite that carry advertising to make their money. Each of these channels also now has Video on Demand (VOD) on the Internet, allowing viewers to watch their programmes online once they have been aired on TV. Broadcasting is changing rapidly due to this new way of watching TV online.

Where PAL, NTSC and SECAM are used across the world

In the UK we use Phase Alternate Line (PAL) technology to broadcast our analogue television. The advantages of PAL include more scan lines that give greater picture detail but the disadvantages include more flickers due to a lower frame rate. In countries abroad such as Japan and America they use NTSC (National Television System Committee). The advantages and disadvantages of NTSC are almost the opposite of PAL with less scan lines but a higher frame rate. SECAM (Sequential Colour with Memory) was first used in France and was the first European colour television standard. SECAM ensures a constant saturation of colour and a higher number of scan lines but it also carries a greater flicker amongst other disadvantages. PAL and SECAM (created in the 1950s) were supposedly meant to overcome the problems that NTSC produced (created originally in 1941, then in 1953 in colour).

As television broadcasting has developed, it has changed the way in which we consume it. Once there were just 5 channels to watch whereas now we have hundreds to choose from at one time on TV and many more on the internet. VOD and ‘SKY PLUS’ have allowed us to fit television into our lives where we want rather than when it was available. We therefore watch alot more TV now than we used to.