How has the digital world changed the way we consume and create TV?

In this day and age TV has become a big role in people's lives, so much so that we are constantly finding new ways to watch it, from lounging on the sofa to watch the football to commuting on board a train watching the latest news bulletin on your laptop, TV is becoming something of a necessity in human culture.


These are the various ways people can watch television broadcasts:

Terrestrial TV - Standard broadcasting system transmitted via TV ariels. It is a simple transmission method because it is transmitted via radio frequencies does not involve the use of satellites or cables. A TV that still receives an analogue signal will most likely have only the five main terrestrial TV channels in the UK. (BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five)


Digital Terrestrial TV -  Very similar to standard Terrestrial TV with the exception being the use of multiplex transmitters meaning it has to capability to receive various channels on one single frequency simultaneously.


Cable TV - Transmitted via radio signals using coaxial cables planted underground. It entitles the viewer to more channels than that of terrestrial or digital terrestrial and was the predecessor to the more advanced Satellite TV.


Satellite TV - Delivered by a satellite in outer space where the signal is then picked up by a satellite dish. For the best results, the satellite dish needs to be built into the outside of the house facing towards the direction of a satellite in orbit in order to get the best possible signal reception.

Multiplex - A bundle of TV services that have be digitised, compressed and combined into a single digital data stream for transmission. A receiver separates each service from this compressed data and turns it into a compatible form that can be transmitted onto a TV set.

Internet protocol Television (IPTV) - Basically this is where you can access television broadcasts on the Internet when you're away from the TV set. IPTV specialises in three different services these are:

•  Live television - Where the viewer can watch a TV channel online at the same pace as it is being broadcast on television, this is known as 'Live streaming' very similar to watching normal television only on a computer.
• Time shifted programming - The viewer has the ability to watch a programme online that was broadcast on television recently, this is incase the viewer missed a particular programme on it's original TV broadcast and wants to see it in their own time. The disadvantage being that only certain programmes may be available to view again. BBC iPlayer or ITV Player  are examples of time shifted programming.
• Video On Demand (VOD) - This is like a virtual library of various TV programmes, unlike time shifted programming it's content does not depend on whether it has been recently broadcast or not, it merely gives the viewer the ability to view a wide range of TV series, documentaries, music videos and movies whenever they want to watch them. Providers usually charge for using the service although if the viewer is subscribed to a certain package or deal then it can be free.

Digital cameras and film cameras are the only two types of camera used to produce TV material. Digital camera have become more common use in the filming industry because of their advancement from film cameras. The differences are as follows:

Digital Camera

• Higher quality
• All the film is captured onto a simple SD memory card
• An SD card can take in more footage than a tape
• SD card can be reused
• Becoming more common to use in filming so they are cheaper
• Easy to use
• Quick to set up and are compact

Film Camera

• Lower quality
• Film is captured on tape
• Tape can only hold so much film
• Tapes cannot be reused and are easy to damage which can ruin the film
• Used only by skilled film makers
• More expensive
• Not very compact because they are more delicate

The succession of the digital camera has meant that editing pieces of film is simpler because it can all be saved from the SD card to the computer. The editor can simply choose what shots they need using the timing on the camera, all they have to do it enter the time code into the computer's editing software and the computer recognises exactly what part of the video needs to be uploaded onto the system, this is much more time efficiant when they have plenty of footage to edit but don't want to waste their time by having to go through it all on the computer cutting it out bit by bit.