BITS, BIG SCREENS, AND BIOLOGY

High definition television (HDTV) has dramatically improved the consumer viewing experience. As such, despite its hunger for precious bandwidth, increased HD programming continues to be a key industry objective. However, as evidenced by the exhibits and technology on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this past January, today’s HD, is just a step in the progression of consumer video. In addition, today’s video processing and delivery is also undergoing significant change. In this paper, we will explore new generations of HD video and the innovative enabling technologies that will support them. We then roll-up the components and project their impact to network architecture. Specifically, we will consider advanced formats, beyond just emerging 1080p60 (blu-ray) HD. Recognizing the expectation of a very long HFC lifespan, we will quantify how QFHD (aka 4k) and even proposed “Super Hi-Vision, ” or UHDTV, stack up for consumer services. We will assess practical and human factors, including those associated with HD-capable second screens, such as tablets. We will quantify physiological variables to the optimization of the video experience, such as personal through immersive screen sizes, viewing environment, and high frame-rate television. On the encoding side, we discuss H.26