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THE DATA HORIZON: PBS Tackles the Bandwidth Usage Question February 24, 1999 Every major broadcast network plans to deliver high-definition video to major markets during primetime viewing hours, but the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) may be the first with a plan for the rest of the hours in a day. It is not, however, a simple solution. Figuring out what the best product is for primetime may have been a relatively easy process, considering the overwhelming majority of popular broadcast programs during that period are purely entertainment-driven, not news or educational shows. So one could argue couch potatoes looking to unwind from 8 to 11 p.m., or 7 to 10 p.m. in the midwest, would prefer the best quality pictures and sound over interactive programming with data and graphic overlays. But the rest of the day, TV serves many different purposes for the typical home, PBS argues. On its Internet site, the company describes a typical interactive TV day in the near future as providing educational entertainment for pre-schoolers, classes for home-schooled children and teenagers complete with pop-quizzes, and possibly a correspondence college course for mom or dad. During those same non-primetime hours, PBS sees teachers getting new curriculum ideas from an interactive TV program in their classrooms, and business people getting information while they watch the news. That future is not as far off as it may seem. While most of the hype surrounding the broadcasters’ new digital spectrum has centered on high-definition video, PBS’ National Datacast subsidiary has been using broadcast spectrum to deliver limited data services for years. The company sees its access to the new digital spectrum as a way to expand the service’s offerings and its reach. National Datacast currently has agreements with Microsoft Corp. to deliver interactive children’s learning programs, and with WavePhore Inc.’s WaveTop service to broadcast free news, weather, and entertainment data directly to personal computers. Those services are delivered through the vertical blanking interval of current analog PBS broadcast signals. The next step is integrating PBS’ own video programming content with data. PBS has already tested one program that integrated traditional video documentaries with additional data. Ken Burns’ “Frank Lloyd Wright,” broadcast Nov. 10 in HDTV nationwide, included additional data for a group of test viewers in PBS affiliate WETA-Washington’s market. Using computers equipped by Intel Corp. with PC cards, that test group was able to watch the documentary and additional video footage on their computer monitors and download data about the famous architect and his works. Yes, this is the same kind of interactive programming EchoStar Communications Corp. and DirecTv Inc. have been talking about doing with their DBS services. EchoStar plans to have its [name] available in the second quarter, while DirecTv is looking at late this year for its PC product (Satellite Business News, Jan. 15, 1999). The difference is many U.S. homes already have what they need to receive PBS’ interactive programming--off-air antennas--and it will be free initially. PBS could also make its interactive programming available via its national satellite feed, but details on that delivery method are not yet available. PBS is using the information gathered from its “Frank Lloyd Wright” test to tailor future interactive programs and services. In the meantime, it will continue to show at least one HDTV program each month, including “Over Ireland,” a documentary on the Emerald Isle produced by PBS affiliate KCTS-Seattle, slated to air next month. Others coming up include “Fiesta in the Sky,” produced by HD Vision, in April and “Great Performances: A Tribute to Duke Ellington,” produced by PBS affiliate WNET-New York, in May. —Mary Hillebrand WHERE TO FIND OUT MORE: Many PBS affiliates are gearing up for digital TV and data transmissions, with KCTS-Seattle, WETA-Washington, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Mississippi ETV, WMVT-Milwaukee, and KCPT-Kansas City, Mo., leading the way. But each local station is operating on its own timetable. To check out local PBS affiliates and their plans, go to www.pbs.org. OTHER DIGITAL TV BEATS HBO HDTV GETS READY: Titles Coming Up On HBO HDTV March 10, 1999 RESEARCH: The Results Are In, But the Conclusions Are Confusing February 10, 1999   NEW FEES: There Is No Such Thing as Free Spectrum January 27, 1999   CES TV Talk: More Buzz than the Sequins on an Elvis Jacket Jan. 13, 1999   CES: Bright Lights, Big Screens to Hit Las Vegas Dec. 16, 1998   LOCAL EFFORTS: Broadcasters Give Viewers a Push toward TV Purchase November 18, 1998   FIRSTS: Digital TV Broadcasts Hit the Airwaves November 4, 1998   THOMSON'S DBS BRAIN: Channels ARE Plentiful in New Digital TV World October 21, 1998   DECISIONS, DECISIONS: Taking the Plunge into Digital TV October 7, 1998   FIREWIRE: So the Blender Says to the Toaster, He Says... September 23, 1998 They're Here... September 9, 1998   GOT AN IDEA? E-mail it to: general.mail @satbiznews.com WANT TO SPONSOR DIGITAL TV BEAT? 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