CABLE'S PROGRAMMING VARIETY BREAKS THE MUNDANE; EMERGING TECHNOLOGY PUTS CONTROL IN THE HANDS OF THE VIEWER

A little known fact about cable television is that it has been around as long as broadcast television. When broadcast television became a reality in the mid-to-late 1940s, some areas of the country could not receive the line-of-sight broadcast signals due to geographic interference: mountains, buildings, etc. One enterprising gentleman, Robert Tarlton, knew of a better way.

He climbed the hilly terrain of his native Pennsylvania to the highest point, planted the biggest antennae he could find to pick up what signals he could, and proceeded down the mountain laying miles of cable behind him. With amplifiers to clean the weak signal, he began wiring homes with this cable (for a substantial fee: $130 for installation and a $3 monthly charge for three channels).

Not much has changed in the basic principle of cable television; there are still master antennae, amplifiers to clean and strengthen weak signals, and a coaxial cable that wires homes with distant television signals. What has changed drastically is programming, and the technology that changed the way television signals are distributed and received.

Just as the first cable television system provided homes with just a small dose of news and entertainment programming, the emerging technologies of cable television may make it possible for any system to have 150 channel capacity, as well as interactive cable capabilities.

The distinction between cable and broadcast television is that cable is free from the constraints of the electromagnetic spectrum (the assigned "over-the-air" frequency of television signals), which bounce around off the ionosphere. Cable is an encapsulated broadband transmission technology and distribution system, that is, it can consistently amplify linearly over a wide range of frequencies, specifically in the megahertz bandwidth, through a coaxial copper cable. This relay mechanism, the coaxial cable, provides customers with programming.

The present cable system in Cape Girardeau has a capacity of 300 megahertz, which means that there can be no more than 36 channels on this present system. But today's technology could take a 36 channel system and digitally compress the megahertz bandwidth within a given channel and literally triple the channel capacity. Digital video compression is one emerging technology that is providing opportunity to existing coaxial cable systems.

Another technology that looks even more attractive than digital compression is fiber optical transmission. A highly pure hair-thin glass fiber, fiber optical transmission relays information in the form of light. The range of information that can be relayed includes computer data, voice, and video images. Though not a new technology, cable is finally seeing its potential. The reasons are simple. Fiber optical transmission is inexpensive (compared to coaxial cable): optical fibers are thinner than human hair, electrical interference is eliminated, and it provides unlimited bandwidth and can deliver an unlimited channel capacity. These technologies could make the home computer, the television, and the telephone an all encompassing medium.

The increase in channel capacity may be good news to consumers who find the current fare mundane. Many cable networks envision 150 channels of programming with spinoffs of current cable networks. Home Box Office (HBO) is testing a three-channel multiplex service that offers a variety of movies, sports, and comedy but on distinct channels. Music Television (MTV) is also planning three different channels of a different musical genre. Disney, Ted Turner, The Discovery Channel, are all trying to cover whatever void is not yet filled.

Skeptics say it will never happen. There is neither the interest on the part of the consumer, nor the capital to back the needed programming. And who could afford a 150 channel cable bill?

The only area that shows great promise for consumers of wired cable television is the advent of interactive cable tv. Interactive technologies could make televisions act as a sender as well as a receiver. Home-shopping, bill-paying, automatic-banking, voting, and watching first-run theatrical films are just some of the services that interactive cable offers.

Interactive capabilities may also provide the customer with a "pick and choose" type of system, only selecting what programming you want, and only paying for what programming you select. The technology will pressure both the cable and broadcast industries to "supply the demand" of its customers.

Existing laws prohibit local governments from regulating the cost and the programming services of cable tv systems.

Proposed legislation by the Senate would give some rate regulatory control to local governments but not for programming. Some costs may be regulated, which may be better than nothing, but the type of programs viewers want to watch will be left to the discretion of the cable system.

The emerging technologies have the potential of putting the control of wired cable television into the hands of the cable customer, as long as that control is centered around the demand of the customer and not by the forced supply of any cable system.

Jim Dufek, Phd., is TV Operations Manager at Southeast Missouri State University.