North Carolina People; Tom Howe, Director and General Manager, UNC-TV

Good evening ladies and gentleman. Welcome to North Carolina people night. This is a special discussion this evening because we're going to talk about an impending revolution in television something you're going to be very interested in talking with me is a man who knows it all. Executive head of university television was. We'll talk with him in North Carolina people is brought to you by walkover banking investments and financial services for individuals businesses and corporations. Kovio. We are here. Let's get started. First let me congratulate you on this wonderful fun drive you just had festival night in and it was great to see 27000 North Carolinians ready to support the network with it.

It's always an exhilarating time to my own eight hundred seventy three thousand six hundred dollars from over 27000 people. It's always just a great time for all of us to work in public television to have that demonstration of support of what we do. It's long the hours are long and the days are hard but they all come to a glorious day and yes it's a long campaign but we do just want to year here in North Carolina. We're very proud of that. I were I last work we did five pledge drives a year and so it's a long month but very rewarding one. You've been talking a lot about digital television and. Monday night at the eights. You're going to have out here at the station of the exhibit open to everybody who would come and learn what this is all about. But so we're talking to people before then. What is this. What's happening here. Well we are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission the FCC and we operate our licenses as a privilege not as a right. And the FCC occasionally makes changes in the rules that people who operate television stations have to follow if they want to

continue getting their license because their licenses renewed on a regular basis. And two years ago in April of 1997 the FCC issued a report an order and they ordered all television broadcasters to convert to digital formats depending on the category of station they are under different timetables. For example in the top 10 markets the stations that operate commercially have to be on the air in May of this year and the top 30 markets the commercial stations have to be on in digital by November 1 this year and all public stations and all stations must be operating and digital by May 1 of 2000 and three if they are not operating. And Digital may want to 2003 then they must relinquish their license to broadcast and give up the right to broadcast for 2006 so that there's an inevitable loss to this that there's a D-Day out there. There is in the end the obligation side sounds like a dark cloud. But the other part of this is that this is a wonderful transformation of television that's going to. Bring opportunities that we've never seen before in television it's just a it's going to be a fabulous

instrument to serve digital television a fabulous instrument to serve the American people. When I set out here with you the other day looking at that wonderful screening what actually happens or what's different from people viewing us right now what will be the difference with well digital television. Well there's so many things that are different. But first of all it means that we're operating in digital instead of analog which means basically everything in our industry is transformed to ones and zeros just like the same change that happened in many different industries that converted to digital. But digital television really means a number of things first of all high definition television HDTV that's what's talked about the most and that's a completely different picture than we have today. Different format size 16 by 9 and format the same format as a movie screen versus the current three by four format. It has a much greater resolution and that's very difficult to explain without seeing at but the current television set has about three hundred thousand pixels pixels of the little dots that make up the television screen and the current screen has about

300000 of those. The HDTV screen has two million pixels and so the resolution the color vividness the quality of the picture is overwhelmingly superior to what you see today and I know a lot of people say well the picture of myself Fine I'm happy with it. But when you see HDTV you're transformed by the experience because it's truly spectacular in terms of sound it's 6 6 channel CD quality sound. It will be what all television will be in. But for us high definition television is only one small part of this actually. We think the most exciting part is is first of all the ability to operate a multi channel when we're not doing full blown HD TV. We can operate up to four channels simultaneously. What will they do what with the other three that we are proposing that we have a full time ready to learn channel and children's channel. And what will do with that channel is from midnight to 6:00 a.m. will feed programs to elementary secondary classrooms for

recording a VCR for daytime use then from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. We all have children's programs ready to learn programs. The studies show that 85 percent of American preschool children watch public television regularly before they go to school. And so we know that this is a valued commodity in the home. So being able to do that full time from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. will be a very viable thing. Second channel would be distance learning. We have a partnership project now with community colleges and we have thirteen thousand students enrolled and getting college credit for taking tele courses at home. What does that mean even of the president's. Yes under the present system 12 hours a week is what we're feeding now and we have 13000 students alone. We're proposing that our distance learning channel be on 20 hours a day. So we go from 12 hours a week to 20 hours a day of distance learning I think that could mean as many as 100 thousand two hundred fifty thousand students enrolled in and receiving college credit for courses that they take in their homes. The third channel would be a North Carolina channel where we would provide perhaps C-SPAN type coverage of the General Assembly when it's in session provide

programs like this in greater quantity and provide perhaps a two hour North Carolina now program additional shows that are of particular interest to a North Carolina audience. The third channel would be a traditional public television channel. What that means is during the daytime people would be able to watch the same kind of programs that they watch in the evening. Now if you were an adult and you are living at home during the daytime if you're not going to work then you have no public television available to you during the day you can't watch mystery or Masterpiece Theater or nature or Nova. But with this additional channel we would be able to broadcast traditional public television programs during the daytime so multi channel is a really exciting part of this and perhaps the most exciting part for education is the ability of us to broadcast data. What we mean by that is that people will be able to access data information through the television set in the same way they do now through their computer. We're referring to this is Datacasting and we're going to have a tremendous capacity to deliver data to the television set and the television set will actually store that data for a

limited period of time. Or if you record the program on a VCR you'll be able to access at any time or you'll be able to download the beat information into your computer. So what might this mean. Let's say you're a science teacher and you're watching a Nova program on hurricanes and you're kind of watching it casually and you're doing the dishes and you're thinking holy cow I got a lecture on hurricanes coming up in a couple of weeks. You walk over your TV set a couple of clicks on your remote control and the script from that program could be downloading in your computer or the reference material that was used to write the script or a profile of the producer of the program or the person that's doing the narration or an in-depth exploration of the particular hurricane that's being explored or you can ask about Say you want to know about France and so you do a couple clicks on Fran and that information is right there being delivered with the program so every television program will have data with it. In addition to the audio video program that is truly exciting for education. Listening to it it's a massive change of what we do. I would just take it about three sevenths of the population of the state over a million people

who are past retirement age. This means a wholly new relationship with these people all day long. It will I mean if you think of what's popular now on public television let's take for example cooking shows which is one of our popular strands. If you're watching a cooking program and you want the recipe that is being talked about right then two clicks and it's being downloaded into your computer. So with every bit of content that's being talked about in a television program you'll be able to then access that via data. So either looking at it on your television screen like you would on a computer screen or. Very easily downloading it into your computer and printing it out if you wish filing it if you wish. So it's going to really bring together two things I think that are that are really happening one is the size of the screen and the format of the screen really in a lot of ways brings together television with movies because one of the things that's so attractive about movies is that you the format of the screen and the size of the screen. The other thing is it's going to bring together the computer in the television. So the movie screen

size the movie screen quality combined with the interlacing of computers in television will make this a true transformation. And I think television will become the most powerful educational tool that has ever existed for mankind I think it's going to far exceed what computers have done for us in its capacity. But I watched on your set in here. It looked like I would rather get a helicopter somewhere. They screen definition system and the depth of what you see you almost feel as though you were actually there. Is that one of this been all from digital use that they refine a lot of the process. Well again that's that's because of the clarity of the picture when you go back to that analogy with the pixels with the current set having 300000 pixels in the HD TVs that having 2 million pixels. The resolution is overwhelmingly better than the current set and I know for people watching at home they're watching on a set they're very happy with. But it is really completely different viewing experience and I've yet to have

anyone who sees it who is disappointed by what they see or anyone who says well I'm never going to buy a set because it's just not worth it. Most people are very curious about how much sets are and how much they will be and how quickly this is going to take place but after you've watched HDTV for a while it's very hard to go back to analog television. I don't see how you could really. Especially if you use television the way schools do it as well. How much will he say it's golf. Let's let's the figure that this sets right now sell for 60000. We have a site here that we bought now audio video in Raleigh right off the showroom floor for the eight thousand dollar range in consumer tronics volume drives cost with everything. And so as the public acceptance of this picks up and people buy more sets the costs are going to come down dramatically. Our predictions vary widely but I know that some people think that within five years sets will be a thousand dollars or below and that is a level for what you get with that set well which I think

will be very acceptable the American public in that time will have the early adapters who want to have to have this regardless of the cost of the set. It's difficult to predict but certainly the sets will come down in the thousand dollar range. How much below that they might go is anybody's guess. Now you said earlier that some of these commercial stations are mandated next year or this year are mutual and dear friend Jim Goodwin is usually ahead of the pack with all of these things where is Channel 5 that our neighborhood. Jim Goodman is a pioneer in this whole revolution. He in fact we can all be very proud that our North Carolinians he put the first HD TV station on the air in Raleigh. So he was very first on the air. And if you go down and buy a digital set today and bring home plug it in and you can get in this area you can get high definition television and digital television because they're broadcasting right now they're on the air in fact there's now there's there's other sort of followed him there's 50 markets now that have at least one station operating a digital of course that's going to crease

dramatically this May when the deadline first approaches for the top 10 markets and then it's going to really change dramatically next November when the top 30 markets have to be on their public stations are given a little bit more time. Even though we have two stations that are in the top 30 markets we still have until 2003 so we don't have to meet the deadline of me for November of next year. But how does that affect my set I. I don't own a digital set and I still get Channel 5 programming Rs at a different transmission all stations will be required to sign a cast that means I operate an analog and digital until 2006. So you have an analog set which most of us do you'll be able to receive something on that until 2006. The current proposal is that in 2006 all broadcasters must sign off their analog sets and so than just be the operating in digital unless the households in that market penetration of digital sets hasn't reached 85 percent. So you will sign off your analog government when after 2006 or

whenever the households in that market 85 percent of them have digital sets. When that will be no one is really sure. The good news how much is it going to cost to convert University television to the digital system. Well some people think it's a big number but let me just explain the faces that were in a planning phase now both out of the General Assembly approved a million dollars for a planning which we're intensely doing now make sure that all of our plans are are sound and efficient and effective. We have a projected total cost of sixty two million dollars over a four year period to buy an EMC with about 30 million dollars in each of my own Ameriquest for this plan I'm approved by the Board of Governors is thirty two point seven million. So we're talking about approximately a sixty two point six million dollar total conversion and that is 2 2. Convert both our transmission system and our production facilities. Most of the equipment we have will have to have to be replaced which sounds

ominous but actually in the television business you know when you're looking at this period of time a lot of the equipment would be becoming obsolete or had need to be replaced anyway so it's not like we're wasting equipment that we now have because of this change. In most cases the equipment that will be replaced by digital equipment is equipment that will have had its normal life span span anyway. But when you put the digital structure in you're talking about two or three decades you're actually the one have to replace it except by where there is no dramatic change over in the wings beyond digital to do can for you know no and in fact I think probably if the General Assembly decides to make this appropriation so you can see if you can continue in the future that this will set us up for several decades 20 30 40 years that will be able to operate with. With you know Cajun replacement like we always had but this is a basically rebuild of the whole infrastructure of human CTV which is this kind of rebuild is only going to happen once every 50 years we can't predict what might happen beyond digital

television but television has been around a long time and this is the most significant change that has occurred since the 40s and 30s when television was invented. Analog TVs been here and been developed about as far as it can be in the digital is the revolution that's occurring it's as significant as when television itself was invented perhaps more significant I think that when television converted from black and white to color probably as significant as when FM came along in radio and so it's it this is this is big news when you think about it. We spend about that much money developing the analog television here. That's a station that on the air building buildings and buy equipment it so it's not a non tort thing as well. Let's shift over about it. You were in the inner ring in the new season of programming now what's ahead. Well we've got lots of you say I knew you'd ask me that so I made some notes but we gots a lot of really exciting things coming up one is we've got a program I'm going to mention Monday coming up which

is it's called Lost in the Grand Canyon. And it's it's a high definition television program and since you mentioned our open house I would mention that we're still taking invitations to that. And if people want to come here to our studios and Research Triangle Park we will be playing that program in high definition television. And can I mention the number they can call it. It's 1 800 6 9 3 3 9 3 9. And if they call that number they can reserve tickets and they can come here and see lost in the Grand Canyon in high definition television. So it's a treat. In April we've got a new series coming up on composer great composers which I think for music lovers and lovers of classical music in particular is going to be really special the first two programs in the series are going to be on Mozart and Beethoven So it's a really special series. In May a program that we've waited for a really long time. The American Experience series has brought us so many special moments and one of the special moments that it's brought us is the series on the presidents they profiled many of the great American presidents.

And this series that they're just starting is going to profile American generals U.S. generals. And it's going to start with a very extensive biography of MacArthur. And so for lovers of those American experience programs and for those that are interested in military history it's going to be really special. In June we've got a really special American experience coming up that is going to deal with a section of Australia that is really spectacular in terms of the ancient ancient geography that is there and the ancient nature that is there. In July we also have a series called coming up called Savage seas we had a series called Savage skies that was really well received. And this series is going to be in a very similar way poor portray what happens to the seas when they become turmoil to lessen what they can do to the people that have to deal with that. In August we've got a series coming up called the trio of Mark

Twain. Peter Ustinov following the equator. Mark Twain wrote a book in which he followed the equator No Peter Ustinov is going to go back and trace that journey and in the fall we've got a series on Africa coming up a brand new series in Africa that's really going to special So fortunately PBS continues to really come up with some very very special programs for us all of this in addition to hope masterpiece that it will cost a dragon a star is already knew these are just the new the new landmark shows that are coming along. Give it up all the public affairs to lead Washington weekend that's er. We are launched in Washington we can view as you may have heard went through a period of controversy we've heard from a lot of viewers about. And the replacement of the host of that show and we're very sensitive to that a lot of people are really afraid that. That the integrity of Washington we can review is going to be threatened with this change and we're certainly trying to communicate to the producers that we have a lot of viewers that care very much about preserving Washington we can review the way it is. It's probably the most looked at program. I may put it that way for that kind of

service it's credible. What do you think all this technology is going to do to the viewing habits of people Thomas. It's getting very sophisticated. I want to say to the viewers if you really want to have an experience come up and get lost in the Grand Canyon on Monday night out. That is that is something to see. But it dramatizes how much we are changing that. Do you think this is going to impact the audience that way. Well today the average American household watches seven hours of television every day. The average American female watches four is a day the average American male watches about three. And even more importantly the average American child watches about three hours of television a day that means American child is spending about the same amount of time in front of the television set as they do in the classroom they spend about 25 hours a week in the classroom in about 21 hours a week in front of the TV set. Television it's all pervasive element in our society and I think with digital television this wonderful it is that will be even more common in the future in other words. I think that people will spend even more time in the future watching television now. I can't

really comment on the sociological aspects of that we might all wish that people spent less time watching television but our view is that if they're going to spend that amount of time watching television some of it should be designed for one purpose and that is to enrich their lives to treat them as an end in themselves as opposed to a means to an end. Now commercial television is a very good thing for our society. It's a way of advertisers communicating with people about their products. It's a good important part of our present price system. And in addition to running advertising commercial stations do some good things. But the purpose of commercial television like all businesses is to make a profit. The purpose of public television is to serve the viewer. And we really feel strongly that with the advent of digital television that it's very important the public television be cherished and enriched and protected for the future. There are those that have proposed

that public television solve its financial challenges by running commercials and we are very opposed to that our board of trustees is opposed to that and I am personally opposed to that because I think once you start doing that then you start looking at the viewer differently than we do now. So. Television is going to be even more pervasive part of our of our whole landscape in the future. Perish the thought. But what if we don't get funding. What happens to this war when we operate UN see TV. The board of governors owns our licenses they hold the licenses and we operate it as a privilege. It's just like having a driver's license. It's renewed and without that without that privilege to drive a car without that privilege to operate you cannot operate. What that would mean if the state is not able to make this transformation is that someone else will be operating these licenses I have no doubt that there are a great quantity of institutions out there that would love to operate these licenses even as non commercial entities because it's such a powerful vehicle.

Well put. Let's hope that as a consequence what do we have that of 2007 to get our side order we have we have to be operating in digital. By 2003 3 we have a request in this fandom to the General Assembly for the first phase which is thirty two million dollars for about 15 million dollars a year over the next two years. I'm afraid that if we do not receive that we will not be able to make this deadline. We have a lot of work to do and it's going to be hard to make the deadline even if the money isn't appropriated this year. If it's not appropriate this year I think it's going to be extremely difficult for us to make this deadline. Now there are those that say oh maybe the deadline will be extended Well maybe it will but maybe it won't. And if we don't get started and they don't extend the deadline then we are going to be in serious trouble. Well it's quite clear though that the commercial stations are not going to wait and they get the ad that you just said give good ones already done it. Well this is only the nationwide isn't it. Oh yes 50 stations operating now on top 30 markets will be on and November 1 of this year so for a commercial station this is not a really huge investment for

them commercial stations tend to be very profitable entities in this kind of capital investment particularly since it probably is going to mean people watching even more television for some commercial operators the opery the ability to multicast operate more than one channel is very exciting. More people watching digital television and HDTV. So I think it's very positive things for them and I don't think that they regardless as being anything that's onerous or an affordable at all. So. As we look to the future we can feel very good about this is a marvelous re creation of this medium isn't it. It really is I think enhanced television in particular is going to be something that is going to transform television but high definition television is going to be something that most people will find as being just awesome when they see it. It's going to make the viewing experience so much more enriching in every way both in terms of the educational aspect through enhanced television and the aspect of being able to see just pictures that are just absolutely spectacular. Well Tom we've used up our time I want to thank you so much for this wonderful lesson and what's

going to happen and I want to join you in saying to our viewers how much you and I and everybody associated with university television appreciates their marvelous response to this station and festival. And as Thomas said before we promise you our very best. Good evening. I am

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