AUDIOVISUAL: EUROPE PAVES THE WAY FOR HDTV.

The secret of this new generation TV is its resolution, which is five times higher than PAL, the most common standard in Europe today. As a consequence, both the sound and the image are of a much higher quality, with more contrasts and details in a 16:9 widescreen format. Electronic pundits are already rubbing their hands in glee. Television viewers, however, will need to replace their entire systems, including televisions, decoders, video cameras and all other recording equipment.

Between 70% and 80% of all televisions sold today in Japan are high definition (HD), while in the US the figure is nearer 40%, but Europe could catch up very quickly. Fumio Ohtsubo, one of the directors of the Japanese group Panasonic, predicts that approximately 15 million HDTVs will have been sold in Europe by 2008, adding that the machines with the "HD ready" logo are already available. Despite having a section of Ifa dedicated to HDTV, manufacturers know that a good quality image and excellent sound will not be enough to sell the product. Content is also important and the different TV channels are only now deciding where they stand on the subject.

In Germany, privately owned channel ProSiebenSat.1 will soon begin transmitting two HD channels via satellite. Some of the programmes will not have been produced in HD, however, and the group said it would wait until the end of 2006 before making a decision on whether to extend its HD transmissions to cable and terrestrial services. Premiere will launch three HD channels (films, sport and documentaries) by satellite on November 19, with cable following next year. The...