ABSTRACT
Motion picture film is a solidly founded technology, it is high in image quality, and it is supported by a large cadre of professionals skilled in its use. In addition to the assets of film as a production medium, there is also an enormous library of programming already produced on film. With due respect to all of the assets of film, video possesses important advantages that have brought it popularity as a production and distribution medium. The film and video industries have been intertwined almost from the beginning of television broadcasting. Broadcast television, cable television, satellite transmission, videocassettes, and DVDs all compete for the audience's attention. After the initial novelty of live television production faded, broadcasters and program producers began working on two immediate problems: the need to time-shift broadcasts across geographic time zones and the need to improve program production values by preparing all or part of the programs in advance under controlled conditions.
