ABSTRACT
Conventional TV programmes are transmitted, either terrestrially or via satellite or through cable networks, in an analogue format and viewers have no control over the viewing process. In contrast, digital TV offers higher picture quality and digital sound as well as interactivity - viewers would have control over the picture on the screen by cropping a scene, zooming in on a particular detail or, in the case of sports, for example, choosing which camera angle they want to watch.5 Another aspect, perhaps the most important one, is that fully digitised TV transmission technologies will make the convergence of the computer industry and the TV industry a reality. This would have important implications for the conventional TV broadcasters, electronics manufacturers and consumers. In order not to miss the bandwagon of digital broadcasting, all the major terrestrial broadcasters in the UK have committed themselves to the government's 1996 Broadcasting Act by reserving digital channel space on the condition that they would digitise all of their analogue transmission for digital broadcasting in due course.
