here for a while. Where at least 85% of households have digital sets, federal mandate requires television stations to convert to digital broadcasting by 2007. However, it is not that simple. By 2008, 37 million US households are expected to receive high-definition programming. By 2006, more than 14 million US households are likely to own HDTV capable hardware, up from only 8.7 million by 2004. Those adoption numbers do not appear to justify the FCC's goal of a full transition to the new standard by 2010. Much of HDTV technology is or will be interchangeable with video communication technology. We will want to use cameras, monitors, chips and transmission systems of one for the other. Products such as HDTV WonderTM (www.ati.com), a PCI card analog TV, free-to-air digital TV, and full quality free-to-air HDTV reception, are preparing the PC to become the first HDTV device in many homes. They offer personal video recorder capabilities, with the controls to watch, pause and record all forms of TV to a hard disk, to CD, or to DVD. The interest that HDTV will generate will do wonders for the acceptance of video communication, and the enhanced resolution could foster acceptance. To explore what digital television may do for video communications, in the following chapter, we will address the basics of digital coding and compression. The History and Technology of Analog Video CHAPTER 5 REFERENCES Kerner, Sean Michael. "TV 2.0: HDTV, Program Guide and DVR Outlook." October 13, 2004. http://www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/hardware/article.php/3421201 Colker, David. "Blurred Reception for HDTV." LA Times, January 8, 2005. Abramson, Albert. "Pioneers of Television-Vladimir Kosma-Zworykin," SMPTE Vol. 90, July 1981 pp. 580-590. Bussey, Gordon and Geddes, Keith. "Television, the First Fifty Years," Philips Electronics and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television (Prince's View, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England), 1986, pp. 2-5. Frezza, Bill. "Digital TV limps to the starting line," Network Computing Oct 15, 1996 v7 