|
The expertise of School
of Communications faculty member Connie Book in the area of digital
television was featured in a Dec. 13 interview with Raleigh News
& Observer reporter Thad Ogburn and in a Feb. 4 article in the
new incarnation of Life magazine - now a weekly newspaper insert
similar to the old standby Parade Magazine.
The News & Observer
piece was headlined "Book Aims to Give Viewers Clear Picture
on TVs: Q&A with Connie Book, communications professor at Elon University."
Ogburn mentions Book's
text "Digital Television: DTV and the Consumer," which was inspired
by her research. Following is a segment of the interview:
Q. What
do you think the future will hold for TV?
A. The
Japanese just showed for the first time ultra-high-definition TV.
It's a virtual experience. Imagine feeling like you're at a NASCAR
race without leaving your living room. ... We're probably about
15 or 16 years away from ultra-high-definition TV being available
to U.S. consumers.
Q. What's
your advice for picking the best TV today?
A. I
tell people to look at two different areas - where you want to put
the TV and what you are going to watch. Location will determine
whether you want an old-style "tube" TV, a projection screen or
a panel TV, like a plasma screen. ... As far as what you watch,
if you are a big movie buff or you like prime-time TV ... it would
be worth your money to invest in high-definition. Most of those
shows are broadcast in high-definition. But if you mainly like to
watch the news or home-and-garden shows, most of those aren't in
HDTV.
Q. Are
DVDs high-definition?
A. Actually,
they are enhanced-definition. High-definition takes so much bandwidth
it's not available now on DVD. Maybe next year.
Q. As
part of your research, you and your students found that salespeople
aren't always knowledgeable about the TVs they sell. Talk about
that.
A. Nine
out of 10 times, the salespeople weren't able to accurately provide
correct information. ... The people who do the best job tend to
be those at local companies. ... Some other stores don't have aggressive
training programs for their employees.
|
