High-definition television (HDTV) in the United States was introduced in 1998 and has since become increasingly popular and dominant in the television market. Hundreds of HD channels are available in millions of homes and businesses both terrestrially and via subscription services such as satellite, cable and IPTV. HDTV has quickly become the standard, with about 85% of all TVs used being HD as of 2018. In the US, the 720p and 1080i formats are used for linear channels, while 1080p is available on a limited basis, mainly for pay-per-view and video on demand content. Some networks have also begun transmitting content at 1080p via ATSC 3.0 multiplex channels, with CBS and NBC affiliates being the main stations that transmit at 1080p.
Proposals and introduction The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began soliciting proposals for a new television standard for the U.S. in the late 1980s and later decided to ask companies competing to create the standard to pool their resources and work together, forming what was known as the Grand Alliance in 1993.
On July 23, 1996, WRAL-TV (the then CBS affiliate in Raleigh, North Carolina; now affiliated with NBC) became the first television station in the United States to broadcast a digital television signal.History of WRAL Digital
HDTV sets became available in the U.S. in 1998 and broadcasts began around November 1998. The first public HDTV broadcast was of the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery and John Glenn's return to space; that broadcast was made possible in part by the Harris Corporation. The first commercial broadcast of a local sporting event in HD was during Major League Baseball's Opening Day on March 31, 1998, the Texas Rangers against the Chicago White Sox from The Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, TX. The telecast was produced by LIN Productions, and overseen by LIN Productions president and Texas Rangers television executive producer Lee Spieckerman. The game was also the inaugural telecast on the digital channel of Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas NBC affiliate KXAS channel 5. The event was simultaneously shown via satellite at a reception attended by members of congress, the FCC and members of the industry in Washington, DC. This telecast was also the first commercial HD broadcast in the state of Texas. The first major sporting event broadcast nationwide in HD was Super Bowl XXXIV, broadcast by ABC on January 30, 2000. By the 2014–15 season every network show producing new episodes had transitioned to high definition.
Satellite and cable
Satellite television companies in the United States, such as Dish Network and DirecTV, started to carry HD programming in 2003. Satellite transmissions in the U.S. use various forms of PSK modulation. A separate tuner is required to receive HD satellite broadcasts.
Cable television companies in the U.S. generally prefer to use 256-QAM to transmit HDTV. Many of the newer HDTVs with integrated digital tuners include support for decoding 256-QAM in addition to 8VSB for OTA digital. Cable television companies started carrying HDTV in 2003.
Currently, HD programming is carried by all major television networks in nearly all DMAs, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, The CW, MyNetworkTV, Telemundo, Univision, and UniMás; and on many independent stations. All but a select few of cable networks offer an HD broadcast to cable and satellite companies.
HD programming on broadcast channels and premium content providers such as HBO and Showtime had Dolby Digital 5.1.
List of current American high-definition channels
Name First-launched HD service HD Format Letterbox/Pillarbox Category Type A&E 1080iN/A Entertainment Cable ABC 720pPillarbox (2001–2016)Letterbox (2016–present) Broadcast AccuWeather Network 1080iN/A News Cable Adult SwimPillarbox (2007–2013)Letterbox (2013–present) Entertainment AltitudeN/A Sports - Regional AMC2008 Entertainment American Heroes ChannelN/A Animal Planet2007 Lifestyle AT&T SportsNet 1080p Sports – Regional ASPiRE 1080i Entertainment AWE 1080i LifestyleAXS TV EntertainmentAzteca Broadcast – Spanish BroadcastBBC America Entertainment Cable BBC World News News beIN Sports 720p Sports beIN Sports en Español Sports – Spanish BET2008 1080i Entertainment BET HerMarch 23, 2011 Big Ten Network 720p Sports - College Bloomberg TV 1080i News Boomerang (TV network) 720p Family Bravo 1080i Lifestyle Cars.TV Sports Cartoon NetworkPillarbox (2007–2013)Letterbox (2013–present) Family CBSPillarbox (1998–2018)Letterbox (2018–present) Broadcast CBS Sports Network Sports Cable Cinemax (MoreMax, ActionMax, ThrillerMax, 5starMax, MovieMax, OuterMax, MaxLatino) Premium Movies Premium CMT N/A Entertainment Cable CNBC Pillarbox (2007-2014) Letterbox (2014-present) News CNN Comedy Central Pillarbox (2009-2018) Letterbox (2018-present) Entertainment Comedy.TV Cooking Channel Lifestyle Crime & Investigation Network 720pPillarbox Entertainment The CW 1080i Broadcast DaystarN/A 720p Religion Cable Destination America 1080i Lifestyle Discovery Channel Entertainment Discovery en Español Spanish Discovery Familia Spanish Discovery Family Family Discovery Life Lifestyle Disney Channel720pPillarbox (2008–2017)Letterbox (2017–present)Family Disney JuniorPillarbox (2012–2017)Letterbox (2017–present) Disney XDPillarbox (2009–2017)Letterbox (2017–present) E! 1080iLifestyle Epix (Epix 2, Epix Hits) Premium Movies ES.TV Entertainment Cable ESPN 720p Sports ESPN2 ESPNews ESPNU ESPN Deportes Sports – Spanish EVINE Live 1080i Shopping FM Music Cable Food Network Lifestyle Fox 720pPillarbox (2004–2007)Letterbox (2007–present) Broadcast Fox Business Network News Cable Fox DeportesN/A Sports – Spanish Fox News Channel News FS1N/A Sports FS2 Fox Soccer Plus Fox Sports Networks (All Networks) Sports – Regional Freeform Family Fuse 1080i Music FX 720p Entertainment FXM Movies FXX Entertainment FYI Lifestyle Great American Family 1080i Family GAC Living Lifestyle Galavisión Spanish Gol TV Sports – Spanish Golf Channel Sports Game Show Network Entertainment Hallmark ChannelN/A Family Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Movies HBO (HBO2, HBO Comedy, HBO Family, HBO Latino, HBO Signature, HBO Zone) Premium Movies Premium HDNet Movies Movies Cable HGTVPillarbox (2008-2013) Letterbox (2013-present) Lifestyle History Entertainment HLN News HSN Shopping HSN 2 IFC Movies Investigation DiscoveryN/A Entertainment Ion 720p Broadcast Justice CentralN/A 1080i News Cable Lifetime Lifestyle LMN Logo TV Magnolia Network MASN (MASN2) Sports – Regional Racer Network Sports Mega TV Broadcast – Spanish MGM HD Movies Premium Midco Sports NetworkN/A Sports – Regional Cable Minnesota Channel Entertainment Broadcast MLB Network 720p Sports Cable MLB StrikeZone Motor Trend 1080i The Movie Channel (The Movie Channel Xtra) Premium Movies Premium MoviePlex (IndiePlex, RetroPlex) MSG (MSG Plus, MSG Western New York) Sports – Regional Cable MS NOW News MTV Entertainment MTV2 MTV Live Music MyDestination.TVN/A Lifestyle MyNetworkTV 720p Broadcast Nat Geo Wild Lifestyle Cable National Geographic Entertainment NBA TV 1080i Sports NBCPillarbox (1999–2002)Letterbox (2002–present) Broadcast NBC Sports Regional Networks Sports – Regional Cable Universo Spanish NESN Sports – Regional Newsmax TV News NewsNationN/A NFL Network Sports NFL RedZone NHL Network Nick at NitePillarbox (2007-2020)Letterbox (2020-present) Family Nickelodeon Nicktoons Pillarbox (2013–2020)Letterbox (2020–present) Nick Jr. Channel One America News Network News Outdoor Channel Sports Ovation Lifestyle OWN Oxygen Pac-12 Network Sports – College Paramount Network Entertainment PBSBothBroadcast Pets.TVN/A LifestyleCable Playboy TV Adult PopN/A Lifestyle QVC Shopping Recipe.TVN/A Lifestyle Reelz 720p Entertainment Revolt 1080i MusicRFD-TVLifestyle Science Lifestyle SEC Network 720p Sports - College ShortsTV 1080i Movies Showtime (Showtime 2, Showcase, Showtime Extreme, SHO×BET, Showtime Next, Showtime Women) Premium Movies Premium Smithsonian Channel Lifestyle Cable SNY Sports – Regional Sony Movie Channel Movies Spectrum SportsNet LA Sports – Regional Spectrum SportsNetN/A Sportsman Channel Sports Starz (Starz Comedy, Starz Edge, Starz Kids and Family, Starz InBlack, Starz Cinema) Premium Movies Premium Starz Encore (Starz Encore, Starz Encore Action, Starz Encore Black, Starz Encore Classic, Starz Encore Suspense) SundanceTV Movies Cable Syfy Entertainment TBSPillarbox (2007–2010)Letterbox (2010–present) TCM Movies Telemundo Broadcast – Spanish Broadcast TeenNick2016 Family Cable Tennis Channel Sports TLC Lifestyle TNT Entertainment Travel ChannelN/A Lifestyle truTV Entertainment TUDN Sports – Spanish TV Land Family TV One Entertainment UniMás Broadcast – Spanish Broadcast Univision Broadcast – Spanish Broadcast UP tvN/A Family Cable UPNN/A USA Network Entertainment Viceland Lifestyle VH1 Entertainment The WBN/A Family WE tvN/A Lifestyle The Weather Channel News WeatherNation TV World Fishing Network Sports YES Sports – Regional
See also
Big Three television networks Cable television in the United States Communications in the United States Fourth television network List of television stations in the United States List of United States pay television channels List of United States over-the-air television networks List of United States television markets Satellite television in the United States Television in the United States Television news in the United States United States cable news
References