HDTV: What's On, What's Next

In and Out of HD

For now, you have to find out whether what you really want to watch is available in HD at all--and if so, which provider is offering it. Remember, you might have to live for years with the expensive hardware and service choices that you make today.

For instance, if you love movies and are eager to minimize the monthly fees you'll be paying, satellite service may be your best bet. On the other hand, if your passion is local sports, you'll want cable because at the moment satellite services can't dish up some key games--though that should begin changing soon.

What's not available in HD yet may disappoint some people. Most popular prime-time series are available in high definition. But there are glaring exceptions such as Scrubs on NBC, Wired and Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO, and The Simpsons on Fox. And if you're a news junkie, beware: Bickering talking heads rarely appear in HD.

Crazy for powerful engines, whether internal combustion or warp drive? You're out of luck: Neither Speed Channel nor Sci Fi Channel is available in HD yet. And like many other cable channels, they may not go HD for another couple of years.

Both cable and satellite deliver made-for-HD channels like HD Net and INHD, along with high-definition versions (called simulcasts) of premium channels such as HBO and Showtime. Many of the simulcasts, however, are a patchwork of analog and HD programming, with the proportion of HD growing. But while some high-definition shows are original productions, others are transferred from film and older video, which videophiles generally consider to be poorer in quality.

HBO telecasts approximately 80 percent of its current schedule in high definition, including boxing and most of its original dramas, from The Sopranos to Deadwood. At Showtime, all of the current scripted series now show in high def, as do prizefights that originate domestically.

All High-Def, All the Time

Today you can count 17 so-called 24/7 national HD networks, including Discovery HD Theater and ESPN HD. Some of these, such as HDNet, actually do broadcast all-HD, all the time. But a network with "HD" in its name may not offer nonstop high-definition programs. ESPN's signature SportsCenter show has been telecast in HD since last June, but both ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD (launched in early 2005) include standard-definition analog programming. Altogether, ESPN's two high-definition networks expect to show about 2000 programs (totaling 6000 hours of viewing time) in HD this year.

At least six more HD services are on the horizon. For foodies, high-def satisfaction is about a year away. Soon Food Network, HomeA & Garden Television, Fine Living, and DIY (Do-It-Yourself Network) will create test programs shot in HD, for an HD-only network that Scripps plans to launch in late 2005 or 2006, says John Lansing, president of Scripps Networks. The Outdoor Channel is scheduled to launch in HD this year, too.