Traditionally, television viewers had limited leeway as to what they could do with their set, such as change channels and raise or lower the volume. But this is changing into a dynamic and participative relationship in which users can request a particular movie, obtain personalised information or have access to a series of services. The television of the future is only taking its first baby steps.

The first digital television broadcasts were carried out via satellite, followed by cable operators. Joining these two technologies in April 2002 was land-based digital television, whose installation in Spain will be completed in 2012. It will take the new television to all Spanish households. This means all current television channels will by law have to adapt to the new technology and stop broadcasting in analogue fashion. Rather, they will do so digitally. It is what is known in Spain as the analogue blackout and when it happens, television as we know it will come to an end. All viewers will receive - absolutely free and with no need to change their current antennas - television images of a quality similar to that offered by a movie on DVD, as well as other features like panoramic format, digital surround-sound and subtitled movies in their original version.

The key is called interactivity
But the main contribution of digital television is to allow the viewer and broadcaster to interact. While with traditional television the audience played a totally passive role as they sat in front of the TV sets, the new technology will feature a return channel that gives viewers the possibility of taking on an active role and using their screen to access a variety of services, such as surfing the Internet, doing bank transactions or shopping. Digital platforms like Canal Sat�lite Digital, V�a Digital and Quiero TV were the pioneers in Spain in offering interactive services. Their past and present subscribers know what it is like to choose a movie or football game in the pay-per-view mode, buy theatre tickets, check their bank balance or reserve a table in a restaurant. With land-based digital television, there will be many more of these services. Viewers will personalise their programming with a view to their tastes and the time they have available to watch TV: they will be able to choose what time they want to see a particular program (so long as it is not broadcast live), repeat a given scene as many times as they want, or recover old episodes of their favourite series.

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Commercials won't be the same, either. For example, when a car ad comes on, viewers can choose to see its interior, a list of technical specifications and even find out where the closest dealership is. In the same way, while watching a football game or a movie, they will be able to request information on a given actor or player and even play the Spanish football lottery by filling out the form with their remote control.

Intelligent decoders
To receive this new kind of TV customers will have to acquire a decoder similar to the ones used now by people who subscribe to digital television. Their job is to decode digital signals that arrive through the antenna and convert them into the analogue format so they can be viewed on the television set. Many manufacturers will probably incorporate these decoders into the sets.

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Several consumer electronics manufacturers such as Samsung, Philips, Sony and Panasonic have already begun to market video-like devices which, besides acting as a decoder, allow users to record hours and hours of digital programming thanks to a hard disk with a capacity similar to that of a computer, and model for connecting to the Internet. People who buy these devices will be able to view digital broadcasts on state and regional channels, although without all the new features planned for the future.

Technological novelty:
Samsung VP-D5000i video camera
Although it may look like a video camera that came out years ago, it is quite a novelty on the market and is the first in the world that turns into a complete digital camera, with 4.13 megapixels of resolution. All you have to do is turn it around and change the lense. As for features, highlights include its 2-inch LCD screen, 800 pixel CCD, 10x optic zoom, 800x digital zoom, integrated flash and slot for a memory stick. It is an ideal solution for those who want the best of both worlds in one camera.
Price: 1,499 euros