1. Unit 8 Assignment 4 Stefan Constantinou
How has technology in TV and Film changed and what has been the impact of these
changes for audiences and producers of film and TV?
TV
Netflix
Netflix started its subscription service in 1999; by 2009 it was offering a collection of over 100,000 titles
and greatly surpassed 10 million subscribers, by November 2013 they recorded 33.1 million U.S
subscribers. This is excluding the millions of subscribers in other countries Netflix is served, such as
Canada, South America, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands and other European countries. An
advantage of this is having users subscriptions in numerous countries is widening the target audience and
allowing more people so pay monthly for this subscription, therefore benefiting the producers. However,
a disadvantage would be Netflix not allowing certain countries not being able t play certain content as it
must stay inside the USA. For example, a new episode of Breaking Bad may be out on Netflix in America,
but in the UK it may take a little longer to be released. Streaming Netflix is available in all these countries,
however, something that has stayed consistent is that rentals of DVDs and Blu Rays is strictly in the
United States, where it was founded. Before 2008, there was a restriction that Netflix had so they could
ensure they make more money where rental-disc subscribers were given access at no additional charge.
However, they were allowed roughly one hour of streaming per dollar spent on their monthly
subscription. For example, a $16.99 monthly plan entitled the subscriber to 17 hours of streaming media.
In January 2008, this restriction was lifted allowing rental-disc subscribers to stream an unlimited amount
with no additional cost. This restriction was lifted because Netflix were evidently doing very well and
thought it would bring in more customers and widen the target audience if it was easier and cheaper to
stream television shows. Netflix has become available to view not only on a laptop/computer, but a
variety of different devices such as PS3, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Roku 2. 0. For the audience, an
advantage is that all the content is on demand which makes people want to subscribe. However, a
disadvantage would be that you need Wi-Fi for this to work and dependent on the country you’re in you
may not have the content you want (it’s geoblocked). For the producer, an advantage would be them
advertising and bringing in more customers through their monthly subscriptions. Word of mouth is
another way people come to know about Netflix which benefits them greatly. However, a disadvantage
would be people having different accessibility to watch it. For example, someone may have a smart TV
and is able to watch it in their living room and easily.
HD
The first HDTV’s were considered to be in 1936, this was purely in comparison to other earlier systems.
The first official transmission in Europe for HDTV was to broadcast the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The
matches were even shown in cinemas in Italy and Spain. In December 2009, the United Kingdom was the
first European country to deploy HDTV content to a public audience. This has become beneficial toward
producers because it would involve people eventually paying for subscriptions to watch this exclusive
content. It is also beneficial to the audience as they can now watch their favourite shows in better quality.
As of December 2013, Freeview HD, a popular box used in the UK to watch television cheaply, contains
10 HD channels. This was one of the first HDTV services offered which is very popular and has changed
the way we watch television. The impact HDTV has brought is amazing, purely because that being able to
watch television from our own homes is fantastic enough, but being able to watch it in high definition is
phenomenal. An advantage of HDTV is better picture quality due to higher resolution this means a wider
screen makes the picture-quality more obvious in comparison to a standard-sized one. Overall, it’s a
better picture. Also, an excellent quality of sound gives HDTV an advantage as it makes it clearer and
more enjoyable for the audience. A major disadvantage of high definition TV is the price as they are
currently the most expensive HDTV technology. As well as resulting from still images and they generate
more heat than any other TV technology, this is an economical factor.
How Mobile Phones/iPads are being used
The first iPad to be released was in April 2010, it can do things most mobile phones can do, such as
shoot video, take photos, play music, go online; except make phone calls. Mobile phones updated from
2G to 3G in 2001 which means connecting and networking was a lot simpler.

2. Unit 8 Assignment 4 Stefan Constantinou
How has this changed since 2000 to now and what impacts has it had?
What changes have occurred and how does that affect the audience and/or producer?
What advantages and/or disadvantages are there for audiences and producers?
EXAMPLES
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix
http://seekingalpha.com/article/265310-netflix-q1-earnings-up-88-percent-adds-3-m-subscribers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television
http://uk.ask.com/question/what-are-the-disadvantages-of-hdtv
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_HDTV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad