Ordinary Gweilo

Still shooting those fish, I’m afraid.

The TV preview section in this week’s Post Magazine makes a rather rash assumption.  NHK & BBC make programmes in High Definition (HD).  TVB broadcast these programmes.  Person in Hong Kong buys HD TV.  Person in Hong Kong is able to watch these programmes in HD.

Well, no they can’t.  TVB and Pearl hope to start HD transmissions later this year, and only in selected areas.  Until then, you’ll be out of luck.

Your television fortune this week says: be unconventional, even visionary. In other words, don’t wait until Christmas to shell out for that 6O·inch widescreen High Definition (HD) television you’ve been ogling all year. The time is now.

HD visual technology was first developed by Nippon Hoso Kyokai [NHK] and was unveiled in 1969. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that it gained a foothold in the mainstream. Now 30 per cent of American homes have at least one HDTV.

What about Hong Kong? Judging by the increase in HD programming on terrestrial TV, perhaps we can expect a substantial TV-hardware overhaul in the near future.

NHK also produces smart, edgy programmes to match its technological innovations. And Coolest Hideouts in Tokyo (TVB Pearl, Friday at 8.30pm) is a great introduction. Positing as both an English language learning tool for Japanese and edgy city guide for gaijin, the show sends a motley trio around town "against terrifying odds … to bring us the best in intercultural communication and entertainment".

The time is not now.  Unless I’m missing something, the sensible thing to do is to wait and buy a TV that is equipped to receive HD signals using the Mainland standard that is being adopted in Hong Kong