Glenn Reitmeier Component Digital Video Interface Now by the Time Testing Was Completed, All Used Worldwide

of a job that would allow Reitmeier to ing would determine the winner. Sarnoff apply advanced signal processing to TV. couldn’t pass up the challenge.

IGNITING CHANGE

“I can’t say enough about the personal attention of the faculty and their dedication to

Sarnoff also would send him to the University of Pennsylvania for his master’s.
An early prophet of digital TV, Reitmeier was tapped to lead the devel-
Reitmeier hit the ground digitizing. He opment of the Advanced Digital HDTV helped develop the architecture and soft- system for Sarnoff and its consortium ware for one of the ﬁrst computer systems partners: Philips, Thomson and NBC. for digitizing video; picked up his ﬁrst pat- Competing against the calendar and new ent for picture resizing for digital video digital approaches from such titans as effects; and contributed to experiments AT&T and MIT, Reitmeier’s team worked that led to the adoption of a standard for feverishly to build their prototype.

Villanovans contributing to the community

teaching.”

— Glenn Reitmeier

component digital video interface now

By the time testing was completed, all

used worldwide. This pace never slack- analog proposals had been eliminated, ened in Reitmeier’s 25 years at Sarnoff. since they couldn’t send HDTV in a single His collaboration and leadership in digi- over-the-air TV channel. But surprisingly, Their achievement earned the Grand tal video research, consumer electronics none of the four digital entries was victori- Alliance companies an Emmy Award.

and other technologies earned Reitmeier ous. Each had strengths and weaknesses.

Since 2002, Reitmeier has guided NBC

the industry’s respect—and his children’s. In a show of remarkable cooperation, the Universal’s technical efforts regarding As youngsters, his son and daughter had competitors joined forces to develop the technical standards, policy, commercial asked, “Dad, what do you do for your job?” optimal system. The “HDTV Grand Alli- agreements and anti-piracy operations. To answer, Reitmeier (who is married to ance” succeeded. Its prototype was put to From launching NBC’s ﬁrst HDTV cable Elaine Bourcet Reitmeier ’78 LAS) played the test and passed with ﬂying, digital, channel to driving the creation of the

show-and-tell. He’d helped to develop a high-deﬁnition colors.

mobile broadcast standard, he has con-

TV graphical-user-interface approach for In 1996, the FCC approved the result- tinued to ignite technological change. A on-screen controls and remote-control ing ATSC Digital Television Standard, big reason he excels is his “top-notch” navigation. “I pointed to the volume the world’s ﬁrst standard for digital TV Villanova education. “I can’t say enough slider on the screen. ‘I do that.’” It was and HDTV transmission. All US TV about the personal attention of the fac-

grounds for coolest-dad bragging rights.

stations use it, and more than 75 percent ulty and their dedication to teaching.”

of homes have at least one HDTV set.

I want my HDTV

The Grand Alliance’s work set technical

Good vibrations

No collaboration showcased Reitmeier’s precedents for DVD and Blu-ray Discs; ingenuity as much as the one that revolu- digital cable and satellite TV delivery; tionized TV. In the late 1980s, a Federal and video streaming over the Internet. Communications Commission advisory committee called for proposals for the my career,” Reitmeier says. “We overcame TV system of the future. Rigorous test- rivalries and defied skeptics’ predictions.”
Nor can Reitmeier say enough about the Villanova Singers. A vocalist and guitarist, Reitmeier had belonged to the all-male ensemble and directed the subset the Spires. He was famous for his Beach Boys medley and other arrangements. “Glenn was creative and technically impressive,” says Bob Crowley ’79 VSB, co-founder and managing partner of the Mustang Group. “You could throw anything at him, and he would figure it out.”
“The Grand Alliance was a high point in
Glenn Reitmeier ’77 didn’t know his And he was one of the elite engineers at decision would change his life. The senior the center of a high-stakes episode in the Electrical Engineering major just wanted annals of telecommunications: the race to to enroll in the new course because the develop digital high-definition TV. subject intrigued him. Plus, it meant he’d

Setting the

Reitmeier stays close to past and present “Brothers in Song.” He’s a regular at the annual July Fool’s Party, hosted by Bill “Ippi” Ippolito ’72 LAS, and at events sponsored by the Villanova Singers Legacy Society, which has raised more than $250,000 for the ensemble. For Reitmeier, this personal grand alliance, rooted in the love of music rather than professional interests, balances out his life. “It is an important part of who I am as a person.” Tom Bucaria ’80 LAS, a state attorney for the New York State Uniﬁed Court System, couldn’t agree more. “To me, Glenn will always be the guy with the infectious smile and funky guitar strap.”  be taught by his beloved mentor, S.S. Let’s get digital

Standard

Rao, PhD, department chair. Dr. Rao was The Trenton, N.J., native arrived on Villatough, no doubt about it. Still, the payoff nova’s campus with a guitar on his back was worth the head-scratching. “If you and plans to study chemical engineering. could pass his tests, you really understood Those plans soon evaporated. Introduced

Digital TV pioneer Glenn Reitmeier ’77 COE has

the material,” Reitmeier says.

to computer programming in a freshman

But adding “digital signal processing” to engineering course, he was irresistibly his glowing resume brought Reitmeier an drawn to digital technology.

built his career on technological innovation

even bigger payoff. It launched him on a

When he started his job hunt, Reitmeier

career path now studded with innovation sent a cold cover letter to the David milestones. The senior vice president, Sarnoff Research Center, RCA’s famed Technology Standards and Policy, at NBC research and development facility, in Universal, Reitmeier holds more than 50 Princeton, N.J. His credentials, including patents. He has earned prestigious awards his Dr. Rao course, landed him an interfor his visionary work in the TV industry. view. In 1977, he accepted Sarnoff’s offer

By Suzanne Wentzel

Left: Glenn Reitmeier ’77 COE received an Emmy Award for helping to develop digital HDTV. Above: Reitmeier (with guitar, right) poses with the Spires for the 1977 Belle Air Yearbook.

32 VILLANOVA MAGAZINE

FALL 2013

VILLANOVA.EDU 33