DOCSLIB.ORG

HDTV Standards Setting: Politics, Technology, and Industry

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
HDTV Standards Setting: Politics, Technology, and Industry HDTV Standards Setting: Politics, Technology, and Industry David F. Donnelly, Ph.D. Dr. David Donnelly is on the faculty of • Influence they exert in determining the eventual the School of Communication at the degree of success experienced by the innovation. University of Houston. His research and publishing interests include the diffusion of innovations, the social and Typically viewed as an inconsequential part of the cultural impact of technological comparatively unimportant technical prehistory of an change, communication policy, and innovation, the standards-setting process is not merely technological forecasting. He has provided media and Internet consulta- a technological issue. It is, in fact, a complex and tion for numerous private and nonprofit fascinating amalgam of public and private concerns, a organizations and is currently on the nexus of economic, sociological, and political forces. Advisory Board for Recreational Data An examination and analysis of the standards-setting Services, Inc., an Internet publishing firm. He is the author of The Encyclopedia of Television and process yields important information concerning the International Teleconferencing Yearbook 1994, and has published origins of a technology, and helps to provide a fuller, articles in such journals as Communication Research, Informatics, richer understanding of the entire technological and Telematics. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Communications innovation process. This article explores this ne- from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a B.A. in RTVF from the University of Maryland. glected dimension of technological development by examining the standards-setting process connected with high definition television (HDTV). ver the course of the past several decades, we have witnessed a tremendous surge in the Standards O number of communication and information technologies. These technologies have spread Standards can be defined as “technical parameters throughout various facets of our society and have that govern the operation of a piece of equipment or 1 influenced the way we live our lives in many ways. an entire industry.” The establishment of uniform As they have become increasingly integral to our day- standards is particularly critical when complementary to-day existence, our need to understand the phenom- products are required (for example, hardware and enon of technological innovation has become more software configurations) and when interconnections critical. between products are desired. Standardization can The early stages of technological innovation are help to accelerate the diffusion of technological extremely important, though often overlooked. One products, and also help reduce risks for both market particularly important aspect of the early development entrants as well as consumers. On the other hand, the of an innovation involves the establishment of appro- establishment of standards tends to remove the priate technical standards which govern the operation incentives for further development and can stifle of the innovation. This lack of attention is both technological innovation. Moreover, there is always surprising and problematic given the: the possibility that an obsolete standard can become so ingrained that it is difficult to phase in a new one. • Critical role standards can play in the timing of the Standards can therefore serve to prompt or inhibit introduction of an innovation. adoption of a new technology. • Effect they have on the capabilities and nature of The standards-setting process is an intricate the technology. activity. Standards can be established through government actions, via industry coalitions, or through Page 20 1070-3683/95/$3 © 1995 Technology Futures, Inc. 3Q95 New Telecom Quarterly free market competition. Rosen, Schnaars, and Shani impact of advanced television services. The FCC have devised an analytical framework comparing these concurred that the subject merited attention and, on various approaches to standards setting and have August 20, 1987, opened a Notice of Inquiry to con- drawn the following conclusions: “managing stan- sider the technical and public policy issues of ad- dards is preferred to letting the marketplace decide..., vanced television. coalitions generally offer the greater advantages with the fewest negative effects..., active government THE FCC STRATEGY intervention in standard setting is preferable in some To assist them in the process, the FCC chartered situations.”2 the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Within the communication industry, standards are Service (ACATS) on September 30, 1987. The forma- an especially important element in the acceptance and tion of the Advisory Committee differed from the diffusion of a new technology. Several communication traditional FCC approach of hearings and demonstra- technologies have floundered or failed for want of tions. By making the FCC “dependent upon the coherent, uniform standards. In the United States, private sector for assistance,” this action was a reflec- quadraphonic sound, videotex, and AM stereo are tion of the prevalent deregulatory governmental classic examples. Given their inherent complexity, philosophy.3 The ACATS charter states that the technical uniformity is particularly critical in television committee is to advise the commission regarding the systems. The production, distribution, and reception facts and circumstances concerning advanced televi- of programming involves numerous sectors of the sion, and should the commission decide that it would industry, and relies upon a complex chain of machin- be in the public interest to adopt some form of ery. Such interconnections necessitate standardization advanced television service, the committee would also within the television industry. “recommend policies, standards, and regulations that would facilitate the orderly and timely introduction of HDTV Standards advanced television services in the United States.” Drawing upon the input of the Advisory Commit- In the late 1960s, Japanese researchers for NHK tee and the contributions offered through the public began research on an advanced system of producing comment process by other affected parties, the com- and displaying video images that utilized projected mission issued a series of significant decisions over the 35mm film as a technical benchmark. This research next several years. While some of these decisions produced what became known as high definition have been issued more tentatively than others, they television or HDTV. When compared with the existing comprise a coherent strategy on HDTV and have had a world television systems, HDTV offers a wider aspect major influence on the shape and direction of ad- ratio, provides a significant increase in the number of vanced television within the United States. On Sep- scanning lines resulting in improved picture clarity and tember 1, 1988, the commission stated that “providing definition, and enables “CD-quality” audio. The for terrestrial broadcast use of ATV techniques would technology was promoted by its early advocates as a benefit the public,” but HDTV systems must be potential basis for a new and unified world television compatible with existing NTSC service, and no spec- standard. In the early 1980s, HDTV was demonstrated trum space outside of the VHF and UHF bands would in the United States, and, as the decade progressed, be allocated for such service.4 In September 1990, the the technology became a topic of increased discussion commission refined its introduction strategy by an- and interest. nouncing its intention to endorse a simulcast HDTV Broadcasters, aware that alternative distribution system.5 systems like cable and direct broadcast satellites had The transmission of conventional NTSC on existing fewer spectrum constraints and could adopt HDTV channels and HDTV transmission of the same pro- fairly quickly if they so decided, and cognizant of the gramming on a separate channel, it was felt, would increased competition at the Federal Communications enable a comparatively smooth and spectrum-efficient Commission (FCC) for spectrum for non-broadcast transition to the new standard. Such a strategy would applications, asked the FCC to act on HDTV. A also encourage the further development of new HDTV coalition of 58 broadcasting organizations petitioned systems by freeing the technology from the inherent the FCC on February 21, 1987 to initiate a proceeding limitations of the existing NTSC system.6 In May 1992, to explore the issues surrounding the introduction and the commission released several tentative decisions 3Q95 Page 21 concerning a timetable for industry conversion to could be counted on to seek out flaws in each other’s advanced television service. These decisions were designs.”10 modified slightly, and the commission issued the System selection criteria fell into three categories. following ATV implementation strategy on October 16, The category of spectrum utilization included a 1992.7 Broadcasters would have three years from after consideration of the anticipated service area for the time that an ATV allotment table was released or broadcasters, as well as a determination of the number an ATV standard was set to apply for an ATV channel, of existing NTSC stations which could be accommo- and six years to complete construction of an ATV dated by an additional ATV channel. Economic facility. The commission adopted a deadline of 15 criteria included a consideration of the cost of ATV years from the effective date of the new
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Television Broadcasters'adoption of Digital
    TELEVISION BROADCASTERS’ ADOPTION OF DIGITAL MULTICAST AND ANCILLARY SERVICES: AN ANALYSIS OF THE PRIMARY CORE, SUPPORTING, AND ENVIRONMENTAL DRIVERS By TODD ANDREW HOLMES A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN MASS COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2008 1 © 2008 Todd Andrew Holmes 2 To all who have inspired my intellectual curiosity and academic pursuits, and to all who have supported me in reaching this milestone 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my chair, Dr. Ostroff, for the enormous amount of time and guidance he gave to me in helping me to complete this research study. His support and direction were absolutely critical in the successful completion of this paper. I also would like to thank the members of my committee, Dr. Chan-Olmsted and Dr. Brown, for their thoughts and ideas concerning my research topic. Second, I would like to thank the nine television executives who took time out of their busy schedules to meet with me and who very openly and willingly shared with me their thoughts on the research topic. Their help was absolutely vital to the completion of this study. Third, I would like to thank my parents who continued to keep me moving along on the thesis through their inquiries and encouragement. Their own academic achievements have continued to inspire me throughout this process. Lastly, special thanks go to all my friends, the Gator Guzzlers and many others, who heard me talk about this thesis for months and with whom I had to skip out on a lot of activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Broadcast Television (1945, 1952) ………………………
    Transformative Choices: A Review of 70 Years of FCC Decisions Sherille Ismail FCC Staff Working Paper 1 Federal Communications Commission Washington, DC 20554 October, 2010 FCC Staff Working Papers are intended to stimulate discussion and critical comment within the FCC, as well as outside the agency, on issues that may affect communications policy. The analyses and conclusions set forth are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the FCC, other Commission staff members, or any Commissioner. Given the preliminary character of some titles, it is advisable to check with the authors before quoting or referencing these working papers in other publications. Recent titles are listed at the end of this paper and all titles are available on the FCC website at http://www.fcc.gov/papers/. Abstract This paper presents a historical review of a series of pivotal FCC decisions that helped shape today’s communications landscape. These decisions generally involve the appearance of a new technology, communications device, or service. In many cases, they involve spectrum allocation or usage. Policymakers no doubt will draw their own conclusions, and may even disagree, about the lessons to be learned from studying the past decisions. From an academic perspective, however, a review of these decisions offers an opportunity to examine a commonly-asserted view that U.S. regulatory policies — particularly in aviation, trucking, and telecommunications — underwent a major change in the 1970s, from protecting incumbents to promoting competition. The paper therefore examines whether that general view is reflected in FCC policies. It finds that there have been several successful efforts by the FCC, before and after the 1970s, to promote new entrants, especially in the markets for commercial radio, cable television, telephone equipment, and direct broadcast satellites.
    [Show full text]
  • LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and Zenith
    Before the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION Washington, D.C. 20230 In the Matter of ) ) Implementation and Administration of a ) Docket Number Coupon Program for Digital-to-Analog ) 060512129-6129-01 Converter Boxes ) COMMENTS OF LG ELECTRONICS U.S.A., INC. LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc. (“LG Electronics”) hereby submits these comments in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Notice”) released by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) on July 25, 2006,1 concerning the agency’s implementation and administration of the digital-to-analog converter box coupon program mandated by the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 (the “DTV Act”).2 With a firm deadline now in place for full-power television stations to cease analog broadcasting, it is imperative that the coupon program be conducted in a manner that not only minimizes the burden on those consumers requiring converter boxes but also maximizes the number of Americans able to enjoy the benefits of digital technology. In this regard, LG Electronics applauds NTIA for the comprehensive Notice, which obviously recognizes the critical importance of this final component to the nation’s 1 71 Fed. Reg. 42,067 (July 25, 2006) (“Notice”). 2 Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-171, § 3005, 120 Stat. 4, 23-24 (2006) (“DTV Act”). transition to digital television (“DTV”) broadcasting. As a long-time leader in DTV technology and public policy matters, LG Electronics is pleased to respond. I. LG Electronics’ Role in the DTV Transition LG Electronics is the world’s leading manufacturer of television sets and the world’s largest manufacturer of flat-panel displays.
    [Show full text]
  • Fcc Written Response to the Gao Report on Dtv Table of Contents
    FCC WRITTEN RESPONSE TO THE GAO REPORT ON DTV TABLE OF CONTENTS I. TECHNICAL GOALS 1. Develop Technical Standard for Digital Broadcast Operations……………………… 1 2. Pre-Transition Channel Assignments/Allotments……………………………………. 5 3. Construction of Pre-Transition DTV Facilities……………………………………… 10 4. Transition Broadcast Stations to Final Digital Operations………………………….. 16 5. Facilitate the production of set top boxes and other devices that can receive digital broadcast signals in connection with subscription services………………….. 24 6. Facilitate the production of television sets and other devices that can receive digital broadcast signals……………………………………………………………… 29 II. POLICY GOALS 1. Protect MVPD Subscribers in their Ability to Continue Watching their Local Broadcast Stations After the Digital Transition……………………………….. 37 2. Maximize Consumer Benefits of the Digital Transition……………………………... 42 3. Educate consumers about the DTV transition……………………………………….. 48 4. Identify public interest opportunities afforded by digital transition…………………. 53 III. CONSUMER OUTREACH GOALS 1. Prepare and Distribute Publications to Consumers and News Media………………. 59 2. Participate in Events and Conferences……………………………………………… 60 3. Coordinate with Federal, State and local Entities and Community Stakeholders…… 62 4. Utilize the Commission’s Advisory Committees to Help Identify Effective Strategies for Promoting Consumer Awareness…………………………………….. 63 5. Maintain and Expand Information and Resources Available via the Internet………. 63 IV. OTHER CRITICAL ELEMENTS 1. Transition TV stations in the cross-border areas from analog to digital broadcasting by February 17, 2009………………………………………………………………… 70 2. Promote Consumer Awareness of NTIA’s Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program………………………………………………………………………72 I. TECHNICAL GOALS General Overview of Technical Goals: One of the most important responsibilities of the Commission, with respect to the nation’s transition to digital television, has been to shepherd the transformation of television stations from analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting.
    [Show full text]
  • The History and Politics of DTV Cinemasource , 18 Denbow Rd., Durham, NH 03824 Cinemasource.Com 800-483-9778
    The History and Politics of DTV CinemaSource , 18 Denbow Rd., Durham, NH 03824 cinemasource.com 800-483-9778 CinemaSource Technical Bulletins. Copyright 2002 by CinemaSource, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this bulletin may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in brief quotations embodied in critical reviews. CinemaSource is a registered federal trademark. For information contact: The CinemaSource Press, 18 Denbow Rd. Durham, NH 03824 Chapter One: The History of DT V 3 The History and Politics of DTV Chapter 1: The History of Digital Television • The history of DTV ------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 4 • Behind The Scenes of the Grand Alliance ------------------------------------ Page 11 Chapter 2: The Politics of Digital Television • Can the FCC Fix the Transition? ------------------------------------------------- Page 15 • The Great 8-VSB vs COFDM Debate ------------------------------------------ Page 18 • How The Cable Companies Fit In ----------------------------------------------- Page 20 • Digital Copy Protection Via HDCP ---------------------------------------------- Page 23 • Digital Copy Protection Via DTLA ----------------------------------------------- Page 25 • And Some Negative Opinions ---------------------------------------------------- Page 26 Chapter One: The History of DT V 4 From The Guide To Digital Television Chapter One: Published by United Entertainment Media The History of 460 Park Avenue South, 9th Floor New York, NY 10016 DTV (212) 378-0449 For more information: www.digitaltelevision.com rom concept to reality, the quest for a new viewing 2) An existing NTSC-compatible channel, unchanged, and experience has reshaped the technical and a separate 6 MHz channel containing an independent non- Fregulatory landscape of broadcasting in North NTSC-compatible HDTV signal America, and indeed, around the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Dtv Implementation: a Case Study of Angola, Indiana
    DTV IMPLEMENTATION: A CASE STUDY OF ANGOLA, INDIANA Andrew Curtis Black A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS August 2014 Committee: Sandra Faulkner, Advisor Victoria Ekstrand Jim Foust Thomas Mascaro © 2014 Andrew Curtis Black All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Sandra Faulkner, Advisor On June 12, 2011, the United States changed broadcast standards from analog to digital. This case study looked at Angola, Indiana, a rural community in Steuben County. The community saw a loss of television coverage after the transition. This study examined the literature that surrounded the digital television transition from the different stakeholders. Using as a framework law in action theory, the case study analyzed governmental documents, congressional hearings, and interviews with residents and broadcast professionals. It concluded that there was a lack of coverage, there is an underserved population, and there is a growing trend of consumers dropping cable and satellite service in the Angola area. iv Dedicated to Professor & Associate Dean Emeritus Arthur H. Black Dr. Jeffrey A. Black Coadyuvando El Presente, Formando El Porvenir v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my family. To my parents whose endless love and support have surrounded my life. They believed, pushed, and provided for my success and loved, cared, and understood in my failures. I would like to thank my wife, Elizabeth, for putting up with me. The crazy hours, the extra jobs, the kitchen-less heat-less apartment, and all the sacrifices made so that I could pursue a dream.
    [Show full text]
  • Grand Alliance Hdtv System Specification
    RECEIVED {MAY - 31994 ~EOERAJ.. COOMUNICATiONS COMMISSr()!1 nC:FICF OF THE v<;:Er:RrTARv",.,!., ., . GRAND ALLIANCE HDTV SYSTEM SPECIFICATION Version 1.0 April 14, 1994 TABLE OF CONTENfS Table of Contents RECEIVED Executive Summary (MAY - 31994 r.EDERALCOMM"NC . Chapter 1 System Background OCF/CE o~ T~: ~~6~gi~~'SStQl'J Chapter 2 Video Picture Format Chapter 3 Video Compression System Chapter 4 Audio Compression System Chapter 5 Transport System Chapter 6 Transmission System Chapter 7 Grand Alliance System Summary Chapter 8 Prototype Hardware Implementation Chapter 9 Projected Prototype Performance Chapter 10 Referenced Documents Grand Alliance HDTV System Specification - April14~ WJ4; EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SCOPE OF DOCUMENT This document details the System Specification of the Grand Alliance HDTV System, and is intended to form the basis for the documentation of the proposed standard. It is comprised ofthe documents that have evolved from the work of the Grand Alliance Specialist Groups with the guidance and cooperation of the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Services (ACATS) Experts Groups. This system specification document also details the prototype hardware, currently under construction. This prototype implementation will be delivered to the Advanced Television Test Center (ATIC) for verification ofthe performance of the proposed Grand Alliance HDTV system standard. Executive Summary Layered System Architecture with Header/Descriptors The Grand Alliance HDTV System is a layered digital system architecture that uses headers/descriptors
    [Show full text]
  • 1 in the United States District Court Northern District Of
    Case 1:17-cv-00921-TJM-CFH Document 1 Filed 08/21/17 Page 1 of 48 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ALBANY DIVISION HAIER AMERICA TRADING, L.L.C., Case No. _________________________1:17-cv-921 (TJM/CFH) Plaintiff, JURY TRIAL DEMANDED v. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.; LG ELECTRONICS, INC.; PANASONIC CORPORATION; KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.; ZENITH ELECTRONICS, LLC; TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK; and MPEG LA, L.L.C., Defendants. COMPLAINT Plaintiff Haier America Trading, L.L.C. submits this Complaint against Defendants and seeks monetary and declaratory relief for the reasons described below. PARTIES AND JURISDICTION A. The Parties. 1. Haier America Trading, L.L.C. (“Haier”) is a South Carolina limited liability company with its principal place of business in the State of New Jersey. Its lone member is Haier America Holding Corp., which is a Delaware corporation whose principal place of business is in South Carolina. Its states of citizenship are New Jersey, Delaware and South Carolina. 2. Samsung Electronics Company, Limited (“Samsung”) is a South Korean entity located at 1320-10, Seocho 2-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul 137-857, South Korea. Samsung is the patentee or assignee of one or more patents at issue in this lawsuit, which subjects it to personal 1 Case 1:17-cv-00921-TJM-CFH Document 1 Filed 08/21/17 Page 2 of 48 jurisdiction in the United States under Rule 4(k)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and/or maintains a network of authorized dealers of its products in the State of New York.
    [Show full text]
  • The Transition to Digital Television in the United States: the Endgame
    JDTV 1 (1) pp. 7–29 Intellect Limited 2010 International Journal of Digital Television Volume 1 Number 1 © 2010 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/jdtv.1.1.7/1 JEFFREY A. HART Indiana University, USA The Transition to Digital Television in the United States: The Endgame ABSTRACT KEYWORDS The switching off of analogue television on 12 June 2009 and the delays that led digital television (DTV) up to it are the focus of the analysis here. All digital transitions are difficult but high definition the US transition was successful in the end, in spite of a number of decisions and television (HDTV) policies that made life confusing and overly complicated at one time or another digital transition for all concerned. The decision to delay the analogue switch off from 17 February analogue switch off to 12 June 2009 was one of the first initiatives undertaken by the newly elected Federal Communications Obama administration. The delay was necessary because of the under-funding of Commission (FCC) a programme to provide coupons for analogue-digital converter boxes to those still multicasting dependent on over-the-air broadcasts. must-carry rules INTRODUCTION The entire US broadcasting system made the transition from analogue to dig- ital broadcasting on 12 June 2009; on this date, all analogue transmissions ceased, with only minor exceptions. The transition to digital television (DTV) was originally scheduled to take place at the end of 2006, but that deadline was 7 JDTV 1.1_art_Hart_007-030.indd 7 10/24/09 10:04:22 AM Jeffrey A. Hart set back: first to 31 December 2008, then to 17 February 2009, and then finally to 12 June 2009.
    [Show full text]
  • September 24,1870
    PORTLAND Established June Toi. 9. 23,1862. PORTLAND, SATURDAY MORNING. SEPTEMBER 24 1870. ~ ■ ■' ■ ■ ■ ±erms !_ —. ■ » $8.00 in advance. __ per annum, muc x ui uhiiu rixsB • Lil'j I i/uii/ I MISCELLANEOUS. miscellaneous. for the Is published every day (Sundays excepted) b; " j :zr___ THE DAILY PRESS captive Emperor associations of pecu- ! liar i he DAILY press. interest, forasmuch as it was once the fa- Portland TO LET. vorite Publishing Co., A TLA Mcgregor residence of his uncle, Jerome, some I NTIC. BUSINESS DIRECTORY. time King of Portland. tPOMOPIUAIWl©. Westphalia. This palatial re- At 109 Exchange Street, Lower Tenement in 33S treat and its j House No. surroundings are in the luxuri- a Year in advance Terms:—Eight Dollars ■ ous taste of Congress street. Mutual Insurance Advertising Agency. ihe last century. There are hot- DESIR Comp’y,* ^ Saturday Morning, houses ou an ABLE location for a Physician or Den- AT WELL & CO., 174 Middle Street. Septemcer. 24, 1870. amazing plan; there are tist. (ORGANIZED IN FURNACES! temples A For terms 1842.) of A and The IVIaiue Suite Press enquire ot' p polio Mercury; there are waterfalls, GEO. IL CUSHMAN, 51 Wall corner Agricultural A Seeds. Ot llie pheasantries, lakes, and a Pep21dlw* No. 306 Congress st., of William, New York. Implements Sis'll* Hague. Chinese village. Is published every Thyrsday Morning a o. & D. There is a J#. W. NASH, SAWYER & WOODFORD, No. 119 Exchange St. great fountain, perhaps the great- a if in advance, at $2.00 f Ins tires Against Marine and V\ ould ea'l It is a real relief to but an $2.50 year; paid to Lst.
    [Show full text]
  • Digital TV Transmission: Channel Coding and Mod Channel Coding and Modulation
    Digital TV Transmission: Channel Coding and ModModulationulation Yao Wang Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, NY11201 http://eeweb.poly.edu/~yao Outline • Overview of ATSC DTV system • Video formats and video coding • Audio formats and audio coding • Channel coding • Modulation • Difference with DVB system © Yao Wang, 2005 DTV transmission ATSC DTV Standard: Summary • Proved by ATSC (Advanced Television System Committee of FCC), initially in 1995, Revised Aug 2001 • Based on the Grand Alliance HDTV proposal • Video encoding: MPEG2 video (mp@ml for SDTV, mp@hl for HDTV) • Audio encoding: Dolby AC3 (5.1 channel) • Multiplex and transport: MPEG2 transport stream syntax • Channel coding and modulation: digital VSB – Terrestrial: 8-level VSB, enabling 19 mbps payload in 6 MHz channel – Cable: 16-level VSB, enabling 38 mbps payload in 6 MHz channel © Yao Wang, 2005 DTV transmission 3 ATSC DTV System Model From Fig.5.1, ATSC DTV standard (A53/B) © Yao Wang, 2005 DTV transmission 4 Channel Coding: Overview • To enable detection and correction of bit errors in the received bit stream • CRC: allow error detection only – Ex: adding a parity bit to detect 1 bit error • FEC: allow correction of up to a certain number of errors, depending on the code used and the redundancy introduced – Ex. Repetition code, repeat 3 times of each bit allow correction of 1 bit error (1->111,0->000) – Block codes vs. convolutional codes – Channel code rate r= k/n, k information bits, n coded bits • Typical implementation for packetized transmission – Source bits + CRC
    [Show full text]
  • HDTV: the Engineering History
    HDTV: The Engineering History ` 12/10/99 Salvador Alvarez James Chen David Lecumberri Chen-Pang Yang Index Introduction 2 1. Pre-HDTV History 2 2. HDTV in the US: A race started by the government 4 2.1 The industry reaction 2.2 Organization of the tests 2.3. HDTV: The test outcome 3. Organization of the Grand Alliance 3.1 Implementation of the System A. Transport System B. Video Compression C. Transmission/Modulation System D. Audio System E. Screen Format 4. External Challenges 20 5. MIT’s Contribution 21 Conclusion 22 References: Primary 22 References: Secondary 23 Introduction “The world is moving towards High Definition Television [HDTV]” “Don’t buy a regular TV now, they are going to be better in every way when HDTV comes into market”. Some of the many phrases dropped by people who are loosely following the HDTV effort. When asked, “How do you know?”, these people confidently responded with, “Because technology is just going to get better and better.” Though HDTV is revolutionizing the world, and the technology is getting better, very little thought is put into the effort done by engineers in the leading companies. People expect television to constantly improve, but these improvements do not occur on their own. Rather, they arise from many different factors, such as nationalistic politicians who push American companies to develop HDTV, the computer industry pushing for a digital television, or engineers inventing new ideas. In Inventing Accuracy, Donald Mackenzie clearly describes a false perception people have regarding improvements in technology, a notion he refers to as a natural trajectory.
    [Show full text]