From: rmf@bpdsun1.uucp (Rob Finley)
Newsgroups: rec.video
Subject: Re: HDTV Questions (second, broadcasters)
Date: 19 Jul 92 05:37:30 GMT
Organization: Harris Allied Broadcast Div., Quincy, IL

In article <l68gv2INN38@manx.cs.utexas.edu> dhs@cs.utexas.edu (Douglas H. Steves) writes:

>I find it interesting that people in this group, in particular, and
>computer people in general have shown little interest in the HDTV
>imbroglio, leaving it to the networks to heavily influence the FCC's
>decision. Who cares about broadcast TV anyway? Fewer than 40% of
>the households with TVs receive terrestial broadcast (not DBS or cable)
>signals now, and that percentage is dropping rapidly. Basing the 
>decision on terrestial broadcast quality within the bounds of a 6MHz
>channel is just plain stupid. Or am I missing something?

When I do plunge down my money for a system, I would like to have access
to as much HDTV programming as possible (don't really care if some of
it has commercials as long as I don't have to pay more than $20/month 
for cable).  [The Last Boyscout] gave us a taste of football in the 1:1.85
aspect ratio and I loved it.  Sounds like ESPN, not HBO.
Superbowl in HDTV anyone?

Somehow, everyone suspects there is a plot afoot at the ATTC center
(which is presently testing these standards) for either being too slow or
picking a new system over one that has to be at least a decade old.
I personally believe we need to be worrying about subversive action from 
telco and cablevision politcal action groups than the broadcasters. 

I personally will only consider the investment in HDTV if I can also
afford a VCR.  In 1991, the only MUSE recorders available were 1" VTR
machines sitting on a large rack of electronics.  The whole assembly
was at least five feet tall.  Not consumer-level equipment.
Terrestrial broadcasting of HDTV in small towns like this is not going to 
happen quickly.
Video Magazine has a picture of the shoebox-sized DigiCipher HDTV 8mm 
VCR along with a technical overview of the five systems in a recent issue.  
Probably using 8mm metal tapes.  S-VHS gets you NTSC at 4Mhz using oxide-
formula videotape.  Surely 6Mhz can be attained.
(VHS NTSC compatibility?  Please?  Just wondering...)

We don't have the issue of MUSE already here and 6Mhz digital later as 
6Mhz digital is now and real.
I posted an article from EE times a few months ago describing tests of
the DigiCipher system and the great picture quality (first system
tested by the ATTC).  For those who don't have convenient access to the 
Sunday May 31, 1992 edition of the Chicago Tribune, Section 7 page 3, here
is an excerpt of the Zenith/AT&T system test:  

[...] Crystal-clear images were transmitted to Zenith's Glenview [IL]
headquarters from 75 miles away in Milwaukee [WI].  And the real-world
nature of the test showed that a local television station can begin
sending HDTV digital signals with little in the way of initial expense.

It also showed that:
o  Digital TV signals needn't suffer from the so-called "cliff effect,"
   in which viewers on the edge of a station's service area might lose
   their picture altogether when atmospheric conditions degrade the signal.
o  Programming carried on a low-power digital signal can produced near-
   perfect, interference-free images, even when a higher power signal
   is broadcasting on exactly the same channel from a nearby transmitter
   (provided it is something like analog NTSC.  They tested on ch 36)
o  Shots taken with standard [NTSC] TV equipment can be upgraded to be
   shown on a high-definition system.

Milwaukee public television station WMVT-CH. 36 broadcast the digital
signals using the Zenith-AT&T equipment for private tests that ran
for almost two days.
[...]

Try the new digital systems.  I don't think most people will notice the 
comparable loss of picture compared to MUSE. 
If anything, the 6mhz bandwidth will allow HDTV distribution using
the same C-band sat systems in use today. 

The real solution to your article is that the 6mhz bandwidth ensures
that you and I will be able to afford to upgrade to this new
technology quickly because the active participation of the broadcasters
will produce hardware market volume.  The more programming available,
the more attractive the medium.  The more attractive the medium, the
more monitors and VCR's will be sold and economic forces will bring the
price down faster.  

If you live in New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C., your
local FOX affiliate will be simul-casting the US HDTV system (using UHF)
soon after the standard is established.  Later, FOX stations in Chicago,
Houston, Dallas, and Salt Lake City will be broadcasting as well.
This is a commitment from Andrew G. Setos, Fox Inc. senior vice president.

Relax.

-----
Robert

This is my personal opinion and I am not representing my employers
in any way.  Everytime I take the org line out of the message, cnews
puts it back in.  So, we lead the market in TV and radio broadcasting 
equipment.  I design printed-circuit boards for Harris.  What do I know? 
Newsgroups: rec.video