Complex sentence: Official French transmissions finally began with 819 lines in late 1949; however, this standard was abandoned in 1984 upon the adoption of 625-line color on the TF1 network.
Split into simpler sentences: Official French transmissions finally began with 819 lines in late 1949. This standard, however, was abandoned in 1984 upon the adoption of 625-line color on the TF1 network.