I don’t remember exactly what year, but at sometime between 1978 and 1981, the Japanese television industry implemented a high-definition television system with 1125 lines of vertical resolution. This was an analog system, was very expensive, and, compared to NTSC, PAL, and SECAM, required a very wide bandwidth. The NTSC system, used in the U.S. and several other countries, utilizes and is authorized a total bandwidth of 6 MHZ.
In 1981, American broadcasters began looking into the possibility of doing the same in the U.S., as the Japanese had done. The problem, at that time, was that FCC approved 6 MHZ bandwidth. An analog 1125 line system requires no less than a 10 MHZ bandwidth. When asked, the FCC issued a strong denial, due to obvious problems with revamping the use of spectrum. In 1982, the NAB began soliciting members of the industry for the possible development of a modulation system that would allow the transmission of HDTV without expanding the bandwidth.
In 1983, the Advanced Television Systems Committee was formed by the member organizations of the Joint Committee on InterSociety Coordination (JCIC): the EIA, IEEE, NAB, NCTA, and SEMPTE. It has grown to over 140 members, internationally.
In 1987, the FCC established the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service. In the beginning, there were 23 analog systems submitted, between 1987 and 1990. In May of 1990, General Instrument proposed the first all-digital system, with three more to follow, from other developers, over the next seven months.
By 1991, the number of competing systems had been reduced to six, which included all four DTV systems.
In February, of 1993, a special panel determined there would be no more consideration of analog systems and that the development of digital systems was not only feasible but desirable.
In December of 1995, the FCC adopted the ATSC DTV standards, the implementation of which is, as they say, soon to be history.
This is but a brief history of the development of the ATSC DTV standard, which, as most of us should be aware, ends the implementation stage on the 17th of February, 2009. At midnight, on the 17th, all full-power analog transmitters will cease to transmit. Maybe it’s midnight on the 16th. I think it’s more likely the 16th, but what’s 24 hours, in the grand scope of things.
Here’s the point. The viewing public is ill-aware of what this transition means to the average consumer. On the one hand, they are told by the uninformed or ill-informed, that, with a converter box, you can get High Definition television on an analog TV set. Of course, this is absolutely wrong. The box enables you to receive the DTV signal, which is then converted to an NTSC analog signal. However, the analog set, by definition, will not display in HD.
They are told, by many sources, that if you have Cable TV or Satellite TV, you can get HDTV on an analog TV set, without the converter box. Again, this is absolutely wrong. With satellite TV, the digital signal is converted, by the receiver, to an analog NTSC signal.
The cable signal is analog, to begin with, so the benefits of receiving a digital signal, on an analog TV set, are lost. So is High Definition. Digital Television and High Definition TV should not be used synonymously. The transition is to Digital Television, not to High Definition Television. HDTV is just one of the benefits made available with DTV. It is not the crux of the system.
I believe that we, who work in the industry and know what is actually taking place, should do more to properly inform the viewing public. Minimally, those of us in the television industry should ascertain that our fellow SBE members, who are outside the television industry, are aware of the actual requirements of the transition.
The transition to digital is mind-boggling, but imagine what a transition to enhanced or high-definition television, utilizing NTSC analog technology would be like……….
Let me know what you think! You can email me at mjohnson@kocb.sbgnet.com
Thank You,
Mike “Crusty” Johnson
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