Guys I did some research on HD formats and digital formats as per required for a term paper im writing for class
I first stopped at the library of congress and looked up Bill S 1932 Subtitle D (the digital transition act) This is the new one passed on DEC20th05
I found some interesting things...
Under SEC. 3410. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS
Section C
number 3.
`(3) MULTIPLE FORMATS PERMITTED- A satellite carrier may offer the primary video stream and program-related material of an eligible requesting station in any analog or digital format or formats, whether or not doing so requires conversion from the format transmitted by that eligible requesting station, so long as--
`(A) the satellite carrier offers the primary video stream and program-related material in the converted analog or digital format or formats without material degradation; and
`(B) also offers the primary video stream and program-related material in the manner or manners required by this subsection.
So Is dish Breaking the LAW?
Further more reading I found this…
`(8) DEFINITION OF STANDARD-DEFINITION FORMAT- For purposes of this subsection, a stream shall be in standard definition digital format if such stream meets the criteria for such format as specified in the standard recognized by the Commission in section 73.682 of its rules (47 CFR 73.682) or a successor regulation
Witch lead me to… no where.. So further more research lead me to..
http://www.cinemasource.com/articles/hist_politics_dtv.pdf
upon reading this nicely put together history of DTV I found this..
Formation of the Grand Alliance
Although the FCC had said in the spring of 1990 that it
would determine whether all-digital technology was
feasible for a terrestrial HDTV transmission standard, most
observers viewed that technology as being many years in
the future. Later the same year, however, General
Instrument became the first proponent to announce an alldigital
system. Later, all-digital systems were announced
by MIT, the Philips-Thomson-Sarnoff consortium, and
Zenith-AT&T.
The FCC anticipated the need for interoperability of the
HDTV standard with other media. Initially, the focus was
on interoperability with cable television and satellite
delivery; both were crucial to any broadcast standard. But
the value of interoperability with computer and
telecommunications applications became increasingly
apparent with the advent of all-digital systems.
Proponents later incorporated packetized transmission,
headers and descriptors, and composite-coded surround
sound in their subsystems. (The Philips-Thomson-Sarnoff
consortium was the first to do so.) These features
maximized the interoperability of HDTV with computer and
telecommunications systems. The introduction of all-digital
systems had made such interoperability a reality.
The all-digital systems set the stage for another important
AT&T; and one proposed by Sarnoff, Philips, and
Thomson. The Advisory Committee further decided that
although all of the digital systems provided impressive
results, no single system could be proposed to the FCC
as the U.S. HDTV standard at that time. The committee
ordered a round of supplementary tests to evaluate
improvements to the individual systems.
At its February 1993 meeting, the Advisory Committee
also adopted a resolution encouraging the digital HDTV
groups to try to find a way to merge the four remaining alldigital
systems. The committee recognized the merits of
being able to combine the best features of those systems
into a single “best of the best” system. With this
encouragement, negotiations between the parties heated
up, and on May 24, the seven companies involved
announced formation of the Digital HDTV Grand Alliance.
By the spring of 1994, significant progress had been made
toward the final HDTV system proposal. Teams of
engineers and researchers had finished building the
subsystems that would be integrated into the complete
HDTV prototype system for testing later in the year. The
subsystems—scanning formats, digital video compression,
packetized data, audio, and modulation—all had been
approved by the ACATS. Key features and specifications
for the system included:
Support of two fundamental arrays of pixels (picture
elements): 1920 x 1080 and 1280 x 720. Each of these
pixel formats supported a wide-screen 16:9 aspect ratio
and square pixels, important for computer interoperability.
Frame rates of 60, 30, and 24 Hz were supported, yielding
a total of six different possible scanning formats—two
different pixel arrays, each having three frame rates. The
60 and 30 Hz frame rates were important for video source
material and 24 Hz for film. A key feature of the system
was the Grand Alliance’s commitment to using progressive
scanning, also widely used in computer displays.
Entertainment television traditionally had used interlaced
scanning, which was efficient but subject to various
unwanted artifacts. Of the six video formats, progressive
scanning was used in all three 720-line formats and in the
30 and 24 Hz 1080-line formats. The sixth video format
was a 60 Hz 1080-line scheme. It was neither technically
or economically feasible to initially provide this as a
progressive format, although it was a longer-term goal for
the Grand Alliance. The 1080-line, 60-Hz format was
handled in the initial standard by using interlaced rather
than progressive scanning.
So that lead me to this…
http://www.sbca.com/hdtv_index.asp
Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA)
On there page… Dish network is a partner to them and so is Directv.. I found
What makes HDTV better?
• Regular TV broadcasts have approximately 330 lines of resolution.
- vcr’s have about 240 lines of resolution
- DVD’s have a higher resolution usually between 400 and 480
• HDTV has up to 1080 lines of resolution
• Standard televisions have a 4 x 3 aspect ratio (4 units wide by 3 units high)
• HDTV is broadcast in a 16 x 9 format similar to movies
• The higher aspect ratio produces a more in depth and intense viewing experience
• HD broadcasts contain more information that standard television signals
• Along with the enhanced picture quality the HD broadcast also deliver digital sound. Some programs take it a step further and broadcast in Dolby ® Digital Surround Sound.
• There are 2 HDTV formats 1080 and 720 but there are few discernable differences. Click here to learn more about HDTV (Note * requires high speed internet connection)
And that’s where I stopped..
What do you guys think so far? Am I on a right path or am I just totally wrong and off ??
I first stopped at the library of congress and looked up Bill S 1932 Subtitle D (the digital transition act) This is the new one passed on DEC20th05
I found some interesting things...
Under SEC. 3410. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS
Section C
number 3.
`(3) MULTIPLE FORMATS PERMITTED- A satellite carrier may offer the primary video stream and program-related material of an eligible requesting station in any analog or digital format or formats, whether or not doing so requires conversion from the format transmitted by that eligible requesting station, so long as--
`(A) the satellite carrier offers the primary video stream and program-related material in the converted analog or digital format or formats without material degradation; and
`(B) also offers the primary video stream and program-related material in the manner or manners required by this subsection.
So Is dish Breaking the LAW?
Further more reading I found this…
`(8) DEFINITION OF STANDARD-DEFINITION FORMAT- For purposes of this subsection, a stream shall be in standard definition digital format if such stream meets the criteria for such format as specified in the standard recognized by the Commission in section 73.682 of its rules (47 CFR 73.682) or a successor regulation
Witch lead me to… no where.. So further more research lead me to..
http://www.cinemasource.com/articles/hist_politics_dtv.pdf
upon reading this nicely put together history of DTV I found this..
Formation of the Grand Alliance
Although the FCC had said in the spring of 1990 that it
would determine whether all-digital technology was
feasible for a terrestrial HDTV transmission standard, most
observers viewed that technology as being many years in
the future. Later the same year, however, General
Instrument became the first proponent to announce an alldigital
system. Later, all-digital systems were announced
by MIT, the Philips-Thomson-Sarnoff consortium, and
Zenith-AT&T.
The FCC anticipated the need for interoperability of the
HDTV standard with other media. Initially, the focus was
on interoperability with cable television and satellite
delivery; both were crucial to any broadcast standard. But
the value of interoperability with computer and
telecommunications applications became increasingly
apparent with the advent of all-digital systems.
Proponents later incorporated packetized transmission,
headers and descriptors, and composite-coded surround
sound in their subsystems. (The Philips-Thomson-Sarnoff
consortium was the first to do so.) These features
maximized the interoperability of HDTV with computer and
telecommunications systems. The introduction of all-digital
systems had made such interoperability a reality.
The all-digital systems set the stage for another important
AT&T; and one proposed by Sarnoff, Philips, and
Thomson. The Advisory Committee further decided that
although all of the digital systems provided impressive
results, no single system could be proposed to the FCC
as the U.S. HDTV standard at that time. The committee
ordered a round of supplementary tests to evaluate
improvements to the individual systems.
At its February 1993 meeting, the Advisory Committee
also adopted a resolution encouraging the digital HDTV
groups to try to find a way to merge the four remaining alldigital
systems. The committee recognized the merits of
being able to combine the best features of those systems
into a single “best of the best” system. With this
encouragement, negotiations between the parties heated
up, and on May 24, the seven companies involved
announced formation of the Digital HDTV Grand Alliance.
By the spring of 1994, significant progress had been made
toward the final HDTV system proposal. Teams of
engineers and researchers had finished building the
subsystems that would be integrated into the complete
HDTV prototype system for testing later in the year. The
subsystems—scanning formats, digital video compression,
packetized data, audio, and modulation—all had been
approved by the ACATS. Key features and specifications
for the system included:
Support of two fundamental arrays of pixels (picture
elements): 1920 x 1080 and 1280 x 720. Each of these
pixel formats supported a wide-screen 16:9 aspect ratio
and square pixels, important for computer interoperability.
Frame rates of 60, 30, and 24 Hz were supported, yielding
a total of six different possible scanning formats—two
different pixel arrays, each having three frame rates. The
60 and 30 Hz frame rates were important for video source
material and 24 Hz for film. A key feature of the system
was the Grand Alliance’s commitment to using progressive
scanning, also widely used in computer displays.
Entertainment television traditionally had used interlaced
scanning, which was efficient but subject to various
unwanted artifacts. Of the six video formats, progressive
scanning was used in all three 720-line formats and in the
30 and 24 Hz 1080-line formats. The sixth video format
was a 60 Hz 1080-line scheme. It was neither technically
or economically feasible to initially provide this as a
progressive format, although it was a longer-term goal for
the Grand Alliance. The 1080-line, 60-Hz format was
handled in the initial standard by using interlaced rather
than progressive scanning.
So that lead me to this…
http://www.sbca.com/hdtv_index.asp
Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA)
On there page… Dish network is a partner to them and so is Directv.. I found
What makes HDTV better?
• Regular TV broadcasts have approximately 330 lines of resolution.
- vcr’s have about 240 lines of resolution
- DVD’s have a higher resolution usually between 400 and 480
• HDTV has up to 1080 lines of resolution
• Standard televisions have a 4 x 3 aspect ratio (4 units wide by 3 units high)
• HDTV is broadcast in a 16 x 9 format similar to movies
• The higher aspect ratio produces a more in depth and intense viewing experience
• HD broadcasts contain more information that standard television signals
• Along with the enhanced picture quality the HD broadcast also deliver digital sound. Some programs take it a step further and broadcast in Dolby ® Digital Surround Sound.
• There are 2 HDTV formats 1080 and 720 but there are few discernable differences. Click here to learn more about HDTV (Note * requires high speed internet connection)
And that’s where I stopped..
What do you guys think so far? Am I on a right path or am I just totally wrong and off ??
