Model HDTV Station Tests World's First 480 Progressive Digital Broadcast Using U.S. DTV Standard
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Panasonic Supplies Main Equipment for WHD-TV Digital TV Tests
In its efforts to fully investigate the various potential options for the transmission of digital television, WHD-TV, the television industry's Model High Definition Television Station has conducted a test terrestrial broadcast of television signals in the 480-line progressive scan digital video format, commonly known as ``480p.'' The test was performed using Panasonic encoding and decoding equipment.
The 480 progressive format is one of the video formats defined by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) Digital Television Standard. Other formats include the higher resolution 1080-line interlaced, or ``1080i,'' video format, which is normally broadcast by WHD-TV. The new Panasonic equipment expands the experimental station's complement of real, working hardware available to demonstrate the breadth and flexibility of the nation's new digital broadcasting system. In advance of the FCC's deadline for the start of digital TV broadcasts, U.S. broadcasters are considering which video formats best suit their needs.
The model HDTV station is housed within the facilities of WRC- TV, an NBC-owned and operated station that serves the Washington, D.C. area. According to Project Director Jim McKinney, WHD-TV has two primary goals. ``We want to promote the rapid implementation of digital advanced television systems for all video formats defined by the ATSC,'' Mr. McKinney said. ``We also want to educate broadcasters on how they can implement digital TV.'' WHD-TV has been on the air every business day since June 30, 1996.
The Panasonic equipment which made the test broadcast possible included a 480p encoder that was co-developed with Texas Instruments-Japan, a subsidiary of Texas Instruments, and a 480p decoder that Panasonic developed on its own. The encoder progressively scans images with 704x480 pixels at a 59.94 Hz frame rate in 16:9 aspect ratio using MPEG 2 compression. In addition to the MPEG 480p encoder and decoder, Panasonic has also provided the model station with D3 and D5 digital videocassette recorders.
WHD-TV, which is supported by broadcasters and TV equipment manufacturers, provides digital television signals via broadcast, satellite, optical fiber and videotape. The signals are used in the development of new professional and consumer electronics products and also help other broadcasters implement similar experimental stations. The station serves as a public showcase and a training facility for broadcast industry technical personnel.
Panasonic AVC American Laboratories (PAVCAL), located in Burlington, NJ, is the main digital television research facility serving Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE:MC - news) in North America. Under its president, Jukka Hamalainen, PAVCAL has conducted research on advanced television since 1980. PAVCAL has provided extensive technical support to WHD-TV in the test broadcasts of the 480p video format as well as other formats. Panasonic supports all video formats within the standards proposed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC).
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., best known for its Panasonic brand name, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer, industrial and broadcasting equipment. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded worldwide sales of $61 billion in the most recent fiscal year. |
