Intel and Zenith
From the Zenith web site:
Las Vegas, Jan. 8, 1998 -- Capitalizing on its patented digital television (DTV) technology, Zenith Electronics Corporation is working with Intel Corporation to develop demodulator cards that will allow personal computers (PCs) to receive DTV broadcasts.
Today's announcement - at the 1998 International Consumer Electronics Show - is expected to enhance the multimedia experience of digital TV broadcasts and reflects the important role that PCs will play in receiving DTV broadcasts, including datacasting services.
"We view this relationship as important to supporting the commercial launch of DTV broadcasts and to promoting wide-spread use of Zenith VSB technology in a variety of products and applications," said Tom Sorensen, Zenith's director of new tech-nologies and business development.
Intel's Tom Galvin, director of market development, digital broadcast and broadband, said the joint development effort with Zenith on VSB demodulator cards for PCs "supports Intel's vision of bringing exciting digital content and broadband services to millions of Intel Architecture-based computers around the world."
Intel has integrated the VSB technology into a prototype PCI board design for cost-effective PC implementation, while Zenith is providing its expertise in digital demodulation and its VSB technology.
Zenith invented the VSB (vestigial sideband) digital transmission system adopted by the Federal Communications Commission as part of the ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) DTV broadcast standard. Any consumer product that receives an ATSC DTV signal will use Zenith's patented VSB technology.
In addition to licensing its VSB technology to manufacturers of digital high-definition television (HDTV) receivers, digital set-top boxes and broadcast equipment, Zenith plans to license its DTV
technology to the PC industry. Licensing terms were not disclosed.
Details about manufacturing plans, availability and pricing on the VSB demodulator cards are not yet available. Zenith and Intel will demonstrate this technology in Zenith's booth (#N204) at the CES.
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I saw the demo. It was a simultaneous HDTV demo with both a HDTV receiver and a PC receiver. The demo worked great for about a minute, then crashed. The technician explained that there were problems with the HDTV signal being broadcasted. Apparently, the bugs haven't all been worked out on the PC receiver chip set to allow for signal interferences. |
