GIC news release--
GENERAL INSTRUMENT DEVELOPS ATSC-COMPLIANT DIGITAL TELEVISION SYSTEM FOR
BROADCAST DTV IMPLEMENTATION WORLDWIDE
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SAN DIEGO, Calif. (February 17, 1998) -ÿ General Instrument Corporation
(NYSE: GIC) announced today that it has developed an MPEG-2 ATSC encoding
system for the delivery of digital television (DTV) by broadcasters around
the world. ATSC is a standard of the Advanced Television Systems Committee.
The system, developed by General Instrument's San Diego-based Satellite
Data Networks business unit, will compress and multiplex both standard
definition TV (SDTV) and high definition (HDTV) signals in a single,
ATSC-compliant, integrated encoding and transmission system for DTV
applications in terrestrial broadcast, satellite, microwave, and fiber
network transmission.
The announcement follows the recent news that GI and Sony Electronics, Inc.
plan a strategic alliance to jointly develop technologies for digital cable
TV devices and high-definition TV products.
General Instrument invented the all-digital HDTV system in May,1990 and has
been a leader in U.S. HDTV standards development. The company's leadership
and technology are the basis of the Grand Alliance (GA) and the ATSC
digital television standard. The new DTV encoding system is fully ATSC
compliant and backward compatible with GI's current standard definition
MPEG-2 system that is widely deployed around the world.ÿ It provides a
natural growth path for current users and a proven platform for new
customers to launch high definition, standard definition, or a mix of both
services.
GI's DigiCipher II ATSC encoding and transmission systems offer
broadcasters a multi-stage,
cost-effective and flexible approach to move from NTSC to SDTV as well as
HDTV. They allow broadcasters to start from one service and move to another
or to mixed services while preserving the value of initial investment and
avoiding the expense of completely changing system architecture. In
addition to ATSC compliance, the new encoding system supports the standard
interfaces approved by broadcast industry groups such as the Society of
Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).
"We're delighted to provide our technical expertise and experience in video
compression, digital transmission and conditional access for broadcasters
to implement DTV," said John Glass,
vice president/business manager of advanced video networks for GI's
Satellite Data Network Systems business. "General Instrument pioneered
all-digital solutions for broadcast, satellite and cable in both standard
and high definition, and we've won five Emmy awards for our efforts," Glass
said. "The evolution of our MPEG2 system to include HDTV and full ATSC
compliance shows General Instrument's continuing commitment to the success
of digital television."
General Instrument is the world leader in analog and digital systems that
provide video, audio and high-speed Internet/data services over cable and
satellite television networks.ÿ This past December, GI announced that major
cable operators expect to purchase at least 15 million of GI's advanced
digital set-top devices over the next 3 to 5 years at an estimated value of
$4.5 billion.ÿ
GI's cable and satellite TV operations have approximately 7,000 employees
and annual sales of approximately $1.8 billion.ÿÿ
Visit our web site at gi.com
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A little disturbed that the Sony deal is still "planned" not a closed deal.
irthrifty |
