( BW)(NJ-LUCENT-TECHNOLOGIES-2)(LU) Lucent Digital Video Demonstrates First Real-Time
Commercial HDTV Broadcast With Data Streaming at Philadelphia's WPVI-TV
Business & Hi-Tech Editors
MURRAY HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 1999--Lucent Digital Video, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lucent
Technologies, announced with Philadelphia's WPVI-TV, the leading ABC owned and operated station, that it is now demonstrating
the first working on-air HDTV broadcasts of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) Program and System Information
Protocol (PSIP).
Among other capabilities, PSIP provides the data for the Electronic Program Guide (EPG), which is one of the sophisticated data
services provided by a digital TV. PSIP also delivers information such as on-screen station call letters and time-of-day. WPVI-TV has
been broadcasting an HDTV signal on-air for many months.
Lucent's new PSIP software is seamlessly integrated with the Harris/Lucent FlexiCoder(TM) MPEG-2 encoder, and provides
broadcasters with the complete solution that they demand.
"The Lucent PSIP solution works well with the FlexiCoder," said Tom Hankinson, Director of Advanced Television Technology for
the ABC Owned Television Stations, "and we're interested to see what creative things the digital receivers do with the data we're
broadcasting."
"Our PSIP software offers broadcasters two new capabilities: the ability to display their call letters when a viewer changes channels,
and the ability to remap channel numbers, which is important for branding as stations make the transition to digital," said Mike
Scheutzow, Manager of Engineering at Lucent Digital Video.
WPVI's signal reach in central and southern New Jersey is significant to the DTV industry, as the "Video Valley" of New Jersey is
home to many of the DTV receiver manufacturers. Companies like Princeton Graphics, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony can use the data
broadcast to continue advanced development of their digital receivers.
Lucent Digital Video conducted the first formal interoperability tests between an ATSC encoder and various HDTV receivers in
1998. In November, 1998, Lucent Digital Video conducted the first on-air HDTV closed-captioning demonstrations with WCVB-TV
Boston and ULTECH.
Lucent won a Primetime Engineering Emmy Award in 1997 for its pioneering work in DTV as a member of the HDTV Grand
Alliance. The company, which contributed to the original MPEG-2 specification, also built the world's first MPEG-2 and digital HDTV
encoders.
Lucent Digital Video is one of several new entrepreneurial business ventures formed by Lucent to help bring Bell Labs technologies
to market. Leveraging decades of Bell Labs research and development, the group was formed to manufacture and market digital video
products, including encoders. Lucent Digital Video markets its product line for cable, wireless cable, fiber optic and satellite
back-hauling, DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite) and other applications worldwide. In January, 1998, Lucent Digital Video announced
a strategic alliance with Harris Corp. to market DTV equipment for the North American broadcast market. In September, 1998, LDV
announced a strategic alliance with EMC Corp. for broadcast video server applications. For more information on Lucent Digital
Video, visit the Web site at www.lucent.com/ldv.
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks,
communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronic components. Bell
Labs is the research and development arm for the company. For more information, visit our Web site at www.lucent.com.
--30--tia/ny*
CONTACT: Lucent Technologies - New Ventures Group
Chris Pfaff
908/582-7571 (office)
800/705-2368 (pager)
908/582-6033 (fax)
E-mail: cpfaff@lucent.com
or
David Bikle
908/582-4120 (office)
E-mail: dbikle@lucent.com
KEYWORD: NEW JERSEY PENNSYLVANIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED
INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA/INTERNET PRODUCT |
