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To: Bob Strickland who wrote (29157)	2/5/1998 4:45:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

ANSI standard for digital video............................................ ijumpstart.com As Broadcasters Make DTV Moves, ANSI Stands To Deliver <Picture><Picture><Picture> Commentary by Matt Peterson, Scenic Wonders Lucent Technologies [LU] and Harris Corp. [HRS] helped the Digital TV initiative move a step forward in January when the companies agreed to jointly deliver DTV encoding equipment to broadcasters. The agreement gives broadcasters some assurance that the tools they need for DTV conversion are now coming to the market. These encoders are one piece of the DTV puzzle. They address the final conversion for home delivery of a DTV programming stream. What this type of digital encoding does not address, however, is the transport of DTV program elements as they are being created and assembled into that final programming stream. An ANSI standard-originally designed to serve the production/post-production industry-is well-positioned to meet this challenge. Many in the industry argue that ITU-R BT.601-4, a well established video standard which is supported by the 270 Mbps Serial Digital Interface standard, be adopted as the standard for productions targeted for encoding into the SDTV formats. These advocates point out that the standard, used in conjunction with 16:9 imaging chips, produces high-quality, 16:9 format video suitable for SDTV. 270 Mbps equipment is mature, available from many manufacturers, and supported by related technologies like the codec standard discussed in this article. Some advocates go a step further and argue that 270 Mbps is adequate for much material targeted for HDTV delivery. The increasing use of 270 Mbps video has generated a growing need for the transport of this format for collaborative production/postproduction, backhaul from programming sources to networks, and forward distribution from networks to affiliates. The ANSI standard for video codecs is already used by telecom firms and meets the need. Telecom Infrastructures DS-3 telecommunication circuits form the backbone of major video service networks throughout North America. The circuits, usually carried by fiber, have a bandwidth of 45 Mbps. The critical hardware component of these networks is the codec that processes the video and handles the compression and decompression necessary to transport 270 Mbps video over a 45 Mbps circuit. All user equipment must connect to this codec to send or receive audio and video signals. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) adopted a standard for video codecs in 1992: ETS 300 174. The ETSI activity standardized several items that are key to collaborative teleproduction: Direct input of 270 Mbps video preserves the highest quality possible during the transmission process; A standard, published coding algorithm (DCT) for the video ensures codec compatibility; Conditional access through scrambling ensures the security of intellectual property on local, national and international networks; and Timecode transmission enables true collaborative editing and other post-production activities. The ANSI Standard The American National Standards Institute adopted a standard for 45 Mbps video codecs in late 1995 and published the standard in 1996. Designated "ANSI T1.802.01-1996", it takes the key elements of the ETSI standards and adapts them for use in North America. Various industry players have advanced alternatives to the ANSI standard. Some companies have proposed new products that they argue are better suited for the needs of DTV broadcasters than the ANSI standard. Others in the industry fear the use of proprietary technologies. They believe this will return the industry to the state it was in prior to the ANSI standard when incompatible codecs prevented the customers of one service provider from exchanging video with the customers of another. Improvements in high-bandwidth telecommunications infrastructures have opened the possibility of transporting 270 Mbps video in an uncompressed format. This may be cost-effective in some localities, but the demand for telecommunications bandwidth for competing uses will keep long-distance video transport on 45 Mbps circuits for some time. The ANSI T1A1.5 group has been looking at using MPEG-2 4:2:2 encoding, but no video codec standard has emerged from these activities. There is no production MPEG-2 codec supporting DS-3 circuits currently on the market. Codecs based on ANSI T1.802.01-1996 appear to be the best bet for deployment today. At least three manufacturers-Barco Communication Systems (formerly RE America), Digital Vision and Thomson- sell ANSI standard codecs in the United States. A competitive market based on proven standards motivates both new and established codec manufacturers to continually improve products and service. The growing demand for component digital programming to support DTV broadcasting should drive even wider deployment of video telecommunications networks using the ANSI standard. (This commentary is adopted from a white paper published and copyrighted in 1996 by Scenic Wonders, Inc (SWI). The full text is available in the Publications section of the SWI Web site at swonders.com.)