CDS Open Solution Yields First Commercial Simultaneous HDTV and SDTV Service
conventionnews.com
(Southwick, MA.) - THOMCAST Communication's CDS Unit recently made the first known regularly broadcast commercial transmission and reception of a simultaneous single 720p HDTV service and two SDTV program services a reality. WTNH (Hartford-New Haven) looked to the CDS Unit to provide the encoding system and on-site integration, installation, and testing for their entire state of the art system. THOMCAST Communications will also provide WTNH with the Pearl PSIP Manager, the first in a new line of MPEG2 based products.
A member of the LIN Television family, WTNH successfully deployed the three services in a single 6 MHz channel. The HDTV service consists of ABC network feeds and locally upconverted material. The SDTV services include weather and sports programming. The multi-channel broadcast continues to be broadcast full time. The success of this project is also noteworthy because the simulcast was accomplished with a Tiernan Communications THE1 720p HDTV encoder and two DiviCom SDTV encoders, multiplexer, and network management platform. CDS utilizes the "open solutions" approach provided by DiviCom, Inc., a wholly owned C-Cube Microsystems (NASDAQ: CUBE) subsidiary. CDS was able to integrate both DiviCom and Tiernan HDTV encoding products. All three signals have been successfully decoded and displayed with no objectionable picture artifacts.
WTNH Director of Engineering Marty Peshka feels this broadcast industry first is an important milestone for both his operation and THOMCAST Communications. "The ability to broadcast these three services simultaneously sets a new standard in commercial DTV transmission. We are very pleased to utilize the capability of the new system provided by the Comark Division CDS Unit to bring more useful information to our viewers." states Peshka.
"The ability to do a single high definition program feed along side multiple standard definition services, such as weather and news, is an important model for the commercial broadcaster," explains Matt Tietze, Director of Marketing and Sales for the Comark Division CDS Unit. "The encoding power of the DiviCom MediaView SDTV encoders, the flexibility offered by the MediaNode multiplexing platform, along with the Tiernan HDTV encoder, allowed us to accomplish this at WTNH." adds Tietze.
LIN, based in Providence, RI, has 12 owned or operated stations throughout the country: WISH, Indianapolis; WTNH, New Haven-Hartford; WOOD, Grand Rapids; WIVB, Buffalo; WAVY, Portsmouth-Norfolk; KXAN, Austin; WAND, Decatur; WANE, Ft. Wayne, WOTV, Battlecreek; WBNE New Haven-Hartford; WVBT, Norfolk; and KNVA, Austin.
On January 1, 1999, Comark Communications, Inc., and Comwave merged to form THOMCAST Communications, Inc. Both Comark and Comwave operated as separate companies owned by THOMCAST for several years. The Comark Division of THOMCAST Communications Inc., an Emmy award winner, is a leading supplier of high power UHF and VHF television transmitters to the terrestrial broadcasting industry in both analog and digital technologies. Comark provides broadcasters with complete digital solutions through its CDS Unit.
The Comwave Division of THOMCAST Communications, Inc. is the worldwide MMDS market leader for analog, digital, and 2-way voice/data applications, and the pioneer of multi-channel television transmission technology and systems. Comwave has extensive experience in solid state microwave power applications, and is known throughout the wireless industry for providing superior customer service and extensive systems engineering services. THOMCAST, a wholly owned subsidiary of THOMSON-CSF, is the leading world-wide broadcast products and systems supplier. THOMCAST offers a wide and unique product line, such as radio, television and wireless systems, broadcast antenna systems, and MPEG digital equipment and systems. THOMCAST's world-wide presence includes operations in France, Germany, Switzerland and the United States.
|
