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History of TV
1842 Alexander Bain managed to transmit a still image over wire. First fax machine! In 1884 Paul Gottlieb Nipkow went a step further, and discovered (and patented) a way to scan a moving image and transmit it sequentially. Birth of mechanical television.
Mechanical Television
Mechanical Television
John Logie Baird, a Scottish inventor, demonstrated what many refer to as the first television broadcast on January 26, 1926. Bairds grayscale image, presented to members of the Royal Institution in London had only about 30 lines of resolution.
Mechanical Television
1927 - First TV broadcast in the US Herbert Hoover From NY to Washington Had about 50 scanning lines Broadcast by wire and radio
Electronic Television 1934 Philo Farnsworth demonstrated an allelectronic system Less cumbersome than mechanical TV Quickly gained popularity
Many improvements were made in cameras, production and broadcast gear, and in television receivers Despite advances, the quality of analog broadcast was still limited to the NTSC standard of 60 fields and 525 horizontal scan lines Stuck with more or less same standards created in 1941.
By the 1980s, manufacturers had been developing and using both analog and digital HD systems It became clear that the replacement for analog would use digital television technology. Needed a new set of standards to ensure compatibility.
ATSC
Formed in 1982 The Advanced Television Systems Committee is a not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to develop standards for the transition to DTV. Its published broadcast standards are voluntary unless adopted and mandated by the FCC. ATSC proposed DTV Standard (A/53) that specifies the protocol for high-definition broadcasting through a standard 6MHz channel
DTV
In December 1996, the FCC adopted standards proposed by the ATSC, mandating that broadcasters begin broadcasting digitally. WRAL of Raleigh, North Carolina was the first station to broadcast in digital.
DTV
FCCs current plan is to terminate analog broadcasting by February 2009 (though the deadline could be extended).
DTV formats
HDTV/SD Horizontal TV lines SDTV SDTV HDTV HDTV 640 704 1280 1920 Vertical lines 480 480 720 1080 Aspect Ratio 4:3 4:3 and 16:9 16:9 16:9 Frame Rate 60p, 60i, 30p, 24p 60p, 60i, 30p, 24p 60p, 30p, 24p 60i, 30p, 24p
Technical Aspects
Technical Aspects
Codec is short for compressor-decompressor or coder-decoder, and refers to a manner in which data is compressed and uncompressed Broadcast and production codecs differ In order to squeeze the data into a form that can be reliably broadcast within a 6 MHz section of bandwidth, the HDTV signal must be compressed at about a 50:1 ratio.
Technical Aspects
Most DTV broadcasts (terrestrial, cable & satellite) use MPEG-2 MPEG-2s compresses the video into groups of pictures (GOPs) not individual frames. Images are divided into macroblocks, which are areas of 16 x 16 pixels. GOPs are created with three types of pictures: I, P, and B frames. I frames are intracoded frames. P are predicted frames and B are bidirectional frames.
Technical Aspects
In addition to audio & video, DTV contains metadata - auxiliary information related to the program or its content including audio dialog level info, closed captioning, format descriptor tags, and digital rights management (DRM) data.
Technical Aspects
HDTV allows for both interlaced and progressive content.
Technical Aspects
Interlaced display
Technical Aspects
DTV supports multiple frame rates including 24p. 24p is the standard film frame rate used by the motion picture industry for years Allows for easier transfer to / from film 16 x 9 aspect ratio more closely matches widescreen film formats. DTV supports the display of traditional, standard resolution, 4:3 content.
Aspect ratios
Conversion
Up-converting (converting to a superior format) Down-converting (converting to a lesser format) Scaling / sizing Aspect ratio manipulation / conversion Common to see broadcasters delivering images with the improper aspect ratio.
Implementation
Implementation
HDTV production typically begins with a highdefinition camera, or a project shot on film then converted to a digital format. Other means are possible. Much of Tim Burtons recent stop-motion feature, The Corpse Bride was shot with a Canon digital still camera, and then transferred to digital video for editing. Many commercials, cartoons, and full-length features have been created solely with animation software
Implementation - Cameras
HDTV cameras have been used for private applications long before the ATSC standards were in place Higher-end production cameras suitable for studio or digital cinematography can cost well over $100,000. (Thats not including the lens!) Sub-$1,000 range targeted to consumers are pushing sales on the lower end.
Implementation - Cameras
Star Wars Episode III was shot with a Sony HDC-F950
QuickTime and a TIFF (LZW) decompressor are needed to see this picture.
Implementation
Recording & playback can be done in many ways: Tape Hard-drive Optical disc RAM
Implementation - Editing
MPEG-2 works well for transmission, but is not an ideal choice for editing due to its GOP structure and high compression ratio. Editors typically want access to discreet frames with less compression. In addition to the standard bit depths of 8 and 10, there are also higher end, 16-bit codecs available from companies like Pinnacle and Digital Anarchy
HD content, especially uncompressed, takes massive amounts of bandwidth and disk space. Consider this comparison: An hour of DV footage with a stereo pair of 16-bit audio tracks takes approximately 14 GB of disk space. An hour of 10-bit 1920 x 1080 HD footage with a pair of 24-bit audio channels requires nearly 600 GB of space.
LCoS Similar to DLP, LCoS projection systems use liquid crystals instead of mirrors to block light. The liquid crystals are arranged in a grid in front of a highly reflective surface.
Usage/Saturation
A recent survey carried out by Panasonic in December of 2005 reported that 26% of US households will own or will purchase a highdefinition set by the end of 2006. The NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) maintains a growing list of stations that have made the move to digital broadcast. In December 2005, 1,550 stations were broadcasting digitally.
Impact of HDTV
Broadcasters & consumers spend more $ Increased visual clarity has forced designers to spend considerably more money on sets, set dressings and props DVD battle being waged. Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD
Conclusion
As NTSC retires, HDTV programming, products, and production services will continue to grow exponentially. Move will be cheaper, quicker, and easier as products and services become more widespread and people grow accustomed to the new technology. HDTV has brought a more cinematic experience into viewers homes and with digital cinema, delivered the film industry a few of the benefits of television. However, HDTV still has much lower resolution than 70mm film. Its a matter of time before some will begin pressuring for another increase in quality.