Consumer electronics: The problems and promises of high-definition television: Its future looks brighter, yet challenges remain in bandwidth, standards, and compatibility

The principal barriers, such as incompatibility, to the use of high-definition television for home use are examined. A discussion is presented of the CBS system, which is compatible in the sense that a conventional receiver, with the addition of new baseband video-processing circuits, could receive the HDTV signals and display a conventional 525-line color picture. HDTV receivers, when available, could display a high-definition 1050-line picture. Scanning and transmission issues are also considered.