High definition television systems

High definition television (HDTV) services will play the most important role in the digital television systems for the future. HDTV is already broadcast daily in Japan and advanced television (ATV) standards will soon be established in the US. The hardware systems for two HDTV systems, the 1125/60 and 1250/50 systems, have already been developed. Their outlines are described in the paper. Signal processing of HDTV is mainly carried out by digital methods on both the studio and receiver sides. The principles of processing are the same as for conventional television but the higher clock frequency and larger quantity of information require more sophisticated hardware. Digital signal processing methods are the key technology in HDTV broadcasting systems regardless of whether modulation is analog or digital. Some broadcasting systems are already practical use while others, are experimental. The author discusses these systems. The aim of the article is to present a global scope of the HDTV technology