April 1994
"krAR TECH JOURNAL
ON HIGH-DEFINITION
TV,
JAPANESE ARE DOWN BUT NOT OUT
Tokyo may have backed the
wrong horse in the development
of high-definition television stan-
dards, but Japanese consumer
electronics firms have not
dropped out of the race to deliver
the next generation of household
TV sets.
High-definition, or HDTV, im-
ages are twice as sharp as those
of conventional television.
Higher resolution means the
screens can be larger and free of
grain, making TV sets more like
cinema screens.
Japanese HDTV developers
were stung recently when the
Federal Communications Com-
mission decided to adopt digital
technology for U.S. use. The
FCC's move was a boon to Ze-
ni th Electronics Corp., whose
transmission system was chosen
for the HDTV system, and a blow
to Japanese TV manufacturers
and broadcasters, who use an
analog system.
Japan's HDTV system, Hi-Vi-
sion, has been under develop-
ment for 30 years.
communication such as those for
compression technologies, ana-
lysts said.
The European Union threw in
the towel on its partly digital HD-
MAC standard last year after
backing it for more than 10 yrs.
Despite the FCC decision, ana-
lysts said, Japanese manufactur-
ers are still in contention to pro-
duce the television sets that will
receive HDTV broadcasts.
It is increasingly likely the HDTV
standard being completed in the
United States will serve as the
basis for those in other regions,
as it incorporates emerging inter-
national standards for digital
Once a standard is accepted, it is
the ability to produce in mass
volumes that is important. Both
the Japanese and Taiwanese are
good at mass production.
RGB PATTERN GENERATOR
$249
INCLUDES HARD SHELL CARRYING CASE
ORDER FROM STAR* TECH JOURNAL, PO
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MERCHANTVILLE, NJ
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$5.
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