Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!pro-nucleus.UUCP!hzink
From: hzink@pro-nucleus.UUCP (Harry Zink)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: HDTV
Message-ID: <8905220857.AA02204@crash.cts.com>
Date: 21 May 89 21:41:04 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: pnet01!pro-sol!pro-nucleus!hzink@nosc.mil
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 38

Even though apple may be 'involved' in HDTV in the US, and many US companies
are working on etsablishing a standard, Japan is far ahead of us.

The Japanese Television station (forgot the exact name) has started
broadcasting HDTV programs this month.  HDTV sets, VCRs and cameras are
available (albeit in short supply), with a potential for a growing market.

What is holding the US introduction of HDTV back?  From what I understand the
FCC's stipulation that any new braodcats standard HAS to eb compatible with
the stone-age NTSC system - a very stupid stipulation in my opinion.  The
problem with this is simply that instead of having one worldwide standard for
HDTV (like it was originally planned) we will again end up with multiple, each
one incompatible with the others.  The dream of manufcaturing one product for
the world (for the industries) and of being able to buy and play videotapes
anywhere in the world is being shattered by such primitive considerations as
compatibility with an obsolete format.  From what I understand, the japanes
are simply broadcasting side-by-side, and in no way reatining compatibility. 
The benefit is the best quality signal NOW!

The problem does not simply lie with theh US, though. Several years ago (I
think it was 5) there was a meeting of the International Standards committee
about HDTV somewhere in Europe (the information is sketchy because iut has
been a while) where the US and japan agreed on a system that they wanted to
implement, but the germans refused to accept this system, because they were
working on their own (in the blueprint stage, while the japanese one was fully
developed) and didn't want to adopt somebody else's.  

What it boils down to, I think, is that simply politics, as always, are the
bane of progress, standardisations and convenience in general - but then I
guess everyone on here knows this full well.

NOTE:  If any of my information in this post is incorrect, or you know of any
newer developments on this subject, please let me know (Preferably via E-mail
since this is not hdtv.news).
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