Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!uw-beaver!mit-eddie!snorkelwacker!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!texbell!texsun!newstop!sun!vector!poynton From: poynton@vector.Sun.COM (Charles A. Poynton) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware Subject: Re: Difference American vs. European Amiga Message-ID: <132564@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> Date: 6 Mar 90 10:49:04 GMT References: <15465.AA15465@slaka.sirius.se> <381@poppy.warwick.ac.uk> <5160@wehi.dn.mu.oz> <1990Feb21.115439.6769@NCoast.ORG> <5202@wehi.dn.mu.oz> <2472@castle.ed.ac.uk> <11031@saturn.ADS.COM> Sender: news@sun.Eng.Sun.COM Reply-To: poynton@sun.UUCP (Charles A. Poynton) Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View Lines: 83 Holy smokes, I posted "U.S. SCUTTLES 1920x1080" moments before reading Kent Paul Dolan's piece that exhorts "Sheesh! Quit bellyaching and get involved!" I posted to Comp.std.internat almost as an afterthought, since the HDTV standards issue is primarily concerned with television (Sci.electronics, Rec.video) and computer graphics (Comp.graphics) but of course it's prime international standards material. What is happening in HDTV is that the U.S. broadcasters want twice 525 at their frame rate (1050/59.94/2:1) with twice their current picture lines (966), the European broadcasters want twice 625 at their frame rate (1250/50/2:1) with twice their line count (1152), and the Japanese thought they could craft a political solution (total lines almost the geometric mean of 1050 and 1250, frame rate of 60.00 an equal nuisance to N.A. and Europe, and a picture line count with good numerology 483/525 = 575/625 = 1035/1125 but non-square pixels). To those that feel it's futile, the broadcasters have been educated to the extent that the Europeans have had to abandon their favourite 1920x1152 proposal because square pixels have become a reality there; this is the origination of the 2048x1152 number (2 1/4 megapixels). Both Zenith and NBC have published square pixel proposals, the last holdouts. So to those inspired by Dolan's invitation, here's a real issue for those idealists that believe in one world. C. ----- Charles A. Poynton Sun Microsystems Inc. vox 415-336-7846 2550 Garcia Avenue, MS 21-10 fax 415-969-9131 Mountain View, CA 94043 U.S.A. "Buddy, you just don't understand economics at all, do you?" ----- Article 599 (1 more) in comp.std.internat: From: xanthian@saturn.ADS.COM (Metafont Consultant Account) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware,comp.std.internat Subject: Re: Difference American vs. European Amiga Keywords: I will fight no more this day forever. Message-ID: <11031@saturn.ADS.COM> Date: 27 Feb 90 12:32:57 GMT References: <15465.AA15465@slaka.sirius.se> <381@poppy.warwick.ac.uk> <5160@wehi .dn.mu.oz> <1990Feb21.115439.6769@NCoast.ORG> <5202@wehi.dn.mu.oz> <2472@castle. ed.ac.uk> Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.hardware Organization: Advanced Decision Systems, Mt. View, CA (415) 960-7300 Lines: 28 I have a great idea. Rather than merely toasting each other for not adopting the design of the AC power system from where it was invented, but instead choosing an incompatible standard, so that we can fight 120 volt versus 220 volt, and 60 Hertz versus 50 Hertz wars forever; rather than just flaming each other for not adopting TV standards from where the technology was invented, but instead choosing an incompatible standard, so that we can fight PAL versus NTSC wars until hell freezes over; let's all play Not Invented Here, and drag our feet all the way to the standards meetings a while longer, so we can adopt different and incompatible HDTV standards, upward compatible only with our own jingoistic existing TV broadcast industries, in formats completely worthless for assisting digital display and computing (no Powers of Two _here_, no sir, we don't believe in them), so that we can go on raving about how this stuff written by the other guy/gal that works for every Amiga computer available for testing within a thousand miles of the author won't work on _my_ Amiga computer, well into the twenty second century and beyond. Isn't this _fun_? Sheesh! Quit bellyaching and get involved. And if anyone wants to mention the only country in the world that has been officially metric for over a century and never implemented the standard, I have a flag here I want to wave a while to change the subject. ;-) -- xanthian@ads.com xanthian@well.sf.ca.us (Kent Paul Dolan) Again, my opinions, not the account furnishers'.