A Multi-Frame Rate, Compression-Free, Video Recorder for Universal DTV Mastering in High Resolution

The advent of the Digital Television (DTV) broadcasting era offers the prospect of higher-quality delivery of content through more access channels to the home, but it could also mean greater complexity in production and post-production. DTV involves the continuing support of legacy television formats such as PAL and NTSC in programme production for many years, while at the same time expanding the capacity and capability of facilities to accommodate the new demands of the HDTV options that are also available within DTV standards. — Several initiatives are helping to tackle this challenge. These include the work on the Common Image Format in the ITU-R and the proposal within the SMPTE for a 24-frame progressive variant on existing HDTV standards to make a mastering format for production that can be universal and generic to all world DTV and legacy TV formats, just as its inspirational force, 24-frame motion picture film, is universal and generic. — A key element needed to support such a universal mastering format has so far been missing. This is a video tape recorder, of sufficient internal bandwidth to perform the basic functions expected of a classic post-production VTR, but at high definition bit rates, and without recourse to compression. Not only that, but it is equally important that the machine be adaptable in frame rate, to cover both universal mastering and international distribution formats for DTV. — This paper therefore describes a new video tape recorder shown at the recent NAB convention in Las Vegas that satisfies these requirements. Adherence to important SMPTE standards is also covered, together with a development path planned for the technology that covers issues such as RGB recording and film image data recording.

Published

1999-07

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/M001227

ISBN

978-1-61482-948-5