[opendtv] EBU backs emerging 1080p standard

<*http://tinyurl.com/o8fep>*
EBU backs emerging 1080p standard       Print 
<http://tvbeurope.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=226&Itemid=46&pop=1&page=0#>
 


Thursday, 25 May 2006
While to many the issue of an interlace versus a progressive-scan HDTV 
standard had taken on the entrenched fervour of a religious debate, EBU 
technical director Phil Laven said at last week's HD Masters conference 
in London that there is no need for a format war in Europe as all the 
HD-Ready sets are standards-agile, writes Richard Dean.

However Laven left no doubt about the EBU's preference at the packed HD 
Masters conference, organised by TVBEurope in partnership with BKSTS and 
SMPTE. "Tests have shown that viewers see little difference between 
uncompressed 720p and 1080i pictures, but prefer 720p on compressed 
signals," said Laven, pointing out that for the foreseeable future 
viewers will never see uncompressed pictures at home. "So 720p offers 
broadcasters better quality at the same rate, or the same quality at a 
lower rate, perhaps making way for more channels.

"Interlace is an old but effective technique for bandwidth reduction 
dating back to the 1930s, but modern compression techniques are more 
efficient," added Laven, hammering the point home. "Although converting 
from progressively scanned footage into final interlaced broadcast is 
easy and accurate, converting in the opposite direction creates errors 
and approximations, so we believe that interlace should be avoided 
anywhere in the chain.

"The EBU position is that the emission standard should be progressive - 
720p/50 now, and 1080p/50 in the longer term."

Heralding 1080p as the 'third generation HD standard' from which 720p 
and 1080i formats can be easily derived if required, Laven conceded that 
the format consumes a mighty 3 Gbps of bandwidth at full quality. SMPTE 
is working on a new standard for both 1080p/50 and 1080p/60 in the US, 
with the likelihood of 1.5 Gbps 'mezzanine' compression variants for 
existing HD SDI infrastructure. "However it may surprise some of you," 
Laven told his hushed near-capacity audience, "to learn that stripped of 
the coding overhead associated with interlace, 1080p/50 actually needs a 
lower data rate than 1080i/50 to achieve the same subjective picture 
quality."

Far from closing down the religious divide on picture scan formats, 
Laven's claims seem likely to give the topic a whole new lease of life.

» www.hdmastersconference.com <http://www.hdmastersconference.com>

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Regards,
Mark A. Aitken
Director, Advanced Technology
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