Design and Implementation of the ATSC Demonstration of HDTV at NAB'97

At NAB'97 the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) demonstrated high-definition television (HDTV) and data broadcasting using the ATSC digital TV standard. The demonstration featured over-the-air broadcasts from a local Las Vegas television station, with program distribution from the model HDTV station in Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas. This paper describes the design and implementation of the demonstration, including the main constraints and issues affecting the system architecture and equipment. Also mentioned are some of the problems encountered and how they were overcome. The paper concludes with the lessons learned from the demonstration and how HDTV systems in the future may be improved using new techniques and equipment.