The HDTV Grand Alliance System

Broadcast television in the United States has remained essentially unchanged in the last 50 years except for the addition of color and stereo sound. Today, personal computers are meeting the need for random access of high-resolution images and CD-quality audio. Furthermore, advances in digital video compression and digital communication technology have cleared the way toward offering high-resolution video and audio services to consumers using traditional analog communications channels. In 1987, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chartered an advisory committee to recommend an advanced television system for the United States. From 1990 to 1992, the Advanced Television Test Center (ATTC) tested four all-digital systems, one analog high-definition television (HDTV) system, and one enhancement NTSC system using broadcast and cable television environment simulators. The formation of the HDTV Grand Alliance in May 1993 resulted from the withdrawal of the only analog HDN system from the competition and a stalemate between the other four all-digital systems. The HDTV Grand Alliance system is composed of the best components from previously competing digital systems demonstrated to the FCC. The Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG-2) syntax is used with novel encoding techniques to deliver a set of video scanning formats for a variety of applications. This article describes the important features and concepts embodied in the HDTV Grand Alliance system.