Actually in countries that refuse to broadcast in high definition the Internet will be the source of high definition television programming. Nothing holds back the internet and computer technology and everyone in europe can get a taste of high definition even today at www.hd-channel.com

I hope the CCTV (China Central Television) Experimental HD channel (which actually is a loop of some HD footage shot with a HDW750) becomes a mainstream HD channel for china. For example, It could broadcast the 2006 CCTV chinese new year festival in HD! Or better, the nightly chinese news in HD! There is real potential for this channel!

Is the China broadcast MPEG2 1080i?

Radek

Not sure, do a google search.

below is the schedule for the experimental HD channel (in chinese):

http://info.broadcast.hc360.com/images/js/05011301.jpg

I want someone to translate this for people who can't read chinese, I don't know how to write chinese myself!

The Sony model #750 shoots 1080i, U.S. version, and European version ads 1080p25. I'm assuming Chinese will broadcast 1080i.

Radek

Hmm, maybe i might be watching another channel, but how come i can recieve CCTV here in england (in SD not HD)? (via satelite)

Hey Radek,

I am pleased to hear they shoot news in DigiB in the Czech Republic, now that's class.

Hey John,

You know what, Czechs have highest definiton PAL there is. U.S. NTSC is 3.58 Mhz, Japanese, I think, 4.3, British PAL 4.5 Mhz, German PAL 5.5 MHz, Czech PAL is 6.5 MHz, Germans have 576 vertical lines, I believe, Czechs have 625 visible vertical lines, higher horizontal resolution than Germans too.

Everyone thinks all PAL is same. Is not.

As HDTV production here, there is only one network using HDCAMs, besides that there are only 5 HDCAMs in whole country, everything is Digibeta, now also 50 Mbps MPEG2 XDCAM. My friend will working on some British production here, they require 7 HDCAMs. In case like this they have to bring cameras to the country. Plenty film and SD cameras, little HD.

The country only has 10 milion people.

Radek

>>The country only has 10 milion people. <<

And from what I've seen, a lot of them are really good looking women.:)

Radek,

US and Japan are the same. 3.58 MHz is the frequency of chroma subcarrier (actually 3.579545 MHz). 4.3 MHz is the maximum bandwidth for video being broadcast, leaving some room for FM audio carrier in the 6 MHz. channel. Laser disk and S-VHS are a little wider than that. All that will soon become history. PAL is not my thing, so I'll leave that to you. I was not aware that there were so many variations. As far as I know NTSC is all the same.

David,

Sorry, I have couple multisystem TV's. I just checked 17 system Panasonic. NTSC is either 3.58 or 4.43. For PAL and SECAM can select 4.5, 5.5., 6, and 6.5. Czech stations work on 6.5, German on 5.5. I think 4.43 is for NTSC tapes for Europe, so they don't have to convert 30 frames to 25, larger bandwidth is because TV equipment here has it available.

I don't know about US, but all except cheap sets here are 100 Hz. They digitally upconvert to double vertical frequency and gives picture pseudo progressive look.

Normally you get 625i50, 100 Hz actually looks very nice, gets rid of vertical lines.

There's plenty HDTV sets here but are expensive and people just use them for regular TV, DVD.

Radek

Personally it doesn't seem to me that it's a war between 1080i and 720p (or pani and sony) both the upcoming varicam and the upcoming Cinealta will be able to cover both of those formats (though it might just be the vericam that can do it all in camera) Ideally it will all be moving to 24p (or 25p depending on which side of the atlantic you live on) and we can all do away the 29.97 and 23.98 nonsence but until those days come I think the multi format's will stick around.

P.S. Joe it sounds like we're visiting the same web sites...

That is a "problem" at the moment indeed. However, there are so much
problems coming from that whole interlaced system that I feel it would be
worth the cost to just switch over.

I mean, they can still light a newsroom the same way and it will look different
than a carefully lite and orchestrated movie. This will mean we need to work
even harder for our audience, which can only be a good thing.

We'll see what happens within the next 10 years! :)

You don't need interlaced to get that look. You can get that look (and in fact an even more "reality" look) from 720/60p. It doesn't have to be interlaced to look "live", it just has to have the fast refresh rate.