DTV

OPTIONS FOR TRANSITION

A review of DTV transition scenario options

With the clock ticking and a rigorous FCC timetable in place, the fasttrack transition to digital broadcasting is upon us.
Unlike previous technology shifts in the television industry, the path to
DTV is not a clear one. Broadcasters have unprecedented flexibility - and
opportunity - to design new television systems to work with a wide range
of business models.
Our role is to offer the best products available to help our customers
succeed with their system design.
Many broadcasters are seeking objective information as they make
decisions on the best approach for their business.This document covers
some of the key DTV transition scenarios and details some of the pros
and cons of each.
Snell & Wilcox provides essential solutions in virtually any DTV transition
scenario. For this reason this document does not advocate any one
approach over another. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages,
depending on each broadcasters situation.

DTV transition scenario 1: NTSC infrastructure

Since many television stations still operate with an NTSC plant, this

The broadcaster who wants a cost-effective entry route to DTV

first scenario is the most cost-effective method of maintaining an

might consider this basic transition option. It is important to pay

existing studio infrastructure while meeting the FCC requirements for

close attention to encoding and decoding techniques to obtain

digital broadcasting. The trade-off, of course, is a sacrifice of the

satisfactory results.

superior picture quality offered by an all-digital television system.

Pros

Incoming high definition feeds and field acquisition materials are down

Lowest entry cost to DTV broadcasting

converted to NTSC for use within the plant. At the end of the chain,

Leverages existing NTSC plant

an upconverter is used to send a digital signal to the DTV encoder.

Allows easy insertion of local ID and logos

A precision decoder and noise reducer should be employed to

Satisfactory image quality with use of good encoding and decoding

provide the best possible video quality to the HD upconverter.

techniques
Delivery of all available ATSC standards

Its important to remember that the HD upconverter can output a

signal in one of several ATSC formats. For example, the Snell & Wilcox

Cons

HD5200 upconverter gives the broadcaster a choice of all available

Upconverted NTSC will not provide the highest quality

ATSC standards.

Does not fully exploit HDTV technology

Production

HD Acquisition

Transmission

DVE Switcher

Satellite Feed

Satellite Decoder

Non-linear Editor

Paint

HD Field Production

HD2200 Downconverter

ATSC Encoder

Character
Generator

SD Acquisition
Studio

Analog NTSC Routing

Operations
Master Control Switcher

HD5200 Upconverter

Field Production
Disk Server

VTRs
MDD2000 Precision Decoder

HD Acquisition

1.5 GBit HD

ATSC

Analog NTSC

270/360MBit SDI

DTV transition scenario 2: Digital 601 infrastructure

For the broadcaster who wants to harness the power of digital

Pros:

technology in a 601 facility, this could be the appropriate option. It

Cost effective; on air with minimal investment

offers an excellent approach for broadcasters who want to transmit

Utilizes all of the existing digital 601 infrastructure

standard definition television, whether in the 4:3 or widescreen 16:9

Allows easy insertion of local ID and logos

aspect ratio. High definition material is downconverted before

Maintains the highest production values

entering the plants serial digital routing system. Within the plant, all

Upconverted 601 offers excellent picture quality

existing SD digital devices can be used as before.

Delivery of all available ATSC standards

Prior to encoding, an upconverter is used to process the feed to the

Cons:

broadcasters preferred delivery format.

Does not fully exploit HDTV technology

Production

HD Acquisition

Transmission

DVE Switcher
Satellite Feed
Satellite Decoder
Non-Linear Editor

Paint
HD Field Production
HD2200 Downconverters
ATSC Encoder

Character
Generator

SD Acquisition
Studio

270/360 MBit
Serial Digital Routing

Operations

Master Control Switcher

Field Production

Disk Server

1.5 GBit HD

ATSC

VTRs

Analog NTSC

HD5200 Upconverter

Master Control Switcher

270/360MBit SDI

MDE2000 NTSC Encoder

DTV transition scenario 3: HD in islands

This scenario is for the broadcaster who wants to fully exploit HDTV.
In order to fast-track the transition to HD, many broadcasters will
an island within the existing digital 601 infrastructure.The plants serial
digital router will coexist with a smaller 1.5 gigabit router for HD.

Allows stations to start small and build up for full service HDTV
Delivery of all available ATSC standards

definition programming enhanced for video quality with upconversion.

During prime time or for special events, the station will switch to HDTV.
Within the HD island, there may be mezzanine encoding and decoding

HD Acquisition

Leverages off the existing infrastructure

Offers viewers and advertisers state-of-the-art television services

Outside of primetime, these broadcasters will transmit standard

crossconversion will be critical in a transitional HDTV facility.

3
Offers broadcasters high production values

choose to operate a dual-mode plant, with HD equipment placed in

with VTRs and disk recorders. Up, downconversion, and in some cases,

Pros:

Cons:

Higher initial investment (new router, master control,

production switcher, etc.)

HD Production Island

HD DVE Switcher

Transmission

Paint

Satellite Feed

Character
Generator

1.5 GBit
HD Serial Routing
Satellite Decoder
HD Disk Server and DVTR using
High-Level Mezzanine Compression
HD Field Production

Operations

Master Control Switcher

ATSC Encoder

Disk Server

VTRs

HD2200 Downconverter

SD Acquisition
Studio

MDE2000 NTSC Encoder

DVE Switcher
Non-linear Editor

Operations
SD Master Control Switcher
Field Production

270/360 MBit
Serial Digital Routing

1.5 GBit HD

ATSC

Analog NTSC

270/360MBit SDI

HD5200 Upconverter

DTV transition scenario 4: 480p infrastructure

This scenario emphasizes a facility based on 480 progressive.Though

Pros

480p can deliver an improvement of image quality over 480i, the

Offers a visible picture quality improvement over

wider implications for the plant infrastructure must be considered. All

480i in most situations

incoming material, including existing 480i archives, must be upconverted

Bandwidth allows multicasting within ATSC transmission

for use in a 480p plant.

environment

The 480p signal should be distributed throughout the plant on a 1.5

Cons

Gbit router for ease of system integration.

Requires replacement of master control, production

switcher, monitors, etc with 480p equivalent

Many common video devices, such as interlaced monitors, must be

Overall cost approaching that of HD infrastructure

replaced because they are useless in a 480p facility.The cost to equip

a plant for 480p could quickly approach that of upgrading to full
1080i HDTV.
For broadcasters wishing to transmit a 480p signal, a far cheaper
solution is to upconvert the plants output signal to 480p just before
encoding. A similar result would be achieved at far less cost.

HD Acquisition

Production

DVE Switcher

Transmission

Paint

Satellite Feed

Character
Generator

Satellite Decoder

HD Field Production

HD2200 HD Downconverter

Studio

ATSC Encoder

Operations

SD Acquisition

480P Master Control Switcher

360/540 MBit *
480P Serial Routing

HD5200 Upconverter

MDE2000 NTSC Encoder

480P Non-linear
Edit Station
Field Production

Disk Server

HD2200 Downconverter

480P DVTRs

*360 MBit routing in 4:2:0

540 MBit routing in 4:2:2

360 MBit SD (480P)

1.5 GBit HD

ATSC

Analog NTSC

270/360MBit SDI

Looking further forward: HD infrastructure

HD Acquisition

Production

HD DVE Switcher

Paint

Satellite Feed

Transmission

Character
Generator

Satellite Decoder

HD Field Production

Studio

ATSC Encoder

Operations

SD Acquisition

Master Control Switcher

1.5 GBit
HD Serial Routing

HD5200 Upconverter

HD Disk Server and DVTRs using

High-level Mezzanine Compression

Archives
& Field Production

MDE2000 NTSC Encoder

HD2200 Downconverter

1.5 GBit HD

ATSC

Analog NTSC

270/360MBit SDI

Each of these previous scenarios should be considered transitional. Where do we end up when the transition is complete? This illustration
shows where we can go with current HDTV technology. A few years from now we might migrate to 1080 progressive, but the basic 1.5
gigabit routing infrastructure will remain the same for many years to come.

www.snellwilcox.com

Snell & Wilcox Inc. 2225-I Martin Avenue, Santa Clara, CA 95050, USA
Tel: +1 408 260 1000, Fax: +1 408 260 2800, E-mail: info@snellamerica.com
Snell & Wilcox Ltd. 6 Old Lodge Place, St Margarets,Twickenham TW1 1RQ, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 8917 4300

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E-mail: info@snellwilcox.com

0131/08/01