Coding and transmission of high-definition television-technology trends in Japan

The recent trends of HDTV (high-definition television) transmission technologies in Japan are reviewed. The topics include bandwidth compression for analog transmission, bit-rate reduction for digital transmission, and actual transmission experiments using optical fiber lines and communication satellites. A uniform subsampling system, MUSE, has been completed and is ready for practical use. Some adaptive subsampling methods are under study. As to the bit-rate reduction coding, several codecs which operate at around 100-160 Mbit/s have been built. HDTV transmission in the anticipated B-ISDN (broadband integrated services digital network) is also discussed.<
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