HDTV - A DBS Perspective

For almost all viewers, today's television is perfectly acceptable when displayed on a 19 in or smaller set. However, for larger sets (e.g., 5 ft diagonal), many viewers object to the lack of sharpness and the visibility of the scanning lines. High-definition television (HDTV) can provide sharp images on larger sets and eliminate the line-visibility problem. Moreover, the HDTV picture will have a wider aspect ratio (i.e., width-to-height ratio), thereby occupying more of the viewer's field of view or peripheral vision. The combination of sharp images and wide visual field provides a medium with the impact and realism that can now be found only in the cinema. For the millions of viewers who prefer the larger pictures (roughly a half million projection TV sets are sold every year), HDTV would be an attractive new service. However, HDTV may require a considerable financial investment in DBS satellites, a disadvantage for a new (read: untried) service which is expected to grow at a modest pace since each HDTV subscriber would have to buy a new HDTV set. This paper examines home HDTV from the perspective of a DBS operator, including visual requirements and several suggested HDTV systems.