High-density magnetic recording: a driving force for HDTV?

Rotary digital magnetic tape recorders are being used for both audio (DAT), and for data (Exabyte 8 mm drive). In both of these commercially available products, the areal storage density approaches 100,000,000 bits/square inch at acceptable error rates. The characteristics of a helical-scan recorder with even higher areal densities designed for HDTV use is described. A complete digital HDTV system is described along with the constraints and requirements of the various functional components. In addition, the current state of HDTV being proposed in America is also described.<>