All-format decoders and set-top boxes

Summary form only given. The ATSC standard for digital television in the US includes a variety of digital video formats and resolutions. Included in the mix are pixel counts usually associated with both high definition (HDTV) and standard definition (SDTV) images. It is a premise of this paper and an assumption among receiver manufacturers and broadcasters that consumer receivers must be able to decode all of the ATSC formats. Displayed formats and resolutions may vary. Consumers will be able to purchase digital receivers at a variety of price points. Low-cost set-top boxes will make the new digital transmissions viewable on the large installed base of NTSC receivers in use in US homes, preserving their utility as display devices for the new digital broadcast services. It is implicit in the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC's) plan for the introduction of digital television and recovery of some existing broadcast spectrum that there must be a low-cost means of adopting the present NTSC receiver population for the new digital service. The paper discusses a decoder which makes all programming viewable on all receivers.