The digital dawn in Europe [HDTV]

Europe's digital television plans downplay high-definition applications because of their previous defeat by an uninterested public. Europe's move from analog to digital television is still unfolding. It all began in 1986 with an Europe-wide research project that used digital technology to enhance analog television. Under the umbrella of Project EU-95 manufacturers and broadcasters throughout the region joined forces to develop a high-definition television (HDTV) system native to their part of the world. The European system used 1250 picture lines, exactly twice the 625 lines of the domestic phase alternation line (PAL) system, to make compatibility with existing television sets easier to achieve. But it did not build directly on the PAL standard. Instead, the high-definition system built on a then-new 625 line MAC (multiplexed analog components) and so was called HD-MAC.<
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