CompuServe Messages

Kent, although I don't have all the answers, I'll toss out a few thoughts from the experience base here. (1) Looks like broadcast quality falls back to that RS-170 standard or CCIR 601-2 standard. Personally, if the multiburst will go through without lopping off the 4.2 mcs portion (+/- 0.5dB) and the chroma accuracy is there without a chroma coinicdence problem (typical of those VHS formats that I've seen used other places), I would call it acceptable quality. Okay, subjective. Question is, how does it come out on the calibrated studio or production monitor? (2) The only ones I've seen that will do direct disk to broadcast have been at the major network level and not really in use. Although a number of interfaces exist, I haven't seen one in actual service as a playback source. Perhaps in another couple of years but the quality at present seems to be limited to mid range production work with just above VHS quality. The direct digital broadcasting thing may change this in the near future, but the technology is still in its infancy. (3) JPEG is the best but for single frame work, Motion JPEG is really no more than single field/frame storage in JPEG format (TrueVision E-2000 interface cards use this method at 640 x 240 field rates which actually translate to a 320 line resolution capability on playback). The MPEG that I have seen looks good until you stuff a rapidly moving or changing scene through it. Remember the lag problems we had back in the days of the image orthacon pickups? Haven't done much with the MPEG-2 format from an evaluation standpoint. Personally, the field rate JPEG storage looks the best to me. I did see a system that will facilitate around 1100 lines of resolution at a doubled rate using a field rate JPEG storage system with interfield interpolation for a progressive scanning reconstruction at a 16:9 aspect, but I doubt that this will be something seen in the U. S. for quite a while, if ever. (4) Most of our post work goes out in 3/4 U-Matic SP format (save your BVU-950 machines) for the locals and cable companies. One of the local broadcasters will take either BetaCam SP or U-Matic, but the general preference is U-Matic. The major networks we have provided material for (only CBS and ABC) would take it in BetaCam SP or one inch C format with U-Matic being acceptable as a last choice. I think NBC will take M-II but am not sure. We have no M-II format capabilities here but could have provided D-2. Internally, we do all our work with BetaCam SP, Ampex C, and U-Matic. Mostly the BetaCam is for acquisition being immediately bumped to C for a working copy. If one was to start off in it as a provider, I would recommend the U-Matic SP as the format of choice for interchange since it seems to be something that everyone has and uses. A solid standard <grin>. Hope this helps and, like I said, nothing official in any of this, but only some experience. Also, I am not affiliated with the forum but just a passing through user here. This place looks like a great location for those not dealing exclusively with consumer grade products. There is probably a FAQ on all this somewhere in one of the libraries but I know not where. Vince (Best of the new year to ya and keep your FLIPs current <grin>)