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We go over the history of high definition television and discuss some tips and tricks for wiring in difficult situations.

 

 

The History of HDTV

We talk quite a bit on this show about HDTV, or High Definition Television.  And that make sense, after all, it is called the HDTV and Home Theater podcast.  Today we'll take a look back at the history of HDTV, to see where it came from and when it all began.  Most of us think of it as a fairly new technology, but in truth, it's been around since the early seventies.  That's right, the eight track and HDTV were alive at the same time.  Go figure.

The roots of HDTV come from two sides, the content owners, who wanted higher quality video, and CE companies, who wanted to sell more television sets.  Those two forces merged to create what we now enjoy, and both got what they were hoping for.  Of course, back in the early days, many of the local broadcasters were afraid that the increased bandwidth requirements would kill them, so they did whatever they could to slow it down.  It was this requirement that killed any chance of an analog base HDTV system.  Several analog systems have been tried in Europe and Asia, but they have all since disappeared because of the extremely high bandwidth requirements.

The first true HDTV system called MUSE (multiple subnyquist sampling encoding) was used by NHK in Japan.  As an analog system, it had its limitations, but in 1987 the 1125-line HDTV system was nothing short of amazing.  NHK was invited to give a demonstration in the United States, and it went extremely well.  The idea that television could look that good really excited people, including those in the US government.

With a strong push from several groups, and and equally strong pull from others, the US Government set out to establish a standard that would appeal to everyone.  The system would allow for much higher quality video, would minimize bandwidth requirements and should be built to last for quite some time.  To that end, i n 1987, the FCC established the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service to advise them on "technical and public policy issues regarding advanced television." This committee ultimately selected the ATSC video standard for US television broadcasts in 1996.  Meant to eventually replace the NTSC standard that had been around since the forties, ATSC (which is named for the Advanced Television Systems Committee that created it) is an all digital solution.  It has also been adopted in Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Honduras and is under consideration in many other nations.

The ATSC standard allows for up to 1080 lines of resolution - which isn't even as high as the MUSE system used by NHK back in 1974, but it's still worlds better than the 480 we've been getting with NTSC.  Because it also introduced the wide screen, 16:9 format, the maximum resolution of ATSC is almost six times that of its predecessor.  In addition to the increase in resolution, the ATSC standard also allows for digital surround sound audio using the Dolby Digital AC-3 codec.  Another feature of ATSC is the ability to broadcast up to six standard definition digital channels in the same bandwidth used by one legacy standard definition analog channel.  Many of us are fuming over some broadcaster's decision to actually do this, but that's a different discussion.

Another competing digital HDTV standard available in Europe, Asia, Australia and elsewhere is called DVB, which stands for Digital Video Broadcasting.  Unlike the ATSC standard, DVB does not include resolutions of 720 lines.  Bith ATSC and DVB-T (the terrestrial broadcast version of DVB) share the use of the MPEG-2 codec for video transmission.  Whether you get to watch HDTV as ATSC or DVB is probably not as important as getting to watch it at all.  Many countries are still deciding on a format, and while they do, their citizens wait.  Hopefully soon, we'll be able to watch TV in high definition anywhere on the planet.

 

 

Speaker Wiring Tips and Tricks

Over the years we have had to run wire all over the place and in many situations.  When wiring a home the front speakers are typically not the problem. Its getting those pesky wires to the back for surround. So when we ran across an article at Electronichouse.com called How to Wire Tricky Rooms and thought it would make for a nice feature. Even if you are already wired for left and right surround you may want to add a sixth or seventh channel. This feature may have something for you.
The article covers more than just wiring for speakers so make sure you check it out. We will focus on speakers although many of the tips will work for any type of wire.

If your home is on a raised foundation or you have easy access to your attic you can run wire under or over your room. You may have to get into some tight spaces, but that's why you have kids right ;-) But seriously, it is a pain to get in those tight spaces to hide your wires. So here are a few alternative solutions.

• Flat Speaker wire - you can find some as little as .006 inches thick and its available in 12/14/16 gauge equivalence. You can run this under wall to wall carpet near the edge. Some of the real thin wire comes with an adhesive backing that will allow for wall placement. This will work if you don't have wall to wall carpet. With this style or wire you'll need to texture coat the wire and paint over it. Here are a couple of flat wire solutions:
  
• http://www.decorp.com/dewire .htm
• http://www.htguys.com/shop.php ?id=B0001XGQCM

• Baseboards - You've wanted to upgrade your baseboards haven't you? Removing your baseboards and replacing them with new ones is far simpler than cutting into drywall. Plus you get the added benefit of improving the look of your room. You will just have to cut a small notch in the board where you want the wire to pop out. You can find baseboards are your local Home Depot or Lowes.
• Wire channels or tracks - These are products that come with an adhesive backing and can be places on the wall just above the base board. Ara has used these in his home to hide all kinds of wires. The nice thing about placing it just above the base board is that it looks natural. They are easy to paint. A tip here is make sure that the area you are placing the track is clean and dry. If you do that the adhesive will not come loose. Even if you run the speaker under carpet or behind baseboards unless you have floor standing surround speakers you'll need to run the wire up to the ceiling. This is a simple and easy on the eyes way to get the wire to the ceiling without cutting drywall. A company called Wiremold has a full line of products in this area.
• Wireless (or less wires) - Paul Bente (President of JBL Consumer Products) likes to call it less wires because no matter what you still need to get power to the speakers. JBL and other manufacturers have solutions that will get the audio across the room without wires but at some point you'll still need to run power. But that's typically easier than running speaker cables from the front of the room to the back. You may still want the wire channels so you can run speaker cables from the base to the speakers.
  

The wireless solution is the most expensive but you get speakers in the deal so it may come out in a wash. If you want a surround system but you don't want to spend the money remodeling your room these products can help you get from point A to point B with the least amount of fuss.

 

The HT Guys love their Starbucks. If you want to say thanks, a cup of joe will do just fine!