HD Standards (U.S.)

Broadcast Standards

The new generation of television conforms to the broadcast standard defined by The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC). This committee was established in 1982 to co-ordinate technical standards for the acquisition, distribution and reception of high definition (HD) television. In 1995 the ATSC published “The Digital Television Standard” describing the Advanced Television System used in the United States. The standard for distribution and reception uses MPEG-2 compression for the video and AC-3 (a.k.a. Dolby Digital) for the audio and includes a variety of video resolutions as shown in the table below. An ATSC receiver must be able to display pictures from any of the video formats. NTSC, the current broadcast standard in the United States, will be phased out over time.

Acquisition Standards

There are three standards for video acquisition in widespread use (see table below). ITU-R BT.601.3, commonly called Standard Definition (SD), has been in use for decades. The newer SMPTE 274M and SMPTE 296M standards are both commonly known as High Definition (HD). The most common frame rate for acquisition today is 29.97 Hz with interlaced vertical scanning (60i).

Some cameras are capable of shooting in a variety of frame rates and progressive scan. With the desire for the “film look” and the ability to distribute and broadcast progressive scan material, many filmmakers seek alternatives to the ubiquitous 60i broadcast standard. The most prevalent of these is 24p (23.976 or 24 frames per second with progressive scanning) which is possible with professional cameras like the Sony Cine Alta, the Panasonic Varicam, and the Panasonic SDX900. Among prosumer cameras, the Panasonic DVX100, Panasonic HVX200, and JVC H100U offer true 24p aquisition.

What’s the big deal?
With a higher resolution video standard we can display video on larger displays while maintaining close viewing distances. And while many films have been shot with SD DV cameras, HD cameras provide a much sharper image (and with better color reproduction as well) on the large screen. This is also true in homes with HD television sets.
The problem at the moment is that there is no HD DVD standard available to consumers or any other practical delivery standard in widespread use.

Sony’s new HDV format camera provides an affordable HD solution for independent filmmakers. Panasonic has followed suite with their alternative approach.