Compatible Systems for High-Quality Television

Abstract

The feasibility of introducing a picture memory into domestic receivers at an acceptable cost opens new ways to approach the improvement of television picture quality. Until very recently, straightforward improvement of the picture memory opens up at least two alternative approaches (described in outline in a previous paper by Jackson and Tan <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sup> ). First, if normal transmission were left unchanged, a combination of memory plus picture processing could achieve a greatly improved picture. With the alternative starting point of a large-screen picture of very high quality, processing could retain as much compatibility as possible. This article gives more detail about work already done along both these lines and also suggests some new possibilities.