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August 3, 2000 |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NHK |
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NHK and NTT Communications to Jointly Develop Device
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| NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com) announced today that they will jointly develop an improved version of a device that digitally compresses high-definition television (HDTV) signals using large-scale integration (LSI). The two companies have inaugurated a joint-development committee that will decide on the specifications of the new device and that, by the end of 2000, will select companies to manufacture it. NHK and NTT Com aim to complete the development of the device by 2002. The collaborative development will enable the size of the existing device to be reduced and its price to be lowered, resulting in advantages to NHK and NTT Com, both of which plan to install the new device in transmission facilities. Because the existing HDTV-signal compression device is of relatively large size and high weight, and consumes much power, it has been used mainly indoors. The new device will adopt an MPEG-2* standard using LSI, enabling the size of the device to be as small as a post card. This will greatly improve the mobility of the wireless-transmission facilities that will incorporate the device. The new device will effectively transmit HDTV signals by digitally compressing them. It will be suitable for use in HDTV field pickup units (microwave link units) and optical-fiber transmission facilities. NHK hopes to expand its HDTV-transmission network nationwide through this joint development. Moreover, the company plans to make its HDTV news broadcasts and other programs more appealing to viewers. The results of the joint development are expected to be reflected in NTT Com's digital television broadcasting network, which is now under development. This joint-development activity will constitute a significant part of our efforts to reduce costs and to advance digital television broadcasting technologies. * MPEG-2: An ISO/ITU standard, established by the Motion Picture Group for compressing video to effectively transmit digital video signals. |
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