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What is a TV? A box that displays images and sound, right? Not exactly, and Rich Chernock, a DACS member and a leading edge developer of digital media technology for IBM, will explain the subtle differences at the next DACS general meeting on April 2nd. The topic of this presentation will be on digital television, especially on high definition TV.

Chernock emphasizes that "We’re in the midst of a technology shift for television, moving from an analog world to a fully digital one."

The tube is not what it used to be. "Television sets (and their associated set-top boxes), while used for different purposes, are beginning to resemble specialized computer systems: microprocessors, network connections, storage and graphics systems. The main difference is in the intended use; computers are still really ‘lean forward,’ heavy-interactivity devices and TVs are ‘lean back,’ group-entertainment devices," adds Chernock.

Digital television is a far cry from back in the early 1960s, when about 15 kids crammed into a friend’s living room, the only house on the block to have a TV, to watch Wednesday afternoon shows of Rin Tin Tin on a black and white set.

Rich Chernock specifies that "In the old days, all television was analog--each RF channel carried time-varying signals that, when received, resulted in moving pictures and sound on the TV screen. Now, the RF channels carry digital information--numbers, which when decoded properly, also result in moving pictures and sound. Main differences include the new choices for broadcasters: more programs per RF channel--or higher quality and the opportunity to carry other forms of information, such as interactive programming. All forms of TV are changing--satellite has been digital since the introduction of the small dishes (DIRECTV and Echostar); most cable companies are shifting to digital (and trying to get the analog boxes back from their customers) and broadcast television is going digital with the introduction and broadcast of high-definition television (HDTV)."

Presentation topics will include:

• What is digital TV?
• How well is it doing (including how can you receive it)?
• How does it work (the technology behind it)?
• New opportunities and references.

Rich Chernock has been working on the standards for terrestrial broadcast HDTV through the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), where he holds a number of leadership positions and is responsible for several issued standards, mostly in the area of data broadcast and interactivity.

The DACS meeting will take place on April 2, 2002 at Danbury Hospital Auditorium. The meeting starts at 7 pm, with the formal presentation at 8 pm. For more information, directions and other DACS activities, check www.dacs.org.