Not a first....
OK, perhaps a first for a receiver, but NOT in digital television production.
I've been out of that business for over ten years, so the memory is vague
and I hope others can elaborate.
In the process of working with COMPONENT Serial Digital Television there
is a prominent artifact at 121.5 MHz. It was not intentional; just the
natural mathematical result of some of the underlying work. What is
unfortunate is that NOBODY who worked on the design of the standard had
any radio communications background. They knew the artifact was there
but attached no importance to it.
A couple of major equipment suppliers figured it out before any of their
products got loose and made sure the 121.5 didn't get "outta the box" but
at least ONE did NOT. A major all-component digital facility opened in
Toronto and closed within days after The RCAF responded to what appeared
to be a commercial airliner down somewhere in the city! Fortunately for
me, I was working, at the time, in marketing for one of the companies
that was aware of the problem.
So....the question becomes whether the UK problem was the result of
a defective single example of the receiver or of a defective design!
In The U.S. we shouldn't expect to see much, if any of this in the
near term since most HD receivers are attached to cable; not outdoor
antennae. Of course as HD spreads.......
<P ID="signature">______________
"environmentalism is collectivism in drag."
--George Will (or won't)</P>
