WATS Happenings
Official Newsletter of the
Volume 6, Issue 8, August 2001
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Meeting Notice |
Lines of Resolution
As we move to the era of
digital television, we may need to reconsider some basic terminology. I found a
wealth of information nicely explained by a FAQ (frequently asked question) web
site:
http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html
Visit this site for almost
everything you ever wanted to know about DVD’s and other technical video topics.
Below is a nice discussion about “lines of resolution.” Read it carefully, as
the use of “vertical” and “horizontal” can be confusing on the first read.
—John, AC5CV
Everyone gets confused by the
term "lines of horizontal resolution," also known as LoHR or TVL.
It's a carryover from analog video, it's poorly understood, it's inconsistently
measured and reported by manufacturers, but we're stuck with it until all video
is digital and we can just report resolution in pixels.
Technically, lines of
horizontal resolution refers to visually resolvable vertical lines per
picture height. In other words, it's measured by counting the number of
vertical black and white lines that can be distinguished across an area that is
as wide as the picture is high. The idea is to make the measurement independent
of the aspect ratio. Lines of horizontal resolution applies both to
television displays and to signal formats such as that produced by a DVD
player. Most TVs have ludicrously high numbers listed for their horizontal
resolution.
Since DVD has 720 horizontal
pixels (on both NTSC and PAL discs), the horizontal resolution can be
calculated by dividing 720 by 1.33 (for a 4:3 aspect ratio) to get 540 lines.
On a 1.78 (16:9) display, you get 405 lines. In practice, most DVD players
provide about 500 lines instead of 540 because of filtering and low-quality
digital-to-analog converters. VHS has about 230 (172 widescreen) lines,
broadcast TV has about 330 (248 widescreen), and laserdisc has about 425 (318
widescreen).
Don't confuse lines of
horizontal resolution (resolution along the x axis) with scan lines (resolution
along the y axis). DVD produces 480 scan lines of active picture for
NTSC and 576 for PAL. The NTSC standard has 525 total scan lines, but only 480
to 483 or so are visible. (The extra lines are black. They contain sync pulses
and other information, such as the Closed Captions that are encoded into line #
21). PAL has 625 total scan lines, but only about 576 to 580 are visible. Since
all video formats (VHS, LD, broadcast, etc.) have about the same number of scan
lines, it's the horizontal resolution that makes the big difference in picture
quality.
Do you have anything to
add or critique this article? I’d welcome your inputs for a future issue of
Happenings! Send me
a note. —John, AC5CV
President’s Column
Last week on the WATS ATV Round Table the question was asked about how or where NASA TV channels could be found on the satellite systems. Here are some things that I learned. If you have some older satellite receiving equipment (C or KU band) and a typically 9-foot dish, you can receive the NASA channel with audio on GE-2 transponder 9C (3880 Mhz), orbit position 85 degrees West longitude at 6.8 Mhz or GE-2 transponder 13 (3960 Mhz) with vertical polarization. If you are ready to upgrade or are considering a new system, try either Direct TV or Dish Network. But, before you buy a system, be sure to take the time to study and ask all the questions you can, because there are many ways to go. I have studied a little and here are my choices because they are HDTV-compatible. By that I mean that you can use the receiver for both satellite and off-the-air HDTV programming. You will need a TV that is HDTV-compatible for seeing the picture. With this combination you can have the start of the most popular home theater system.
My first choice is the Direct TV-because I already have Direct TV. I would need to upgrade from my current 18-inch dish. I would need an 18-by-24 inch oval dish and a receiver such as the RCA DTC-100. A subscription to the basic package will include the NASA channel at no extra cost, on channel 376.
The other way to go is Dish Network once again you will need a basic package and it will include the NASA Channel 24/7 at no extra charge. On the Dish Network, NASA is found on channel 213.
It might be good to check out these Web sites.
If interested in NASA, you can watch a slightly lower quality version on the Web. Search for "NASA-TV" or go to http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/nasatv/. If you would like to keep up with the missions you can view/print a list of scheduled activities at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/nasatv/schedule.html.
Well, that's all that I have on that now but I will keep my eyes and ears open for more.
Remember that we will have the Wild West Century Bike Ride on September 29, 2001.
Hope to see every one at the meeting Thursday August 16, 2001. Board of Directors meets at 7:00 pm; members at 7:30 pm.
73 de KC5UOZ
David L Bush
WATS President
Waco Amateur Television Society (WATS)
Minutes of the Board Meeting
19 July 2001
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The July meeting was held at the offices of CORD, at 601 Lake Air Drive, beginning at 7:00 PM, with President David Bush presiding. Those present were: David Bush, President Horace Bushnell, Secretary-Treasurer John Chamberlain, Director Norris Martin, Director Justin Martin (Visitor), Webmaster Upon motion by Horace Bushnell and second by Norris Martin, the
minutes of the June meeting were approved as displayed on the web. John Chamberlain moved for approval of the June Financial Statement
as displayed on the web. Motion was seconded by Norris Martin. Motion carried. John Chamberlain made a motion that he be reimbursed $25.00 for
Gift Certificate good at Olive Garden, previously approved by the Board, to be given
to David Boehner as a token of our appreciation. Second was by Horace Bushnell.
Check was issued. Motion was made by Horace Bushnell that the newsletter, WATS
Happenings, continue to be published in hard copy and mailed to members who did
not specifically request otherwise, and to others who might possibly be interested
in WATS. Motion was seconded by Norris Martin. Motion failed. To make it a matter of record, Horace Bushnell stated that he had,
immediately after placing the May issue of WATS Happenings in the mail, sent an
e-mail message only to the President and Directors, advising them that he would
no longer edit and publish WATS Happenings. For the purpose of clarification,
the responsibilities of the Secretary/Treasurer do not, and never have,
included any part of the newsletter. It was edited and published voluntarily. There being no other business, meeting was adjourned at 7:35 PM. Horace Bushnell, W5TAH |
    Photos by Larry Bush, W5NCD
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Waco
Amateur Television Society (WATS)
Minutes of the Meeting of Members
19 July 2001
The July meeting of members was held at the offices of CORD, at
601 Lake Air Drive, beginning at 7:35 PM, with President David Bush presiding. Those
present were:
David Bush, President
Horace Bushnell, Secretary-Treasurer
Larry Bush, Member
John Chamberlain, Member
Norris Martin, Member
Justin Martin, Webmaster (Visitor)
John Chamberlain moved
the minutes of the June meeting be approved as displayed on the web. Seconded
by Horace Bushnell and passed.
During the June Meeting of Members John Chamberlain moved that
WATS begin collecting excess ATV equipment for the purpose of furnishing “loaners”
to members who are in need of equipment, on a temporary basis, to get on the
air. The motion was seconded by Bushnell, but a vote was not called for until
tonight, at which time the motion carried.
During the June Meeting of Members, President Bush suggested that
the ATV equipment collected in the foregoing action be stored at the Bush
warehouse at Speegleville. No motion was made at that time. Tonight John
Chamberlain brought up the subject and made a formal motion that the offer be
accepted. Second by Norris Martin, the motion carried.
David Bush brought up the subject regarding the marking or tagging
of WATS property items. After a brief discussion it was agreed that it would be
better to await completion of an inventory and listing of present items in the
Property Book before deciding how to handle this.
Larry showed us his new zip drive. Using a remote control, it can put on it's own "slide show" of stored images!
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Horace Bushnell brought up the subject of replacing the camcorder
now in the Skycam, which is in a poor condition. Larry Bush reminded us that the
late model camcorders are built in such a way that it is impossible to wire
into the zoom circuits. Also, someone suggested adding a soundboard to the transmitter
in order to transmit the sounds of fireworks during the next exhibition.
Finally, Larry suggested that each of us come up with suggestions at a later
meeting, as to the best way to replace the existing camera, along with
suggestions for zoom controls, whether it be hard wire or infrared.
Several members discussed an idea of a beacon type SSTV
transmitter to send time-delay images for use on the web.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:10 PM to enjoy a program by Larry Bush.
Horace Bushnell, W5TAH
Secretary
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Financial Report
31
July 2001
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WATS Happenings is the official newsletter of the Waco Amateur Television Society (WATS), Inc., a non-profit organization, chartered by the State of Texas with registered offices at 3804 N 21A Street, Waco, TX. Use of information contained herein is permissible, provided credit is given to the source. Edited and published by John Chamberlain, AC5CV.
2001 WATS Officers and Directors |
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President: David Bush, KC5UOZ, KC5UOZ@bigfoot.com Secretary/Treasurer: Horace Bushnell, W5TAH, W5TAH@aol.com Director (thru 2003): John Chamberlain, AC5CV, AC5CV@arrl.net Director (thru 2002): John Gafford, N5XAK, jgafford@clearsource.net Director (thru 2001): Norris Martin, KB5SLI, nmartin@tstc.edu |