Simul-production in HDTV and NTSC

A wide range of HDTV equipment has been developed and installed as part of the CT-101 studio in the NHK broadcasting centre. The equipment is designed to meet both the SMPTE 240M and 260M standards and to ease the problems of daily operation. A feature of the studio is the inclusion of standards converters between the HDTV and NTSC standards to facilitate simultaneous production in both standards. Pictures from HDTV cameras and VTRs, converted in real time to NTSC are widely used in programme production. HDTV programme material is acquired from NTSC sources through up-converters. Simultaneous programme production, or Simul-production, involves programmes for both NTSC and HDTV simultaneously using HDTV sources. This is a cost-effective way of increasing both the quantity and variety of the programme material.