 
 
 
 
 
                                    United States General Accounting Office
          ___________________________________________________________________
          GAO                       Fact Sheet for the Chairman,
                                    Subcommittee on Telecommunications and
                                    Finance, Committee on Energy and
                                    Commerce
                                    House of Representatives
 
          ___________________________________________________________________
          December 1989            HIGH-DEFINITION TELEVISION
 
                                    Applications for This New Technology
 
 
 
          ___________________________________________________________________
          GAO/IMTEC-90-9FS
 
 
 
 
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         Thank you for your time.
 
 
         Sincerely,
 
         Jack L. Brock, Jr.
         Director,
         Government Information and Financial
         Management Issues
         Information Management and Technology Division
 
 
                 B-237265
 
                 December 11, 1989
 
 
                 The Honorable Edward J. Markey
                 Chairman, Subcommittee on Telecommunications
                   and Finance
                 Committee on Energy and Commerce
                 House of Representatives
 
                 Dear Mr. Chairman:
 
                 This report responds to your April 28, 1989, letter, which
                 asked us to identify uses for high-definition television
                 (HDTV) technology.  You also asked for information
                 concerning the potential effect that the selection of an
                 HDTV production standard would have on the development of
                 nonentertainment applications in the United States.#1  In
                 this report we provide information on 14 HDTV applications
                 spanning defense, medicine, space exploration, and other
                 areas that we identified during our review.  In addition, we
                 provide the opinions of key industry officials concerning
                 the general effect that establishing an HDTV production
                 standard would have on potential applications.  As agreed
                 with your office, we will discuss these standards, and the
                 issues related to their adoption, in greater detail in a
                 future report.
 
                 HDTV represents the next generation in video technology,
                 with a picture that is wider and twice as sharp as the one
                 currently appearing on television sets.  This significant
                 improvement in picture clarity and quality is made possible
                 mainly by increasing the number of scanning lines from 525
                 (the American production standard for over 40 years) to over
 
 
 
 
 
                1A production standard is an agreed-upon set of technical
                 specifications that determine the manner in which audio and
                 visual information is recorded to create a television
                 picture.  Production standards are applied to the design and
                 manufacture of production equipment, for example, studio
                 cameras.  Other television standards involve the
                 transmission and display of screen images.
 
                 1
 
 
 
                 B-237265
 
                 1000 lines.#2  In addition, HDTV improves on regular
                 television by its greatly enhanced color and its capability
                 to deliver digital stereo sound.
 
                 HDTV APPLICATIONS
                 -----------------
                 Because of the dramatic improvement in picture quality, much
                 of the interest in HDTV applications has centered on its
                 potential uses in the television, motion picture, and
                 consumer electronics industries.  Industry officials believe
                 that HDTV will have a significant economic impact on
                 manufacturers of video cassette recorders, video cameras,
                 television sets, and other associated equipment.  According
                 to one estimate, consumer sales of HDTV sets in the United
                 States alone could exceed $20 billion a year by the late
                 1990s.
 
                 In addition to entertainment, we found there are a number of
                 other applications for HDTV--spanning defense, medicine,
                 space exploration, and other areas--that could be of use to
                 both the public and private sectors.  Because HDTV
                 technology is relatively new, many applications have not
                 progressed beyond the conceptual stage.  The applications we
                 have identified are those that are currently in production
                 or are under development; therefore, our list of
                 applications is not exhaustive.  Appendix I contains more
                 detailed information on the 14 HDTV applications that we
                 identified during this review.
 
                 PRODUCTION STANDARDS
                 --------------------
                 We found no consensus among industry officials on what
                 potential effect a common production standard would have on
                 the development of HDTV applications.  Although numerous
                 American researchers and manufacturers have proposed HDTV
                 systems, they are based on widely varying production
                 standards, in part because U.S. industry has not agreed on a
                 single HDTV standard.#3  Thus, the systems developed in this
 
 
                2A television picture is created by rapidly scanning a
                 phosphorescent screen with electrons, or scanning lines,
                 which are invisible to the naked eye.
 
                3Production standards are based on many technical
                 parameters including aspect ratio, the number of scanning
                 lines, color, luminance, and others.  In meetings of the
                 Consultative Committee on International Radio--an
                 international standards-setting organization--agreement has
                 been reached on many, but not all, of these parameters.
 
                 2
 
 
 
                 B-237265
 
                 country use anywhere from 787.5 to 1,200 scanning lines to
                 produce high-resolution images.  In contrast, Japanese
                 industry has largely agreed on a system that produces images
                 with 1,125 scanning lines, while a number of European
                 countries have formed a consortium to work toward a single
                 HDTV production standard.
 
                 The cost of HDTV production equipment can be reduced by
                 having a common standard, according to a group of companies
                 favoring a modified version of the Japanese production
                 standard.#4  This group stated that if computer graphics,
                 entertainment, research, medicine, retailing, and publishing
                 could all share a common HDTV standard, volume would justify
                 mass production of integrated circuits--key components in
                 HDTV hardware--and costs would fall dramatically.
 
                 In contrast, other industry officials do not believe the
                 lack of an overall production standard is currently
                 affecting the ability of domestic manufacturers and others
                 to develop HDTV applications and receive the projected
                 economic benefits associated with them.  According to these
                 officials, the lack of an overall production standard has
                 not been a factor in the initial development of uses for
                 HDTV.  Most of the nonentertainment applications identified
                 at the present time are for closed-circuit systems in which
                 the developer has independently determined the methods and
                 standards for production, transmission, and display.
 
                 Applications of this type have already been developed in
                 advance of any worldwide or domestic standards agreement.
                 For example, one medical application involves transmitting
                 high-definition pictures of pathology slides, via fiber
                 optic cable, to a physician in another location for
                 diagnosis.  The developers of this system have designed a
                 specialized high-definition camera, transmission system, and
                 display that are most appropriate for this specific purpose.
                 These officials acknowledged that, over the long term, mass
                 production of HDTV equipment for entertainment purposes
                 might reduce their equipment acquisition costs if a common
                 standard were adopted.
 
 
 
 
 
                4The HDTV 1125/60 Group favors a standard endorsed by the
                 Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE)
                 known as the SMPTE 240m standard.  This standard is a
                 slightly modified version of the Japanese standard, which
                 has 1,125 scanning lines.
 
                 3
 
 
 
                 B-237265
 
                 SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
                 ---------------------
                 We obtained information on potential applications primarily
                 through interviews with officials from 13 academic
                 institutions, private sector firms, and research
                 organizations knowledgeable about HDTV, as follows:
 
                    --  Corabi Telemetrics International, Alexandria,
                        Virginia;
                    --  New York Institute of Technology, Computer Graphics
                        Lab, Old Westbury, New York;
                    --  Sony Corporation, New York City;
                    --  New York Institute of Technology, Science and
                        Research Lab, Dania, Florida;
                    --  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
                        Massachusetts;
                    --  David Sarnoff Research Center, Princeton, New Jersey;
                    --  Telecommunications, Inc., Denver, Colorado;
                    --  MITRE Corporation, McLean, Virginia;
                    --  Japan Broadcasting Company, New York City;
                    --  Bellcore, Red Bank, New Jersey;
                    --  Xerox Corporation, Palo Alto, California;
                    --  Quantel Corporation, Berkshire, United Kingdom; and
                    --  COMSAT Corporation, Clarksburg, Maryland.
 
                 We also obtained and reviewed documents pertaining to HDTV
                 from these organizations, including scientific studies and
                 promotional material.  Information on the effect of
                 production standards on the development of nonentertainment
                 applications represents the views of representatives from
                 the 13 private organizations cited above.
 
                 We also interviewed key officials from government agencies
                 that are analyzing HDTV issues and policy options, to obtain
                 background on federal involvement in HDTV and information on
                 potential government uses of HDTV technology.  These
                 agencies included the Federal Communications Commission,
                 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National
                 Institute of Standards and Technology, National
                 Telecommunications and Information Agency, National
                 Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the
                 Department of State.
 
                 Our work was conducted from June through September 1989,
                 either at the locations cited above or in the Washington,
                 D.C., metropolitan area.  We did not obtain official agency
                 comments on a draft of this report; however, during our
                 review we discussed our findings with cognizant industry and
                 government representatives.  Their views have been
                 incorporated into this report where appropriate.
 
                 4
 
 
 
                 B-237265
 
 
                 As agreed with your office, we plan no further distribution
                 of this report for 30 days from its issue date, or until you
                 publicly release it.  At that time, we will provide copies
                 to the Chairman, House Committee on Energy and Commerce and
                 the Chairman, House Committee on Government Operations.  We
                 will also provide copies to the Secretary of Defense; the
                 Administrator, NASA; and the Director of the Office of
                 Management and Budget.  We will make copies available to
                 other interested parties upon request.
 
                 This report was prepared under the direction of Jack L.
                 Brock, Jr., who can be reached at (202) 275-3195.  Other
                 major contributors to this report are listed in appendix II.
 
 
                 Sincerely yours,
 
 
 
 
 
                 Ralph V. Carlone
                 Assistant Comptroller General
 
 
                 5
 
 
 
          Appendix I                                               Appendix I
 
                           ALTERNATIVE APPLICATIONS FOR HDTV
                           ---------------------------------
 
 
          The potential for HDTV applications extends beyond the television
          and motion picture industry and includes such areas as defense,
          medicine, space exploration, and others.  Because HDTV technology
          is relatively new, many applications have not progressed beyond the
          conceptual stage.  The applications we have identified are those
          that are currently in production or are under development.
 
          DEFENSE APPLICATIONS FOR HDTV
          -----------------------------
          We found the largest number of applications for HDTV in the
          defense category.  For its broad range of video applications in
          battle management, command and control, training and simulation,
          and intelligence analysis, the Department of Defense needs high-
          definition, low-cost, dynamic multimedia displays for presentation
          in motion video, real-time graphics, maps, and photographs.
          Recognizing this need, in December 1988, the Defense Advanced
          Research Projects Agency asked industry for systems proposals aimed
          at the agency's goal of improving currently available high-
          definition video technology while significantly reducing its cost.
          The agency has a total of $30 million to use in awarding research
          contracts.  As of October 1989, six companies had been selected for
          HDTV research contracts.
 
          Flight Simulators
          -----------------
          The military needs to provide its pilots realistic combat
          training; however, flight schools limit the number of aircraft in
          actual fight and air-ground interaction for safety and cost
          reasons.  Networked visual display simulators can provide training
          realism by having large numbers of aircraft interact in simulated
          combat activities without sacrificing safety.  According to
          officials at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, HDTV
          efforts will facilitate purchasing inexpensive visual display
          devices for simulators, thus allowing more realistic combat
          training.
 
          Cockpit Displays
          ----------------
          Technological advances in cockpit display systems in aircraft are
          lagging when compared to the advances in sensor systems.  Current
          aircraft panels are limited in size and depth; designers must
          integrate more data on to fewer, higher resolution displays.
          According to one Defense analysis, HDTV displays and processors
          will facilitate flight data presentation while reducing cockpit
          display costs by an estimated 33 percent.
 
 
                 6
 
 
          Appendix I                                               Appendix I
 
 
          Large Screen Displays in Command,
          ---------------------------------
          Control, Communications, and Intelligence Centers
          -------------------------------------------------
          These centers have a requirement to display, transmit, receive, and
          resolve electronic map symbology and intelligence data.  High-
          resolution-display technology is required because current
          television does not provide adequate detail to command, control,
          communications, and intelligence planners.  Video teleconferencing
          using HDTV displays could rapidly disseminate detailed information
          to war planners in a crisis.
 
          Defense Mapping
          ---------------
          The Defense Mapping Agency is converting to 100 percent digital
          information for use in its map products.  The agency has a large
          requirement for high-resolution systems to aid in the development,
          storage, editing, and transmission of these products.  Current
          technology forces the agency to use expensive, customized systems.
          According to Defense Mapping officials, HDTV would allow the agency
          to purchase off-the-shelf equipment, greatly reducing total
          operating costs.
 
          Real-Time Video Processing
          --------------------------
          HDTV can provide instant, high-resolution images for such purposes
          as air reconnaissance that are the near equivalent of photographs
          made from 35-millimeter film.  For example, the Air Force plans to
          replace 35-millimeter, air-reconnaissance cameras with video
          cameras, thus eliminating the logistics and time lags involved in
          processing film.
 
          MEDICAL USES FOR HDTV
          ---------------------
          The clear, high-resolution images provided by HDTV can assist
          medical personnel in making diagnoses and in educating medical
          students.  HDTV, with its ability to provide instantaneous pictures
          of tissue slides, trauma patients, and surgical procedures, is
          ideally suited to be used as a medium for recording and reviewing
          medical events.
 
          Pathology
          ---------
          One of the first commercial applications of a form of HDTV has been
          in the area of pathology.  The system, developed by Corabi
          Telemetrics Inc., uses a fiber optic video link to give
          pathologists at distant locations the opportunity to analyze tissue
          samples through a computer hookup.  The system uses a form of HDTV
          that produces an image sharp enough for doctors to make diagnoses.
          According to Corabi President Beth Newburger, "Pathologists have
 
                 7
 
 
 
          Appendix I                                               Appendix I
 
 
          the most exacting requirements of a video image of any physicians
          who work in medicine."  This kind of long-distance diagnosis was
          not possible with regular television, which lacks sufficient
          picture quality and resolution.
 
          Medical Education
          -----------------
          Teaching institutions have a need to provide real-time observation
          of surgical procedures to students.  High-definition images of
          precision surgical techniques or of microsurgery procedures can be
          used to educate students about these techniques.  During
          microsurgery, for example, there is sufficient space in the
          operating room for only a few students to observe the procedure.
          With HDTV, however, a larger number of students can observe and
          learn about the procedures from a remote location.
 
          SPACE AND SCIENTIFIC USES FOR HDTV
          ----------------------------------
          HDTV technology may also be of use in NASA programs.  The agency
          has already experimented with the use of HDTV for launch control
          and evaluation for the space shuttle.  In addition, NASA is
          examining the potential uses of HDTV for the Space Station Freedom
          program.
 
          Launch Control and Evaluation
          -----------------------------
          In 1988, NASA, in cooperation with Bellcore--a research consortium
          serving seven regional Bell operating companies--and other
          companies, demonstrated an experimental fiber optic network for
          HDTV, which televised the launch of the space shuttle Discovery.
          The objectives of this experiment were to evaluate currently
          available HDTV technology for (1) accessibility, (2) adaptability
          to the unique requirements of launch control, and (3) suitability
          for real-time image analysis.  For the experiment, images of the
          launch were distributed, via fiber optic cable, to displays at the
          Launch Control Center, a press site, and to the University of
          Central Florida--about 50 miles away--where officials were
          observing.  In addition, the HDTV pictures produced by the four
          cameras used were recorded individually for later technical
          analysis.
 
          According to NASA, the test was highly successful.  The resulting
          pictures exceeded the resolution of conventional television
          pictures by 70 percent and provided valuable information to NASA
          engineers.  Although launches have previously been filmed using 35-
          millimeter film, the use of HDTV results in pictures of comparable
          resolution that can be played back and viewed immediately without
          waiting for film to be developed.  In addition, Bellcore believes
          that such pictures offer the basis for a wide range of diagnostic
 
                 8
 
 
 
          Appendix I                                               Appendix I
 
 
          capabilities.  For example, during launch, data relating to shock,
          stress, control, and positioning can be seen in greater detail and
          acted upon, while also being recorded for immediate evaluation by
          mission scientists and engineers.  In addition, by putting the
          video image into a digital format and using computers to enhance
          the image, scientists can focus on particular sections of the space
          shuttle for very close analysis.  This procedure could be
          particularly helpful, for example, in monitoring external fuel
          tanks, which are extremely susceptible to fire.
 
          Space Station Freedom
          ---------------------
          NASA also envisions that HDTV technology could be used aboard the
          Space Station Freedom for space operations, scientific
          investigations, and information dissemination.  The space station,
          which is expected to be operational in the 1990s, is planned as a
          permanently manned, multipurpose facility with a long lifetime.
          Specific examples of HDTV applications for the space station
          include:
 
               -- Space operations:  HDTV technology could be used to
                  facilitate such tasks as grappling, in which items outside
                  the station are manipulated using a robotic arm while
                  astronauts inside the station observe the process through a
                  high-definition monitor.  This use of a high-definition
                  monitor will relay sufficient information for precise
                  execution of tasks in unknown surroundings.  In addition,
                  high-definition cameras could be used to record detailed
                  images both inside and outside the space station that can
                  be transmitted back to earth for immediate analysis.
 
               -- Scientific investigations:  HDTV could be useful to record
                  scientific experiments in which changes occur either very
                  slowly or very quickly.  Scientists could then observe the
                  high-definition tape and measure the changes in minute
                  detail.
 
               -- Information dissemination:  HDTV could be used to send
                  high-quality video images from the space station to earth,
                  as part of NASA's mission to disseminate information about
                  its programs to the public.  NASA officials believe that
                  HDTV will come into wide use during the long operational
                  lifetime of the station, and for this reason would like to
                  employ a standard system.
 
          OTHER APPLICATIONS
          ------------------
          In addition to the specific applications cited above, a number of
          other applications may have potential use in both the public and
 
                 9
 
 
 
          Appendix I                                               Appendix I
 
 
          private sectors.  These applications include high-definition
          galleries of works of art, and printing and electronic publishing.
          In addition, HDTV may improve some existing applications of
          conventional television technology.
 
          High-Definition Gallery System
          ------------------------------
          According to officials from the Japan Broadcasting Company, HDTV
          technology could be used to store, retrieve, and display high-
          quality pictures of works of art.  The gallery could be constructed
          by storing a high-definition image of each work on a laser disc.
          Each work could then be easily retrieved from the disc on which
          hundreds of works of art are stored.  Japan Broadcasting Company
          officials believe such a system would be useful because galleries
          generally cannot exhibit all their works of art at the same time.
          The gallery system would allow the public access to all items at
          all times.  Further, if this system were adopted by galleries and
          museums internationally, a worldwide network could be developed.
          Galleries in Japan and Canada have already put such HDTV systems
          into use.
 
          Printing and Electronic Publishing
          ----------------------------------
          According to industry officials, HDTV makes it possible to quickly
          reproduce television images as high-quality still pictures.  While
          it is possible to accomplish this with conventional television
          images, the resulting pictures were generally limited to use in
          news reporting because of the poor quality.  HDTV, with twice the
          resolution of conventional television, makes it possible to widen
          the range of uses for these electronic images in the printing of
          documentary, science, and arts publications.
 
          Vendors also projected that HDTV would result in various types of
          paper publications being replaced by collections of electronic
          images stored on discs.  They saw this form of storage as being
          most applicable to highly visual publications, such as
          encyclopedias.  In addition, this type of storage could be an
          appropriate way to store detailed pictorial information such as
          maps, blueprints, and textbooks.
 
          Improvements to Existing Television Applications
          ------------------------------------------------
          Along with the new applications that may arise from HDTV, this
          technology may also improve the use of existing applications.
          Examples of these applications include:
 
               -- improved teleconferencing capabilities in which elaborate
                  data images can be transmitted;
 
 
                 10
 
 
 
          Appendix I                                               Appendix I
 
 
               -- security and surveillance systems using large, detailed
                  displays;
 
               -- improved images for computer-aided design and computer-
                  aided manufacturing systems; and
 
               -- improved presentation of computer-generated graphics.
 
 
 
                 11
 
 
 
          Appendix I                                               Appendix I
 
 
 
 
                           MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS REPORT
                           ---------------------------------
          INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY DIVISION, WASHINGTON, D.C.
          ----------------------------------------------------------------
          Linda D. Koontz, Assistant Director
          Franklin W. Deffer, Evaluator-in-Charge
          Alicia Sandoval, Evaluator
 
 
 
          (510445)
                 12

