SONY
Midwest Region
 γ1997-9.  Sony Electronics Inc.
All rights reserved.  Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited
19.39Mbps Systems
lSome stations may install systems that make use of 19.39Mbps ATSC bitstreams.
–Satellite Stations
–Large Area networks made up of several daisy-chained stations
–Translators fed from microwave
–Early network pass-through requirement
lFor Most, these will end up being stopgap measures
–Limited Functionality
–High cost of splicing equipment for ATSC bitstream
There has been a lot of discussion of distribution of 19.39Mbps ATSC bitstreams by networks.  Unfortunately, these highly compressed bitstreams can’t survive decoding and processing and then re-coding for transmission to the home without severe degradation to the quality of the delivered signal.  If the program has 5.1 channel audio, even minor level shifts in the discrete channels will severely affect the AC-3 quality.
Although there are some applications where 19.39 systems will be employed, they are severely limited in number and capability.
The proprietary nature of bit-splicing techniques for splicing the ATSC bitstream and the inherent limitations of not being able to control content, brand the signal, or easily meet EAS and weather information needs make the usefulness of bit splicing and 19.39 systems extremely limited.
The next three slides show some possible scenarios.