ABSTRACT
The adoption of Recommendation 601 represented the turning point in the development of digital television. A unique worldwide digitization standard boosted the development of new digital equipment that featured digital inputs and outputs and was ready for integration in all-digital subsystems and systems. The “4:2:2” label became extremely popular and adorned front panels of ever more engines. EBU and SMPTE successfully finalized another key development: the definition of the first worldwide digital videotape recording standard, D1. It seemed that all necessary components were in place for a fast transition to an all-digital future. Yet the transition lagged and the broadcastingmarket witnessed an avalanche of extremely capable and successful new analog equipment.
