Posted by Stephen on 10/11/06 14:58

> Anyways, soon all will be digital, and these techniques that were quite
> inventive forgotten.

Maybe it will, but composite PAL and NTSC are remarkably persistent. If you
look at any live TV channel on the internet you will see PAL or NTSC
artefacts (cross color) faithfully reproduced in the picture. Even though
the TV broadcaster is almost certainly digital throughout, and Windows Media
Encoder etc. work with component colour from start to finish, the only way
to get video into the PC video capture card at the broadcaster's end is via
a composite input on an RCA co-ax socket. S-video input may be available,
but probably isn't easily available on the output of the broadcaster's kit,
and PC video capture cards almost never have the Y Pb Pr or RGB inputs that
a broadcaster would really need.

Most people with a digital set top box watch the composite PAL output
because every part of the system (Sky box, DVD recorder and TV set) defaults
to this unless you go to the trouble of changing the settings. Almost
everyone who watches Sky on a second set in a bedroom etc, uses the
composite rf output because there is no other organised system for
distributing TV signals. Even wireless video senders will only work with
composite PAL/SECAM or NTSC.

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