Preface

Digital video was conceptually made possible by the invention of pulse code modulation, but the technology required to implement it did not then exist. Experiments were made with digital video from the late 1950s onwards, but the cost remained prohibitive for commercial applications until sufficient advances in microelectronics and high-density recording had been made. Early digital broadcast and production equipment was large and expensive and was handled by specialists, but now the technology has advanced to the point where traditional analog equipment has been replaced by digital equipment on economic grounds. Digital video equipment has become the norm in broadcast and production applications. This book is designed to introduce in an understandable manner the theory behind digital video and to illustrate it with current practice. Whilst some aspects of the subject are complex, and are generally treated mathematically, such treatments are not appropriate for a mainstream book and have been replaced wherever possible by plain English supported by diagrams. Many of the explanations here have evolved during the many training courses and lectures I have given on the subject to students from all technical backgrounds. No great existing knowledge of digital techniques is assumed, as every topic here evolves from first principles. As an affordable introductory book, this volume concentrates on essentials and basics. Readers requiring an in-depth treatment of the subject are recommended to the companion work The Art of Digital Video.

John Watkinson
Burghfield Common, Englland