A medium to long term roadmap for access services on DTV

DTV4All is a project partly funded by the European Commission (CIP ICT Policy Support Programme) to facilitate the provision of access services on digital television across the European Union. Access services literally help their users access the content of television programmes. Important examples of access services for people who are hard of hearing or deaf are subtitles and deaf signing provided with television programmes to allow their users to more fully appreciate the programme dialogue. The primary aim of the DTV4All project is to encourage the roll out of access services on digital television across the EC. To do this the project targets eroding the barriers to the roll out of access services by making clear what these barriers are and how they may be overcome. This paper provides an overview of the progress the project has made in its first two years in meeting this target

General transformation of alpha cluster model wave function to jj-coupling shell model in various 4N nuclei

The antisymmetrized quasi-cluster model (AQCM) is a method to describe a transition from the alpha-cluster wave function to the jj-coupling shell model wave function. In this model, the cluster-shell transition is characterized by only two parameters; R representing the distance between alpha clusters and Lambda describing the breaking of alpha clusters, and the contribution of the spin-orbit interaction, very important in the jj-coupling shell model, can be taken into account starting with the alpha cluster model wave function. In this article we show the generality of AQCM by extending the application to heavier region; various 4N nuclei from 4He to 52Fe. We show and compare the energy curves for the alpha+40Ca cluster configuration calculated with and without alpha breaking effect in 44Ti

A novel method for subjective picture quality assessment and further studies of HDTV formats

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ IEEE 2008.This paper proposes a novel method for the assessment of picture quality, called triple stimulus continuous evaluation scale (TSCES), to allow the direct comparison of different HDTV formats. The method uses an upper picture quality anchor and a lower picture quality anchor with defined impairments. The HDTV format under test is evaluated in a subjective comparison with the upper and lower anchors. The method utilizes three displays in a particular vertical arrangement. In an initial series of tests with the novel method, the HDTV formats 1080p/50,1080i/25, and 720p/50 were compared at various bit-rates and with seven different content types on three identical 1920 times 1080 pixel displays. It was found that the new method provided stable and consistent results. The method was tested with 1080p/50,1080i/25, and 720p/50 HDTV images that had been coded with H.264/AVC High profile. The result of the assessment was that the progressive HDTV formats found higher appreciation by the assessors than the interlaced HDTV format. A system chain proposal is given for future media production and delivery to take advantage of this outcome. Recommendations for future research conclude the paper

Symplectic structure and monopole strength in 12C

The relation between the monopole transition strength and existence of cluster structure in the excited states is discussed based on an algebraic cluster model. The structure of $^{12}$C is studied with a 3$\alpha$ model, and the wave function for the relative motions between $\alpha$ clusters are described by the symplectic algebra $Sp(2,R)_z$, which corresponds to the linear combinations of $SU(3)$ states with different multiplicities. Introducing $Sp(2,R)_z$ algebra works well for reducing the number of the basis states, and it is also shown that states connected by the strong monopole transition are classified by a quantum number $\Lambda$ of the $Sp(2,R)_z$ algebra.Comment: Phys. Rev. C in pres

Multimedia broadcast and internet satellite system design and user trial results

The EU funded project, System for Advanced Multimedia Broadcast and IT Services (SAMBITS), has created an enhanced and synchronised, multimedia terminal for merging satellite broadcast and internet telecommunication services in a way that efficiently combines the large bandwidth of the broadcast channel and the interactivity of the internet. This paper proposes a novel broadcast and internet service concept, illustrates this concept with two service scenarios and develops a system architecture to demonstrate the range of key benefits provided by these new technologies. It then describes the interactive multimedia terminal that was used for consuming this new service concept. Finally, the results of the user trials on the terminal are presented and discussed

Studies on the bit rate requirements for a HDTV format with 1920 timestimes 1080 pixel resolution, progressive scanning at 50 Hz frame rate targeting large flat panel displays

This paper considers the potential for an HDTV delivery format with 1920 times 1080 pixels progressive scanning and 50 frames per second in broadcast applications. The paper discusses the difficulties in characterizing the display to be assumed for reception. It elaborates on the required bit rate of the 1080p/50 format when critical content is coded in MPEG-4 H.264 AVC Part 10 and subjectively viewed on a large, flat panel display with 1920 times 1080 pixel resolution. The paper describes the initial subjective quality evaluations that have been made in these conditions. The results of these initial tests suggest that the required bit-rate for a 1080p/50 HDTV signal in emission could be kept equal or lower than that of 2nd generation HDTV formats, to achieve equal or better image qualit