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Television
ATP-Derived
Software Powers New ‘DTV-in-a-Box’ for Broadcasters
visitors
to the annual meeting of the National Association of Broadcasters
in Las Vegas this week will get to witness the rollout of the
unique digital TV “studio-in-a-box” from AgileVision,
a new company created to commercialize the results of the Advanced
Technology Program’s High Definition Broadcast Technology
Project.
The AgileVision
AGV-1000 incorporates a complete basic suite of program stream
editing and processing tools for a DTV broadcast operation. Replacing
racks of individual components that would have to be custom-integrated
for each user, the one-box system is built from commercially available
parallel-processing computer technology with no specialized hardware.
The magic is in the software and a set of DTV signal-processing
algorithms developed in the ATP joint venture headed by Sarnoff
Corp.
Along with
new capabilities, DTV brings new technical challenges for local
TV stations. Unlike conventional analog TV signals, the digital
data streams are mathematically compressed or “encoded” for transmission
and decoded by the receiver. Studios must work with the compressed
data as much as possible to avoid performance and image quality
penalties from multiple decoding/encoding cycles. Simple editing
and commonplace analog-TV effects become difficult when working
with complex, mathematically formatted streams of digital data.
The new
AgileVision system gives stations the ability to do such common
tasks as splicing compressed video signals, station logo insertion
and simple effects (including fades and wipes). The cost, say
its developers, is about half what it would be to assemble the
same capabilities from individual components.
In addition
to Sarnoff Corp., the ATP consortium includes IBM Corp., MCI Telecommunications
Corp., NBC, NJN Public Television, Sun Microsystems, Thomcast
Communications Inc., Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc., and Wegener
Corp. AgileVision is a joint venture of Sarnoff Corp. and Mercury
Computer Systems, Inc.
For technical
information, check out the AgileVision web site at www.agilevision.com.
For information on the ATP, call (800) ATP-FUND (287-3863) or
go to www.atp.nist.gov.
Media
Contact:
Michael
Baum, (301) 975-2763
Baldrige Criteria
Brochure
Can Get Your Quality Journey on the Road
Thousands
of organizations use the Baldrige
Criteria for Performance Excellence to help assess and
improve their organization. Vicki Spagnol, principal, Management
Insights, New York, N.Y., says, “The Baldrige criteria provide
a proven road map for performance improvement—one that will enable
your organization to be more successful than you ever imagined.”
But, say
you’ve looked at the criteria and are still uncertain about how
to begin. To help you get started, NIST’s Baldrige National Quality
Program has developed a new brochure, Getting Started-A Guide
to Self-Assessment and Action. The guide will walk you through
a 10-step approach to assessing your organization’s strengths
and developing and implementing a plan for improvement.
For a free
copy of the new brochure and the Baldrige Criteria for Performance
Excellence, contact the Baldrige National Quality Program,
(301) 975-2036; fax, (301) 948-3716; nqp@nist.gov.
Both publications also are available on the Baldrige web site
at www.quality.nist.gov.
Media
Contact:
Jan
Kosko, (301) 975-2767
Quality
New
Video, CD Spotlight Strategies of 1999 Baldrige Recipients
NIST
has released a new set of audiovisual materials showcasing the
1999 recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
and the Baldrige National Quality Program. A VHS videocassette
contains two versions of a program (short at 11:45 minutes and
long at 47:50 minutes) that features the successful strategies
of the award’s 1999 recipients: STMicroelectronics Inc.-Region
Americas; BI; The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company L.L.C.; and Sunny
Fresh Foods. Also included on the videocassette are “A Journey
Worth Beginning,” encouraging organizations to apply for the Baldrige
Award, and “A Uniquely Rewarding Experience,” explaining the role
of the examiners who evaluate award applications. A CD-ROM package
includes all four video programs, as well as the Baldrige Performance
Excellence Criteria for 2000, presentations given by the 1999
award recipients at the Quest for Excellence XII conference in
March 2000, and other information.
The
audiovisual materials are available from the American Society
for Quality, 611 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, Wis. 53202-4606,
(800) 248-1946. Item T1089 is the VHS videocassette and CD-ROM
for $49.95. Item T1087 is the CD ROM alone for $35.00. Item T1086
is the videocassette alone for $20.00.
For
more information on the Baldrige National Quality Program or the
Baldrige Award recipients, contact the Baldrige National Quality
Program, (301) 975-2036, nqp@nist.gov,
or see the BNQP web site at www.quality.nist.gov.
Media
Contact:
Jan
Kosko, (301) 975-2767
Health
GE
Recognizes ATP for Helping Achieve All-Digital Mammography
On
April 4, 2000, GE Medical Systems recognized the NIST Advanced
Technology Program and ATP project manager Gerald Ceasar as
“Partners in Vision,” along with research managers from the Department
of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services, for
their pioneering contributions to the world’s first all-digital
mammography system.
Recently
approved for clinical use by the Food and Drug Administration,
the new system—the GE Senographe® 2000D—represents a significant
technological advance in breast cancer detection. The heart of
the instrument is a unique full-field, flat-panel amorphous silicon
detector that enables both high-quality imaging and dose efficiency.
Computer workstations can display the digital image within seconds
of the exposure to verify that the patient was correctly positioned,
and give the radiologist a selection of digital image-enhancement
tools. The technology provides significantly better breast images
than conventional film-based mammography in only half the time.
Under
an ATP project awarded in 1995, researchers from General Electric
and EG&G; Reticon developed a new manufacturing process that significantly
reduced the manufacturing cost of the amorphous-silicon panels
used in the new detection system, making it more affordable and
available to a greater number of women.
In
addition to the ATP’s Ceasar, researchers and managers from the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Naval
Medical Center, the National Cancer Institute, the HHS Office
on Women’s Health, the Uniformed Services University of the Health
Sciences, and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command
were recognized for supporting the development and testing of
the new digital mammography system.
For more information, go to http://216.136.124.201/pressroom/news_releases.jsp
on the GE World Wide Web site, click on “Women’s Healthcare” and
then the April 4, 2000, news release.
Media
Contact:
Michael
Baum, (301) 975-2763
Materials
Science
Conference
to Open National Dialogue on Combinatorial Methods
Research
scientists, process engineers, R&D; managers, representatives from
federal funding agencies, and academics are invited to participate
in a broad, open dialogue on their roles in forging the future
of chemical and materials sciences through combinatorial methods.
A wide variety of exciting technology platforms will be discussed,
and opportunities for networking with technologists and business
people will be available. The workshop will be held at the NIST
headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md., May 31 to June 1, 2000.
Combinatorial
methodology is a set of tools and techniques the chemical and
materials science communities will use in the future to accelerate
discovery and development of new materials to meet 21st century
needs. Combinatorial methods, which use a large number of carefully
designed, multi-dimensional experiments that may be performed
rapidly or in parallel on a miniaturized scale with automated
instrumentation, have revolutionized the R&D; process in drug development.
Most major chemical manufacturers and several start-up companies
have initiated programs within the past two years to exploit combinatorial
methods and accelerate the discovery of advanced materials (catalysts,
electronic and optical materials, polymers, metal alloys and ceramics)
and process optimization.
Registration
and program information for the workshop is available at www.nist.gov/combi
on the World Wide Web. Information is also available by calling
Alamgir Karim at (301) 975-6588. The registration fee is $150.
Media
Contacts:
Linda
Joy, (301) 975-4403
Standards
Weights
and Measures Documents Now Available on the Internet
The
codes and specifications that form the basis of the U.S. system
of weights and measures are now available from NIST
on the Internet. Manufacturers, as well as international weights
and measures organizations, can now easily access accepted specifications
and tolerances for scales and other measuring devices in NIST
Handbook 44. They also can view model weights and measures laws
and regulations, which have been adopted by most states, in NIST
Handbook 130. NIST’s
Office of Weights and Measures posted these documents to increase
their dissemination and availability, thereby promoting uniformity
of weights and measures in the marketplace. Uniformity protects
consumers and benefits businesses by ensuring fair competition.
Handbook
44, Specifications, Tolerances, and Other Technical Requirements
for Weighing and Measuring Devices, contains information needed
to design or test weighing and measuring devices for use in commerce.
Its codes cover a wide variety of devices such as those used to
dispense home heating oil and gasoline, food store scales, taxi
meters, odometers and fabric measuring devices.
Handbook
130, Uniform Laws and Regulations in the Areas of Legal Metrology
and Engine Fuel Quality, encourages standardization in weights
and measures laws within the United States. The handbook contains
10 different model laws and regulations, plus the recommended
procedure for verifying the accuracy of retail pricing. It includes
regulations prescribing the method of sale for commodities and
packaging and labeling requirements.
Both
NIST Handbook 44 and NIST Handbook 130 are published by NIST and
have been adopted by the National Conference on Weights and Measures,
a voluntary standards organization that works closely with NIST
to ensure uniform weights and measures in the United States.
The
two handbooks are now available on the World Wide Web at www.nist.gov/owm
under “General Information.” Both are in Adobe Acrobat and Word
Perfect formats.
Media
Contact:
Linda
Joy, (301) 975-4403
Editor:
Michael Newman
HTML conversion: Crissy
Robinson
Last updated: April 10, 2000
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