By Thomas R. Stutz, Jerrold Distribution Systems Division General Instrument Corporation
Although the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) did not rule on a Multichannel Television Sound (MTS) standard, they did protect the Electronic Industry Association's {EIA) recommended system. As such, the FCC has created a de facto standard for the transmission and reception of MTS.
This paper summarizes the effect of the MTS de facto standard on the cable system's headend equipment. Although other cable carriage schemes are in use today to supply satellite stereo services, this paper will only consider in-band carriage of the MTS signal. No judgements will be made concerning the audio performance of the MTS signal. Also discussed will be an overview of the modifications and equipment necessary for upgrading the headend to accommodate the MTS signal.
Since the FCC recently decided to indefinitely delay the decision to impose cable must-carry for MTS, no attempt will be made in this paper to anticipate any future FCC decision concerning this issue.