B&K Precision 1253 - Manual - Manual (Page 3)

Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the BK-1253, the affordable HDTV-Component test-pattern-generator,
designed to be a useful tool for the new generation of DTV (Digital TV) products.
During the year 2001, over 1.1 million DTV units were shipped, exceeding expectations of the industry.
This trend should continue to grow, especially that the FCC has mandated the existence of DTV.
Presently 95.8% of U.S. can receive HDTV broadcasts. Now the major satellite companies such as
DirecTV and EchoStar, as well as the cable companies, are starting to transmit HDTV signals.
HDTV test equipment has been relatively expensive, compared to the old TV standards. Most major
brand HDTV test-pattern-generators sell for several thousands of dollars. This is prohibitively expensive
for many of the people getting into HDTV, such as the TV repair shop. So, at BK Precision we recognize
the need for a reliable, accurate, and high quality HDTV test-pattern-generator.
Due to the ever increasing popularity of DVD players, and the advent of newer display technologies being
introduced, such as Plasma, LCD, TFT, DLP, GLV and OLED, it was necessary to design patterns to test
these technologies.
Home theater is also growing in popularity, so we kept in mind the ease of operation, to allow any person
to operate the BK-1253.
There are several types of video inputs into HDTV monitors including YPbPr (called HD Component
Video), RGB, RGBHV, Firewire, and VGA). Fortunately the YPbPr interface is becoming standardized,
and has increased to presently cover about 90% of all monitors. Current models of HDTVs, Set-Top-
Boxes, and DVD players use this interface too. The BK-1253 therefore uses the YPbPr Video output too.
The BK-1253 has many uses, and is suited for a variety of different industries:
a) A TV repair engineer or technician, to test and calibrate a DTV monitor.
b) A video engineer, to test and maintain studio equipment, such as monitors, cabling, and recording
equipment.
c) A studio installer, to test cables and equipment.
d) A home-theater installer of user to get the best results out of the DTV equipment.
e) A store selling HDTV sets, to show side by side comparisons of quality.
f) A person wishing to test a new HDTV set for compatibility with the ATSC standards.
g) A teacher, to train their students in the latest HDTV technologies.