PALplus

PALplus (or PAL+) is an extension of the PAL analogue broadcasting system for transmitting 16:9 programs without sacrificing vertical resolution. It followed experiences with the HD-MAC and D2-MAC, standards that were incompatible with existing receivers but featured a 16:9 aspect ratio. It was developed in Germany University of Dortmund in cooperation with German terrestrial broadcasters and European and Japanese manufacturers.

History

In the late 1980s a new broadcasting standard was created, HD-MAC, that was HDTV and 16:9 capable (up to 2048×1152 picture resolution), twice the number of available lines in PAL. As a transitional standard, D2-MAC was established. Like HD-MAC, it is 16:9-ready, but with the same number of lines that PAL uses. When D2-MAC failed due to being an incompatible system with existing sets, the PALplus norm was introduced as an attempt to create a compatible widescreen EDTV transmission format.

Initially, PALplus was the name of a strategy group founded in 1989 in order to develop an enhanced system for terrestrial transmission compatible with standard-PAL. In the beginning, the group consisted of the public broadcasting corporations of Germany (ARD and ZDF), Austria (ORF), Switzerland (SRG) and the United Kingdom (BBC and UKIB, United Kingdom Independent Broadcasters) together with the consumer electronics manufacturers Grundig, Nokia, Philips and Thomson. Sony as well as the Spanish and Portuguese broadcasters joined the group later on.