1. History and domains

A few landmarks in the history of high-definition television are presented.

It all began with analog systems, which represented the light information from captured images as a continuous, proportional electrical signal:

• From 1949 to 1984, France's 1 ^re television channel broadcast programs in black and white on 819 lines (737 visible picture lines), instead of the 625 or 525 lines of other systems;

• The MUSE (Multiple Sub-Nyquist Encoding system) analog HDTV system, developed by Japanese television broadcaster NHK in 1979, was broadcasting programs on 1,035 active lines (1,125 total) in Japan until the end of 2007;

• In 1986, based on the hybrid MAC (Multiplexed Analog Components) system (analog but using...