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76-535: It was originally founded in 2002 as Discovery HD Theater (later HD Theater ), the first 24/7 high-definition basic cable network. It featured high-definition programming from its other channels. Redundant after the introduction of high-definition simulcasts for Discovery's networks, it re-launched by Robert Scanlon, Dan Russell, Shaan Akbar, Douglas Lerner, Nicole Tong, David Lee and Kelly Mahoney in 2011 as Velocity —an "upscale male" network primarily featuring automotive programming. Following Discovery's acquisition of

152-634: A television or video system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since at least 1933; in more recent times, it refers to the generation following standard-definition television (SDTV). It is the standard video format used in most broadcasts: terrestrial broadcast television , cable television , satellite television . HDTV may be transmitted in various formats: When transmitted at two megapixels per frame, HDTV provides about five times as many pixels as SD (standard-definition television). The increased resolution provides for

228-431: A 3-time 12 Hours winner, said that one of the hardest parts about the original Sebring track was "finding the track to begin with." There had been many accounts of drivers retiring due to accidents at night, quite simply because they got lost on the runway sections and couldn't find the track again. Some drivers got lost even during the day, mostly because the track was poorly marked down with white lines and cones. Sebring

304-474: A 5:3 (1.67:1) aspect ratio and 60 Hz refresh rate. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), headed by Charles Ginsburg, became the testing and study authority for HDTV technology in the international theater. SMPTE would test HDTV systems from different companies from every conceivable perspective, but the problem of combining the different formats plagued the technology for many years. There were four major HDTV systems tested by SMPTE in

380-617: A clearer, more detailed picture. In addition, progressive scan and higher frame rates result in a picture with less flicker and better rendering of fast motion. Modern HDTV began broadcasting in 1989 in Japan, under the MUSE /Hi-Vision analog system. HDTV was widely adopted worldwide in the late 2000s. All modern high-definition broadcasts utilize digital television standards. The major digital television broadcast standards used for terrestrial, cable, satellite, and mobile devices are: These standards use

456-420: A comprehensive HDTV standard was not in the end established, agreement on the aspect ratio was achieved. Initially the existing 5:3 aspect ratio had been the main candidate but, due to the influence of widescreen cinema, the aspect ratio 16:9 (1.78) eventually emerged as being a reasonable compromise between 5:3 (1.67) and the common 1.85 widescreen cinema format. An aspect ratio of 16:9 was duly agreed upon at

532-718: A digital format from DVB. The first regular broadcasts began on January 1, 2004, when the Belgian company Euro1080 launched the HD1 channel with the traditional Vienna New Year's Concert . Test transmissions had been active since the IBC exhibition in September 2003, but the New Year's Day broadcast marked the official launch of the HD1 channel, and the official start of direct-to-home HDTV in Europe. Euro1080,

608-404: A division of the later defunct Belgian TV services company Alfacam, broadcast HDTV channels to break the pan-European stalemate of "no HD broadcasts mean no HD TVs bought means no HD broadcasts ..." and kick-start HDTV interest in Europe. The HD1 channel was initially free-to-air and mainly comprised sporting, dramatic, musical and other cultural events broadcast with a multi-lingual soundtrack on

684-556: A global recommendation for Analog HDTV. These recommendations, however, did not fit in the broadcasting bands which could reach home users. The standardization of MPEG-1 in 1993 led to the acceptance of recommendations ITU-R BT.709 . In anticipation of these standards, the DVB organization was formed. It was alliance of broadcasters, consumer electronics manufacturers and regulatory bodies. The DVB develops and agrees upon specifications which are formally standardised by ETSI . DVB created first

760-460: A joint venture with the digital, live events, and direct-to-consumer businesses of automotive publisher TEN: The Enthusiast Network . Discovery will hold a majority stake in the venture. In April 2018, it was announced that TEN had been renamed the Motor Trend Group, and that Velocity would rebrand to Motor Trend Network later in 2018. Co-branded with the automotive magazine Motor Trend ,

836-583: A majority stake in the magazine's publisher, it was announced that Velocity would rebrand as Motor Trend on November 23, 2018, as a brand extension of the automotive magazine Motor Trend . As of November 2023, MT is available to approximately 65,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2017 peak of 74,000,000 households. The network launched nationwide in the United States on June 17, 2002, as Discovery HD Theater ; and

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912-400: A much wider set of frame rates: 59.94i, 60i, 23.976p, 24p, 29.97p, 30p, 59.94p and 60p. In the days of standard-definition television, the fractional rates were often rounded up to whole numbers, e.g. 23.976p was often called 24p, or 59.94i was often called 60i. Sixty Hertz high definition television supports both fractional and slightly different integer rates, therefore strict usage of notation

988-434: A rolling schedule of four or five hours per day. These first European HDTV broadcasts used the 1080i format with MPEG-2 compression on a DVB-S signal from SES 's Astra 1H satellite. Euro1080 transmissions later changed to MPEG-4/AVC compression on a DVB-S2 signal in line with subsequent broadcast channels in Europe. Despite delays in some countries, the number of European HD channels and viewers has risen steadily since

1064-571: A round called the 1000 Miles of Sebring , run concurrently with the famed 12 Hours. This race was first run in 2019 , with Toyota Gazoo Racing winning overall. On October 30, 2021, the first-ever 24-hour race at Sebring took place, hosted by the World Racing League, an amateur endurance championship series, with W2W Racing winning the overall race by four laps on the field in their #983 Porsche Motorsports type 981 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR. Sebring International Raceway consists of three tracks:

1140-480: A similar focus on automotive-themed programs. In 2015, Motor Trend (then known as Velocity) and Discovery Channel acquired the broadcast rights to Barrett-Jackson 's automobile auctions, previously held by Fox Sports . Mike Joy , Chris Jacobs , and Ray Evernham host the Barrett-Jackson Live broadcasts on the two channels. In April 2018, it was announced that Discovery and Motor Trend Group had acquired

1216-551: A top broadcasting administrator in Japan admitted failure of its analog-based HDTV system, saying the U.S. digital format would be more likely a worldwide standard. However this announcement drew angry protests from broadcasters and electronic companies who invested heavily into the analog system. As a result, he took back his statement the next day saying that the government will continue to promote Hi-Vision/MUSE. That year NHK started development of digital television in an attempt to catch back up to America and Europe. This resulted in

1292-507: A variety of video codecs , some of which are also used for internet video . The term high definition once described a series of television systems first announced in 1933 and launched starting in August 1936; however, these systems were only high definition when compared to earlier systems that were based on mechanical systems with as few as 30 lines of resolution. The ongoing competition between companies and nations to create true HDTV spanned

1368-536: Is a road course auto racing facility in the southeastern United States, located near Sebring, Florida . Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the U.S., its first race being run in 1950. Sebring is one of the classic race tracks in North American sports car racing , and plays host to the 12 Hours of Sebring . The raceway occupies a portion of Sebring Regional Airport (an active airport for private and commercial traffic that

1444-527: Is featured in the video games rFactor 2 , Pitstop II , iRacing , The Crew , Forza Motorsport 2 , Forza Motorsport 3 , Forza Motorsport 4 , Forza Motorsport 5 , Forza Motorsport 6 , Forza Motorsport 7 , Forza Motorsport (2023) , Le Mans Ultimate , Total Immersion Racing and Sports Car GT . There are also end-user created versions for rFactor , GTR2 , GTR Evolution , GT Legends , Grand Prix Legends and NASCAR Racing 2003 Season . In board gaming, Sebring

1520-686: Is most notable for hosting the 12 Hours of Sebring , sanctioned by the FIA and IMSA , as part of many major endurance racing series, including the World Sportscar Championship , Intercontinental Le Mans Cup , ALMS , and now, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship . This race is the second of four races in the Michelin Endurance Cup. It has also hosted the final round of the 24H Series in 2021. The track also hosts

1596-486: Is no single standard for HDTV color support. Colors are typically broadcast using a (10-bits per channel) YUV color space but, depending on the underlying image generating technologies of the receiver, are then subsequently converted to a RGB color space using standardized algorithms. When transmitted directly through the Internet, the colors are typically pre-converted to 8-bit RGB channels for additional storage savings with

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1672-491: Is not the first HDTV service over digital terrestrial television in Europe; Italy's RAI started broadcasting in 1080i on April 24, 2008, using the DVB-T transmission standard. In October 2008, France deployed five high definition channels using DVB-T transmission standard on digital terrestrial distribution. HDTV broadcast systems are identified with three major parameters: If all three parameters are used, they are specified in

1748-437: Is required to avoid ambiguity. Nevertheless, 29.97p/59.94i is almost universally called 60i, likewise 23.976p is called 24p. For the commercial naming of a product, the frame rate is often dropped and is implied from context (e.g., a 1080i television set ). A frame rate can also be specified without a resolution. For example, 24p means 24 progressive scan frames per second, and 50i means 25 interlaced frames per second. There

1824-499: Is the use of highly efficient modulation techniques for further reducing bandwidth, and foremost for reducing receiver-hardware and antenna requirements. In 1983, the International Telecommunication Union's radio telecommunications sector (ITU-R) set up a working party (IWP11/6) with the aim of setting a single international HDTV standard. One of the thornier issues concerned a suitable frame/field refresh rate,

1900-468: Is used in all digital HDTV storage and transmission systems will distort the received picture when compared to the uncompressed source. ATSC and DVB define the following frame rates for use with the various broadcast standards: The optimum format for a broadcast depends upon the type of videographic recording medium used and the image's characteristics. For best fidelity to the source, the transmitted field ratio, lines, and frame rate should match those of

1976-506: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) because of their higher bandwidth requirements. At this time, the number of television channels was growing rapidly and bandwidth was already a problem. A new standard had to be more efficient, needing less bandwidth for HDTV than the existing NTSC. The limited standardization of analog HDTV in the 1990s did not lead to global HDTV adoption as technical and economic constraints at

2052-535: The ISDB format. Japan started digital satellite and HDTV broadcasting in December 2000. High-definition digital television was not possible with uncompressed video , which requires a bandwidth exceeding 1   Gbit/s for studio-quality HD digital video . Digital HDTV was made possible by the development of discrete cosine transform (DCT) video compression . DCT coding is a lossy image compression technique that

2128-457: The 240-line with its 25 Hz frame rate. The 240-line system could have doubled its frame rate but this would have meant that the transmitted signal would have doubled in bandwidth, an unacceptable option as the video baseband bandwidth was required to be not more than 3 MHz. Color broadcasts started at similar line counts, first with the US NTSC color system in 1953, which was compatible with

2204-448: The CMTT and ETSI, along with research by Italian broadcaster RAI , developed a DCT video codec that broadcast near-studio-quality HDTV transmission at about 70–140 Mbit/s. The first HDTV transmissions in Europe, albeit not direct-to-home, began in 1990, when RAI broadcast the 1990 FIFA World Cup using several experimental HDTV technologies, including the digital DCT-based EU 256 codec,

2280-560: The Earth . By 2011, as high definition feeds of mainstream networks had become more common, HD Theater no longer filled a unique niche. On April 14, 2011, Discovery Communications announced that HD Theater would be re-launched as Velocity later in the year; the re-launch took place on October 4, 2011. The network focused primarily on automotive-oriented programming and other shows of interest to an "upscale male" audience. On August 3, 2017, Discovery announced that it would contribute Velocity into

2356-575: The Full Circuit, the Short Circuit, and the Club Circuit. The course of the track itself is 3.741 mi (6.021 km) long. It is a seventeen-turn road course with long straights, several high-speed corners, and very technical slower corners. Many of the turns and points along the track are named for the early teams and drivers. Due to Florida's flat nature there is very little elevation change around

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2432-517: The Japanese public broadcaster NHK first developed consumer high-definition television with a 5:3 display aspect ratio. The system, known as Hi-Vision or MUSE after its multiple sub-Nyquist sampling encoding (MUSE) for encoding the signal, required about twice the bandwidth of the existing NTSC system but provided about four times the resolution (1035i/1125 lines). In 1981, the MUSE system was demonstrated for

2508-683: The Legends of Motorsport and Historic Sportscar Racing series, and is the winter home of the Skip Barber Racing School . Many IndyCar , sports prototype , and Grand Touring teams use Sebring for winter testing due to the warm climate. The track is used numerous times each year by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) for amateur events that draw participants from all over

2584-648: The North American broadcast rights to the FIA World Endurance Championship , beginning with the 2018-19 "super season" , also replacing Fox Sports. The first and last hours of most events are televised by Motor Trend (with the entire events streaming on Motor Trend digital platforms), and there is live flag-to-flag television coverage of the 1000 Miles of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans . The broadcasts are produced by Eurosport , Discovery's pan-European sports network. High-definition television High-definition television ( HDTV ) describes

2660-772: The UK in December 2017, and a forthcoming over-the-air Motor Trend television channel in Italy. Velocity officially rebranded as Motor Trend on November 23, 2018. In Canada, Discovery Velocity launched on February 12, 2015. The channel was, originally, the Canadian version of Discovery HD Theater, and had been branded as Discovery World immediately prior. In some markets, Discovery operates similarly-themed channels known as Discovery Turbo (Asia-Pacific, Latin America, UK/Ireland), DTX (Europe, except UK/Ireland), and Motor Trend (Italy), which feature

2736-628: The United Kingdom became the first European country to deploy high-definition content using the new DVB-T2 transmission standard, as specified in the Digital TV Group (DTG) D-book , on digital terrestrial television. The Freeview HD service contains 13 HD channels (as of April 2016 ) and was rolled out region by region across the UK in accordance with the digital switchover process, finally being completed in October 2012. However, Freeview HD

2812-742: The United States occurred on July 23, 1996, when the Raleigh, North Carolina television station WRAL-HD began broadcasting from the existing tower of WRAL-TV southeast of Raleigh, winning a race to be first with the HD Model Station in Washington, D.C. , which began broadcasting July 31, 1996 with the callsign WHD-TV, based out of the facilities of NBC owned and operated station WRC-TV . The American Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) HDTV system had its public launch on October 29, 1998, during

2888-465: The United States saw Hi-Vision/MUSE as an outdated system and had already made it clear that it would develop an all-digital system. Experts thought the commercial Hi-Vision system in 1992 was already eclipsed by digital technology developed in the U.S. since 1990. This was an American victory against the Japanese in terms of technological dominance. By mid-1993 prices of receivers were still as high as 1.5 million yen (US$ 15,000). On February 23, 1994,

2964-514: The assumption that it will only be viewed only on a ( sRGB ) computer screen. As an added benefit to the original broadcasters, the losses of the pre-conversion essentially make these files unsuitable for professional TV re-broadcasting. Most HDTV systems support resolutions and frame rates defined either in the ATSC table 3, or in EBU specification. The most common are noted below. At a minimum, HDTV has twice

3040-414: The cars as they traverse them. Much of the track has intentionally been left with its original concrete runway surface. The 12 Hours of Sebring is renowned as a race that is even harder on machinery and drivers than Le Mans, and is seen as an ideal preparation run for the famed French race. The track surface has 3.04 mi (4.89 km) of asphalt and 0.7 mi (1.1 km) of concrete. Mario Andretti,

3116-721: The country. Each February, the racetrack hosts the Bike Sebring 12/24 Hours, an ultra-distance cycling race organized by the Highlands Pedalers Bicycle Club and the Rotary Club of Highlands County. IndyCar regularly holds tests at the top half of the facility to simulate street circuits on its calendar. As of March 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Sebring International Raceway for different classes are listed as: Sebring Raceway

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3192-702: The earlier monochrome systems and therefore had the same 525 lines per frame. European standards did not follow until the 1960s, when the PAL and SECAM color systems were added to the monochrome 625-line broadcasts. The NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) began researching to "unlock the fundamental mechanism of video and sound interactions with the five human senses" in 1964, after the Tokyo Olympics. NHK set out to create an HDTV system that scored much higher in subjective tests than NTSC's previously dubbed HDTV . This new system, NHK Color, created in 1972, included 1125 lines,

3268-457: The entire 20th century, as each new system became higher definition than the last. In the early 21st century, this race has continued with 4K , 5K and 8K systems. The British high-definition TV service started trials in August 1936 and a regular service on 2 November 1936 using both the (mechanical) Baird 240 line sequential scan (later referred to as progressive ) and the (electronic) Marconi-EMI 405 line interlaced systems. The Baird system

3344-414: The facility from Andy Evans in 1997. The track is often recognized for its famous, high-speed "Turn 17", a long, bumpy, fast right-hander that can make or break a car's speed down the front straight. The corner can fit up to three cars wide. Skip Barber Racing School held numerous programs at the facility, including a scholarship opportunity for young racers. The World Endurance Championship runs

3420-453: The first HDTV broadcasts, with SES's annual Satellite Monitor market survey for 2010 reporting more than 200 commercial channels broadcasting in HD from Astra satellites, 185 million HD capable TVs sold in Europe (£60 million in 2010 alone), and 20 million households (27% of all European digital satellite TV homes) watching HD satellite broadcasts (16 million via Astra satellites). In December 2009,

3496-536: The first daily high-definition programs in the world, with regular testing starting on November 25, 1991, or "Hi-Vision Day" – dated exactly to refer to its 1,125-lines resolution. Regular broadcasting of BS -9ch commenced on November 25, 1994, which featured commercial and NHK programming. Several systems were proposed as the new standard for the US, including the Japanese MUSE system, but all were rejected by

3572-631: The first meeting of the IWP11/6 working party at the BBC's Research and Development establishment in Kingswood Warren. The resulting ITU-R Recommendation ITU-R BT.709-2 (" Rec. 709 ") includes the 16:9 aspect ratio, a specified colorimetry , and the scan modes 1080i (1,080 actively interlaced lines of resolution) and 1080p (1,080 progressively scanned lines). The British Freeview HD trials used MBAFF , which contains both progressive and interlaced content in

3648-465: The first time in the United States, using the same 5:3 aspect ratio as the Japanese system. Upon visiting a demonstration of MUSE in Washington, US President Ronald Reagan was impressed and officially declared it "a matter of national interest" to introduce HDTV to the US. NHK taped the 1984 Summer Olympics with a Hi-Vision camera, weighing 40 kg. Satellite test broadcasts started June 4, 1989,

3724-1084: The following form: [frame size][scanning system][frame or field rate] or [frame size]/[frame or field rate][scanning system] . Often, frame size or frame rate can be dropped if its value is implied from context. In this case, the remaining numeric parameter is specified first, followed by the scanning system. For example, 1920×1080p25 identifies progressive scanning format with 25 frames per second, each frame being 1,920 pixels wide and 1,080 pixels high. The 1080i25 or 1080i50 notation identifies interlaced scanning format with 25 frames (50 fields) per second, each frame being 1,920 pixels wide and 1,080 pixels high. The 1080i30 or 1080i60 notation identifies interlaced scanning format with 30 frames (60 fields) per second, each frame being 1,920 pixels wide and 1,080 pixels high. The 720p60 notation identifies progressive scanning format with 60 frames per second, each frame being 720 pixels high; 1,280 pixels horizontally are implied. Systems using 50 Hz support three scanning rates: 50i, 25p and 50p, while 60 Hz systems support

3800-411: The intended definition. All of these systems used interlacing and a 4:3 aspect ratio except the 240-line system which was progressive (actually described at the time by the technically correct term sequential ) and the 405-line system which started as 5:4 and later changed to 4:3. The 405-line system adopted the (at that time) revolutionary idea of interlaced scanning to overcome the flicker problem of

3876-507: The late 1970s, and in 1979 an SMPTE study group released A Study of High Definition Television Systems : Since the formal adoption of Digital Video Broadcasting's (DVB) widescreen HDTV transmission modes in the mid to late 2000s; the 525-line NTSC (and PAL-M ) systems, as well as the European 625-line PAL and SECAM systems, have been regarded as standard definition television systems. Early HDTV broadcasting used analog technology that

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3952-491: The linear resolution of standard-definition television (SDTV), thus showing greater detail than either analog television or regular DVD . The technical standards for broadcasting HDTV also handle the 16:9 aspect ratio images without using letterboxing or anamorphic stretching, thus increasing the effective image resolution. A very high-resolution source may require more bandwidth than available in order to be transmitted without loss of fidelity. The lossy compression that

4028-543: The live coverage of astronaut John Glenn 's return mission to space on board the Space Shuttle Discovery . The signal was transmitted coast-to-coast, and was seen by the public in science centers, and other public theaters specially equipped to receive and display the broadcast. Between 1988 and 1991, several European organizations were working on discrete cosine transform (DCT) based digital video coding standards for both SDTV and HDTV. The EU 256 project by

4104-531: The mixed analog-digital HD-MAC technology, and the analog MUSE technology. The matches were shown in 8 cinemas in Italy, where the tournament was played, and 2 in Spain. The connection with Spain was made via the Olympus satellite link from Rome to Barcelona and then with a fiber optic connection from Barcelona to Madrid . After some HDTV transmissions in Europe, the standard was abandoned in 1993, to be replaced by

4180-460: The next U.S. Grand Prix to Riverside International Raceway in southern California . For much of Sebring's history, the track followed a 5.200 mi (8.369 km) layout. After a disastrous 1966 12 Hours with five fatalities, the track was widened in parts and also lengthened a total of 50 yd (46 m) for 1967 with the removal of the Webster Turn between the hairpin and the top of

4256-405: The rebranding is part of an effort by Discovery, following its acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive , to focus more on direct-to-consumer offerings targeting niche topics with "passionate" audiences. Motor Trend already operates the subscription video-on-demand service Motor Trend OnDemand , and had plotted out international expansion (including a British launch of Motor Trend OnDemand in

4332-491: The same encoding. It also includes the alternative 1440×1152 HDMAC scan format. (According to some reports, a mooted 750-line (720p) format (720 progressively scanned lines) was viewed by some at the ITU as an enhanced television format rather than a true HDTV format, and so was not included, although 1920×1080i and 1280×720p systems for a range of frame and field rates were defined by several US SMPTE standards.) HDTV technology

4408-500: The source. PAL, SECAM and NTSC frame rates technically apply only to analog standard-definition television, not to digital or high definition broadcasts. However, with the rollout of digital broadcasting, and later HDTV broadcasting, countries retained their heritage systems. HDTV in former PAL and SECAM countries operates at a frame rate of 25/50 Hz, while HDTV in former NTSC countries operates at 30/60 Hz. Sebring International Raceway Sebring International Raceway

4484-573: The standard for DVB-S digital satellite TV, DVB-C digital cable TV and DVB-T digital terrestrial TV. These broadcasting systems can be used for both SDTV and HDTV. In the US the Grand Alliance proposed ATSC as the new standard for SDTV and HDTV. Both ATSC and DVB were based on the MPEG-2 standard, although DVB systems may also be used to transmit video using the newer and more efficient H.264/MPEG-4 AVC compression standards. Common for all DVB standards

4560-539: The time did not permit HDTV to use bandwidths greater than normal television. Early HDTV commercial experiments, such as NHK's MUSE, required over four times the bandwidth of a standard-definition broadcast. Despite efforts made to reduce analog HDTV to about twice the bandwidth of SDTV, these television formats were still distributable only by satellite. In Europe too, the HD-MAC standard was considered not technically viable. In addition, recording and reproducing an HDTV signal

4636-412: The track and little camber on the surface, providing a challenging track for drivers, especially when it rains. Sebring is renowned for its rough, bumpy and changing surfaces. The course still runs on old sections of World War II-era landing fields that were constructed of concrete sections with large seams. The transitions between sections are quite rough and often, sparks fly from the undercarriages of

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4712-427: The track and replacement with the faster Green Park Chicane, further down the track. This was closer to the hairpin and allowed a flat-out run through a very fast corner to the top of the track and the runway. This was done to move the track off the dangerous Warehouse Straight and the warehouses, hangars and airplanes flanking it; a crash during that 1966 12 Hours involved a privately-entered Porsche that went into one of

4788-551: The war, Russian-American aeronautical engineer Alec Ulmann was seeking sites for converting military aircraft to civilian use when he discovered potential in Hendricks' runways and service roads to stage a sports car endurance race similar to the 24 Hours of Le Mans , a race Ulmann was inspired to somewhat re-create in the United States. Sebring's first race was held on New Year's Eve of 1950, attracting thirty race cars from across North America . The Sam Collier 6 Hour Memorial race

4864-503: The warehouses (this area was off-limits to non-track personnel) and into a crowd, killing four spectators. The circuit was changed and shortened in 1983 to allow simultaneous use of the track and one of the runways, and major changes in 1987 allowed use of another runway. Further changes in 1991 accommodated expansion of the airport's facilities, allowing the entire track to be used without interfering with normal airport operations and bringing it close to its current configuration. The hairpin

4940-424: The world already having split into two camps, 25/50 Hz and 30/60 Hz, largely due to the differences in mains frequency. The IWP11/6 working party considered many views and throughout the 1980s served to encourage development in a number of video digital processing areas, not least conversion between the two main frame/field rates using motion vectors , which led to further developments in other areas. While

5016-532: Was a research project and the system was never deployed by either the military or consumer broadcasting. In 1986, the European Community proposed HD-MAC , an analog HDTV system with 1,152 lines. A public demonstration took place for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. However HD-MAC was scrapped in 1993 and the DVB project was formed, which would foresee development of a digital HDTV standard. In 1979,

5092-677: Was a significant technical challenge in the early years of HDTV ( Sony HDVS ). Japan remained the only country with successful public broadcasting of analog HDTV, with seven broadcasters sharing a single channel. However, the Hi-Vision/MUSE system also faced commercial issues when it launched on November 25, 1991. Only 2,000 HDTV sets were sold by that day, rather than the enthusiastic 1.32 million estimation. Hi-Vision sets were very expensive, up to US$ 30,000 each, which contributed to its low consumer adaption. A Hi-Vision VCR from NEC released at Christmas time retailed for US$ 115,000. In addition,

5168-489: Was discontinued in February 1937. In 1938 France followed with its own 441-line system, variants of which were also used by a number of other countries. The US NTSC 525-line system joined in 1941. In 1949 France introduced an even higher-resolution standard at 819 lines , a system that would have been high definition even by modern standards, but was monochrome only and had technical limitations that prevented it from achieving

5244-578: Was first proposed by Nasir Ahmed in 1972, and was later adapted into a motion-compensated DCT algorithm for video coding standards such as the H.26x formats from 1988 onwards and the MPEG formats from 1993 onwards. Motion-compensated DCT compression significantly reduces the amount of bandwidth required for a digital TV signal. By 1991, it had achieved data compression ratios from 8:1 to 14:1 for near-studio-quality HDTV transmission, down to 70–140  Mbit/s . Between 1988 and 1991, DCT video compression

5320-594: Was introduced in the United States in the early 1990s and made official in 1993 by the Digital HDTV Grand Alliance , a group of television, electronic equipment, communications companies consisting of AT&T Bell Labs , General Instrument , Philips , Sarnoff , Thomson , Zenith and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Field testing of HDTV at 199 sites in the United States was completed August 14, 1994. The first public HDTV broadcast in

5396-630: Was later converted to digital television with video compression . In 1949, France started its transmissions with an 819 lines system (with 737 active lines). The system was monochrome only and was used only on VHF for the first French TV channel. It was discontinued in 1983. In 1958, the Soviet Union developed Тransformator ( Russian : Трансформатор , meaning Transformer ), the first high-resolution (definition) television system capable of producing an image composed of 1,125 lines of resolution aimed at providing teleconferencing for military command. It

5472-512: Was originally built as Hendricks Army Airfield , which was a World War II training base for the United States Army Air Forces ). Sebring Raceway occupies the site of Hendricks Army Airfield (a training base for B-17 pilots in operation from 1941 to 1946), in the middle of southern Florida, 70 mi (110 km) south and southeast respectively of Orlando and Tampa , and 140 mi (230 km) northwest of Miami . After

5548-536: Was removed in 1997 due to a lack of run-off, and replaced with what became known as the "safety pin". Gendebien Bend was also re-profiled to slow the cars' entry to the Ullman straight. The track is currently owned by IMSA Holdings, LLC through its subsidiary Sebring International Raceway, LLC via its purchase of the Panoz MSG in September 2012. It is currently leased by the Sebring International Raceway, LLC, which acquired

5624-460: Was the first 24/7 basic cable HD network in the US. The channel was rebranded to HD Theater on September 22, 2007. Programming included shows from Discovery sister networks, such as American Chopper and Animal Planet's Corwin's Quest , in addition to original programming such as Sunrise Earth (which featured footage of outdoor scenes with no narration), and history-focused titles such as When Dinosaurs Roamed America and Before We Ruled

5700-530: Was widely adopted as the video coding standard for HDTV implementations, enabling the development of practical digital HDTV. Dynamic random-access memory ( DRAM ) was also adopted as framebuffer semiconductor memory, with the DRAM semiconductor industry 's increased manufacturing and reducing prices important to the commercialization of HDTV. Since 1972, International Telecommunication Union 's radio telecommunications sector ( ITU-R ) had been working on creating

5776-487: Was won by Frits Koster and Ralph Deshon in a Crosley Hot Shot that had been driven to the track by Victor Sharpe. The first 12 Hours of Sebring was held on March 15, 1952, shortly growing into a major international race. In 1959, the track hosted the U.S.' first Formula One race (the successor to historic European Grand Prix motor racing ), held as that year's installment of the historic United States Grand Prix competition. However poor attendance and high costs relocated

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