chris@columbia.UUCP (Chris Maio) (04/13/85)
In article <6188@ucbvax.ARPA> albert@ucbvax.UUCP (Anthony albert) writes: > Until cable companies gear up for stereo, the audio sent with the > RF signal will be in mono. What cable systems have done as a (hopefully) > temporary measure is to send a separate stereo audio signal on FM. > Once the conversion to stereo is made, the converter should output > a stereo signal. I have a stereo tv and vcr in New York, where NBC (channel 4) is broadcasting stereo programming (at least the Tonight Show) and a SAP (currently just WNBC radio, I think). Both are hooked up to a Group W cable without any cable converter box. My tv receiver indicates that the stereo signal is there, and the vcr led's suggest that the left and right channels are different, but a listening test seemed to suggest that if there was any audible distinction between the left and right channels, it's probably a small amount of "simulated stereo" or perhaps distortion introduced by the stereo decoder when the input is subject to whatever limitations cable imposes on a stereo tv signal. I assume that the tv receiver can be "fooled" a bit, since the stereo indicator occasionally pops on for a few seconds on other channels. Unfortanately, Group W doesn't provide separate stereo audio programming for FM stations and movie channels here. I didn't buy the tv for the stereo decoder, since I'd been told that there were bandwidth problems that prevented cable operators from using the same stereo encoding, but since I do get the SAP and slightly different left and right channels, can someone explain what's going on? Are SAP signals not a problem for cable systems the way the stereo signals are (since my SAP signal is ok)? - Chris