Westinghouse Public Relations

Westinghouse Electric Corporation
Westinghouse Building, Gateway Center
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222

WESTINGHOUSE AND CBS PREMIER
FIRST SILICON CARBIDE
HDTV BROADCAST AT NAB

Las Vegas, NV.....Westinghouse, through its Communication and Information Systems (CISCO), and CBS divisions make broadcast history with the first over-the-air broadcast of High Definition Television (HDTV) featuring a Solid-State Silicon Carbide Transmitter. This solid-state transmitter technology will ultimately cut the cost of digital TV broadcasting encouraging acceleration of HDTV in the United States and abroad. Advanced TV promises to bring cinema quality pictures and CD sound to the 21st century. This move represents a dramatic technological advancement from a company with strong broadcast technology tradition.

Michael H. Jordan, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Westinghouse Electric Corporation, and Richard J. Hadala, CISCO President presided over the historical broadcast at the National Association of Broadcasters' Convention in Las Vegas. "This is an important step for Westinghouse and indeed, for the broadcast industry. We are thrilled that Westinghouse is helping to lead the way towards 21st century broadcasting," Mr. Jordan said.

Las Vegas CBS affiliate, KLAS-TV, is using the Silicon Carbide Transmitter to broadcast the first solid state digital HDTV signal to a large projection screen at the Westinghouse booth in the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Silicon carbide is a high temperature, high voltage semiconductor which can deliver greater than three times the power of conventional silicon devices. The Solid-State Silicon Carbide Transmitters, developed by Westinghouse for advanced television transmission, and designed specifically for UHF television broadcast, are cost effectve, compact, more reliable and safer and easier to main than transmitters using tube-based technology.

The application of this technology is dependent on the transition from analog to digital television, regardless of whether the format is standard definition or high definition.

Westinghouse has targeted a 500 watt transistor as its power device, built into 1.5 kilowatt power-amplifier modules. Using these high power transistors will allow television stations to operate in smaller spce. This will save energy and ulitmately provide digital TV broadcasting at a lower cost. Modular design provides broadcasters ith an option to gradually build transmitters from low power to full power units.

"When compared with the equivalent silicon module, the Silicon Carbide module will be about one-half the cost. When translated to the system level this equates to a system cost that is less than half of a silicon-based transmitter and price competitive with tube transmitters," according to Paul DeGonia, Director, HDTV Development for Westinghouse.

The solid-state silicon carbide based transmitters hold great promise for stations as they convert from analog NTSC to digital broadcasting. Transmitter manufacturers will be able to abandon tube-based technology and build smaller, lower-cost transmitters.

This historic broadcast is the culmination of a project begun in 1992 and enhanced by the marriage of Westinghouse, a pioneer in broadcast technology and CBS, the largest television and radio broadcaster in the United States.

Westinghouse's CISCO division plans to enhance the technology that will bring this new product into the industry through strategic partnerships, while continuing to make refinements necessary for high volume production. "This is yet another example of the balance in the new Westinghouse between broadcast capabilities and cutting edge technology which will lead the industry into the future," Mr. Hadala said.

A pioneer in the broadcasting field, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, through the acquisition of CBS last year, became the nation's largest broadcaster, with 15 television stations and 39 radio stations covering about 35 percent of the United States. In addition, the corporation's industrial and technology businesses are among the market and technology leaders in mobile transport refrigeration, power systems, environmental services and communications.

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