Out in Front: December 21, 1995

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) has awarded Philips Laboratories an Engineering Emmy for the company’s work on ghost-cancellation technology. ATAS presented the award to David Koo, project leader of Philips’ ghost-cancellation research team.

"Ghosts" are multiple screen images that occur when a TV signal reaches a TV antenna multiple times. To remove these distortions, Koo created the ghost-cancellation-reference (GCR) signal, which can be embedded into normal TV signals. Philips researchers also designed a TV-installed chip set that recognizes the GCR signal. If a normal TV signal bounces off buildings or multiplies in cable transmission, the chip set recognizes the Philips GCR signal and transmits a single image to the TV screen. -- by Fran Granville

Philips Laboratories, Briarcliff Manor, NY. (914) 945-6000.