We introduce a prototype digital cinema system that can store, transmit, and display extra high quality movies with the scanning resolution of 2048 lines. The system was designed to distribute cinema contents on optical IP networks offering Gigabit Ethernet. The system combines a video server, a decoder, and a projector to show movies of 3840 /spl times/ 2048 pixels with 24 bit color depth at 24 frames per second. Films are digitized and compressed by motion JPEG. The streams, which average 250 Mbps, are continuously transmitted from the PC-based server to the real-time decoder using TCP/IP. The real-time decoder is a cluster of parallel JPEG processors to decode the received streams into uncompressed movie data (4.5 Gbps). The projector uses three LCD panels, each offering 8 million-pixels, and an all-digital video interface in order to enhance the quality of the digital cinema.

In synchronous networks, the reference timing signal of the primary reference clock is distributed to each clock supply module (CSM), which provides clocks to the communication equipment in each node. This paper proposes a high-quality clock distribution method for synchronous ring networks. Since the reference is directly fed into each CSM in the ring without going through the CSMs in the intermediate nodes, each CSM receives the reference with a small amount of wander. The restoration procedure of the proposed clock distribution path is performed only within the node nearest to the failure and does nor require communication between nodes. Therefore, it has a short restoration delay.

Photonic networks based on wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and optical path technologies are expected to realize flexible, transparent, and cost-effective transport networks with a large transmission capacity. This paper explores the design framework of photonic transport networks taking into consideration the operation administration and maintenance (OA&M) functions required for the successful introduction of WDM systems based on the optical path concept. From the view point of network maintenance, clear distinction is made between the optical path layer and the optical section layer to facilitate accurate and smooth failure localization. The digital multiplexing span between physical multiplexing interfaces at the end-to-end digital nodes should have the same maintenance span as the corresponding optical path. We argue that cooperative maintenance by OA&M functions at both the digital and optical layers can be a practical way of network supervision. A supervisory (SV) signal transfer method and a configuration that is suitable for the terrestrial trunk network are also indicated. As an example, a practical SV system design methodology and an actual procedure developed for a single channel optical transmission system based on optical in-line amplifiers are introduced. Furthermore, application of the developed SV system and network restoration schemes is discussed for future WDM-based photonic networks. The OA&M aspects introduced will be valuable for creating future photonic network systems.

The design and performance of repeater circuits based on Si and GaAs MESFET process technologies are described. Repeater circuits were designed and fabricated for around 10 Gb/s repeater systems using Si and GaAs IC processes. The Si ICs operated up to 9 Gb/s, and the GaAs ICs exceeded 10 Gb/s. It was verified that regenerative repeater systems using these ICs and optical amplifiers exhibit a stable operation at 10 Gb/s. The performance of the 10 Gb/s repeater using these monolithic ICs and photonic circuits is discussed.>