Science Forums 2

[enorbet2]

Hello
I'll have to check for certain but even though I too have a soft spot for tape, film, even vacuum tubes (valves) and all things analogue, I am also fortunately very aware of the power and benefits of digital and I would be willing to bet even now that NASA is all digital since it lends itself to lower power requirements and bandwidth regulation in a way analogue cannot.
Once a signal is digitized all manner of corrections are possible far beyond the old analogue caveat that subsequent generations degrade. I have some audio/video editing software that I have used considerably and I'm still learning amazing things that can be done, often non-destructively so many passes can be made with no losses, to maximize any parameter one desires. It probably also doesn't hurt that NASA enjoys mil-spec and better lenses. Some earthbound TV stations obviously until just recently had to still employ A/D converters and have some old analogue equipment in the loop.

While there are some downsides, the benefit of digital are very compelling and now that stations no longer have to broadcast analogue and everything is going Hi-Def we will see more and more quality images online and on TV.