EBU Activities in the Worldwide Search for HDTV Studio Standards

Charles Sandbank obtained a physics degree from London University in 1953 and joined the Brimar Valve Division of Standard Telephones and Cables Limited (STC) as a production engineer. In 1955 he obtained a post-graduate fellowship at Imperial College and was awarded the D.I.C. After further work on vacuum devices, he joined the Transistor Division of STC in 1958, where he produced some of the first silicon chip integrated circuits in Europe. In 1964 he joined Standard Telecommunication Laboratories (STL) initially as head of Electron Devices Department and later manager of the Communications Systems Division. Among the activities for which he had responsibility at STL were solid-state microwave generation, display technology, microwave navigational aids, radio systems, and integrated local area networks. He led the team which pioneered optical fiber communication systems (a subject on which he has edited a book). In 1978 he joined the BBC as head of Research Department at Kingswood Warren, where he has been active in the fields of digital technology, electronic graphics, and HDTV. In 1983 he moved to London, where he is now the BBC's Deputy Director of Engineering. He was Chairman of the IEE Electronics Division in 1979/80, Chairman of the EBU Committee on high-definition television from 1981–1984, and is currently Chairman of the EBU's New Systems and Services Committee. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, of the Institute of Physics, and of the Royal Television Society. In 1983 he was elected to the Fellowship of Engineering.