Second-Generation HDTV Camera

Laurence Thorpe graduated in 1961 from the College of Technology in Dublin, Ireland, with a GRAD IEEE degree in electrical engineering. In 1966 he was awarded an MIEE and was made a Chartered Engineer (C. Eng. - UK). He joined the London-based Designs Department of the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1961 and worked there on the development of a range of studio color equipment until 1966. This equipment included switching systems, standards converters, distribution systems and an automatic differential phase/gain equalizer. In 1966 Thorpe left the BBC to join the Broadcast Division of RCA in Camden, New Jersey, where he remained until 1982. During this period he worked on the development of studio switchers, distribution equipment, telecines, and studio color cameras. In 1975 he became project leader of the TK-47 automatic color camera, for which he received a David Sarnoff award in 1981. In 1979 Thorpe was promoted to Engineering Unit Manager responsible for new developments in studio cameras. He holds ten patents. In 1982 Thorpe resigned from RCA to join the new Sony Broadcast Company where he was Director of Studio Product Management. In this role, he was responsible for the entire line of broadcast and professional video cameras, Betacam field equipment, Super Motion System and Fiber Optics System. He was also principal technical consultant on HDTV. Thorpe is currently Vice President, Production Technology of Sony Advanced Systems—responsible for market development of the Sony HDVS system. He represents Sony on the ATSC HDTV Technology Groups, the SMPTE Working Group on High Definition Electronic Production. He is also Chairman of Working Party 3 on Economic Assessment of the Systems Subcommittee within the FCC Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Services.