I know there are at least a couple of you here involved with TV, telephones, etc., so I thought a brief overview of the TV system in the U.K. might be of interest, as we don't use the U.S. standard.
The original monochrome-only standard was 405 lines at a field frequency of 50 Hz. (as opposed to U.S. 525/60). Broadcast was on 13 VHF channels. Video modulation was positive with an AM sound carrier.
In the 1960s a new system at 625 lines on UHF channels opened, with negative video mod. and FM sound (as in N. America). Color was introduced in 1967 using the German-devloped PAL (Phase Alternation by Line) system.
The old 405/VHF network broadcast programs (B&W only) in parallel with the new 625/UHF until its closure in 1985, so everything is now solely UHF.
Cable is really only just catching on in the U.K., and so far is available in just a few of the large towns. Direct broadcast satellite was pushed heavily in the late 1980s, so many homes now sport an 18-inch satellite dish.
F-connectors are common on cable & satellite, but the standard for terrestrial antennas is the Belling & Lee coaxial plug, developed many, many years ago (and so far as I'm aware, practically unknown in the U.S.A.).
Both terrestrial & satellite are going to digital in a big way now, with the govt. pushing for a closedown of existing analog services within the next few years.
