[LEAPSECS] New Year in Times Square

[Gerard Ashton]

The ball dropping in Times Square illustrates an exacerbation of 
something that has always been true. It is not possible in the USA, now 
that digital TV is pervasive, to broadcast a truly "live" event. The 
ball must drop with an accuracy of about 1 second to satisfy a million 
people who are present. The broadcast must show the actual event, not 
one recorded from last year, so that if there is any glitch, it will be 
shown. The DTV technology imposes an unavoidable delay due the 
transmission and compression process of up to 20 seconds.

In the past, transmission delays existed, but they were probably beneath 
the level that a regular person would notice. Now they are noticeable. 
For example, a family who sets their watches and clocks according to the 
ball drop. They send their kid off to school, and he arrives in his 
classroom with 5 seconds to spare, according to his watch. But the 
classroom clock is automatically synced to WWVB, and the student is 
marked late.

Gerry