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Zweikanalton ("two-channel sound"), orA2 Stereo,[1] is an analogtelevision sound transmission system used inGermany,Austria,Australia,Switzerland,Netherlands,Croatia,Serbia and some other countries that use or usedCCIR systems.South Korea utilized a modified version of Zweikanalton for theNTSC analog television standard. It relies on two separateFMcarriers.
This offers a relatively high separation between the channels (compared to asubcarrier-basedmultiplexing system) and can thus be used forbilingual broadcasts as well asstereo. Unlike the competing NICAM standard, Zweikanalton is ananalog system.
Zweikanalton can be adapted to any existing analogue television system, and modern PAL or SECAM television receivers generally include a sound detector IC that can decode both Zweikanalton and NICAM.
A2nd FM sound carrier containing a second sound channel is transmitted at a frequency 242 kHz higher than the default FM sound carrier, and contains a 54.6875 kHz pilot tone to indicate whether the broadcast is mono, stereo or bilingual.
This pilot tone is 50% amplitude-modulated with 117.5 Hz for stereo or 274.1 Hz for bilingual. The absence of this carrier indicates normalmono sound.
Zweikanalton can carry either a completely separate audio program, or can be used for stereo sound transmission. In the latter case, the first FM carrier carries (L+R) for compatibility, while the second carrier carries R (not L-R.) After combining the two channels, this method improves thesignal-to-noise ratio by reducing the correlated noise between the channels.
Carrier frequencies are chosen so that they cause minimal interference to the picture. The difference between the two sound carriers is 15.5 times the line frequency (15.5 x 15625 Hz = 242187.5 Hz) which, being an odd multiple of half line frequency, reduces the visibility ofintermodulation products between the two carriers. The pilot tone frequency is 3.5 times line frequency (54687.5 Hz). The modulated tone frequency is 117.50 Hz for stereo transmission and 274.1 Hz for bilingual transmission. Absence of this tone is interpreted as a monaural transmission.
| Mode | Standard sound carrier | 2nd sound carrier | Pilot tone in 2nd carrier | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BG 5.5 MHz | DK 6.5 MHz | BG 5.742 MHz | DKa 6.258 MHz | DKa 6.742 MHz | DKa 5.742b MHz | ||
| Mono | mono | carrier is absent | none | ||||
| Stereo | mix of left & right (L+R) | right audio channel (R) | 54.6875 kHz 50% AM with 117.5 Hz | ||||
| Bilingual | 1st language | 2nd language | 54.6875 kHz 50% AM with 274.1 Hz | ||||
There is a modified version of Zweikanalton used in South Korea, compatible with the NTSCSystem M standard of TV transmission. In this case the second FM carrier is 14.25 times the line frequency, or about 224 kHz, above the first carrier; pre-emphasis is 75 microseconds; the stereo pilot tone frequency is 149.9 Hz; the bilingual pilot tone frequency is 276 Hz; and the second channel carries L-R (not R).
Zweikanalton was developed by theInstitut für Rundfunktechnik (IRT) in Munich during the 1970s, and was first introduced on the German national television channelZDF on 13 September 1981. The German public broadcasterARD subsequently introduced Zweikanalton on itsDas Erste channel on 29 August 1985 in honour of the 1985 edition of theInternationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA). West Germany thus became the first country in Europe to usemultiplexed sound on its television channels.
InMalaysia,TV3 used Zweikanalton on its UHF analogue transmission frequency (Channel 29), whileNICAM was instead used on its VHF analogue transmission frequency (Channel 12).
InIndonesia, the first TV station to use Zweikanalton wasSCTV, which utilized from its start of broadcasting in 1990. Later, Zweikanalton was abandoned by national networks in favor ofNICAM but at least there was one local television station that still used Zweikanalton.
As a result of the analogue television switch-off in most countries which used Zweikanalton, Zweikanalton is now considered obsolete and has been replaced withMPEG-2 and/orMPEG-4 for countries that have converted toDVB-T/DVB-T2 (Europe and Asia-Pacific), andDolby Digital AC-3 onATSC in South Korea.
Zweikanalton is known by a variety of names worldwide. Most commonly used names areZweiton,German Stereo,A2 Stereo,West German Stereo andIGR Stereo.