so shows the relative quality of each stage and paves the way for later explanations of how picture quality and sound fidelity can be matched to transmission bandwidth and cost of transporting content throughout the process of creating, distribut- ing, and delivering content. Content Creation Contribution Quality Content Distribution Quality Content Delivery Transmission Quality Motion Pictures Syndicated Programs Sports & Special Events Cable - Fox PC TV Theater Commercial Production - Internet - Stations - 100+ Others Homes Local - Public Places Stations - Business PDonaldson/FHuffman, Nov 1996 FIGURE 1-1 Program Content Food Chain PRACTICAL IP AND TELECOM FOR BROADCAST ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS The first stage in the chain is content creation. In this stage, raw audio and/or video is captured, or created. Still images or scenes can be captured on film, printed on paper or, if captured with a digital camera, transferred to a computer system and ultimately added into a program or a piece of motion picture entertainment. Titles and other graphics can be created on computer systems and included in the final package. In terms of picture quality and sound fidelity, this is as good as it gets- 'the best." Compression and decompression may or may not be used in content creation. Contribution quality is a term that's been used for many years and is likely to remain a well-understood metric long into the future. Content distribution is an intermediate state. In the past, and still to a great degree, distribution of content is understood to encompass all processes between creation of the content and use by the viewer. This is quite sufficient for analog content, but is unsatisfactory for digit- ized content. Digitized content enables multiple versions and repur- posing master material across multiple applications. It can also be packaged to fit the myriad of delivery vehicles, all digital, that cur- rently exist and are likely to continue to evolve into the foreseeable future. Much like physical goods distribution, the 