The CATV system shall be installed and maintained in accordance with the highest and best accepted standards of the CATV industry, to the effect that subscribers shall receive the highest quality service technically possible. In determining the satisfactory extent of the standards, the following, among others, shall be considered as minimum requirements:
(A) The CATV system shall be installed using all band equipment capable of passing the entire VHF television and FM broadcast spectrum (i.e., no less than 50 to 220 MHZ, including the so-called “mid-band” region); and further, it shall have the capability of converting the UHF television broadcasting range to channels between 50 and 220 MHZ for distribution to subscribers.
(B) Signals shall be transmitted from the antenna origination point to all subscriber tap-off points, regardless of location on the distribution portion of the system, without the introduction of any noticeable degradation of color fidelity, picture intelligence or audio distortion. Color phase shift introduced by system components between the off-the-air receiving antennas and the customer tap-off point shall not exceed two degrees under any circumstances, on a cumulative basis.
(C) The system and all equipment in the system shall be designed and rated for continuous 24 hour per day operation.
(D) (1) The system shall provide a signal level of not less than 2,000 microvolts, as measured across 72 ohms at the subscriber’s television receiver, on the highest channel (by frequency) carried by the system and not less than 1,500 microvolts on the lowest channel (by frequency) carried on the system to all color television receivers connected to the system. No channel shall exceed the highest and lowest values for the highest and lowest channels by more than .5 db for more than 50% of the time. The system shall provide equivalent service levels of not less than 1,500 microvolts on the highest channel and not less than 1,000 microvolts on the lowest channel (both as measured across the 72 ohm drop cable) to all black and white receivers connected to the system.
(2) The system shall provide a minimum signal of not less than 200 microvolts on the lowest intensity FM channel (as measured at the customer service drop termination point) delivered, and a maximum signal intensity of not more than three db greater level than the lowest intensity FM channel delivered by the cable, (i.e., all FM channels carried by the system shall be flat to within three db from the lowest and highest FM channels carried, and the lowest of these shall be not lower than 200 microvolts across 72 ohms).
(E) The system design and operation shall exhibit a signal plus noise, to noise, ratio of not less than 40 decibels as measured at the extremities of all trunk and customer distribution lines covering the service area or areas.
(F) Plum modulation of the picture (video) carrier shall not exceed 5% at any point in the system.
(G) All active components in the system shall have a VSW11 not to exceed one and one-half to one. All passive devices in the system shall have input, output and return losses of not less than 20 db.
(H) The system shall maintain a minimum video carrier to aural carrier ratio of 15 db and a maximum video carrier to aural carrier ratio of 18 db for all television channels. This video carrier to aural carrier relationship shall be established in such a manner that the color subcarrier, if present, to video carrier relationship shall not be degraded below its as-received off-the-air ratio by more than 0.25 db.
(I) Carriage of so-called local channels shall be accomplished in such a way that these channels, as delivered to the system subscribers, if delivered on-channel, shall be at least 40 db stronger as measured at the customer receiver tuner input terminals than any stray direct pickup from these channels. If this is not possible, channel conversion of these stations shall be made to utilize other regular VHF channels, mid-band or octave channels for the delivery of these stations to the customer’s receivers.
(J) (1) The system shall be designed in such a way that 20 channel operation is possible at the outset, utilizing either mid-band frequencies or octave frequency groupings. If so-called mid-band frequencies for cable carriage of one or more channels are utilized, it shall be demonstrated that the carriage is possible in the service area or areas without introduction into the cable transmission lines of direct pick up from radio services operating in the mid-band region, which would tend to interfere with the carriage of one or more proposed television channels in this frequency range.
(2) If the octave-frequency grouping method of providing spectrum space for additional channels (more than the 12 regular VHF channels) is utilized, it shall be demonstrated that the equipment is operational and available for delivery.
(K) The system shall be capable of producing a picture, whether in black and white or in color, which is undistorted, free from ghost images and accompanied with proper sound on typical standard production TV sets in good repair, and as good as the state of the art allows.
(L) The facilities used by the grantee shall be capable of distributing color TV signals, and when the signals the grantee distributes are received in color they shall be distributed in color.
(M) The system shall transmit signals of adequate strength to produce good pictures with good sound at all outlets without causing cross-modulation in the cables or interfering with other electrical or electronic systems.
(N) In the event the Board of Supervisors determines that the quality of service being rendered by the grantee is not equal to comparable systems delivering service in the state, the grantee, upon written notice from the Board of Supervisors, shall with due diligence, do whatever is necessary to bring its service up to such standards.
(O) The grantee shall, at all times during the term of any franchise granted under this chapter, at its own cost and expense, properly and in good workmanlike manner, install and maintain adequate shielding, filtering and grounding at affected installations within the CATV system to eliminate television interference encountered from fundamental frequency overload by radio amateur transmissions which are in compliance with the Federal Communications Commission regulations.
(1966 Code, § 6A-24) (Ord. 312, § 24; Ord. 967, §§ 3, 4, 2018; Ord. 968, §§ 3, 4, 2018)