The performance of several extended definition TV (EDTV) formats are compared in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) operation in an analog FM satellite channel. The formats considered are the National Television System Committee (NTSC), extended NTSC (ENTSC), multiplexed analog components (MAC), and extend MAC (EMAC). These formats are compared in terms of SNR above and below the FM threshold. Analytically derived curves which show the luminance and chrominance SNR as a function of horizontal resolution for the above-threshold operation are presented. The effect of group delay on the composite video formats is determined for an actual satellite channel. The below-threshold performances for NTSC and MAC are compared in the luminance channel. >