For more information, also see DTV Web Links below.
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| What is DTV or Digital Television? |
Digital Television or DTV is the new broadcasting technology platform for delivering programming to your television. Digital Television replaces the old Analog system which we have been using for the past 50 years. The signal that your television receives will use digital information rather than analog.
The DTV digital signal offers many benefits including:
Strong Signals Always: The days of static and ghosts on your TV are over. With digital television, you either receive a signal that is crystal clear, or you don't get anything.
Potentially Higher Quality Picture and Sound: DTV uses the same amount of bandwidth (six megahertz) as used in the current analog broadcast system, but DTV can transmit more than six times the information as the analog system. This can translate to higher quality in picture and sound depending on the way the tv station is sending you the signal, and the equipment you are using to see the picture.
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| What is the difference between SDTV, EDTV and HDTV? |
Digital Televisions (the combination of a display and a receiver/tuner) come in three levels of performance; SD for standard definition, ED for enhanced definition, and HD for high definition (see below).
SDTV is Standard Definition Television. TVs that receive all DTV broadcasts and display 480 lines of resolution presented in 4:3 aspect ratio (today's square-shaped analog TVs). This is the same resolution (picture detail) as today's analog TV systems.
EDTV is Enhanced Definition Television. TVs that receive all DTV broadcasts and display less than 720 lines but more than 480 lines are called EDTV - "enhanced definition." The television's screen shape may be widescreen (16:9) or standard (4:3), but the image displayed is widescreen.
HDTV is High Definition Television. HD Televisions receive and display all DTV broadcasts in 720p (progressive scan lines) or 1080i (interlaced scan lines) and are called "high definition". HDTV is broadcast and displayed in widescreen (16:9) format. See other benefits of HDTV below.
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| When will digital television be available? |
Digital television is available now to most people in the US as long as you have a television with a digital Tuner and the station is broadcasting a digital signal.
In 1996, the U.S. Congress authorized the distribution of an additional broadcast channel to each TV broadcaster so that they could introduce DTV service while simultaneously continuing their analog TV broadcasts.
Starting March 1, 2007, all new television sets that receive signals [over-the-air] must include digital ATSC Tuners for digital broadcasts. this law applies to all new televisions sold in the US, including pocket sized and portable televisions.
The FCC has set the date of February 17th, 2009, as the date for all TV stations in the U.S. to cease their analog broadcasts.
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| How can I receive broadcast digital television? |
You can view broadcast digital television in one of three ways:
1. Over the air on a television with a built-in digital (ATSC) Tuner - The FCC has mandated that all new TVs, VCRs, and DVRs include a digital Tuner by March 1, 2007
2. Over the air utilizing a stand-alone digital Tuner or converter box (if older television that does not have ATSC Tuner).
3. Via a cable or satellite service - Using digital Tuner equipment provided by company.
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| How can I receive broadcast HDTV or High Definition Digital Television? |
Just because you have DTV or Digital Television, doesn't mean you are receiving and watching HDTV or High Definition Digital Television. HDTV takes full advantage of the DTV platform. However to receive a high definition picture, the source or television station must be sending the signal in High Definition, and you must have the proper equipment at your end to receive and view the HDTV.
To view High Definition Television you need the following:
1. The broadcast has to be in HDTV quality.
2. You must have a television with a built-in digital Tuner (ATSC), a standalone digital Tuner, and/or equipment provided by your cable or satellite company.
3. You have to have a High Definition Television. Your television must have a screen capable of displaying 720p (Progressive Scan) or 1080i (Interlaced Scan) of resolution.
Some cable or satellite providers may require additional hardware required to receive its programming.
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| Benefits of High Definition Digital Television (HDTV) |
Higher Resolution: Standard DTV television pictures are made up of 480 lines (or 525-interlaced) that are scanned horizontally. HDTV pictures are created by scanning 720 Progressive or 1,080 Interlaced lines. Adding about twice the amount of lines multiplies the amount of pixels (the small dots that create the picture). Current sets have about 300,000 pixels, while the HDTV screen is composed of more than two million pixels. Having more pixels on your screen will also improve the sharpness of your pictures, allowing you to read on your television screen small text commonly found on computers.
Wide Format: HDTV uses a “widescreen format.” “Widescreen format” refers to an image's aspect ratio, which is a comparison of screen width to screen height. Analog television has an aspect ratio of 4:3, which means the screen is 4 units wide by 3 units high. The aspect ratio of HDTV is 16:9, similar to a movie theater screen. HDTV programs can include Dolby Digital surround sound, the same digital sound system used in many movie theaters and DVDs.
True Surround Sound: Complimenting the lifelike pictures are 5.1 channels of CD-quality digital audio. Current stereo TV sets offer only two channels of audio. HDTV delivers true surround sound: front speakers on the right, center and left, along with two back speakers and a sub-woofer.
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| What is the difference between ATSC, NTSC and QAM Tuners? |
ATSC & NTSC Tuner - ATSC (Advanced Television System Committee) Tuner is the digital Tuner required to receive digital television broadcasts. The old analog Tuner is called NTSC Tuner which receives analog NTSC signals. Currently, all digital televisions require separate NTSC & ATSC Tuners to receive both analog and digital signals.
QAM Tuner - QAM stands for "Quadrature Amplitude Modulation," the format by which digital cable channels are encoded and transmitted via cable. A QAM Tuner allows a TV to tune in unscrambled cable channels without a separate set-top box, including high-definition channels if they are offered by the cable service provider.
For more information about Digital Television please see the following websites:
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