The world is steadily going digital in every level. The entertainment sector especially has been influenced in a major way. iPods, iPads and the like have filled the markets of the music industry and high definition digital video has supplanted the analog industry in television entertainment. The United States Government made it mandatory that every broadcaster must start broadcasting in digital signal only from June 2009, putting an end to analog coverage. This was not based on a decision from the previous night’s dream but a well thought out process that has numerous advantages and is now being adopted by various countries around the world.
Why digital?
Digital TV channels have many benefits over analog channels. The saving in bandwidth, for instance, has created a lot of space for other communication application. Every signal has a certain frequency that it has to occupy. Now, consider a lot more channels and you will see a band of frequencies being occupied and this is known as frequency bandwidth. For analog channels, these frequencies are large. Moreover, they are not “close” frequencies. Each channel has a certain “guard channel” between it and the rest of the frequencies to guard against intermixing of channels, a process known as “aliasing”. The frequency occupied is largely determined by the type of coding and modulation is being considered. Digital TV channels however, are digitally coded and modulated such that they do not take up much space making them efficiently packed. The unused frequencies can then be used for other purposes.
Other benefits include better clarity, better sound quality and allowing for interactive communication.
What do I need?
It would be great to view digital TV channels over digital TV or HD TV for both offer the technology to display superior picture and relay superior sound. One would need an efficient antenna to capture digital TV transmissions in addition to the digital TV. Tuning can be done either through a separate tuner box or through the in-built tuner set. Today’s TVs come with in-built tuner sets. Carefully select the antenna, if your network operator hasn’t provided you one. The antenna should be able to capture signals in the frequency bands VHF and UHF. Digital cable ready (DCR) TVs are those where you simply need to plug-in the cable connection and enjoy. Analog TV sets require a digital-to-analog converter which converts the digital TV channels to analog form so that they can be played over the analog set.
Quality levels
Digital TV programming comes in different quality levels according to the transmission formats. Traditional are the 4:3 formats whereas widescreen are 16:9 formats. The Standard Definition TV (SDTV) is a common term for both digital as well as analog version of broadcast. In fact, it is the basic form of display. The transmission format may be traditional or widescreen. Enhanced DTV comes in 480p traditional or widescreen. High DTV comes only in widescreen format and is miles above the rest in terms of quality.
So now you know the basics as well as a little bit of the intermediary of digital TV. Go get your digital TV connection now!
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