On February 17, 2009, Americans will enter the age of digital television — ready or not.
On that date, all full-power broadcast television stations will begin broadcasting only in digital, improving sound and picture quality as well as allowing for stations to offer multiple programming choices, called multicasting.
The government-mandated change will free up needed frequencies for public safety and new wireless communication offerings.
What’s the difference between analog and digital?
Since television was invented, stations have broadcast analog signals, or continuously varying radio waves. The familiar “snow” or ghosting of images is one problem with this way of sending broadcast signals. Another issue is the limited bandwidth for an ever increasing number of television channels.
After the transition, broadcasts will be sent only via digital signals, which use a series of zeroes and ones to transmit data just as a computer does. The result is clearer, more reliable picture and sound as well as the opportunity for more programming options and interactive features.
Because of how a digital signal transmits information, it has more room for additional data. So now television stations that once broadcast on one channel, such as channel 3, can now broadcast on several segments of that channel, for example: 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4. Each channel could offer specialized programming for a particular audience.
HDTV is the highest level of digital television quality, but it is not the only one. SDTV, or standard definition television format, is the quality at which basic digital broadcasts will be provided. SDTV offers an enhancement over traditional analog broadcasts, but it is not as sharp as HDTV.
What do I need to do to be ready?
If you have an analog input television and currently receive your television service through cable or satellite, you will continue to receive your current stations without needing to purchase additional equipment. However, to receive the full, original quality digital signal, you may need to upgrade your set or get special equipment from your service provider. Simply check with your cable or satellite company for more details.
Note that if your service goes out due to weather or other circumstances, you will no longer be able to receive traditional television channels without a digital tuner or digital-to-analog converter box.
If you have an analog input television and receive your signal via an outside antenna or “rabbit ears,” then you will need to purchase a digital-to-analog converter box to be able to continue watch television. Your set will continue to work as before with gaming consoles, DVD players, VCRs and other similar systems.
The new converter boxes are expected to be available in early 2008 and run between $50 and $70. From January 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009, all U.S. households are eligible for a government coupon program to offset $40 of the cost for up to two boxes per household. A list of eligible boxes is available from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which manages the program.
Aside from buying a converter box or signing up for a cable or satellite service, you could also choose to buy a new digital-input ready television. After May 2007, all new televisions must be ready for receiving digital signals or be clearly marked that additional equipment will be needed.
These next generation television sets are the best way to experience all that digital television has to offer.
By: Digital Landing
Posts Tagged ‘Digital Television’
Why your TV Will Die on February 17, 2009 (and What you Should Do About It!)
December 24th, 2009It’s coming!
It’s coming on February 17, 2009! It’s about to cut off the signal to your TV, and most likely you’re not prepared for it!
It’s almost as big a shift in home entertainment as happened sixty years ago when television replaced radio in America’s living rooms!
It’s DTV! Digital Television is going to change the way you watch television, and how you interact with your TV set. You’re finally going to get movie theater quality picture and sound at home!
• Digital TV is also going to reach into your pocketbook! All U. S. broadcast stations will stop sending analog TV signals, the kind your regular TV reads, on February 17, 2009. Without a new converter box, your TV will not work!
• Many stations are broadcasting a digital DTV signal right now along side their analog signal, but after 2009 they’ll only transmit in DTV.
• This digital signal can only be properly viewed on a new Plasma, DLP or LCD TV. If you don’t own one, you’ll need a converter box to watch digital signals “dumbed down” to show on your analog TV. In addition to the new Big Screen TV, you’ll also need a Dolby Surround Sound amplifier and speakers to get the DTV Dolby sound.
• All new TVs sold must have a digital tuner built-in as of March 1, 2007. Your old analog TV will need a set top converter box to receive television broadcasts after February 2009.
• Your cable provider may be able to send you digital cable or digital satellite signals right now, but that doesn’t mean that you can see High Definition programs on your television. If you have an old style picture tube television, a converter in your cable box can take the digital signal and “dumb it down” to analog so that you can see it. You’re still not seeing the super sharp DTV picture, or hearing the crystal clear digital sound.
• Digital Pictures will be free from the flicker, ghosts and snow seen on analog transmissions. More than twice as sharp as Standard TV, DTV signals allow crystal clear images with higher resolution and picture quality than is possible with old style TV.
• DTV will provide programming in wide screen “movie format”. The digital picture is so sharp you’ll be able to read the small text from your computer hooked up to the TV screen.
• DTV allows multicasting: broadcasters can provide a super sharp High Definition (HDTV) program or several Standard Definition programs at the same time. Sending several program streams on one channel is called “multicasting”. The number of programs a station can send on one digital channel depends on the sharpness (resolution) of each program. DTV can provide interactive video and data services that are not possible with the old analog technology.
• DTV features Dolby Surround Sound to give you that full movie theater sound in your home instead of the old, tinny TV sound you grew up with. With a Surround Sound tuner and speakers installed, you’ll get roaring, sparkling sound assaulting your family from all directions: front, sides and rear!
• If you don’t have cable or satellite TV, you’ll need a Plasma or LCD TV with a DTV tuner, or a digital-to-analog converter box to see digital signals on your analog TV. Converter boxes will be available in retail stores during the transition.
• The National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U. S. Department of Commerce will issue two $40. 00 coupons per household that can be applied toward the purchase of digital-to-analog converter boxes. Coupons will be issued starting January 1, 2008.
• An Integrated DTV set is a digital TV with a built-in digital decoder or DTV receiver. If you have an Integrated DTV and live in an area with a DTV broadcast station, you won’t need anything else. You may need an antenna (an outdoor antenna is best) to receive over-the-air DTV broadcast programming. Integrated TVs can receive and display current analog signals.
Television is about to leap out of the Stone Age into the future! Make sure you’re ready for it!
It’s as easy as 123!
Extremely Large And Extremely Small Televisions
December 17th, 2009For the last 5 or 6 years the media (and therefore also the public) has focused either the huge television sets or the extremely small televisions that can be carried around in your pocket. On the tiny end of the scale you have the portable players with 2-4 inch screens that can pack enormous amounts of video into a piece of hardware the size of a wallet or even a credit card. On the other end of the spectrum there are the large HDTVs where anything smaller than 42 inches isn’t even worth talking or writing about if you ask much of the popular media. You are sometimes left wondering if there’s still anything in between these two extremes – while both of these types of technology are impressive nonetheless. Finding a normal television with a 4:3 aspect ratio in a similar size between twenty to thirty inches is actually becoming more and more difficult. That is unless you are then compensation by going for digital televisions like LCD screens or plasma screens. The most significant difference between the TV’s that are available today and those that were available ten years ago is the fact that modern standard definition television sets typically have digital tuners built in. The TV manufacturers are preparing for the change to digital television (planned for 2009) even though it’s unclear whether or not it will actually happen on schedule. There is a bigger question than whether or not standard TV sets are still available. There are many arguments against investing in a standard definition television right now and the most obvious argument against getting one is the fact that more and more TV shows are being produced in the HDTV format. Secondly many TV distributors are preparing to offer more HDTV channels over the next couple of years. As the popularity and availability of HDTV programming increases, we are likely to see a great (and expanding) effect in the number of TV channels and TV shows that will change to High Definition Television. The more channels and programs that make the switch, the more people will watch the programs on these channels and the public will begin to ask questions why the rest of the channels haven’t also made the switch to HDTV and will put pressure on them to do so. This is not to say that standard definition TV will be nonexistent in the future. But it is more likely that the TV programs and shows that are produced in the High Def format will be “down converted” to standard definition format and be shown on standard definition television channels, at least for some years to come. This is actually already happening to some extent as it was seen in the most recent Star Trek series which was shot in high definition. Because this was still a very popular show for people to watch on normal standard definition channels and while it originally aired in standard definition a lot of its fans probably didn’t even realize that it had actually been shot in HD. This brings us to another of the many advantages of HDTV sets – Even if you are not watching HDTV on it, there’s an increasing trend to broadcast normal television shows in the wide screen format that looks good on HDTV screens.
