A lesson on digital TV
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by: Angus Findlay21
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A lesson on digital TV
Remember when you were younger? Getting a reception was so difficult you have to climb the highest tree to get TV signal. Just like everything in technology, this is no longer a problem with the introduction of Digital TV or DTV. Introduced in the late 1990s, this new method of sending and receiving audio and video through digital signals aims to free up the broadcast spectrum so it can be used for more important services for public security and safety or more advanced wireless services. This technology uses multicasting wherein one channel can now have several variations, for example channel 7 for an analog TV can become 7-1, 7-2, 7-3 and so on. Viewers can now experience lesser interference causing better reception, clearer sound and image quality, new channels and features.
The transition to DTV in several developed countries such as the United States and United Kingdom has started in 2007. In fact, in the United States, the Federal Communication Commission intends to complete the migration by February 2009. A new directive released in March 2007 mandated that all TVs manufactured in the country were required to have digital tuners. Analog TVs can still be used and the Commission released information on the different equipments that households need to have for their analog TVs to receive digital signal.
The Office of Communications in the United Kingdom reported that there are about 22.2 million homes using digital TV. According to the Digital Television Progress Report of 2007, from 86.1% of the 3rd quarter, multichannel take up increased to 87.6% for the 4th quarter. This is attributed to the British Government’s move of switching off analog transmitters region by region.
Several Digital TV providers have emerged in the US, including Freeview, Sky Digital and BT Vision. Freeview, more commonly known as Digital Terrestial TV or DTT, offers 60 channels of TV and radio which are broadcasted free without any installation necessary. For some, however the will probably need to buy a new TV. Also, channel line-up is limited as the more popular ones are not available for free.
Sky Digital, on the other hand offers more channels such as Sky One, Paramount Comedy, and a range of about 200 channels. Unlike Freeview, you need an engineer to install the satellite dish. Also, a digibox and your phone line are then attached to your TV which will allow you to access the interactive services and to verify payment for pay per view channels. Sky Digital also offers broadband internet access.
Did you see the latest soccer game on TV? I see you were working that time. Well, with the high quality box that comes with your BT Total Broadband subscription, you can now catch up with shows you might have missed from the last seven days, and even pause live TV shows! With Video-on-demand from BT Vision, you can now save up to 80 hours of programming. Now, you can watch your favorite TV show over and over! Truly, IPTV is the future of television!
About the Author
Angus Findlay is author of this article on Digital tv. Find more information about Freeview here.
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