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A lesson on digital TV Perhaps the newest introduction in communication infrastructure is Digital TV or more commonly known as DTV. Introduced in the late 1990s, it is the now widely used in several developed countries such as the United States and United Kingdom. This new technology 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 such as emergency rescue. This is possible through 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. Because of the better technology, viewers can now experience lesser interference causing better reception, clearer sound and image quality, new channels and features. The transition to DTV has started in 2007. In the United States, the Federal Communication Commission intends to complete the migration by February 2009. As of March 2007, all TVs manufactured in the country were required to have digital tuners. Some analog TVs are still sold by retailers and many consumers are unaware that these might no longer work next year. To remedy this, the Commission released information on the different equipments that households can use 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 during the last quarter of 2007, there are about 87.6% of households reached by multi channel broadcast, which is about a point increase from the previous quarter. This is attributed to the British Government’s move of switching off analog transmitters region by region. In the UK, several Digital TV providers have emerged, the three most popular are Freeview, Sky Digital and BT Vision. Freeview is more commonly known as Digital Terrestial TV or DTT. It offers 60 channels of TV and radio which are broadcasted free without any installation necessary. There might be a need to buy a special Freeview receiver or probably a new TV. 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 needs to be attached to your TV as a policy of subscription. This will allow the subscriber to access the interactive services and to verify payment for pay per view channels. At present, Sky Digital is also offering broadband internet access. Wishing you could pause your favorite TV show while you get a cup of tea? With BT Vision, now you can! 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. Unlike Sky Digital, BT Vision basic subscription is free but users have the option to watch internet TV and will only be charged for the content that they view. Watching your favorite show has reached a new dimension with digital TV!
Angus Findlay is author of this article on Digital tv. Find more information about Freeview here.
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