Digital TV: What Is DTV?

What is Digital Television (DTV)?

Digital Television (DTV) is a new type of broadcasting that will transform your television viewing experience. Images and sound are captured using digital technology, delivering a movie-quality experience, multicasting and interactive capabilities. That means better quality, more choices, and more control over your television. There are many quality levels of digital television programming. The most common are:

Standard Definition TV (SDTV) - SDTV is the basic level of quality display and resolution for both analog and digital. Transmission of SDTV may be in either the traditional (4:3) or widescreen (16:9) format.

Enhanced Definition TV (EDTV) - EDTV is a step up from Analog Television. EDTV comes in 480p widescreen (16:9) or traditional (4:3) format and provides better picture quality than SDTV, but not as high as HDTV.

High Definition TV (HDTV) - HDTV in widescreen format (16:9) provides the highest resolution and picture quality of all digital broadcast formats. Combined with digitally enhanced sound technology, HDTV sets new standards for sound and picture quality in television. (Note: HDTV and digital TV are not the same thing -- HDTV is one format of digital TV.)

Analog DTV HDTV
  • Broadcasts at least through June 2009.

  • Consumers will always be able to connect an inexpensive receiver, a set top box, to their existing analog TV to decode DTV broadcast signals.

  • Set top boxes will not convert your analog TV to high-definition.

  • Analog TVs will continue to work with cable, satellite, VCRs, DVD players, camcorders, video games consoles and other devices for many years
  • Digital cable or digital satellite does not mean a program is in high-definition.

  • Digital pictures will be free from the "ghosts" and "snow" that can affect analog transmissions.

  • Multicasting is available.

  • HDTV is available.

  • Data streaming is available
  • High-definition broadcasts offered.

  • Best available picture resolution, clarity and color.

  • Dolby theatre surround-sound.

  • Dolby surround-sound.

  • Wide screen "movie-like" format


Information provided by www.dtv.gov
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