In February 2009, Will You Be Ready?
Televisions in the common home have been around since the 1950s. As a society, we have survived with analog broadcasts. But when the United States is forced to watch digital television broadcasts by February 2009, it may make people ponder: what was wrong with analog television? And how does digital television work? Here's a look at the technology of digital television and how it can affect your viewing.
Understand The Present Before You View The Future
Analog television should be explained first. At a television station, the cameraman's equipment will capture a news broadcast or another program. That picture is broken up into about 480 pixels per line and made into a signal. That signal is broadcast into the air by a large antenna. Your television antenna picks the signal out from a bunch of other signals via fine tuning, sends it to your television that puts those pixels together and projects them onto your screen.
Digital television takes the same route but does it faster and with better quality. The digital television camera at a television station has a much better quality resolution level. The pictures are converted into a signal that is much more reliable in digital than analog. And if broadcast to a digital television you lose no quality from the broadcast to the projection. So instead of having your tallest child stand on your television and move the rabbit ears around to catch the end of the football game, you will get either a completely clear broadcast or no broadcast at all.
Digital Now
Cable companies and satellite broadcasting companies offer digital programming and often tote the digital signal as a better option. While that is true, you only get a "true" digital picture with a digital television. If you have a digital converter box it is actually converting that digital signal into an analog projection signal so that your analog TV can show it. The picture is consistent but it isn't necessarily sharper or better.
Also, digital television stations can choose the quality of programming they want to broadcast. Each station will be allocated almost 20 megapixels per second of broadcasting, far greater than that of analog television station. A station can show multiple programs at lower signals or one really high-end program at high-quality broadcast. So prepare for the digital revolution. If you don't already have a digital television, you will need a converter box (much like the ones your cable companies offer) to receive the free programming.
Tags: digital television, digital television, television station, analog television, better quality, companies offer