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What Is DTV?

DTV (Digital Television) is the standard for broadcasting pictures and sounds using digital signals. It provides crystal clear pictures, very high quality sound, programs in a wide-screen format, and many other advantages over the conventional analog system

A DTV system records pictures and sounds as a stream of zeros and ones (a binary code). The binary code carries all the information about the pictures and sounds that have been recorded - color, brightness, volume, pitch, and so forth. DTV technology contrasts significantly with standard analog television technology, which is currently the technology most commonly used throughout the world. An analog system records pictures and sounds as a continuously varying signal, in which variations in the signal - as opposed to a stream of zeros and ones - carry the information about the pictures and sounds recorded.

DTV programming is delivered in two basic formats: standard analog definition (SDTV) or high definition (HDTV). Of the two, HDTV provides the better picture. It has a minimum resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels when transmitted as a progressive scan (720P) signal or 1920 by 1080 pixels when transmitted as an interlaced (1080i) signal.

Standard analog definition TV can have either the same resolution as analog TV (about 150,000 active pixels) or double the resolution of analog TV, depending on whether it is transmitted as interlaced (480i) or progressive scan (480p). SDTV outshines analog TV, however, because it is not prone to static, snow, or ghosting. Also, SDTV can be transmitted in either the 4:3 standard aspect ratio or the16:9 widescreen aspect ratio.

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