- Analog television has been around since the '50s. Analog has been the primary form of broadcasting television (and radio) for quite some time. But as receiving technology has improved, some people in the television communities felt that their standards should be raised to match that technology. In the 1990s, digital televisions were made in hopes to match the technology that cable and satellite companies were offering with their digital equipment. HDTVs, or high-definition televisions, were first introduced in 1993. Standard digital televisions soon followed.
- As mentioned earlier, analog televisions will still be useful should you purchase a government-approved digital signal converter box. But in order to get the best broadcast power in terms of resolution and sound, purchasing a digital television is the way to go. But for a lot of people, it won't matter if they have a digital television or not. If you subscribe to a satellite or digital cable service, you don't necessarily need an additional converter box to keep watching, as the signal is converted from digital to analog via the set top box. So before running out and purchasing a new digital television or converter box before February 17, 2009, examine your television viewing habits before you spend your hard-earned dough.
-
Digital television provides a higher level of clarity and sound versus analog television. There are actually 18 different formats of digital television, but you will most likely only see standard, enhanced or high def digital television. Standard will offer the same amount of lines of pixels drawn as analog television at 480i. The more pixels-per line you have the better resolution on your television. Enhanced will also show 480 pixels per line, but it will refresh every minute at 480p. This is known as "progressive scanning." High-def starts at 720i or720p and go as high as 1920i/1920p.
In addition to resolution, digital television also offers more clear and crisp sound broadcast because the signal will never weaken from its source. There will also be multicasting options for television stations. If a station wants to show several different programs on several different channels it can do so. - Digital television can be shown on different types of television sets--Standard, LCD, Plasma or DLP. Standard digital television sets will look like normal-sized analog sets, just built with different signal reception technology on the inside. LCD televisions (liquid crystal display) offer a wider range of sizes (19 to 65 inches) and won't allow for "burn in"--the effect when a still shot seems to make an imprint on your television screen. LCD TVs do an excellent job of separating each pixel into smaller pixels by color (red, green or blue) and then broadcasting them. Plasma screens have that risk but they offer better viewing angles. Plasma screens have been around longer so the technology is better. They also do a better job of contrasting dark from light tints. DLP screens can offer up to 200 trillion colors with no motion blur or burn-in. They are more expensive but offer the best color picture for a digital television signal.
-
There are a few risks with digital television. Just like with satellite television, your signal is either on or off. With analog televisions you can get a faded signal even if there is a storm brewing overhead. With a digital signal you run the risk of having no chance of picking up sound or picture should something come between the broadcast source and your television. There is also a chance that digital television programmers could raise the cost of subscription services because of the technology involved with digital television. Not all cable companies are ready for the digital conversion. As mentioned earlier, be sure to call your local company to find out what you need to do in order to preserve your signal.
If you are an avid TV fan the increase in cost for exponential upgrades in audio and video are of no consequence. The digital TV future is most likely one you are willing to embrace.
