How Does Digital Cable Work?

How did/does analog cable work?

For years, analog cable was the only alternative to an over-the-air signal. Television networks used microwave or satellite to beam their signals to regional cable companies. These carriers would then distribute the signal to homeowners using radio waves. These waves are transmitted over cables from the carrier to the receiver as electrical waves. The cables are larger versions of the coaxial cable used inside a home.

Why upgrade from analog?

Analog cable has space limitations. The typical analog cable design can only support one channel's signal at a time. When a person changes a channel, a trigger in the receiver sends a signal back to a switch. These switches receive all of the available channels and distribute the desired signal to the home. The switch to digital cable permits all of the channels to be accessed at once.

How does digital cable work?

While television signals are still sent to cable companies, the use of digital signals is most evident in the delivery of channels. Cable signals are sent as compressed digital data; a series of zeroes and ones which are decoded by a converter located in the user's home. The signals are sent over fiber optic cable, permitting large amounts of data to be transmitted quickly. Instead of channels being sent to a switch and distributed to each individual television, digital cable lines carry all of the channels to the home. When a channel is selected, the converter box decompresses the signal and displays it on the television screen.