The Digital Conversion in Television Essay -- TV Digital Technology DT

The Digital Conversion in Television Introduction Television is now in the process of converting from analog to digital technology. The significance of this change is greater than the introduction of color TV in the 1960’s, but more complicated since conversion will require new equipment for all consumers. Unlike color TV, digital television (DTV) uses a new kind of signal that does not fit within the structure of the old signal. "DTV" refers to a specific standard being implemented in the United States to carry a television signal in digital form through all stages of its transmission, not just for digital equipment such as video tape recorders and satellite receivers that have already been used in conjunction with analog television. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the regulatory authority for the use of DTV. The Commission required TV stations in the top ten markets to begin broadcasting digital signals on separate channels along with their current analog signals. Stations in smaller markets are being phased in, and all commercial stations are expected to broadcast a digital signal by 2002. By 2003, all public stations are expected to go digital. The FCC will allow broadcasters to pull the plug on analog by 2006, although many people in the electronics and communications industries feel that analog TV may persist for a few years longer (Churchill). Digital television is being promoted for three distinct advantages: better picture, better sound, and more functions and flexibility. A digital picture has better color and is free from ghost images and snow. In addition, the DTV format allows for greater resolution than analog TV, a resolution high enough to be known as high definition television (HDTV). Th... ...re/0,1284,14770,00.html>. Mannion, Patrick. "FCC Roadblocks COFDM Petition." Electronic Design 20 Mar. 2000: 32. Academic Search Elite GALILEO. Athens Area Technical Inst. Lib., Athens, GA. 7 May 2000 . Mannion, Patrick. "Last Digital-TV Issues Get Resolved as Industry Gears Up for Prime Time." Electronic Design 17 Apr. 2000: 85-91. Academic Search Elite GALILEO. Athens Area Technical Inst. Lib., Athens, GA. 7 May 2000 . Powell III, Adam Clayton. "Digital Doubts." Reason Apr. 2000: 13-14. Academic Search Elite GALILEO. Athens Area Technical Inst. Lib., Athens, GA. 4 May 2000 . Yang, Catherine, Neil Gross and Richard Siklos. "Digital D-Day." BusinessWeek 26 Oct. 1998. McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. 6 May 2000 .