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Beginning with Luxembourg in 2006, followed then by ten other European countries, the advent of government mandated digital tv began. The United States decision to transition came soon after. The U. S. Required all television stations to move from analog to digital transmission effective June, 2006. 2011 will mark Asia’s entry into the digital tv era with Japan coming on board.

The two main factors for Congress’ mandate to switch from analog to digital were centered around public safety and an improved television viewing experience. The government sought to free valuable bandwidth for services such as fire and police departments. It also wished to provide consumers with higher quality sound and picture. Additionally, the government looked to auction off the newly available bandwidth to those companies providing advanced wireless services.

The conversion process ushered in additional legislation. Starting March 1, 2007, consumers had to be informed by stores selling analog only sets that a digital conversion box was required. This had to be done at the point of sale and had to be clearly displayed. Moreover, no longer were analog television sets allowed to be imported into the U. S., and any television manufactured in the U. S. Had to be digital-ready. For those individuals who owned only analog televisions, the government authorized vouchers which could be exchanged for a digital converter valued up to $40.00.

The biggest difference in quality between an image generated by an analog tv signal and one generated by a digital tv signal centers around resolution. The level of detail and clarity of the picture the viewer sees is based on the number of pixels, arranged in a grid pattern, on the screen. Simply, the more pixels, or discrete points on the screen, the better the resolution will be. An analog generated grid usually tops out at 500 x 400 pixels. A digital image can create an image up to nearly ten times the number off pixels.

Multicasting is another advantage of digital television transmission. In an analog environment only one channel can be allocated to a chunk of bandwidth, whereas in a digital environment that same chunk can be divided into multiple channels. This provides television stations the opportunity to provide more programming to its viewers.

Digital tv also facilitates interactive programming. Cable and satellite subscribers can take advantage of functions such as movies-on-demand, and VCR-like capabilities such as pause or fast forward when watching programs. Even sending a mobile text message to a live television broadcast via the television’s remote control is possible.

When shopping for a digital television there are four types of televisions available to the consumer. Analog televisions, but these require a converter box, digital-ready sets which include the digital converter(or tuner) but do not offer high resolution, HDTV-ready units which do provide high resolution but may not be equipped with a converter, and finally an integrated HDTV set which provides both high resolution and a tuner. Shoppers cite cost and functionality as their prime decision criteria.

The government’s decision to usher in digital tv has had a profound effect. Improved picture quality, enhanced sound, and added features and functionality represent just the start of the digital television revolution. As the technology advances, expect to see even greater improvements.

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