At long last, High Definition Television (HDTV) is now available in the Czech Republic. The days of analog broadcasting and lower quality television images compared to the big screen effect are now available through selected channels, so long as the programming is in fact digitalized.Unfortunately, standard television sets (analog) can’t take advantage of this breakthrough technology without the ability to decode the digital transmissions. What are the advantages of HDTV?
Because HDTV is transmitted as bits of data, digital television doesn’t face the problems that often plague analog signals, such as ghosts, snow, or color distortions. With DTV you get more detailed pictures, richer colors, and clearer images. Also, a digital signal can support a higher resolution, so the picture will still look good when it’s shown on a larger TV screen.
Imagine driving in your car for a long distance, and you are listening to the radio; in time, the signal gets progressively weaker. The same holds true for analog transmissions. However with digital broadcasting, the signals remain constant to the end point – your TV. Unlike analog transmissions, which roll along, getting progressively weaker, digital signals forge ahead to the end of the transmission range at the same quality, but then just stop, as though they’ve fallen off a cliff.
HDTV is transmitted as bits of data up to (18.4 Mbps) on a single channel and takes up the entire channel. The effect is a picture comprised of more than 1 million pixels. The result is a picture with more than 3 times the resolution of current analog screens, with almost three-dimensional images and movie theatre quality sound.
Another amazing opportunity for the future is that broadcasters can include interactive content or additional information with the DTV signal. Imagine watching a live hockey match (or opera performance) and having the ability to focus in on a single player or performer; or perhaps you are watching the news and want to get a text copy of an interesting story you have seen. All it takes is the technology, and your printer. The possibilities are endless.
More programming is made available in digital format every day, and the issue isn’t if, but when, digital will become the industry norm for all content. In the meantime, with an HDTV you can enjoy the technology today with cable and satellite transmissions.
