What is Digital TV?

Digital TV represents an alternative method of transmitting the pictures and sounds that make up a television broadcasts. Programme information is converted and compressed into a digital format, using much less space on the airwaves than an analogue transmission. The signal is reduced to a binary code (the same as in a computer) therefore the quality and consistency of the signal can be improved over the analogue equivalent.

Broadcasting programmes in this way enables multiple television channels to be carried in the space used currently by a single analogue channel, making more channels and features available to viewers. Digital images are also much clearer and sharper than standard analogue images, and can broadcast programmes in a widescreen format. Some of the extra capacity in the airwaves is used by digital broadcasters to send extras such as Electronic Programme Guides (EPG) and other interactive services.

Digital signals can be received by standard TV aerials, satellite dishes or fibre-optic cables. All signals sent to a household are decoded by either a separate receiver, or a receiver that is built into a television set. The separate receivers are commonly known as set-top boxes, and sit outside your current television set. A TV set that has its own digital receiver is called an integrated digital TV set, mostly referred to as an iDTV set.

Digital television has already changed the way more than 15 million UK households think about TV.