Wiki: Digital TV

Some folks still aren't digitised and dont know where to start. So... another one to play with.

NT

There are several ways to receive digital TV. This is an introduction to the options, which are covered in more depth in other articles.

==Digital TV== New TVs often incorporate a digital tuner. These receive digital from an existing house TV aerial, if the quality of the signal's good enough. Digital requires much better signal quality than analogue.

==Set top box== A set top box connects between the roof aerial and the TV. It converts the digital signal from the aerial to analogue for the TV. The box is connected to the tv by either a scart lead or co-ax, scart giving slightly better quality. Some converter boxes only have scart output. Set top boxes need a better signal than analogue TV, and perform best with CAI approved co-ax wiring rather than old tv co-ax.

==Cable== Cable TV is provided by various companies around the country. The cable co installs the digital box, and this connects to your tv the same way as a set top box. No roof aerial is needed.

==Satellite== You need a satellite dish, satellite receiver, and a subscription for the satellite service. Note that satellite frequency signals can only be fed down the best quality co-ax, decades old tv co-ax is no use.

==Internet== The final and rather limited TV source is the internet. You won't get the main TV channels on the net though. What's available:

  • BBC iplayer: plays a selection of the most popular programs on demand, up to 30 days after airing.
  • Various video viewing sites, eg youtube, google, etc
  • Masses of instructional videos on numerous sites, covering pretty much any subject you can think of.

To watch much tv over the internet on your computer takes a lot of bandwidth, a low download limit account won't do.

==See Also==

  • [[:Category:TV|More TV articles]]
  • [[Special:Allpages|Wiki Contents]]
  • [[Special:Categories|Wiki Subject Categories]]

[[Category:TV]]

Reply to
meow2222
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Is it worth mentioning things like; with Freeview you pay a one-off for the box and that's it, although there are subscription options and that you can PVRs for recording?

Reply to
Lino expert

Er, no. New TVs now almost all incorporate a digitgal terrestrial tuner (aka Freeview). And digital doesn't require much better signal than analogue, its just that analogue degrades gracefully into snow, whereas digital might be either perfect or non-existant (the "digital cliff").

Set top boxes are also provided by Sky, which don't connect to an aerial. Perhaps prefix with "Freeview". And why use "converter box" when you've previously called it a set top box? See comments about about digital / STBs needing a better signal than analogue. Perhaps also better to refer to "CAI approved co-ax" as "CT100, PF100 etc"?

Not true at all. Freesat launched last year, and now some TV manufacturers (e.g. Panasonic) are selling TVs with Freesat receivers built in. So, yes you need a disk, no you don't need a satellite receiver (not as a stand alone device anyway) and you certainly don't need a subscription for the satellite service. I just watched BBC HD on Freesat for free with no sub.

Hope comments of some help. Or do you prefer edits in the wiki itself?

Matt

Reply to
matthew.larkin

cliff").

I think MOST have only a SCART output - so if you don't have a SCART socket on your TV make sure you buy a STB with a RF (Aerial) output socket.

Reply to
John

That said, digital reception is less affected by interference and ghosting than analogue, so changing to Digital Terrestrial TV may improve reception across some channels.

It is quite likely that if you are receiving good analogue reception, you will not need to replace aerial or cables.

Most set top boxes include an Electronic Program Guide that gives details of forthcoming programs. EPGs generally come with 7 day guides. Set top boxes with record facilities are available; of these, dual tuner machines allow you to record one or two channels simultaneously. Due to the way that the digital signals are transmitted, some recording boxes may allow you to watch a third channel while recording 2 others (which channels are available will depend on the signals being recorded). Hard disc recorders generally have a capacity of 1hour recording time per 2 Gigabytes of disc space.

Subcription free satellite services are available for which the only payment required is the initial purchase and installation of the satellite dish and box. Freesat and Freesat from Sky are separate services (and may offer different channels - ** this needs checking **).

Reply to
OG

It translates to the same thing. Less than perfect analogue reception is fine to watch, but the same system can fail to give any digital channels, or just one mux, and the picture problems are very disruptive to viewing.

how does freesat work then? I've not played with it

I'm just draughting something, nothing on the wiki yet. Cheers,

NT

Reply to
meow2222

I would have though Bill's, Carpy's et al site covers aspects of this rather well, so a fairly prominent link is in order...

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There are several ways to receive digital TV. This is an introduction

Integrated Digital TV - IDTV seem to be the current phrases.

That last bit is too vague to be useful - what do you mean by "quality"?

For example a DTV system can display a perfect picture in the presence of multipath signals that would make analogue unmatchable.

Perhaps the important thing to get across is that they are different, and good performance of one is not a guarantee of equal performance of the other (at least until DSO)

Need to cover Freesat, and also Freesat from Sky...

ITV has a "watch it live" capability. As does Five IIRC.

Reply to
John Rumm

Subscription requirement is incorrect. All ITV and BBC services are Free= to Air (FTA), you do not need a viewing card or subscription to view the= m, even on a Sky digi box.

Of the other main stream channels (the offerinngs from Channel 4 and Fiv= e) I've lost track of what is now FTA or FTV (Free To View, you need a card= (=A319.57 one off fee) but not a subscription). I think most if not all =

Channel 4 offereinsg are now FTA leaving just Five and its other offerin= gs as FTV. No doubt someone else will know the details...

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Reply to
Dave Liquorice

I thought we were down to one now - VirginMedia?

Reply to
Rod

Three ways:

With a "Freesat" branded box/PVR - buy off the shelf and plug into a dish. It has its own non sky EPG (although uses the same sat). Also has the option of some HD content with the right box.

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from sky

Use a sky supplied box with a freesat from sky card - one off payment of about £20 for the card or more with the hardware. Gets you all the free to air channels plus the few free to view ones

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box - no card

Reuse any cast off sky box, gets all the free to air ones only.

Reply to
John Rumm

As does the BBC now -

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for example.

They also have some series available - using something is currently airing you can go back and "catch up" on the previous episodes (older than 30 days)

Darren

Reply to
dmc

Sounds like the author of this article is in the same position.

Apart from the errors and omissions mentioned by others there is no mention of High Definition TV. (HDTV)

Many new TV sets carry a 'HD Ready' or 'Full HD' label. Consumers may think that once they have the set they can get HDTV via their aerial. They can't. HD broadcasts are ONLY available on satellite.

Television reception by roof top aerial (known as terrestrial broadcasting) has been the norm, but now that all national channels and more, plus HDTV are available by satellite, many viewers, especially in areas of difficult reception, would be better served by replacing their aerial with a satellite dish.

Roger R

Reply to
Roger R

Depending on area, the FreeView frequencies the aerial has to receive may lie outside those it was designed for. In rather the same way as Ch5. So it may need replacing with a wideband type. But try first before replacing.

BTW, your original bit is misleading. The aerial doesn't care what type of signal it is receiving - only the strength and quality of the RF carrier.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

But WILL be available on Freeview (with the appropriate box) in the not too distant future.

MBQ

Reply to
Man at B&Q

At the moment.

Satellite reception can be effected by weather more so than terrestrial.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Often the digital signal is transmitted at a lower power than the analogue signal (until switchover). I can get perfectly reasonable analogue reception but freeview is too poor to work (from the same transmitter).

Reply to
Mark

Not quite true, also cable - with suitable box.

Reply to
Rod

In article , Dave Plowman (News) scribeth thus

Have you got any evidence to back that up Dave?..

Reply to
tony sayer

How distant?

Not at the digital switch over in 2012, as far as I know.

Roger R

Reply to
Roger R

The recent snow proved that here.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

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