In April, 1997, the FCC announced that, by 2006, all television broadcasting would bedigital. Digital TV broadcasting can deliver crystal-clear pictures that will approach the quality of 35mm movies and CD sound. One form of digital broadcasting will be HDTV (High Definition Television), which will provide the highest resolution quality picture. Besides providing incredible picture and sound, the new digital standard has enough room in its signal to allow TV stations to broadcast multiple programs at the same time, if they so choose. TV will also deliver data services, such as electronic program guides or information related to the programs you watch.

This will be an evolutionary process. According to the FCC, digital broadcasting must be available in each of the top 10 markets, covering 30% of households in the U.S. by May, 1999. By the end of 1999, it must be available in the top 30 markets, covering about 50% of the households. The FCC requires that all 1678 US TV stations must be 100% digital by 2006. Some 38 broadcasters have announced they will begin transmitting digital programming on November 1^st, 1998.

No. TV stations are required to continue broadcasting regular TV signals along side the digital until 2006. Cable TV and satellite TV are not affected by this FCC ruling. Cable operators are compelled to a "must carry" rule for HDTV, and pass thru it’s local transmission, just as they do with local analog television today

Conventional NTSC analog broadcasting will continue for some time up until 2006 when analog broadcast will cease. Any NTSC TV bought today will be able to work well beyond the digital deadline of 2006 with use of a set-top box, giving you the best sound and picture performance it has to offer. The cost of set top boxes and complete digital televisions are likely to come down over the next several years.

'DTV' is a general reference to Digital Television technology. DTV broadcasts will either be HDTV (High Definition TV) or SDTV (Standard Definition TV). These have different levels of resolution - as high as 1125 scanning lines (interlaced), which is called HDTV or High Definition Television, to as low as 525 (interlaced or progressive) scanning lines, called SDTV or Standard Definition Television. Individual broadcasters will be able to choose in which format to transmit their programming. Most digital TVs and digital set top boxes will be able to receive the signals no matter what is sent out on the airwaves. The FCC has allocated to each of the broadcasters a fixed amount of transmitting space or bandwidth for digital TV programming. The signal must fit into a six (6) MHz bandwidth, and take no more channel space than today's NTSC broadcast signal. Yet with MPEG-2 video compression, at the highest resolution, one or two programs can be transmitted within that space and, at the lower resolutions, up to 6 simultaneous programs can be transmitted. Generally, the higher the resolution, the clearer the picture. Broadcasters may choose to transmit different levels of resolution throughout the viewing day; perhaps broadcasting daytime programs in SDTV and switching to HDTVat night for movies or specials. At this time all of the major networks have announced their specific plans for HDTV. CBS, NBC and PBS have chosen the higher 1080I format, while ABC and FOX have chosen the 720p progressive scan format. Both HDTV and SDTV are part of what's called 'DTV' (Digital Television) technology. HDTV pictures will most likely be a wide screen format (like a movie theater) which is referred to as 16:9 aspect ratio (referring to the ratio between picture width and height). Today's conventional TV aspect ratio is 4:3. SDTV programming may be either. Keep in mind that wide screen programs will still be able to be viewed on conventional TV screens in letterbox format (black areas above and below picture). Likewise, regular 4:3 aspect ratio pictures will be able to be viewed on a wide aspect TV screen, with the picture digitally centered or even 'stretched' to fill the screen.

Analog refers to the signal format used to transmit today's television, also called NTSC. Digital signals also can transmit television, but they are much more efficient and can carry many times more information than analog. The highest quality digital TV signals will be high-definition or HDTV, are defined as either 720 lines or 1080 lines of vertical resolution. While the signals are different, today's analog sets will be able to receive the new digital signals by using a TeVCA adapter box.

The FCC has authorized and mandated all U.S. TV stations currently broadcasting analog television to set up and operate second channels for digital television. This means that your local analog channel 4, for example, also will provide digital programming on another channel. You'll still be able to watch channel 4, but the same station will have digital programs for HDTV on its other channel. Every station will be able to operate two channels until 2006 when, the FCC will phase out our current analog TV broadcasting.

Digital television and its centerpiece application, HDTV, represent an advance in TV technology even more significant than the introduction of color. Besides delivering much clearer images and six-channel surround sound, HDTV lets you watch motion pictures the way they were intended to be seen: on a wide 16-by-9 screen, one-third wider than today's 4-by-3 screens. In addition to its entertainment and home theater uses, digital TV will offer a variety of interactive applications. With a wider picture, over 1000 lines of resolution, and more than five times sharper than today's television, digital TV is capable of delivering virtually any combination of video, audio and data to the home.