Digital terrestrial television

Digital terrestrial television (DTTV or DTT) is a technological evolution of broadcast television and an advancement over analog television. DTTV broadcasts land-based (terrestrial) signals. The advantages of digital terrestrial television, are similar to digital versus analog in platforms such as cable, satellite, and all telecommunications; the efficient use of spectrum and provision of more capacity than analog, better quality images, and lower operating costs for broadcast and transmission (after the initial upgrade costs). A terrestrial implementation of digital television (DTV) technology uses an aerial to broadcast to a conventional television antenna (or aerial) instead of a satellite dish or cable television connection.

Competing variants of broadcast television systems are being used around the world. Advanced Television Standards Committee created the ATSC standards that use an ATSC tuner in North America and South Korea—an evolution from the analog National Television System Committee (NTSC) standard. Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB-T) is used in Japan, with a variation of it being used in most of South America. DVB-T is the most prevalent, covering Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia and some countries of Africa. DMB-T/H is China's own standard (including Hong Kong and Cuba, though Hong Kong's cable operators use DVB); the rest of the world remains mostly undecided, many evaluating multiple standards. ISDB-T is very similar to DVB-T and can share front-end receiver and demodulator components. Several European countries have switched from analog to digital terrestrial television.

Terrestrial television

Terrestrial television or broadcast television is a type of television broadcasting in which the television signal is transmitted by radio waves to the TV receiver from a terrestrial (Earth based) transmitter, a television station, and received with an antenna. The term is more common in Europe, while in North America it is referred to as broadcast television or sometimes over-the-air television (OTA). The term "terrestrial" is used to distinguish this type from the newer technologies of satellite television (direct broadcast satellite or DBS television), in which the television signal is transmitted to the receiver from an overhead satellite, and cable television, in which the signal is carried to the receiver through a cable.

Terrestrial television was the first technology used for television broadcasting, with the first long-distance public television broadcast from Washington, D.C., on 7 April 1927. The BBC began broadcasting in 1929, and had a regular schedule of television programmes in 1930. However these early experimental systems had insufficient picture quality to attract the public, due to their mechanical scan technology, and television didn't become widespread until after World War 2 with the advent of electronic scan technology. The television broadcasting business followed the model of radio networks, with local television stations in cities and towns affiliated with television networks, either commercial (in USA) or government-controlled (in Europe), which provided content. Television broadcasts were in black and white until the 1960s, when color television broadcasting began.

Digital

Digital usually refers to something using digits, particularly binary digits.

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