Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative advancement and represented the first significant evolution in television technology since color television in the 1950s. Modern digital television is transmitted in high-definition television (HDTV) with greater resolution than analog TV. It typically uses a widescreen aspect ratio in contrast to the narrower format (4:3) of analog TV. It makes more economical use of scarce radio spectrum space; it can transmit up to seven channels in the same bandwidth as a single analog channel, and provides many new features that analog television cannot. A transition from analog to digital broadcasting began around 2000. Different digital television broadcasting standards have been adopted in different parts of the world; below are the more widely used standards:
A television channel, or TV channel, is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, channel 2 refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video (VSB) and 59.75 MHz for analog audio (FM), or 55.31 MHz for digital ATSC (8VSB). Channels may be shared by many different television stations or cable-distributed channels depending on the location and service provider
Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) is a set of international open standards for digital television. DVB standards are maintained by the DVB Project, an international industry consortium, and are published by a Joint Technical Committee (JTC) of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) and European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Terrestrial television, or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the content is transmitted via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an antenna. The term terrestrial is more common in Europe and Latin America, while in Canada and the United States it is called over-the-air or simply broadcast. This type of TV broadcast is distinguished from newer technologies, such as satellite television, in which the signal is transmitted to the receiver from an overhead satellite; cable television, in which the signal is carried to the receiver through a cable; and Internet Protocol television, in which the signal is received over an Internet stream or on a network utilizing the Internet Protocol. Terrestrial television stations broadcast on television channels with frequencies between about 52 and 600 MHz in the VHF and UHF bands. Since radio waves in these bands travel by line of sight, reception is generally limited by the visual horizon to distances of 64–97 kilometres, although under better conditions and with tropospheric ducting, signals can sometimes be received hundreds of kilometers distant.
Television in Hong Kong is primarily in Cantonese and English. It is delivered through analogue and digital terrestrial, cable, IPTV, and the Internet. Satellite TV is not common, although many housing estates have dishes and re-distribute a limited number of free channels through coaxial cables. The dominant broadcaster is TVB, ViuTV and HOY TV.
Digital terrestrial television is a technology for terrestrial television, in which television stations broadcast television content in a digital format. Digital terrestrial television is a major technological advancement over analog television, and has largely replaced analog television broadcasting, which was previously in common use since the middle of the 20th century.
In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the program number as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered as digits on a receiver's remote control.
There are four major forms of digital television (DTV) broadcast in the United Kingdom: a direct-to-home satellite service from the Astra 28.2°E satellites provided by Sky UK, a cable television service provided by Virgin Media ; a free-to-air satellite service called Freesat; and a free-to-air digital terrestrial service called Freeview. In addition, an IPTV system known as EE TV is provided by EE. Individual access methods vary throughout the country. 77% of the United Kingdom has access to HDTV via terrestrial digital television. Satellite is the only source of HDTV broadcast available for the remaining 23%.
Television in Iceland is composed of the public broadcasting service of RÚV, five free-to-view channels and a number of subscription channels provided by private broadcasters. Broadcasts began in 1955 when the American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) started an English-language television service broadcasting from Naval Air Station Keflavik, which operated until 2006. The first Icelandic-language television broadcasts started in September 1966 with the launch of RÚV, originally called Sjónvarpið. In 1986, the first privately owned TV station, Stöð 2, began broadcasts. In recent years, the emergence of foreign internet streaming services, such as Netflix and Disney+, has seen a shift from domestic providers provide similar on demand streaming services such as Síminn Premium and Stöð 2+.
MTV is a Spanish pay television channel which focuses its programming on general entertainment and music. It was launched on 10 September 2000 and is owned by Paramount Global. It used to be available on the Spanish digital terrestrial television platform between 2010 and 2014, until it moved back to pay television due to a low audience figure.
Television in France was introduced in 1931, when the first experimental broadcasts began. Colour television was introduced in October 1967 on La Deuxième Chaîne.
Radio DeeJay is an Italian radio station. It was founded on 1 February 1982 by the Italian radio and television personality Claudio Cecchetto and was acquired by the Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (GEDI) in 1989. In 2020, Exor became the owner of GEDI and consequently of Radio DeeJay.
Television in Spain was introduced in 1956, when the national state-owned public service television broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE) started regular analog free-to-air terrestrial black and white broadcasts. Colour transmissions started in 1972 after two years of test transmissions, with all programming transmitted in color in 1977, and colour commercials starting in 1978. TVE held a monopoly on television broadcasting until regional public channels were launched during the 1980s and commercial television started nationwide in 1990. Digital terrestrial television was launched on 30 November 2005 with analog service discontinued on 3 April 2010. Currently, television is one of the leading mass media of the country, and by 2008 was in 99.7% of households in Spain according to INE statistics.
Hanoi Radio Television, officially Hanoi Radio & Television Broadcasting, is the official radio and television network of Hanoi, Vietnam. Its headquarters is on Huỳnh Thúc Kháng Boulevard, Đống Đa District, which represents its network logo.
Radio Italia TV is an Italian music television channel, owned and operated by Gruppo Radio Italia, available on the digital terrestrial television network in Italy since 2011. On 31 December 2012 Video Italia ceased broadcasting and merged with the digital terrestrial channel Radio Italia TV.
Disney Channel is a Spanish terrestrial television channel owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company Iberia and is localized version of the original United States channel of the same name.
Retecapri is an Italian television channel, broadcasting entertainment and information programs, music, and teleshopping. The channel belongs to Television Broadcasting System.
Social TV (STV) was a 24-hour mainstream digital television channel in the Philippines. It features social media contents and creations such as Do It Yourself (DIY) videos, short films, educational vlogs, documentaries, animation, tutorial, hobbies, music, entertainment and technology trends. It allows its viewers to interact with the TV network and let amateur content producers to share their own content not only on social media but also on free-to-air television.
