Technolog Im Our Lives 7 Digital Television and HDTV: What Everyone Should Know the consumer the entertainment. DTV is a new standard that will ultimately replace today’s analog (NAPSA)—Walk into any con- sumer electronics retail location today and ask about a new television for your living room, and nine times out of 10 you'll be directed to the digital television (DTV)section of the showroom floor. Why? Because DTV is TV today. DTV is here, it is now and it is the musthave technology for the U.S. home. What does DTV, and HDTV in particular, mean for the average U.S. consumer? It means crystal clear picture quality—more than years times theclarity of your old analog set—and digital sound quality similar to that of a compact disc. Because television sets have a lifespan of approximately eight years, consumers want to TV system. As one might guess, a system overhaul of this magnitude comes with its hurdles, and the DTV transition is no exception. Until recently, HDTV sets were available on the market only for overthe-air (antenna) consumers and for a few DSB households. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently approved an inter-industry agreement, however, that will allow the nation’s @ Technology is rapidly changing the way welook at television. purchase a set that will provide the maximum benefit for the maximum number of years to come. For consumers today, that means the purchase of an HDTV product. While existing analog TVs will continue to display programming for many years to come, consumers interested in purchasing a TV set or set-top box that will satisfy demand should opt for the DTV product and, specifically, the HDTVproduct. Why? Because the varying degrees of quality—standard definition (SDTV), whichis the good; enhanced definition is going digital—and that means that consumers’ demand is moving digital with it. nition (HDTV), the best—refers to the quality of the programming, signal and equipment bringing nation’s TV transmission system Oftentimes, consumers with digital cable service or digital satellite service confuse their system with DTV or even HDTV. These are two distinct systems, however. Digital satellite and digital cable simply refer to a bitstream delivering the TV signal to the home. DTV, which comes in (EDTV), the better; and high-defi- digital cable subscribers to purchase integrated HDTVsets (digital cable ready or DCRs) for a seamless “plug-and-play” transition from analog to HDTV service and enjoyment. Hopefully, consumers won’t think twice about this or even ponder how the set cameto be for sale at retail—this is the point and intention of the “plug-and-play” agreement. Consumersin thedigital world should purchase and install DTV and HDTV equipment as simply as they did analog TV. The difference with HDTVis the enjoyment. Never before has the American TV viewer known such high quality audio and video entertainment. Now is the time for consumersto sit back and enjoy.
