Countdown to DTV

• July, 1996 -- first stations on the air with DTV
• Nov, 1998 -- first wave of stations begin broadcasting DTV
• May, 1999 -- ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC affiliates in top 10 markets required to begin DTV broadcasting
• Nov, 1999 -- same affiliates in top 30 markets to begin DTV broadcasting
• May, 2002 -- all commercial US stations to begin DTV broadcasting
• May, 2003 -- all non-commercial US stations to begin DTV broadcasting
• Feb 17, 2009 -- NTSC broadcasting to cease (contingent on diffusion and adoption levels)

DTV Options

High Definition Television (HDTV): 16 x 9 aspect ratio, 1125 lines of resolution, Dolby AC-3, 5.1 channel surround sound

Standard Definition Television (SDTV) Multicasting: Instead of one High Definition signal, a station may opt to broadcast multiple Standard Definition signals

Datacasting: Or the station may elect to broadcast data to augment the television program or provide other services; e.g., Internet, paging, etc.

Links

• Article by Sam Ebersole for Focal Encyclopedia of Electronic Media
• PBS on Digital TV
• FCC's DTV page
• FCC's DTV FAQs

Return to CSU-Pueblo Television Production Handbook home page.