How Technology Has Perfected Digital Television
Digital television first arrived on the scene for the average consumer with the introduction of the DVD player around five years ago. This
piece of equipment in its early days was standalone, and had its limitations. It was used by the consumer to either listen to CDs or watch films.
The DVD player became the centerpiece of home cinema systems, and especially so with the advent of wide high density plasma screen
televisions.
The next step was the development of DVR technology. Digital Video Recorders were not only capable of playing music or films, they were also
capable of recording or copying either from a DVD or from television or radio programs. The DVR is an actual item of computer hardware with its
own hard disc - the disc can be used to download and save any item of digital media to be replayed at the operator's discretion in their own free
time.
Satellite and cable companies have learned to utilize DVR technology to their advantage. To keep an edge on their opposition and provide
maximum service, many of them offer the alternative of adding DVR technology to a consumer's in-house receiver. At a small extra cost, their
customer can record their favorite films, sports events and television series. This breakthrough has changed the way the average family live with
their television sets. For example: TV series and sporting events can be saved and copied to a recordable DVD. Viewers can build their own
personal archives and view them even years later; Dual tuners have now been introduced in the DVR allowing viewers to watch one program while
simultaneously being able to record upto two other shows. No more family arguments about who gets to watch their favorite program!
Depending on the reception format, television signals arrive at the DVR's built-in tuner through a home antenna, cable or satellite.
If the signal comes through an antenna or cable, it will be in analog format and will need to be converted to a digital format. In order to do
so, it will be processed through an MPEG-2 encoder which has been installed to convert the data into a digital format.
Once the data signal has passed through the encoder, the signal is split into two and transmitted into two different locations: 1. To the hard
drive for storage 2. To an MPEG-2 decoder, this converts the signal back to analog and sends it to the television for viewing. DVR software
operates in conjunction with pre-installed DVR hardware cards. The function of the software is to convert video images to files, allow video
compression, display and playback.
Many consumers have a standalone DVR at their disposal. Additionally many of the top range televisions come with their own built in DVR.
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