What is Digital Television?

Digital TV is an alternative method of broadcasting the images and sound that appear on your TV screen. Rather than broadcasting these signals as a continuous analogue wave, the signals are sent as discreet bits of information. Transmitting in this way improves picture quality and reduces problems such as ghosting and interference that affect some viewers in hilly or urban environemnts. Digital TV also provides new features and services in addition to improved reception. Viewers will be able to receive high quality wide-screen pictures, surround sound audio, multiple viewing angles, multi-channeling, closed-captioning and electronic program guides.

What are the benefits of Digital Television?

Digital Television provides new benefits and features to viwers, some of these are: Improved reception without ghosting. Standard Defintion and High definition quality pictures in widescreen (16:9) format. Multiple channels on SBS and ABC (Fly TV & ABC Kids). Multiple camera angles during for some programs. Electronic Program Guides that display information about the current and next program. Closed captioning for the eharing impaired.

Are Digital TV signals being broadcast now?

Digital TV has been broadcast since 1st of January 2002 when it was officially launched. All of the mainland metropolitan areas should be covered by digital broadcasts, with regional areas to be covered by 1st January 2004.

Do I need a new television set to receive digital TV?

No, not neccessarily. Purchasing a Digital Set Top Box will allow you to receive digital signals and convert them back into analogue signals for display on your current television. This method should allow you to continue to use your current television up to and beyond the cut off date for analogue broadcasts. Although you should receive features such as the electronic program guides, multi-cahnneling, multiple-angles and improved reception, you won't see full HDTV or SDTV quality pictures. This is because current analgoue telvisions don't have the higher resolution available to dedicated HDTV's. If you wold like to receive full quality HDTV pictures then you will have to buy a new HDTV television set with either a built in receiver or HDTV set top box.