| Q: What is a digital TV? |
| A: “Digital” can either refer to a television’s compatibility with our new broadcasting format or it can refer to the technology used to create the image itself. In general, a digital television is one that can receive and display digital or high definition television signals (ie, the new government-mandated broadcast format that offers improved pictures and sound, see our Guide to Getting Digital TV). A digital-ready television (or digital–compatible, -capable, -upgradeable or whatever other qualifier TV manufacturers’ marketing execs apply to their particular brand) is one that is compatible with and can display digital TV signals, but doesn’t have the built-in tuner to actually receive them. A separate tuner is required. So far, none of these descriptions have talked about how the TV actually works, just what signals it’s compatible with.
In fact, CRT or cathode ray tube-based televisions, the most common display type, are usually considered “digital” if they are compatible with DTV or HDTV even though CRT technology is an entirely analog format. There’s nothing wrong with this description, other than it’s mildly confusing. There are some new technologies that are entirely digital (like DLP), or use a combination of digital and analog elements (Plasma, LCD, LCoS) to create the image. These new technologies allow the TV screen to be substantially thinner than the old CRT-based display that your parents and grandparents owned. Fortunately, these complete or partial digital technologies can usually display digital television signals as well. We’ve taken the liberty to lump these new technologies into the “digital” camp. |
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