Digital Television Ellise Daniel
Introduction to Digital Technologies and Multimedia
Activities: Digital Television
Digital Television is fast becoming the new craze in Australia. The digital technology has already made its impact in countries such as American and the UK and has had huge success. Digital television is becoming increasing known in Australia as an evolution from analog television to the clearer, bigger picture, and about time too! The history of television is short, the first made by an American inventor, G. R. Carey, in 1875. Compared with computers and telephones, television has not had any significant advancement in technology, that it until digital television was created.
Firstly, in order to fully understand the impact of digital television, we must understand how it differs from analog television. To create a picture on the television, each television receives television signals known as analog signals. This signal is sent from a transmitter to a translator and then onto your television screen. Interference can be a problem with the signals picking up other signals from equipment such as mobile phones. Interference, known as “Ghosting” is caused by the reception of a direct signal into a delayed reflected signal, creating a ‘snowy’ effect on your screen. A quote from the final report of the Australian Broadcasting Authority Digital Terrestial Television Specialist Group (1998) explains the different types of interference. “[Over the air] television broadcasting is a demanding engineering challenge. The signals are subject to reflection from and obstruction by buildings and the terrain features. They are subject to interference from sources of electrical noise (e.g. motor vehicle ignition, overhead power lines, electric traction systems, florescent lamps, fax machines and digital mobile telephones and other transmissions). They are also subject to fluctuations in signal strength as they pass through the atmosphere. “
