How To Watch Digital TV

Snapshot:

• Watching DIGITAL TV on CABLE TV or SATELLITE TV is as easy as watching the other channels (may require an additional fee to get HDTV channels).

• Watching DIGITAL TV with an ANTENNA: you'll get the highest quality digital and HDTV signals.
  

• TV stations may broadcast several programs at the same time on their digital channel.

• Digital channels use the original TV station channel number, and add a "2" or "3" for the extra programs.

• Digital sound is excellent!  Connect your TV to an amplifier or entertainment system.

Most local TV stations have their digital channels on the air now.  How you see the programs they are broadcasting depends on where you get your TV signals.

Watching Digital Channels On A SUBSCRIPTION TV Service

If your TV is connected to a SUBSCRIPTION TV service like CABLE TV or SATELLITE TV, you may already be watching local digital programs and not realize it.  There are two kinds of digital programs from local TV stations that your subscription service might be carrying in your community:

• the main digital channels from local TV stations that include high definition (HDTV) programs.  These channels are probably in a "package" of HDTV channels.
  

• new, specialized digital channels that feature news, weather, traffic reports, documentaries, non-English programming, etc. These channels are not in high definition.  They are added to the local cable or satellite channel lists.  Your local TV stations may advertise what cable channel numbers to find them on.

These local digital channels on cable or satellite are easy to watch; they are part of the channel lineups and are tuned the same way that you watch other channels. 

Here is an important point: to watch true HDTV from CABLE TV or SATELLITE TV, you must subscribe to a package of HD channels and have the required (high quality) connection between the cable or satellite SET TOP and the TV.  If you have a subscription TV service but are not subscribing to the HDTV service level, you will not be receiving HDTV, though you may still get great pictures on your TV set.  

Watching Digital Channels OVER-THE-AIR, Using A TV ANTENNA

If you have a TV with a digital tuner (all HDTVs have this), or a DIGITAL TV CONVERTER BOX, you should be able to watch your local TV stations' digital channels OVER-THE-AIR with an ANTENNA.  Over-the-air digital reception gives you the best quality digital TV signals from the stations, including HDTV programs, and it's free.  For information on using an antenna to watch TV, go to the "Using A TV Antenna" section of this website or click here.

What's new about watching digital TV OVER-THE-AIR?

Digital TV channels can show several programs at the same time.  A TV station can send one, two, three or more channels of programs on their digital TV broadcasts at the same time (this is called "MULTICASTING").  The first channel usually shows the same programming as the station's traditional analog channel, but it may show some programs in high definition (HDTV).  The other channels may have a different format or theme. 

Digital channels use a new numbering system.  There are two reasons: TV stations want to keep using their traditional local channel numbers for all their digital programs, but they also need to identify the different programs that are showing at the same time. 

To manage this, digital channel numbers have two parts separated by "dashes" or "dots."  The first number is usually the traditional channel number of a TV station.  The second number (after the dash or dot) is for the other programs that are showing at the same time.  For example, when your local channel 6 starts a digital channel, the first program on the channel will show up on the digital tuner as channel 6-1.  The next program will be channel 6-2.  The third program will be channel 6-3. 

TV stations use a variety of names for digital channels and programs.  You will see these names on the digital TV tuner.  Usually the first channel name (for the "dash1" channel) is the station callsign with the addition of "DT" for digital television.  Some stations call the first channel the "HD" channel, for high definition.  Beyond that, the other channels may be labeled "Radar;" "Weather;" or another name. 

Picture shape varies among digital TV programs.    The digital TV standard, and new digital TVs, use a WIDESCREEN picture display that is 16 units wide by 9 units high (16:9).  Traditional TV, and the shows that have been produced on it for over 60 years, have a picture display that is 4 units wide by 3 units high (4:3).  Programs produced for digital TV, including news, sports, and network entertainment, fit perfectly on digital TV screens.  But older programs or anything not produced for a 16x9 display won't fit.  Digital TV viewers will often see one of these situations:

A 4:3 show or commercial on their 16:9 screen.  This creates gaps on both side of the picture, called "pillars."   We are facing many years of "PILLARBOX" pictures as digital TV productions slowly replace analog TV productions, and there will always be historical 4:3 programs that appear like this. (To avoid seeing the pillars, some viewers use a function on their digital TVs that will "stretch" the narrower picture across the screen. But: this stretches people and scenes sideways [very unfair to actors and TV anchors!].  And when a true 16:9 picture appears, the sides will be chopped off.)

A program or movie with a shape that is wider than 16:9.  It fills middle of the digital TV screen, but has empty bars above and below the picture.  This is called "LETTERBOX."  DVDs often present widescreen movies this way. The good news is: you're getting to see all of the movie (instead of the sides being cut off so the picture fills the screen), so enjoy anyway. 

Viewers watching digital TV with a digital converter box on older analog TVs have the opposite issues with digital picture shapes.  See the section "digital TV converters." 

Picture quality varies among digital TV programs.  Not all TV shows show the same quality in digital, even if they are produced in high definition.  There are two main factors that determine the picture quality of a digital program:

The production and transmission format used.   As noted on this site, there are many production formats for digital programming, which range from "standard definition" (quality similar to analog TV) to "high definition" (very high quality TV).  From production to transmission, the lowest quality link in the the chain will determine the quality of the program.

The quality of the process used to convert older, non-digital programs to digital formats. This is also affected by the type of source material.  Film converts easily to digital and HD; old programs on videotape do not convert as easily.  Sometimes older programs are "UPSCALED" to fill digital TV screens, but the results can vary. 

Digital TV transmits excellent sound!  Viewers should take advantage of that.   To match the quality of HDTV pictures, digital TV includes a six-channel surround sound standard (5 full channels and a low frequency channel) called 5.1 SURROUND SOUND.  Many HDTV shows, and especially sports, are produced in 5.1 sound, which adds amazing depth and reality to the shows. 

Digital TVs are terrific display devices, but their thin designs (or locations, such as digital TV projectors) don't make them good sources of quality, full range sound.  Instead, for larger TVs in large viewing locations, HDTV owners should invest in at least a modest surround sound system.  This can include a digital receiver/amplifier that decodes the digital sound from the TV and feeds speakers located under the TV and to the left and right of it, plus back left side and back right side.  A low frequency, bass or "subwoofer" speaker completes the sound package.  Frequencies in this range are not "directional" (you can't tell where they're coming from) so a subwoofer can be located anywhere in front of viewers.

Otherwise, most TV programs are broadcast in stereo.  HDTVs can be connected to simple stereo (two channel) audio systems, with speakers located to the left and right of the TV screen. 

For more information, see the "Setting Up A Home Theater" section or click here.

Digital TVs and converters have other convenience features.  Some of the handy features you may find on a digital TV or digital converter are:

Simple menu setup with automatic channel discovery.  There may be a "setup" menu that shows you the steps to find all the local TV channels, set your time zone, choose a closed caption display, and set up parental controls so that a code is required to watch TV shows that have the designated US TV code ratings.

Signal strength indicators. These show how strong the signal is for each digital channel.  These can help you figure out which way to aim the TV antenna.

Program guide.  Digital TV channels send program descriptions for both current shows and future shows. Digital TVs have guides that can memorize this information and show it in a guide on the screen.  

Favorite channels.  You can select a group of channels as "favorite" channels.  When you press a "favorite" channel button, it tunes only those channels. 

The best source of information on your digital TV is your digital TV owner's manual.  

How do I know I'm getting programs in true HD?  If you have an HDTV set and are receiving good digital signals with your antenna, or you're getting an HD signal from your SUBSCRIPTION TV service, then your TV should be able to receive and display true HDTV.  After that, it depends on the programming.  The best confirmation that you're watching an HD show is if the program or network says it is HD.  There can be shows that fill your screen that look great in digital, but are not true HD. 

How can I use a "DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDER" (DVR) with my digital TV?   If you have CABLE TV or SATELLITE TV, you can get DVR SET TOPS from them that will be the easiest to use for HD recording.  If you're watching TV with an antenna, you can purchase an HD DVR from companies such as TiVo or Echostar.  Another option is to connect your TV to a computer system that includes HD DVR recording. 

There are LOW POWER or TV TRANSLATOR (or Canadian, or Mexican) TV stations that I watch that will keep their analog channels on.  How can I watch both analog and digital channels with an antenna?   Click on the "Show Me How" button at the bottom of the home page that says "Watch Both Digital TV and Analog TV" or click here.

Briefly, here are the solutions: First , you can get a digital TV.  Nearly all digital TVs have both an analog ("NTSC") and a digital ("ATSC") tuner.  If you have a digital TV, you won't have a problem watching both kinds of channels. 

Otherwise, if you want to watch both analog and digital channels with an antenna on an analog TV, you need a way to switch between the two. 

One option is to buy a DIGITAL TV CONVERTER BOX with an "analog pass-through" feature.  With this feature, when the converter box is turned off, the antenna signal goes through the converter box and out to the analog TV, and you can watch analog channels just like you do now.  When you turn the converter box on, you can watch digital channels. 

The other option is to get any converter box and connect it to your TV using both the TV "line in" connections and the TV antenna input.  This works only if your TV has a "line input."

To watch digital channels, turn the converter on and select "line input" on your TV.  You will see digital channels and tune them with the converter.  To watch analog channels, select the "antenna input" on your TV.  You will see analog channels and tune them on the TV like you do now.

My local TV station says its broadcasting on DIGITAL channel 38, but my digital tuner shows it as channel 6.  Why?  The reason that the digital broadcast channel and the tuner channel are different is due to - marketing!  On their digital channels, TV stations still use their traditional channel numbers as a channel identifier.  Your channel 6 probably has a well-established "brand name" in the community, and they don't want to loose that when the convert to digital.  So, local channel 6 on a digital tuner still shows up as "channel 6" (or channel 6-1).

BUT, as you mentioned, the actual digital channel that a station is broadcasting on, called the "RF" or "radio frequency" channel, may be a different channel number from their ANALOG channel.  Normally these RF channel numbers do NOT appear on a digital tuner. Digital tuners are smart enough, when they find a digital TV signal, to show a station's original channel number.  In your situation, channel 6 is broadcasting its new digital signal on "RF" channel 38, but you won't see "channel 38" on your digital tuner. 

Usually the RF channel numbers are not important, but some digital TVs and converters let you tune to the station "RF" channels if you want, and some TV stations will tell you the number of the "RF" channels they use for their digital signal.  

The only important reason to know the "RF" channel of a digital station is to know what kind of antenna you need to watch it.  If the RF channel is between channels 2 and 13, you need a "VHF" antenna. If the RF channel is between channels 14 and 69, you need a "UHF" antenna.  But most antennas combine the VHF and UHF bands and can receive any digital TV station. 

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CAPITALIZED WORDS are defined in the Digital TV Glossary.