TV with a digital tuner, or
Standard TV with a set top box [STB, external TV Tuner]
Some set top boxes are High Definition [HD], some are Standard Definition [SD] Their use is interchangeable but to get the benefit of the HD STB you must have a HD TV. Sorry about the silly acronyms. [Wikipedia link about HD and SD]
Some set top boxes are High Definition [HD], some are Standard Definition [SD] Their use is interchangeable but to get the benefit of the HD STB you must have a HD TV. Sorry about the silly acronyms. [Wikipedia link about HD and SD]
Why?
- Standard analog TV is going to be turned-off [list] Sydney - second half of 2013
- With digital TV you can access captions [subtitles] which are broadcast with most programs, in English
- Multiple channels in addition to the standard analog 5 stations [multicasting]
ABC has ABC1, ABC2 and ABC3, all with different programming.
Australian Communications and Media Authority page
Freeview [warning - dizzying website]
Media Access television page
Buying a new TV soon?
Consider a set which imcorporates a digital tuner. In Sydney there's only one station not represented on digital - Channel 31, negotiations underway. Channel 31 may not be available in your area. All other stations have at least one entity in the digital sphere, most have two. Some have three.
So you won't miss anything mainstream by going 100% digital.
Acronyms
TV | Television |
STB | Set Top Box |
HD | High Definition |
SD | Standard Definition |
ACMA | Australian Communications and Media Authority |