1. What is happening to the television system?

The FCC has determined that the current analog television system is antiquated and is no longer able to provide the level of service desired by viewers. Therefore, a new digital system is being developed that will completely change how we use television.

2. Why are we doing this?

Current television was developed in the late forties and was engineered using the technologies available then. Many improvements have been made in electronics and these will provide vast new opportunities to broadcasters. Viewers have also become accustomed to better quality than we are able to give with the current system. They are familiar with CD sound and want that from their televisions, which currently is impossible. Analog television also is not able to broadcast the complete color pallet or high-resolution pictures that are desirable when the display screen is very large. Congress also got into the act when it found out that digital stations could exist on adjacent channels, rather than widely separated, as analog stations must be, to not interfere with each other. If all the stations can be packed together in the lower part of the television band, the resulting open spectrum can be sold for other types of wireless uses. This will be a great source of revenue for the government. Some combination of the above reasons is why we are making this change now.

3. Will I need a new television?

The new digital system uses a type of modulation that your current television will not recognize. Time Warner Cable is now carrying Public Television programming on their digital tier and this will be receivable with your current television. The digital channels broadcast in the air will require some type of digital receiver. This could range from a $10,000 projection television to a $300 card for your computer. Many more choices will be available as the standard becomes widely accepted.

4. Will it look and sound better?

Digital television has the capability of arriving at your home with none of the distortions so prevalent in our current analog system, such as snow and ghosts. This perfect delivery of the pictures and sound will in itself improve the experience. However, there is also the option to send much higher quality pictures and sound. These pictures may have six times the detail we are familiar with in current television. The sound will improve to CD quality, with up to six channels, providing stereo, surround, and a bass effects. When this high quality is not needed, the channel can be divided into separate parts that will be able to transmit four or more programs simultaneously. These will still be better than the quality you are now getting and you will have four times the choices of programming.

5. How will I receive this new signal?

Currently the signal can be best received by an outdoor antenna, but improvements to receivers and antennas will probably soon allow reception with sophisticated indoor antennas. Digital receivers are available under a thousand dollars, but require a separate display and sound system. Complete integrated systems are about two thousand dollars but the price will drop.

6. What else can the system do?

Digital broadcasting allows the addition of "DATA" to the service. Up to now, the only data in television was captioning, which is quite limited. We will be able to broadcast up to eighteen megabits of data a second to the entire viewing area. This means that we could transmit an entire newspaper in a few moments each morning. This data stream will also allow us to provide background material for our programs. You could access this, as needed, to give you information about a particular part of the topic that may not be important to all the viewers. This will give us the ability to send much more information to you along with the programs. Commercial broadcasters may send additional information during commercials about colors and styles available or how to order advertised items.