Introduction To Digital Television - DirecTV HR10-250 User Manual

C h a p t e r 1 C o n n e c t i n g

Introduction to Digital Television

TV used to be simple: a handful of channels, no color, no stereo sound, no choices. All
you needed was an antenna and a TV. The antenna captured pictures and sounds and sent
them to your TV over a wire.
As televisions have acquired more features, and new devices have been created to work
with them, it may seem that everything has become more complex. Fortunately, one thing
has remained the same: what you need to do is get the pictures and sounds from their
source (satellite, DVD, game console, etc.) to your TV.
For the past 50 years, the television broadcast system used in the United States has been
analog. Many things can interfere with an analog broadcast signal, even other home
appliances, and the signal can degrade as it travels to your home, causing snow, ghosts,
and other artifacts to appear on the screen.
High-definition television (HDTV) combines high-resolution digital television with
digital surround sound. It is bigger, sharper, and better than anything you have previously
experienced in home entertainment. Your DIRECTV ® HD DVR receives digital signals,
including HDTV, from DIRECTV satellites and from off-air antenna broadcasts, and
passes the pictures and sound to your TV set.
With the DIRECTV HD DVR and the DIRECTV ® DVR with TiVo ® service, you have the
best of both worlds: state of the art digital television that's simple and easy to enjoy.
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