CEA reports that more than 50% of households in the U.S. now own digital televisions. This is a significant progress, as the U.S. FCC plans to shut off ancient analog broadcasting in favor of the more versatile, higher quality digital broadcast format.
DTV [Digital Television], will completely replace analog broadcasts in February of 2009. Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA said, “I am proud to announce our nation has hit this digital milestone. With 50 percent of U.S. homes able to experience the reality of digital television, we have crossed a critical threshold.”
Shapiro adds, “2008 will continue to demonstrate the growth and success of DTV, with nearly 32 million units forecasted to ship. Consumers are particularly keen to add HDTV to their homes, with high definition expected to account for 79 percent of total DTV shipments in the U.S. in 2008.”
The digital television transition scheduled for February 17, 2009 will mark a milestone in television broadcasting in the U.S. Digital television also allows HD signals to be displayed on your television, if your television is digital or has been configured with a digital capture card.
And, not only do digital broadcasts offer clear and crisp picture and sound quality, digital broadcasting allows for multi-casting which is the ability to broadcast multiple channels instead of one.
