I would like to receive Digital TV (DTV) broadcasts for my analog NTSC
Television.

I have a 32" Sony NTSC Television and a roof-mounted Broadcast
antenna.  I am able
to receive many Los Angeles area TV stations, although the quality of
the picture
is not superb.

I would like to purchase a separate DigitalTV receiver that allows me
to plug in my
current broadcast antenna and output to my NTSC TV.    I have found
standalone
Digital TV units that output to "Digital TV Ready" Televisions, but I
would rather
not have to purchase a new TV that has that capability. 
 
I know that the picture quality will NOT be as good as if I had a
Digital TV Read Television, but it is bound to be better than what I
currently get with analog broadcasts,
as the only analog part of the setup will be the three feet of cable
from the box to my
TV.

I am specifically looking for a receiver that ouputs NTSC video, and
perhaps some
breakdown of what all the silly connectors, standards, and 
acronyms for Digital TV mean (ATSC, DTV, HDTV, Enhanced TV, EDTV,
SDTV)

Thanks!

---

Request for Question Clarification by purplecat-ga on 08 Sep 2002 03:30 PDT

Hi jakester,

Have you considered getting digital cable installed? In the UK, it is
possible to connect a digital cable set top box to a television set
via a SCART lead, but still plug in the roof top antenna for analog
terrestrial broadcasts - you simply switch to the AV channel on the tv
to watch digital cable. Maybe things work slightly differently in the
US, but this might provide a solution to your problem.

Regards,

Purplecat.

---

Clarification of Question by jakester-ga on 09 Sep 2002 15:48 PDT

I have had digital cable but it is very poor in our area: expensive
and slow to switch
channels.  My main goal is to reduce Monthly Recurring Costs and have
only a
One Time Cost (MRC vs. OTC)

Greetings!

There are several DTV off the air recievers that can output signals to
a standard definition TV.  Your only requirement is that the DTV
reciever have an analog video output, like RGB Component or S-Video,
so that you can connect it to your TV.  The Panasonic TU-HDS20 has
outputs for DTV, S-Video, RGB video and composite video.  This should
allow you to hook it to any TV in your house.  The Samsung SIR-T151
also offers DTV and composite video out.

Also, the Samsung SIR-T150 offers DTV, component, S-Video and
composite video output.

In my brief survey, it apppears that all of the set top recievers
offer some kind of analog video output that you can connect to your
Sony.

I found these at Vanns.com, under Digital Recivers:
http://www.vanns.com/avcom/DCe.dna?RG=336-3996&dt=731468&tm=29465&cart=324063426523131&cID=0&MC=Video&DC=Digital%20Receivers

Now, for some terminology:

ATSC -- Advanced Television Systems Committee the standards body
setting the new television standards.

DTV --  The term "DTV" refers to a television system that can
transmit, receive, and display digital images.

HDTV --  Although there is no single, universal definition for "HDTV,"
or "high-definition television," it is generally accepted to encompass
several elements which are described by various consumer,
broadcasting, and regulatory groups. HDTV offers the potential for
approximately twice the horizontal and twice the vertical resolution
of current (NTSC) television. When combined with a wide screen format
(16:9 aspect ratio), this can result in about 5 times as much visual
information as conventional television, i.e., approximately one
million pixels per frame of video. When referring to consumer
products, HDTV sets: 1) can have 720 or 1080 active vertical scanning
lines and 2) are capable of decoding the transmitted 720 × 1280 and
1080 × 1920 ATSC formats and displaying them as a 16:9 aspect ratio
image. While these high-definition transmission formats will be
supported by such sets, the actual delivered resolution may vary by
broadcaster, by product, and by program. HDTV is normally accompanied
by digital surround-sound capability.

Enhanced TV -- Enhanced TV is a LIVE Interactive Television experience
on the Internet that allows you, the TV viewer, to interact with the
broadcast.  Currently, ABC is doing most of this; more information
about the ABC Enhanced TV lineup is found at
http://etv.go.com/etvHome/abc/about.shtml

Microsoft also offers a similar definition, and a screenshot at their
Enhanced TV page:
http://www.microsoft.com/tv/Microsoft-TV/Vision/enhanced.asp

EDTV --  EDTV stands for enhanced definition television. It is
generally accepted to describe a system used to convey programs
featuring pictures and sound that are superior to conventional
(analog) television.

SDTV -- SDTV stands for standard definition television. It is
generally accepted to describe a system used to convey pictures and
sound that are equivalent to the best conventional (analog) signals
possible today.

Answers from the ATSC FAQ located at:
http://www.atsc.org/faq_general.html


I hope this has answered your question, and I wish you luck on your
quest to get Digital Broadcast TV.  I only wish we had more stations
to tune into here locally!  If you need further information, please
ask for a clarification before rating this answer.


Search Terms:
digital  receiver broadcast tv
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=digital++receiver+broadcast+tv&spell=1

atsc
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=atsc

Enhanced TV
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=Enhanced+TV&btnG=Google+Search