New to Digital TV? Here are a few knowledge bits provided by our team of experts:

Does any set-top box / receivers work with any digital TV service?

Set-top boxes are specially designed to work with each type of network. So make sure you choose a satellite set-top to work with satellite services, and digital terrestrial to work terrestrial services, etc. There are other technical issues that may determine if a set-top box can receive your preferred service so always check with your retailer before buying.

A digital TV receiver, or commonly called “set top box” enables a digital TV signal to be displayed on a television screen. In technical terms, the TV pictures from the broadcaster are squashed (compressed) for transmission and they have to be expanded back to their normal appearance (uncompressed) to watch at home. Pay TV services are also scrambled in a similar way to how secret communications are scrambled using codes, so that only paying customers can see them (the technical term is encryption). Most Pay TV operators will send you a credit card sized card that slots into the front of the set-top box. This is the ‘key’ to unscrambling (decrypting) the signal. For pay television services, unscrambling the signal is the second main reason you need a set-top box.A set-top box works with any television – even very old ones – so you do not need a new television to enjoy standard digital TV. However, if you want to receive high-definition channels you do need a television that is ‘HD-ready’, offering improved display capabilities and different connections.

The difference between analogue and Digital TV boils down to the way the TV signal is transmitted. Standard analogue TV is transmitted in a manner similar to radio, whereas digital TV is transmitted as data (packaged bits of information) in the same way as computer data, or the way music is written on a CD.

Digital TV service providers offer many more channels than comparative analogue services plus improved picture and audio quality. Lots of channels are broadcast with Dolby surround sound on digital TV. Depending on how you receive your service and how much you pay, you can also enjoy high-definition TV (HDTV) when you switch to digital. HDTV provides the picture clarity and vibrant colours you expect from DVD and Blu-ray DVD disks but on every-day programming. An increasing number of the most popular channels are now available in HD.