Cable TV has had a less than stellar reputation in the past, but there are some things

that cable is doing (and has done) that make cable TV worth looking into again. The

most basic thing that has been done was to embrace digital TV technology. This may

seem pretty elementary, but it actually has some pretty far reaching implications. For

example, using digital TV to transmit TV programming has the benefit of allowing each

video stream to be compressed so that it takes up less bandwidth. When each channel

takes up less bandwidth, a cable TV company can fit more channels over the existing

cable infrastructure without having to replace it or add more cables. This compression

technology makes cable company able to provide over three hundred channels, making

it at least as good as any satellite TV service.

Another thing that digital TV allows cable to do is to provide a better picture. Any time

that TV is transmitted it picks up a certain amount of interference. Even if it happens to

be transmitted over buried cables, it still picks up the interference of cosmic rays or

something. This inevitable interference translates into a fuzzy picture for any video

that¡¯s been transmitted more than a couple of hundred feet over a cable. The good

thing about digital TV is that a digital cable receiver can tell the difference between

interference and the real signal, making it easy to clean all of that picture ruining crud

out of the signal. The same thing works for sound too.

Digital TV also allows companies to provide access to other technologies as well. For

example, it¡¯s now possible to provide an interactive on screen program guide with

digital TV to allow viewers to see what¡¯s available for them to watch at any given time. It

even includes descriptions of the TV shows and movies that you have to choose from.

Digital TV also makes parental control software available as well. Parental control

software can be programmed to filter out specific types of programming that you may

not want your kids to view. Then, before each program comes on, the software will

check to see that it meets your criteria before allowing it to be displayed.

Digital TV also forms the basis for higher tech features like HDTV. HDTV is a great new

way to watch TV because it provides an even sharper picture than regular digital TV

along with a great sound format. Cable is taking advantage of digital technology in

another way with the implementation of Switched Digital Video. Switched Digital Video

is a new technology that will allow cable to provide a virtually unlimited number of

channels- including HDTV channels- by making even better use of existing bandwidth.