Television Specifications

Televisions manufactured since March 2007 have a built-in digital tuner (ATSC 1.0) for receiving over-the-air High Definition (HD) signals. In 2020 NextGen 4k UHD televisions became available that could also receive ATSC 3.0 Ultra High Definition (UHD 4k) broadcast.

The ATSC 3.0 standard contains 2 types of encryption ().

• Digital Rights Management (DRM)
  Also referred to as Content Protection.
  • Programs that can be recorded can only be replayed from the DVR / Tuner that recorded it.
  • Broadcasters can prevent recording, or set an expiration date on a recording.
  • Broadcasters can block viewers from using Pause, Rewind, Fast Forward, Ad-Skip.
  • Prevents rebroadcasting.
• Subscription Service
  Not currently used.
  This is pay TV, by the month or by the program(s). An Internet connection is required to download a decryption key as often as needed. The legality is in question. Spectrum allocated for TV broadcast is mandated by the Federal government to be Free for anyone to receive.
  
  Evoca TV network tried selling a monthly subscription service for $25 per month from January to December of 2022. They had stations in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and Michigan. The service had local channels, some cable channels, and RSN's (Regional Sports Network). They didn't generate enough revenue to sustain operations and shut down after 1 year on December 31st, 2022.

Some digital television tuners do not use a low noise (preamp) receiver and may not get weaker signals. One reason not to use a low noise receiver is to cut cost. Another reason is Internet streaming and satellite / cable TV boxes do not need a preamp.

A few television models are video monitors only, and do not have a built-in digital tuner. Television monitors get video from the Internet, or a cable / satellite box, or a set top digital TV tuner.

PICTURE DISPLAY
A TV channel resolution is set by the broadcaster and can be in SD, HD, or UHD. Picture definition is described by the height resolution in pixels per inch (ppi). The picture scan will be either Interlaced (i) or Progressive (p).

Picture Definition and Scan Type

UHD (4k)	HD	SD
2160p	1080p 1080i 720p	480p 480i

p	=	Progressive	-	picture lines displayed one after the other.
i	=	Interlaced	-	odd picture lines displayed then even lines.

Display Aspect Ratios (Width x Height)

Analog TV used a 4:3 aspect ratio.

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Specifications

Definition		Resolution W x H (PPI)	Aspect Ratio	Frame Rate
Ultra High Definition (UHD 4k)	2160p	3840 x 2160	16:9	24 fps 30 fps 60 fps 120 fps
High Definition (HD)	1080p	1920 x 1080	16:9 1:1	24 fps 30 fps
	1080i			30 fps
	720p	1280 x 720		24 fps 30 fps 60 fps
Standard Definition (SD)	480p	704 x 480	16:9 4:3	24 fps 30 fps 60 fps
		640 x 480	4:3 1:1
	480i	704 x 480	16:9 4:3	30 fps
		640 x 480	4:3 1:1

W H

= width = height

PPI fps

= pixels per inch = frames per second

The 4k Digital Cinema Standard has slightly higher resolution than UHD (4k) TV.

Most Hollywood movies run at 24 fps. The old analog TV system had a 525 line Interlaced (i) picture at 30 frames per second and an aspect ratio of 4:3.

OTA DTv Digital Televisions