Television Specifications

Most televisions manufactured since March 2007 have a built-in digital tuner (ATSC 1.0) for receiving over-the-air High and Standard Definition (HD and SD) broadcast. In 2020 select televisions became available that could also receive ATSC 3.0 Ultra High Definition (4k UHD) broadcast. Some UHD channels are encrypted ( ) and require an Internet connection to get a decryption key to view the broadcast (see UHD Types).

Analog television used the NTSC standard. Most digital TV's can also receive NTSC signals (for older recordings etc.).

Some digital television tuners do not use a low noise receiver and may not get weaker signals. One reason not to use a low noise receiver is to cut cost. Another reason is satellite and cable TV boxes do not need a TV with a low noise amp. A few television models are video monitors only, and do not have a built-in digital tuner. Television monitors get raw video from a cable or satellite box, or a set top digital TV tuner.

Table Top Digital Tuners
Television monitors, computers, tablets, and smart phones can receive TV broadcast using an external Digital Tuner. The coax cable from an inside or outside antenna plugs into the DTv tuner, the tuner connects, usually with an Ethernet cable or WiFi, to your computer or network router / switch. You may need to download a media/TV app for your devices. Some DTv tuners have multiple receivers for receiving multiple TV channels simultaneously.

Digital to Analog Converter
Analog televisions require a Digital to Analog Converter Box, sometimes just called a Digital Converter, to receive OTA DTv. Most converters are also recorders. The coax cable from the antenna plugs into the converter box, the box is then connected with another coax cable to the televisions's Antenna Input. A coax to twin-lead adapter is needed for older TV's with a twin-lead input connection. Some converters can also connect to the television with HDMI, USB, video, VGA, DVI, or YPbPr cable sets for better picture and audio quality.

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

4k UHD	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 (4k UHD)	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 4k UHD 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