Digital television receiver technology

Digital compression of audio and video information is a key technology to transmit television programs more efficiently than with analogue technology. To exploit the compression technology in a cost effective way, standards have been agreed by several bodies, such as MPEG and DVB. Based on these standards, digital television services are becoming available. This paper discusses the functionality of digital television receivers for satellite and cable, and some constraints for interactive applications in digital television receivers. Furthermore cost constraints for receivers are discussed, as well as conditions for future integration into TV sets; initially a digital television receiver will be a set top box.