HiDef Digital: Television Gets Even Better(b)

Taiwanese customers have been enjoying cable TV for more than 30 years. It got its start in the mid-1970s when electricians in Keelung and Taipei's Shipai area began running cable, airing unlicensed content, and selling their neighbors set-top boxes. Since cable alleviated reception problems and provided a much greater variety of programming, it quickly gained popularity and spread throughout the island. Today, Taiwan has a penetration rate of 80 percent, which is high by global standards, and more than 100 cable stations.

To counter analog TV's many shortcomings, nations around the world have been researching and developing digital alternatives since the 1980s. Digital television's greatest advantage is that it is highly resistant to interference. All people need to pick up the signal is a small interior antenna mounted near a window, with reception even possible in moving vehicles. Digital television can also offer superior resolution.

With virtually every country on Earth developing it, digital TV has propelled the public airwaves into the vanguard of an audio and visual revolution. The developed nations of Europe and the Americas have been rolling out OTA digital television since 1998. Taiwan carried out its first test broadcast of a digital TV signal in the western part of the island in June of 2002. Taiwan's five OTA television stations began official broadcasts of 15 digital channels in June 2004, kicking off a transitional period in which analog and digital signals were broadcast side by side.

OTA TV is free to watch, whereas cable costs several hundred NT dollars or more per month. Therefore, viewers need more than ever to make intelligent choices and take charge of their own TV viewing.

台湾顾客一直以来享受有线电视的服务已有 30 多年的历史。这起源于 1970 年代中期，当时基隆、台北市石牌一带的水电工程师就开始到处拉线、播放不具版权的节目内容，并向邻近民众兜售机顶盒。由于电缆可以减轻收讯不良的问题，并提供更多元的节目，因此很快就广受欢迎，风潮蔓延全岛。今日，台湾的有线电视普及率高达百分之八十，以全球标准而言算是很高的了，频道更是有 1 百多台。

为了对抗模拟电视的许多缺失，自 1980 年代起，世界各国就一直在研究与开发数字替代品。数字电视的最大优势，就是抗干扰程度可大幅提升。只要在室内靠窗处安装小型天线就能轻松接收到电视讯号。甚至连在行驶中的车上都能收得到讯号。而且数字电视也提供较优良的分辨率。

由于全球几乎每个国家都在研发这项技术，数字电视已促使公共电波产业成为视听革命的开路先锋。早自 1998 年起，欧美等已开发国家就陆续推出无线数字电视节目。台湾则在 2002 年 6 月于本岛西部地区进行首次的数字电视试播。2004 年 6 月，台湾的5 家无线电视台所推出的 15 个数字频道正式播出，展开台湾模拟∕数字双轨播送的过渡时期。

无线电视是免费收视，而有线电视却得花费数百元新台币不等的月费。因此，电视机前的观众，更要学会聪明选择，做自己观赏电视的主人！

本社为尊重《台湾光华杂志》，中文原文注销，仅供参考，中英文如有不尽相符之处，敬请包涵。