Ultimate TV Buyer's Guide

by Joe McCleskey
Summer/Fall 1999

In simple terms, a digital signal takes up much less space in the spectrum than an analog one, which leaves room for plenty of other options when it comes to content. Whether that stuff is additional data to make the signal extremely high resolution (as with high-definition TV), several other individual channels (as with standard-definition digital TV), or interactive TV content (as with datacasting), it's all smarter than existing NTSC television. Now that digital content is available in the 10 largest markets in the nation and scheduled for rollout in the top 30 markets in the next two years, a digital TV signal will soon be available to everyone.

To get the full benefit of a digital signal requires a digital TV or a digital decoder box attached to your existing analog TV. This list is a comprehensive guide to all the digital TVs and digital decoder boxes on the market at the time we went to press.

Digital Televison Grid