What Is Over-The-Air Television (OTA)?
You might think that over-the-air television is dead, but it's more conscious than ever! Over-the-air television is a category of broadcasting that uses radio waves to transmit signals from TV stations to your TV receiver. It means you can watch all your favorite shows without signing up for cable or satellite, and it's also good for the environment! You can use an antenna to capture these radio signals and display them on your TV, or you can use a digital converter box if you have an older analog TV set. Over-the-air television was the only way to watch television until cable and satellite came along, but now it's coming back! Like a fine wine, over-the-air television has gotten better with age. Over-the-air television is the oldest form of television broadcasting, with the first broadcast occurring in Washington, D.C., in 1927; an antenna is required. In the early days of broadcasting, consumers often needed to adjust their antennas for each channel to get good reception. However, the reception quality immensely varied, and some broadcasts needed clearer pictures. Thankfully, today's antennas are much more sophisticated and reliable than those used by our grandparents' generation. Antennas can now give consumers a high-quality image that doesn't require any adjustments or fiddling around with cables or digital signals like cable or satellite TV does. It's also important to remember that over-the-air TV isn't just for watching live events. You can also record shows on your DVR and watch them later! Remember when you had to adjust the rabbit ears on your TV to get a clear picture? Or how about the days you'd have to sit through static and interference because there were no digital broadcast signals? If you're like most people, those memories are long gone. As of 2009, all broadcasts in the United States were required to be digital, and analog broadcasting ceased. The high quality of digital broadcast signals has helped over-the-air television regain popularity, especially among younger generations born into a world where digital video is everywhere.
Related Terms by Consumer Electronics Technology
Join Our Newsletter
Get weekly news, engaging articles, and career tips-all free!
By subscribing to our newsletter, you're cool with our terms and conditions and agree to our Privacy Policy.