Analoogtelevisioon

Analoogtelevisioon was the dominant form of television broadcasting for decades before the widespread adoption of digital television. In analog systems, the video and audio signals were transmitted as continuous waves. This meant that the quality of the image and sound could degrade over distance or due to interference, resulting in visible static, ghosting, or muffled audio.

The broadcast signal in analog television was modulated onto a carrier wave. For video, amplitude modulation (AM) was typically used, while frequency modulation (FM) was used for audio. The strength of the signal directly corresponded to the information being transmitted. This inherent characteristic made analog signals susceptible to noise and distortion.

Different standards existed for analog television broadcasting around the world, such as NTSC in North America and Japan, PAL in much of Europe and Australia, and SECAM in France and parts of Eastern Europe. These standards differed in aspects like the number of scan lines, frame rate, and color encoding methods, leading to incompatibility between regions without specialized converters.

The transition to digital television, often referred to as DTV, began in the late 20th century and has largely replaced analog broadcasting. Digital television offers superior picture and sound quality, more efficient use of spectrum, and additional features like electronic program guides and multiple channels within the same broadcast bandwidth. The switch-off of analog transmitters marked a significant technological shift in television broadcasting.