Monday, August 8, 2011

Watch Cable Television Online Tips

By Mariam Dodge


With the many advancements in technology, it is now possible to watch cable television online. In fact, this method of entertainment is currently a growing trend. A lot of people opt for internet TV because of the portability, convenience, and privacy it provides. But before you turn off your television set and plug in your PC instead, let us first find out what cable television really is.

Cable television, formerly known as Community Antenna Television or CATV, is a system of providing TV programs to consumers by way of radio frequency (RF) signals that are transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses. This system, which originated in the mountains of Pennsylvania in the late 1940s, is similar to the over-the-air method used in traditional television broadcasting in which a television antenna is required. In this method, though, signals are sent over cables rather than airwaves.

Using cables to send signals posed challenges at first. For one, the original system worked well but only within short distances, and signals sent through cables were subject to interference. In addition, the longer the cable and the farther the signal had to travel, the weaker it became. As a consequence, the image became pretty distorted by the time it reached the television set.

In order to solve this problem, a series of amplifiers had to be installed along the way. Installing about one every one thousand feet distance increased the strength of the signal. However, this solution posed yet another problem. Every time the signal passed through an amplifier, it would pick up interference in the form of distortion and noise. Also, if there was a breakdown in any of the amplifiers, there'd be no signal at all.

What cable TV engineers did was to research the transmitting of signals via microwaves. Signals were captured by receiving towers, located high enough to prevent being blocked. This, in turn, increased the viewership in the United States, opened up the possibilities of multiple-channel broadcasting from the TV networks, and paved the way for the formation of cable companies. These cable companies aimed to import as many TV stations as they could for their viewers. This, now, marked the beginning of what was then known as Community Antenna Television.

Years have passed since the invention of cable TV. Today's modern world has significantly improved the way cable TV works. Now, you can watch cable television online.




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