Digital Television is one of those terms that excites and confuses people at the same time. While a great number of consumers today are familiar with high definition TV sets, many of those same people get confused when it comes to explaining what exactly they are paying for when they subscribe to a digital TV service.

For example, can ahousehold receive digital video services if they don't subscribe to a cable or satellite service? Or, can they really get digital video service without a set top box? In order to better understand digital TV services, and better understand what's happening with their associated digital set top boxes, this white paper offers an overview of the most prominent digital TV services and their availability around the world.

More specifically, this paper examines:

• The current worldwide markets for digital satellite, cable, and terrestrial TV services
• The markets for digital set top boxes, focusing closely on the market drivers and trends impacting the satellite and cable set top box markets .