Here?s the first overview of the scientific, economic, political, legal, and technological factors involved in successfully embedding digital television in our society. This comprehensive assessment of digital video broadcasting (DVB) technology enables you to understand the history of this technology and current convergence processes. With a focus on European DVB initiatives, which experts agree have high potential to become world standards, the book describes the DVB standards for cable, satellite and terrestrial transmission and examines the policies and regulatory framework from the United States and Japan, as well as the standards on source coding, transmission, conditional access and interactive services.