Digital television (DTV) is the sending and receiving of moving images and sound by discrete (digital) signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV. The first country to make a wholesale switch to digital over-the-air (terrestrial) broadcasting was Luxembourg, in 2006. Since then, the Netherlands, Finland, Andorra, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium (Flanders) and Germany and have followed suit.

In the United States, where most full-power television stations are already broadcasting both an analog and a digital signal, the FCC has set June 12, 2009 as the date on which all analog transmissions will cease and over-the-air broadcasts will be solely digital. By special dispensation, some analog TV signals ceased, as previously scheduled, on February 17, 2009 and earlier in Hawaii. However, US President Barack Obama delayed the introduction of digital TV in most areas as part of an economic stimulus package so that the switch occurred on June 12, 2009.

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