# What is DT? is it HD?



## barb1948 (Oct 14, 2007)

I am setting up my favorite channels and i notice, for instance CBS is listed WCBSDT. Why is it not WCBSHD?
All my Network channels are DT.. With stations like USA, TNT, FX are HD?

Now i know all HD tv is DT, but not all DT is HD... But why is there a difference in the call letters (DT/HD?

Am i loosing quality with the DT channels?
Thanks


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## stevel (Aug 23, 2000)

It's "Digital Television". Doesn't mean a lot now. One could have a non-HD digital TV set. The cable channels aren't broadcast, so they use HD to distinguish them from SD feeds.


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## barb1948 (Oct 14, 2007)

Hmmm. You went over my head.

WCBSDT is same as WCBS HD? I have a hd TV set and tivo roamio


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## maharg18 (Dec 4, 2002)

Yes, same thing in this case. Analog broadcast stations used TV as the designator, digital broadcast stations use DT.


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

barb1948 said:


> ...Now i know all HD tv is DT, but not all DT is HD... But why is there a difference in the call letters (DT/HD?...Am i loosing quality with the DT channels?


a "dt" in a station call sign has nothing to do with whether or not the station broadcasts in "hd", it's an fcc call sign suffix, like "tv". other suffixes include "fm", "ca" (class a), and "lp" (low power). "hd" was never a call sign suffix.

the "dt" stands for "digital television", it's not always required, and a tv station can apply to have the "dt" dropped, or changed to "tv".

from the wikipedia call sign page on suffixes:


> Suffixes
> 
> FM radio and television call signs may be followed by a dash and the two-letter class of station: "-FM", "-LP", "-TV", or "-CA". For digital television, since June 2009, stations have the latitude to choose a "-TV" or "-DT" suffix for their calls, but as of 2014, very few stations have chosen to use "-DT" call signs. Occasionally, an FM or television station may have one or more boosters, which retransmit the main station's signal to overcome terrain obstacles. In this case, the main portion of the call sign remains the same (unlike translators), and the boosters are given sequential numeric suffixes like "FM1".
> 
> It should be noted that the "-FM" or "-TV" suffix is not required to be assigned to television or FM radio stations, except where there is another station that shares the same three- or four-letter base call sign without an accompanying suffix. AM radio stations never have an "-AM" or any other suffix.


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## barb1948 (Oct 14, 2007)

as usual, i get the best answers here. thanks!


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

barb1948 said:


> Hmmm. You went over my head. WCBSDT is same as WCBS HD? I have a hd TV set and tivo roamio


No, DT only means that it's a digital TV broadcast. It is "usually" the SD (480i/p) version of its digital broadcast when it says DT, but it can technically be either that or HD (720p/1080i). But as mentioned their HD version is usually listed as HD.


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## Jeeters (Feb 25, 2003)

HarperVision said:


> No, DT only means that it's a digital TV broadcast. It is "usually" the SD (480i/p) version of its digital broadcast when it says DT, but it can technically be either that or HD (720p/1080i). But as mentioned their HD version is usually listed as HD.


This.

The majority of my digital SD stations have DT suffix. And the majority of my HD stations have an HD suffix. But I have several HD stations that have a DT suffix instead of an HD suffix.


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## JosephB (Nov 19, 2010)

Jeeters said:


> This.
> 
> The majority of my digital SD stations have DT suffix. And the majority of my HD stations have an HD suffix. But I have several HD stations that have a DT suffix instead of an HD suffix.


This is only kind of correct.

From a technical perspective, -DT is part of the callsign. So, if you had WWOR-TV in the analog days, it would now be WWOR-DT referring to the digital signal.

However, that's not a hard and fast rule. As mentioned above TV stations can drop the DT, or they can use TV instead of DT.

As far as what's listed in the guide or what's listed in the channel information, that is just completely at the whim of the engineer at the TV station that configured their equipment along with whoever submits the data to Tribune. It doesn't really mean anything in regards to whether or not the signal is HD or not.


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

ALL of this (on a TiVo) is dependent on what Tribune publishes for your cable provider. Here in the NYC DMA, on FiOS, all of the broadcast stations are listed with "DT" suffixes (WCBSDT, WNBCDT, etc.) in the TiVo guide and almost every one of them broadcasts in HD.


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