Editing Cable television (section)

==Distribution==
[[File:HÜP von KBW.JPG|thumb|A cable television distribution box (''left'') in the basement of a building in Germany (Kabel BW network, now [[Vodafone Germany|Vodafone]]), with a [[power dividers and directional couplers|splitter]] (''right'') which supplies the signal to separate cables which go to different rooms]]
To receive cable television at a given location, cable distribution lines must be available on the local utility poles or underground utility lines. [[Coaxial cable]] brings the signal to the customer's building through a [[service drop]], an overhead or underground cable. If the subscriber's building does not have a cable service drop, the cable company will install one. The standard cable used in the U.S. is [[RG-6]], which has a 75 ohm [[characteristic impedance|impedance]], and connects with a type [[F connector]]. The cable company's portion of the wiring usually ends at a distribution box on the building exterior, and built-in cable wiring in the walls usually distributes the signal to jacks in different rooms to which televisions are connected. Multiple cables to different rooms are split off the incoming cable with a small device called a [[power dividers and directional couplers|splitter]]. There are two standards for cable television; older analog cable, and newer [[digital cable]] which can carry data signals used by [[digital television]] receivers such as [[high-definition television]] (HDTV) equipment. All cable companies in the United States have switched to or are in the course of switching to digital cable television since it was first introduced in the late 1990s.

Most cable companies require a [[set-top box]] ([[cable converter box]]) or a slot on one's TV set for conditional access module cards<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tynan |first=Dan |date=23 May 2007 |title=New Choices Coming for Cable TV Users |url=https://www.techhive.com/article/132158/article.html |access-date=3 April 2019 |website=TechHive |language=en |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918005858/https://www.techhive.com/article/132158/article.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> to view their cable channels, even on newer televisions with digital cable [[QAM (television)|QAM]] tuners, because most digital cable channels are now encrypted, or ''scrambled'', to reduce [[Cable television piracy|cable service theft]]. A cable from the jack in the wall is attached to the input of the box, and an output cable from the box is attached to the television, usually the RF-IN or composite input on older TVs. Since the set-top box only decodes the single channel that is being watched, each television in the house requires a separate box. Some unencrypted channels, usually traditional over-the-air broadcast networks, can be displayed without a receiver box.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ClearQAM – What It Is And Why It Matters |date=18 February 2012 |url=http://avc.com/2012/02/clearqam-what-it-is-and-why-it-matters/ |access-date=19 June 2015}}</ref> The cable company will provide set-top boxes based on the level of service a customer purchases, from basic set-top boxes with a [[standard-definition]] picture connected through the standard coaxial connection on the TV, to high-definition wireless [[digital video recorder]] (DVR) receivers connected via [[HDMI]] or [[component video|component]]. Older [[analog television]] sets are ''cable ready'' and can receive the old analog cable without a set-top box. To receive digital cable channels on an analog television set, even unencrypted ones, requires a different type of box, a [[digital television adapter]] supplied by the cable company or purchased by the subscriber.  Another new distribution method that takes advantage of the low cost high quality DVB distribution to residential areas, uses [[TV gateway]]s to convert the [[DVB-C]], [[DVB-C2]] stream to IP for distribution of TV over IP network in the home. Many cable companies offer internet access through [[DOCSIS]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/cable-access-solutions/cable-ebook.pdf |title=The Road to Cisco Infinite Broadband |publisher=Cisco |date=2017 |access-date=28 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808074322/https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/cable-access-solutions/cable-ebook.pdf |archive-date=8 August 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>