For decades, cable TV services have expanded, with cable TV providers offering more services and products as the technology became available. In all the growth that has resulted, people were able to get more channels that offered their favorite programming.

High definition television, or HDTV, is a new format for watching programs, offering sharper, clearer and brighter pictures and better sound.

You need an HD-ready TV and an HD set-top box to receive the programs, which are sent through digital signals.

Personal video recorders (PVRs) record digital television straight onto computer-like hard drives.

They let you pause, rewind and replay action on screen while you are recording a programme- allowing for time-shift viewing of live TV.

Most PVRs are combined with a digital TV service - such as Tata-Sky, Airtel etc.

"On demand" means being able to throw away the TV schedule and watch what you want, when you want.

Dedicated services - such as Airtel, Reliance HD etc. send shows and films to your TV via a set-top box.

Connecting your TV to your computer, or just having one machine that does both things, is expected to be big.

Mobile phones can now be used to watch television on the move.

High-speed connections on the 3G network enable pockets of information to be watched on mobiles, but this bears a heavy load on network.