Set-Top Box (STB)

Used by TV viewers around the world, set-top boxes (STBs) are devices that connect to the television and convert cable, satellite, or digital signals, or internet data, to TV signals so video content can be viewed on the television.

Originally used to deliver cable television services to analogue televisions, set-top boxes now come in several forms and are used to receive and convert digital signals, access cable or satellite television services, or send and receive internet data via cable or telephone connections.

Some set-top boxes also have a built-in digital video recorder (DVR) for recording content. Also known as ‘receivers’, set-top boxes initially sat on top of the chunkier older-style TV sets (before slimmer flat screens became commonplace), hence the name ‘set top’.