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Service Description Table

metadata used in Digital Video Broadcasting

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 18, 2023
Entity authorityQ7455677
Source-derived summary

Service Description Table (SDT) is a metadata table used in Digital Video Broadcasting systems to describe the television, radio or other services contained in MPEG transport streams provided by the system. The purpose and format of the table is defined in ETSI EN 300 468: Specification for Service Information (SI) in DVB systems.

An MPEG transport stream consists of a sequence of packets. SDTs are contained in packets identified by the packet ID (PID) 0x0011. Such packets may alternatively contain a Bouquet Association Table (BAT) or a Stuffing Table (ST). The type of information carried in the packet is identified using a table ID. The table ID 0x42 identifies the SDT providing information about services contained in the same transport stream as the SDT itself. The table ID 0x46 identifies SDTs providing information about services contained in other transport streams in the same network or system.

The SDT provides the following information about each service:

the transport stream id.

the service id.

whether or not programme schedules are provided in the transport stream.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Service Description Table” as metadata used in Digital Video Broadcasting. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Service, Description and Table.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current 173-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Service, Description and Table providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Service Description Table”, the useful work is to connect “metadata used in Digital Video Broadcasting” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2023. The linked authority identifier is Q7455677. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Service Description Table”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Service Description Table primary sources, Service Description Table archive and Service research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Service Description Table” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.