Every Man's Guide to HDTV

In the ever-changing world of home entertainment and particularly the quality of television reception, the introduction of High Definition TV (HDTV) has been the most successful and innovative new feature to appear on the recent scene. Along with Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Plasma televisions, HDTV has been at the forefront of the technological improvement in the quality of reception.

Historical Background to TV Transmission

Up until 1996, TV signal transmission was by the Analog method. In that year Digital TV transmission started. Digital TV provided a superior television experience to that of the out-dated Analog system, both from the point of view of picture quality, but also of sound clarity.

However, early next year (2009) US broadcasters must by law cease to transmit Analog signals. They must change over to the Digital format. That means eventually that a TV buyer will have to buy a TV (SDTV) that accepts a Digital signal, but not necessarily a more expensive but better performing HDTV.

But with the rapid advance in television technology, standard definition TV's are becoming outdated, with High Definition TV (HDTV) becoming more and more popular.

So for those users of an Analog TV and who wish to upgrade to a better TV system, they can either move to the SDTV format, or else the superior HDTV format. The choice is completely theirs.

Definition of terms used

The term 'Digital TV' is now used in connection with SDTV.

'Digital TV' does NOT mean HDTV.

HDTV is a superior form of 'Digital TV' and is simply referred to as 'HDTV'

HDTV is the very latest in TV Technology

HDTV, which came out in the late 90's, provides a precise, absolute crystal-clear picture together with the very best sound quality ensuring the viewer has a TV experience that just cannot be matched by using Standard Definition TV (SDTV). Once the superior visual and sound quality of HDTV has been experienced, a viewer would find it difficult to accept the old , inferior, SDTV format.

The quality of a TV picture is determined by the number of vertical lines across the screen. SDTV is based on 480 to 576 lines, whereas HDTV utilizes a minimum of 720 lines. The standard today is usually 1080 lines and the narrower lines give a resolution of between 2 and 5 times better than SDTV, an improvement that makes both picture and sound far better quality to that given by SDTV.

However, in order to receive HDTV reception much more than a suitable TV is required. The HDTV may incorporate an appropriate tuner, or else a set-top HD tuner is necessary. This can be either rented or purchased from the program provider. If the viewer subscribes to a satellite TV provider, then a dish capable of receiving the HD signal is required. And finally the viewer will need to have a contract with his TV provider for HD programs.

In addition to these, it's critical to have the TV configured correctly, otherwise the benefits of high definition will not be seen. This should be done when installation of the equipment has been completed.

The escalating public acceptance of HDTV is encouraging the TV providers, both cable and satellite, to provide an increasing number of HD channels for their subscribers. Dish Network, one of two satellite TV companies, provides over 80 HD channels at the moment with more planned for the future.

For those families in the market for a new TV set, then they have the choice between the SDTV format, and the newer, improved definition HDTV. Both use the digital format introduced in 1996, although HDTV has since been an upgrade. Nevertheless both are a vast improvement on the soon to be phased out analog format.

The author writes on satellite TV issues focusing on the programming deals offered by the dish TV companies. He also has an interest in the superior technology of HDTV as recently introduced by the Dish Network satellite TV provider.

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