HDTV

HDTV or high definition television is becoming the new way to watch TV.  Many people are upgrading their televisions to HDTV.  HDTV is a great way to get extremely high quality pictures that are double the resolution of traditional analog television sets.

HDTV works differently from analog TV.  You can get analog TV signals from the air, cable and VCR’s, however if you want to get a digital picture or sound, you need a set top box or HDTV converter.   HDTV’s only work with digital signals and their image quality is 1920 X 1080 compared to analog TV sets that have an image resolution of 704 X 480. The image quality is exceptional compared to standard analog TV and there can be as much as 10 times more pixels in HDTV’s than analog television sets.

HDTV’s are also true to movie theater aspect ratio.  Traditional analog TV’s have an aspect ration of 4:3 which is very boxy.  HDTV’s come in an aspect ratio of 16:9 which is the same as a movie theater and rectangular.

When choosing to purchase an HDTV, it is important to be clear on the components necessary to watch true HDTV programming.  For an HDTV to work properly, you need a source such as a HDTV signal or DVD player, an HDTV tuner and the high definition television.   There is some confusion because many HDTV’s are sold as monitors meaning that they still need a HDTV tuner to receive and display HDTV signals.  If you are interested in getting the most out of your TV, look into the exceptional image quality of HDTV.