HDTV Guide

Still wondering what this whole "HDTV" thing is all about? Heard a little here and there about digital television, but not clear on how that affects you? Here, then is an HDTV Guide; a beginner's guide to High Definition Television.

Note: This HDTV Guide focuses on free, over-the-air High Definition Television. If you receive your television content from a paid service - such as cable or satellite - this does not apply to your situation; but read on, you don't know what you're missing!

HDTV Guide: The Digital Television Transition

As of 6/12/2009, all television broadcasts will be required to transition from analog to all digital. While this date may change (the original date was in Febrary 2009), what this means is that if you relay on free, over-the-air television, you'll need to either purchase a digital converter box, or upgrade to a digital television.

When we talk about the HDTV Guide, we're talking about the upgrade to a digital television capable of receiving digital broadcasts. These televisions are equipped with an ATSC tuner, which receives free, over-the-air digital broadcasts. In the old analog world, NTSC tuners were used to receive analog broadcasts.

In time, upgrading to digital television - and to HDTV - will make more and more sense as analog becomes more and more antiquated, very much like 8 track tapes - or casette tapes, if you're too young to remember 8 track. Vinyl? Hello?

I digress.

HDTV Guide: Viva la Resolution

Okay, cheesy headlines aside, High Definition Television (or HDTV) is all about high resolution; 720p, or 1080p, with 1080p being true High Definition. Your old analog television's resolution? Well, it varies, but you'll be hard pressed to find any analog television with a resolution greater than 480p, which is DVD quality resolution.

What do all these numbers mean? Well, the number itself - 480, 720, 1080 - refers to the number of lines used to create the image on the screen. The more lines used, the greater the resolution. High Definition Television at 1080p has over four times the amount of resolution as traditional DVD's.

That means greater detail than you've ever seen. For example, instead of seeing a tree on the screen, you see the individual leaves that are on the tree. And - wait, what's that over there? A lady bug on that leaf? Wow!

HDTV Guide: You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream For WideScreen

LIke that one? Okay, seriously, one of the key differences between traditional analog television and High Definition Television is what is known as the aspect ratio. All HDTV is in widescreen format, or 16:9 aspect ratio. That's the technical way of saying your HDTV will natively display video in a more rectangular shapre - just like you see at the movie theater big screen.

If you watch non-High Definition Television content, you'll probably be looking at a more square shaped video (4:3 aspect ratio, or full screen). The result is you'll see black bars on either side of the image. The reason is the video was not created in High Definition. Some HDTVs will allow you to crop and zoom the image, but the result is a far cry from what you will come to expect from HDTV.

HDTV Guide: Get Connected - The Right Way

HDTVs have a variety of ways they can connect to other components (Blu-Ray, Playstation 3, DVD player, etc.). Makre sure you are using all digital connections to and from your HDTV.

This means you should be using HDMI, component video, or DVI. Each of these connections is High Definition Digital, and they are listed in the preferred connection order.

The only exception is your antenna, which will use traditional coaxial cable. No problem there.

However, you want to avoid using RF, composite, and S-Video as they are all analog connections, and the result will be a less than spectacular video.

HDTV Guide: The Conclusion. . .For Now

When thinking about High Definition Television, remember these points:

• All new televisions are now digital.
• High Definition is the highest form of digital television.
• High Definition has a resolution of either 720 or 1080, which 1080 being full HD.
• High Definition is in widescreen format, just like the movie screen.
• High Definition should used digital connections: HDMI, component, or DVI.

Your next steps in finding your own personal HDTV Guide should be to research any summary item above that you have questions about or need more information on. From there, begin to research the makes, models, and features of HDTV.

You'll be amazed at what's out there.