Why HD tv?

Answer 1

i dunno know, but i wish the industry would stick with one or two names instead of phreakin' eight....

Answer 2

The idea is to get better pictures - that's about it. Current TV has a very low resolution which hasnt changed much over 40 years or so.

Current UK TV has a resolution of 625 x 576 and is shown at 25 frames a second (or 50 frame a second but updating half the lines each time to be exact). This was all in line with how analogue TV works as it scans across a screen using a ray.

Anyway things are now different, modern flat displays don't scan but update individual pixels or points. Because modern displays are much clearer and have less flicker if you show an old TV picture on a new display it looks quick blocky and blurry.

The solution to this is to increase the amount of points or pixels (the resolution) for the display. This is where things get a bit tricky as there are lots of HDTV standards - not so much how you get the picture but how it is displayed.


All High Definition (HD) broadcasts are also digital. HD will never be broadcast in analogue like TV has been received for years.

Now the tricky bit. There are three main 'formats' for HD TV which a HD TV may, or may not support. These are.

780i
1080i
1080p

The number relates to the amount of lines. 'i' means it is interlaced - that is it updates every other line when viewed. So at 50 frames a second it takes 2 frames to update the whole image. 'p' means progressive so it updates everything at the same time.

780 will be much lower in resolution than 1080 which is not that far aware from film resolution.

In addition your new TV will probalbly need a HDMI cable - this is the standard connection for High Defintion. It is a digital connection unlike current Scart connectoin and is similari to DVI connections for a computer.

DVDs currently are not high defintion although they can be 'upscaled' to look like they are, although they will be a bit fuzzy. There are two types of High Definition DVD formats coming out soon, although it's not clear which will become more popular. There is HD DVD and Blue Ray DVD. Blue Ray is mostly backed by Sony and will come as standard on their Playstation 3.

Answer 3

Only really worthwhile if you have a minimum screen size of 32 inches - anything smaller than it's too small to see the difference.
The quality and sharpness is much better but I wouldn't buy one now until more channels ( in the UK) become available and the TV prices drop even more as they have been doing - wait until January and the Sales - Before Xmas the prices will be inflated.
Def worth it.

Answer 4

HD is high definition, which is much better quality than the current standard of TV.

It is four times sharper, making things clearer.

To be perfectly honest, I think standard definition is fine as it is, but I've not watched an HD-TV yet to see the difference.

Answer 5

For starters, it looks better. Really good HDTVs give a near-3D image. Also, by 2009, HD broadcasting will be the standard signal for television programs. Non-HDTVs won't be able to tune in.

Answer 6

I suppose it's just the next step - as with all technology - and to ensure every poor sod HAS to have this batch of 'forward thinking and improvement', they're going to turn the analogue signal off alltogether! Cracking..

Answer 7

Probably a better, clearer picture

Answer 8

Hello Andrew
I'm the same as you its so annoying

Answer 9

because it high definition its the kuta clearer then clear

Answer 10

it the bees knees

Answer 11

high defernition