HD what is it and why?

Question

im getting a new tv in a few weeks should i opt for hi def i have no idea what it is and i dont really watch tv i play more video games then watch tv

Answer 1

its the best new invention since they invented color tv

Answer 2

High definition is basically a clearer picture than your conventional set. Your current TV has a resolution of 480i/p which is 480 lines of picture quality. A high def TV has either 720i/p or 1080i/p lines for resolution. The more lines of picture quality, the clearer and more detail the picture is. Check at one of your local stores that sells TVs and you can see the difference from regular TV to high def TV. You can see that high def looks better because it's less blurry. Then you decide for yourself if getting a high def TV is worth the extra money to you for the clearer picture.

If you decide to buy a high def TV, then you should check some out at this link: http://www.walmart.com/search/browse-ng.do?ic=48_0&ref=125875.331180+500748.500763+500921.4293837064&catNavId=626239.

If you already have a Xbox, Xbox 360 or a PlayStation 3 that you play video games on, then you should get a high def TV since those video games support high def.

If you get a high def TV and want to watch TV in high def, it will cost you more money per month to get the high def channels from your cable or sattellite provider.

If you get a high def TV want to watch movies in high def, then you will need to either get a Blu-ray player or an HD-DVD player. If you already have the PlayStation 3, then it already has a Blu-ray player.

Answer 3

With the newest game consoles supporting HD, you should at least consider getting a HD TV.

HD stands for High Definition. All it really means is that the picture has more pixels in it, resulting in sharper, more detailed pictures.

To actually enjoy HD, you will need a HDTV (well, obviously) but you will also need a source that is also in HD. This can a HD TV/cable/satellite channel, a video game, or a movie disc. Let's go through those one at a time:

TV/cable/satellite : Many channels are begining to broadcast in HD. Most national channels, like ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS and PBS now have HD broadcasts. These are separate channels that can only be picked up by a HDTV. You can get these local channels with an antenna (yes, plain old rabbit ears!), or with your cable or satellite subcription.

In addition, a lot of cable/satellite stations are also begining to broadcast in HD as well. Discovery Channel HD, is a popular example. Like the local channels, these HD channels are require a HDTV to receive. You will also need to subscribe to them, which is usually an extra $10-20/month on top of your normal programming bill.


Video games: Both the Sony Playstation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 support HD and all of their games are in HD, giving you graphics that only used to exist on high end PCs. The Nintendo Wii does not support HD, but going forward, it's a sure thing that all new consoles and games will support HD.

HD movies: This will get a bit confusing... There are currently two new formats on the market called HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Despite their names, they both do the same thing - present movies in HD. Normal DVDs are not in HD. These new formats present 6 times the resolution, bringing the same sharpness and clarity to your movies that you would see with on a HD TV channel. Unfortunately....there's two formats. They aren't compatible, and right now they're fighting it out in the market much the way VHS and Betamax fought to become the VCR standard back in the 80s... Until things settle down in the HD movie market, I don't advise buying either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray at this time.

So...what if you get a HDTV but don't immediately upgrade your other equipment? That's OK too. HDTVs are backwards compatible with non-HD devices and material. Most HDTVs come with an upscaler, which allows them to stretch incoming signals so they fit the screen. This can be good and bad... With lower quality signals, like your old TV channels, an upscaler can make the picture appear slightly fuzzy. Regular DVDs will look better for the most part, although not quite as good as a true, native HD source.

While shopping for HDTVs, you will come across 3 numbers over and over again: 720p, 1080i, and 1080p.

The "p" stands for progressive scan. This means when the picture on your screen is refreshed, all the lines are redrawn. The "i" stands for interlaced, and is the opposite of progressive scan. Your old standard TV is interlaced - meaning when the picture is redrawn, it only redraws every other line - odd #'d lines on one pass, even #'d lines on the next. Progressive scan is preferable to interlaced as it provides a more "solid" picture with no flickering you can see with standard TVs.

720 and 1080 refer to the number of horizontal lines that make up the picture. Your standard TV has 480 horizontal lines, so as you can see, HD gives you quite a boost!

Don't worry too much about 1080p right now. While it's the "best" out there, there's almost no material that is in 1080p. Most TV/cable stations and video games are still only in 720p. Only the new HD movie formats are in 1080p, and as I mentioned before, that market is a mess right now...

That should get you started. Post more questions as you come across them.

Answer 4

Video games on a HDTV are fantastic. The pictures are sharper, clearer and all the new games are being written with graphics designed for HDTV's.