Still confused about high-definition TV? Here are some answers.
What is HDTV? Simply put, HDTV - or high-definition television - is a new form of TV. Using digital technology, HDTV sets can display a sharper, more true-to-life image that makes regular TV look fuzzy and primitive. HDTV programs are transmitted in a widescreen format and are sometimes enhanced with 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound. This can result in an experience akin to sitting in a first-rate movie theatre.
In 1998 the Federal Communications Commission (in the US) mandated that all free, over-the-air TV would have to be broadcast digitally by the end of 2006. That meant that the ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and PBS networks as well as local stations would have to replace the analog technology that's been used for more than half a century. Amoung other advantages, a digital broadcast produces pictures entirely of analog reception problems like ghosts and snow. Depending on the station's preference, digital images can be broadcast in either high-definition or a standard-definition format that's roughly equivalent to analog TV in resolution.
To accomplish the switchover to a digital TV system, the FCC gave each commercial and public TV station an extra channel to broadcast its digital signal. The FCC still hopes to turn off the analog system and auction off the reclaimed spectrum for public services and other uses by 2007. But the switchover won't take place until 85% of the households in each market can receive digital broadcasts, even if that means going beyond the original date.
So what do I need to see HDTV? To see HDTV in all its glory, you'll need a set designed to display high-definition images. To keep costs down, most "HDTV" sets are actually only HDTV-ready - that is, they need an external digital tuner to receive and display a high-definition broadcast. Only sets with built-in tuners are officially called HDTV's, while those that need an external tuner are called HDTV monitors. External tuners that decode only over-the-air HDTV signals cost $350(US) and up, while ones that double as satellite TV receivers cost a bit more.
Once I have all the right digital gear, will everything I watch be in high-definition? No. While the FCC told broadcasters they had to switch from analog to digital, it never said they had to broadcast HDTV. It's up to the broadcasters whether to transmit a grogram in stanrard-definition or high-definition.
I love the look of those flat TVs that you can hang on the wall. They're all HDTVs, right? Nope. Some of the smallest LCD flat-panel TVs can only receive standard analog signals, and some the larger widescreen plasma TVs are enhanced-definition TVs, or EDTVs, that can accept HDTV signals but can display them only in the lower-resolution 480p format. This is still better than the 480i picture you get with an analog TV and comparable to the image you can get with a progressive-scan DVD player.
But don't assume that EDTVs are vastly inferior to HDTVs. Some of the better-designed sets produce images that hold up extremely well next to their high-def brethren. And enhanced-definition sets are usually priced a heck of a lot less that HDTVs.
