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HDTV Article Series
Buying
a High Definition Television (HDTV)
Are
HDTV's Just an Expensive PC Monitor?
With high definition television becoming increasingly
popular, many consumers wonder if the extra price for an HDTV
set is worth the money. After all, many critics of
the HDTV say it is just a glorified PC monitor so why bother? Here are
reasons why consumers should take a second look at high definition
television before making the next television purchase.
The technology for high definition has been around for years.
The Japanese were the first to perfect high definition back
in the 80s. The United States wanted to get in on the “high
definition race” and several American companies formed a “Grand
Alliance” by inventing digital HDTV.
As a result, the FCC announced that all analog televisions
in the United States would become obsolete by 2006. Consumers
and broadcasters would have to make the switch from analog
to high definition. To give the broadcasters a nudge, the government
issued every network a high definition channel to be used alongside
their traditional channel.
The
idea was to give television broadcasters additional channel
space to broadcast in both analog and digital. The old channels
would then become obsolete. To make this work, all televisions
would have to convert to digital. All televisions made since
1946 would suddenly become obsolete unless a converter was
purchased and installed.
Now, as the switchover date approaches, many companies are
giving consumers more choices in HDTV. When high definition
first arrived on the market, the televisions were usually very
large and very expensive. Smaller and less expensive high definition
sets are becoming more available to consumers.
There
are many advantages to HDTV. There are real advantages
of high definition. The picture definition of HDTV is about
twice the vertical and horizontal picture resolution of analog
televisions. This makes the picture twice as sharp as tradition
television. Another advantage of HDTV is that it has a screen
ratio of 16:9 as compared with analog television which has
a ratio is 4:3. There is also less ghosting and dot crawling
on an HDTV screen. HDTV can also be broadcast in wide-screen
and has superior audio to analog stereo audio.
For
true home theater buffs, high definition is preferred
because it works very well with a good surround sound audio
system. Also, the new DVD movies that are available today work
better with high definition televisions. On a traditional television,
the movie is cut off at the top and bottom of the screen. This
is not the case with a high definition set. No part of the
movie is missing, giving the viewer a truer viewing experience.
Movies can be viewed as they are in a theater, the way moviemakers
intended.
Another great benefit of using high definition television
is that HDTV has over twice the sharpness and clarity
of analog TV broadcasts. The color resolution for HDTV sets is far superior.
For consumers who have already made the switch to HDTV, they
feel this is the biggest advantage of high definition.
The lack of imperfections in the television screen often seen
on traditional television is another reason why many prefer
high definition to analog. With HDTV, problems such as snow
caused from a weak signal, double images from ghosting or multi-path
and picture sparkles from impulse noise are a thing of the
past. These problems often seen on a conventional television
broadcast just do not occur on HDTV.
It is important to do
some research into high definition products
and available broadcasts before making a large purchase. While
most channels do offer broadcasts in HDTV, not all shows are
available. Some networks often offer viewers certain prime
time specials and sporting events in HDTV rather than their
entire broadcast. The four major networks usually offer professional
football, championship baseball, basketball and NASCAR in high
definition. In addition, they offer television specials and
awards shows in HDTV.
To view any high definition broadcasts an HDTV-ready or an
HDTV capable television must be purchased first. There are
several to choose from. Rear projection, plasma and LCD are
all types of HDTV. When a television is labeled as HDTV-ready
that means the TV has an HDTV tuner built in. This enables
the TV set to get over-the-air high definition signals from
local networks. HDTV-capable means that the TV set is able
to receive high definition signals, but only with the use of
an HDTV converter box that is available from the cable or satellite
company, or a digital tuner and over-the-air antenna. A converter
box usually rents for $5 or $10 per month, or some are available
for purchase for several hundred dollars.
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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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