HDTV

As many of you already know, one of the highest quality television sets on the market today is an HDTV set. This stands for high definition television. I know that many of us have heard of this product, but how many people really know what it means? With HDTV you will receive sharper, clearer, and wider television programming. The pictures will seem more lifelike, and the digital sound will be clearer than nearly any other TV out there. The reason for this sharper image is because of the increased number of pixels on your screen. There are nearly double the amount on HDTV sets than there are with the older analog TV's that many of us have in our homes today.

The older style of television displays the picture using the analog format. The newer HDTV systems display and receive their programming in digital format. If you are currently or looking to become a satellite customer, with an older style TV, you may really find this part interesting. Satellite television is broadcast digitally. If you are receiving these broadcasts and using an older television, all of the digital images are changed into the analog format when they are passed through your television. This decreases the quality that is shown on your screen. I would highly recommend looking into an HDTV set to make use of the satellite television programming you are receiving.

Another reason to update your old television with an HDTV set is that DVD's have the digital format as well. If you are watching DVD's on an older television, once again the signal is being converted from digital to analog, and therefore is decreasing the picture quality displayed on your screen.

Right now there is a real push to convert everything to digital. I would definitely recommend that you look into getting a new HDTV set in order to receive all the sharpest image, as well as crystal clear sound.

About the Author
Tina Porter is the writer and product researcher for http://www.hdtvtome.com/. She has extensive experience with consumer electronic products including satellite TV's and home entertainment theaters.

LCD vs Plasma HDTV

LCD vs plasma HDTV - which is best? If you're looking for a flat-screen, slim and sexy display, to watch HDTV, you have a choice of two technologies, LCD and gas plasma.

Each has benefits and disadvantages and so each is more appropriate in specific circumstances.

Historically, the LCD vs plasma HDTV choice has been fairly simple. If you wanted a flat-screen that was about 40in or bigger, you had to choose plasma, otherwise you should choose LCD. However, as LCD technology improves, LCD HDTVs are getting bigger and most of the major manufacturers expect the number of LCDs they produce to grow steadily over the next few years while the number of plasmas will decrease. However, if you're looking for a flatscreen TV today, plasma still has a lot to offer.

To understand the LCD vs plasma HDTV question, we need to look at the way the two technologies work.

LCD

LCD HDTVs work by shining a light behind an LCD panel made up of a fixed number of pixels. Each pixel is either red, blue or green and is switched on or off when a voltage is applied to it. When voltage is applied to a pixel, it is switched off, meaning that light can't shine through it.

The main advantage of LCD vs plasma HDTV is that LCD panels don't suffer from what's called burn-in. This is a feature of plasma TVs where they are used to watch TV stations with logos permanently displayed on-screen or where they are used for video gaming with games that have static images such as a cockpit on flight simulators. The image literally 'burns-in' the screen meaning that even when the image is not present you can still see a faint trace of it on screen. So for video gamers in particular, LCD is a better choice than plasma.

Plasma

Plasma HDTVs have over a million chambers which house one or a combination of gasses. When a voltage is applied to one of these chambers the gas ionizes and emits ultra-violet light. This light strikes red, green or plue phophors coated on the inside of the chamber and a pixel emits this color light.

Plasma HDTVs tend to have better contrast than LCDs because, even when a pixel on an LCD panel is switched off it doesn't block all the light coming through and therefore the pixel isn't completely black. Plasma HDTVs also tend to have a wider viewing angle than LCDs, as on LCD HDTVs the contrast and colour of the image can change when the screen is viewed from different angles.

LCD vs Plasma HDTV conclusion

Technology is changing rapidly, but for now (July 2004) it's still true to say that at sizes of 40in and above, plasma offers a less-expensive and generally better solution. For screen-sizes less than 40in LCD is better. However, as LCD technology improves and prices fall, this will change.
About the Author

Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of The HDTV Tuner - a guide to the kit, the technology and the programming on HDTV.

EDTV vs HDTV

Is EDTV vs HDTV getting you crazy? I'm not surprised. Who can keep track of all the digital TV acronyms floating around? It's only going to get more complex. Many people have little knowledge of these acronyms.

I'll breakdown the technical jargon to make EDTV vs. HDTV as straightforward as we can. There are several EDTV sets available. You can decide whether you can live with any missing features.

Standard TV has 525 lines of interlaced video. Interlacing means that the video (which is split into 2 fields) gets shown alternately. Of the 525 lines only 480 have a video signal. That's the 480i you see floating around in all the EDTV vs HDTV specifications.

While standard TV has worked well for years TV sets have gotten bigger and the deficiencies of SD (standard TV) have become magnified.

There's no question that in EDTV vs HDTV the HDTV (for now) is the ultimate in PQ (picture quality). HDTV stands for High Definition TV. EDTV is the 2nd best PQ that we have. EDTV stands for Enhanced Definition TV.

EDTV has the same 480 lines as SD, but they are progressive scan. SD uses 480i (interlaced) and EDTV uses 480p (progressive scan). DVD players uses progressive scan to display PQ and EDTVs do a great job of displaying them.

Progressive scanning means that instead of splitting the signal into two fields and showing half the lines at a time, all 480 lines of video are shown at once. That's one of the reasons why DVDs look so sharp on your SD TV.

So the big question is --which format should you go with-- EDTV vs HDTV??? Well the truth is it depends upon 3 things......

1)your budget
2)your seating distance
3)your viewing habits

Right now there is very limited TV content available in HDTV format. So you won't get the full viewing impact of HDTV. Another factor weighing in against HDTV is how much DVD viewing do you do?

A controversial point disputed by many HDTV owners is that some TV experts believe that shows watched from a DVD player on EDTV displays better.

Why? Because there's no scaling to be done by the EDTV. An HDTV needs to re-process the signal before it can display it to you. As said before a DVD player's natural resolution matches that of the EDTV format.

Perhaps the most important factor is the viewing distance. How good the PQ is has a lot to do with seating distance. It's a fact that if you sit 8 feet or more from you TV you won't be able to tell the difference in sharpness between a 42-inch EDTV and a 42-inch HDTV side by side.

If you get close to an EDTV say 6 feet or less you start to see the screen door effect (SDE). That's when you start to see the actual pixels on the EDTV.

If you watch sports, the Discovery channel and other channels that will eventually swing into HD programming and you sit close to you TV then HDTV may be for you.

At this point in time EDTV vs HDTV depends mostly upon your viewing distance. If you have the bucks or you sit close to you TV than the EDTV vs HDTV choice is HDTV.

I have both an EDTV and HDTV. The truth is that in most cases after 6 feet or more I can't see the difference between the two. Panasonic EDTV's are the way to go in this tecnology.

About the Author:
movieman90 is the webmaster of www.the-hdtv-review.com. A site that offers current, unbiased and valuable info on the latest Hi Def technology.

All About HDTV

The HDTV has become increasingly popular since it’s introduction. There are many well-known electronic manufacturers that have designed many models of the HD style TV. There are multiple sizes, styles and colors that can be attributed to a HD television. Likewise, there are various price tags found on the HD television. With so many choices and decisions ahead of you, don’t feel overwhelmed; there are many great resources to help make your search as quick and painless as possible.

HDTV has been around since the mid 1960’s. In Japan, the first model of the HDTV was created. The innovative electronic geniuses of the United States were quick to follow and the race to perfecting the high definition technology was off to the races around the mid 1990’s.

Basically, the term “HD” refers to the quality of the broadcast signal that is sent through the television set. The high definition signal represents images that are as crystal clear and lifelike as possible. When you watch a program via the HDTV, you will quickly understand why it is becoming the favorite method of watching TV! The HD signal is digital in nature and provides viewers a 16:9 wide screen format, the same as used in movie theaters. The incredible, lifelike images displayed through HD televisions are unbelievable! You can literally feel like you at the racetrack or on the football field! If you are watching a concert, you will have a front row seat to the magical madness, too!

Many of the leading television manufacturers make at least one model of the HD television set, including: Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba, Hitachi, RCA, JVC, Mitsubishi, Pioneer and Magnavox. There are multiple sizes of the HDTV available, from as small as 13 inches to as large as 85 inches!

3 types to choose from

There are three different formats that offer the HD technology, including: CRT (paints the image onto the screen. This style is perfect in any lighting condition and from every angle.), LCD (uses 2 different polarized, transparent panels to house a liquid in the middle.) and the Plasma (digital images at a high resolution are created.). Be sure to do a little research to find the format that you will prefer.

Rear-projection CRT televisions are older technology. CRT TV's use three separate cathode ray tubes to create red, green, and blue and the TV combines the three beams before magnifying and projecting the image. The image quality isn't as good as Plasma or LCD technology.

Flat-Panel LCD TVs (liquid crystal display) technology are designed to create sharp, bright images in any lighting condition. LCD flat screen TV models work by shining light through pixel cells, with each cell containing a red, green, and blue component.

Plasma TVs are the thinnest of all types of high definition televisions. You can find a huge range of widths, from 36, right up to 72" inches that offer amazing color accuracy and saturation.

The 2 different types of HDTV

There are two types of hdtv systems, ones that are HDTV-ready and other systems that have an integrated system. HDTV-ready is the definition for a television that is capable high definition programming with the installation of a receiver or tuner. An integrated system is a television with a built in HDTV receiver enabling you to watch programming right out of the box.

If you are not sure as to which brand, size or format you prefer, there are many resources that you can access to make the decision a little easier. Other consumers, that have made a purchase of an HDTV, have written HDTV reviews on their TV of choice. These reviews are unbiased in that some may be favorable and other may not. One thing you can count on is that these reviews are not biased; everyday consumers, like yourself, write them. No one likes to spend their hard earned money on a product that they would have never given a second glance, had they been forewarned. Well, with reviews and ratings from other consumers, you will have a “heads up”!

When you are in the market for a great new TV, the HDTV is a perfect choice! There are many sizes, styles, formats and prices available. You should have absolutely no problem finding the perfect one for your home or business. If you demand only the best in your life, the HD style TV will fit right in!

About the Author: Chris Vorelli is a successful writer with info HDTV reviews & Plasma TV reviews. Find information on Sony plasma TV, Pioneer Plasma TV, Panasonic plasma TV models and more. Reprint permission given will all hyper links intact. © http://www.hdtv-n-plasma-tv-reviews.com/

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