What is it and what’s the difference between HD and my normal TV?
To put it bluntly High Definition Television provides you with a much much better picture (and sound in most cases) than your standard television currently does. In theory, every nook and cranny of your favourite films and TV shows will now be visible to you in unabashed glory.
All snide comments aside, the first time you view a HDTV outputting a film or TV show from a HD Source you will definitely be able to tell the difference and you’ll know that it’s not all hype decided to sell television (although admittedly a lot of it is).
What gives HDTV it’s sharpness is the number of dots (pixels) it can display. All television output in dots and HDTV’s output in either 720p or 1080p which was previously unavailable, hence the high definition. Standard televisions have a range of 500 – 600 pixels so the upgrade is a big one.
If you still have a normal analogue television you’re part of a dying breed. In 2010 the analogue signal will be switched of completely and you’ll be left in the dark so better start your reading up on HDTV’s now (hence why you are here I guess…).
You will also be missing out on all the extra digital channels you can have access to as digital transmission allows a consistent picture quality and a wider range of channels become available for free.
Sometimes 1080p televisions are know as Full HD televisions. Technically these are better than their 720p counterparts but the difference between them is, unless you’re going for a 50 inch or above screen, is unnoticeable to the human eye when you’re sat more than 4 foot away from the TV. Read our full report on the 720p vs 1080p
debate.
If you decided to invest in a HD Television you will need the appropriate connectors namely HDMI cables
in order to receive the HD signal form your HD sources (what about HP Sauces….). A good HD Television should come with at least three HDMI slots enabling you to plug in a HD or Blu-ray DVD play, your games console (PS3 or Xbox360) and a SKY HD box or equivalent without having to switch cables.
