HDTV Submitted Monday, March 27, 2006 - 2:15:25 PM by Klaitu
I've always had questions about HDTV.. odd questions that nobody really knew the answers to. Now that I've had a chance to play around with a HDTV, I have some of those answers, and I thought I'd go ahead and share them with you all.
- Progressive vs. Interlace
HDTV is frought with strange terms like 1080i or 720p. What does all that mean? I could explain to you the technical details, but suffice it to say that bigger number = better picture.
As for those letters, "p" is always better than "i". I stands for Interlace and P stands for Progressive. What's the difference? Again, a lot of technicality, but the bottom line is that the progressive variety provides a picture that is twice as good.
But, with all these letters and numbers, there's one thing that is constant: Everything looks better on a HDTV.
- HDTV Tuning
Before I had an HDTV, I wondered how they handled the whole channel thing. We have a channel 4 here, so if I tune to channel 4 on my HDTV, do I get the HD signal?
Here's how it works: A HDTV can pick up your regular, everyday analog signals.. the kind you've been watching for years on your normal TV. All of those stations are the same, but you have additional new channels. The HD feed from the afore mentioned Channel 4 is channel 004-001. In HD, all channels come in that format. The first number is the channel, and the second number is which of their broadcasts you are watching.
Channel 004-001 is NBC, so this is the channel you'd get all the HD shows in. This station also has 004-002, which is like NBC's version of the weather channel.
The kings of the multi-stream is TBN, our channel 14 has streams from 014-001 to 014-007! (and nothing you'd want to watch on any of them).
As of March 1 of next year, all TV's made that are 13 inches or larger must include a HDTV tuner in the design. If you're buying a HDTV, make sure you get one with a tuner.
- HDTV vs regular TV
If you're in the market for a TV, you might be considering just spending 100 bucks on a normal TV and leaving it at that. If you spend on a regular TV, you need to know that you'll be buying another TV in the near future, as the cut-off date for those old "regular" stations is February 17, 2009.
- HDTV connection
To get HDTV signals, you don't need anything new. HDTV signals come through the air just like any other kind, and can be picked up by your everyday rabbit-ear antenna. Heck, you can even use an antenna from the early 80's and get a perfect signal. Standard coaxial connectors and everything.
For things like your PS2, your Xbox 360, or your DVD player, the "basic" type of connection is the Component video connection. It's like those White/Red/Yellow connectors you're so familiar with, except instead of one yellow one, you've got 3 yellow ones. Simple to hook up, and looks great.
There is another kind of connection for more expensive TV's called HDMI which is one plug.. but unless you're buying one of those $4000 TV's, you might as well just forget about it.
Most HDTV's will also use your standard S-Video or composite video cables you've used for the last 20 years as well.
- Ow, my back
My model of HDTV is a CRT variety. That means it's got a tube and the glass in front and all that stuff just like a normal TV. Unlike a normal TV, it is SUPER HEAVY. It's no wonder why so many HDTV's are LCD, plasma, or SXRD.
The kind of HDTV you want depends precisely on your budget. CRT offers the best picture for the least money. LCD are small and flat, but often don't have that great a picture. Plasma looks amazing, but the screen burns super easily. SXRD is your premium technology at the moment, it's like an upgraded LCD but is super expensive.
There you have it, Klaitu's guide to HDTV. I know I'm enjoyin mine. HDTV is a lot like broadband. Once you have broadband, you can't go back to dialup.. well, once you have HDTV, you can't go back to analog.
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