subject: Basics of HDTV explained [print this page] We live in a modern world and TVs are also going through evolution, and now new trend of 3D TVs is emerging. So what is HDTV? HDTV stands for high definition television, which sole purpose is to deliver bigger and better picture, better audio experience and generally making your TV watching more like cinema watching. There are only a few terms you should understand in order to get the whole picture.
Resolution - the number of picture elements that produce the whole picture, all you have to know is the higher the resolution more detailed and sharper picture on the TV
Aspect ratio: ordinary televisions have 4:3 ratio which means for every 4 units of width you have 3 units of height. HDTV television have 16:9 ratio which makes screen wider than it used to be. If you are wondering why do you have those black boxes when you are watching new movie on the old television? Its because all new movies are shoot in 16:9 ratio so you old television has to adjust the picture, while new ones dont.
Different HDTV types - well there isnt single HDTV standard. There are many of them the but only two matter for the most people.
720p - 720p stands for 1280 x 720 resolution, which means 1280 horizontal pixels x 720 vertical pixels.
1080p - 1080p stands for 1920 x 1080 resolution, which means 1920 horizontal pixels x 1080 vertical pixels
Scannning system - is identified with letter p which means progressive scanning and letter i which means interlaced scanning. Progressive scanning is a method of displaying images in which all the lines in frame are drawn in sequence, this is in contrast with interlaced scanning where only the odd lines and then the even lines of each frame are drawn alternately.
The future is bringing us 3D HDTV which means that you will need special glasses for viewing television. With 3D tv you can experience image depth, which brings us to more realistic experience. Prices are still high but in the future we can expected the prices will drop to the rate of todays LCD televisions. More and more movies are now shot in 3D technology, perfect example of this is Avatar which is the first masterpiece in this new technology.
