Understanding Various HD TV Resolution Standards

Most HD TVs today are available in 1080p HD resolution, while those that are HD-ready are often able to display 720p HD. Each separate HD resolution is often natively supported on the HDTV, which means that it will display all content in the screen’s native resolution. It also means that any content in any other native resolution will either be up-scaled, increased or downscaled to fit to the HD TV’s native resolution.

1080i interlaced HD sources are displayed on the HD TV in a stitched or laced fashion, meaning that the HD content’s odd-numbered lines of resolution will appear on your screen first, then the HD even-numbered lines will come after. This all happens within a fraction of a second, and though your eyes may not perceive it, HD interlaced scanning playback removes the flicker element from content. Interlaced scanning has been used in broadcasting for a long time dating back to the early days of TV.  It was commonplace in most standard definition and older HD television sets.

Progressive scanning has been used on most computers and digital electronics and was made very popular by DVD players. Progressive scanning has also being employed in a number of HD TVs and is quite commonplace today with most HD TV native resolutions that use either 720p or 1080p. Progressive scanning formats, which include the 480p, 720p, and 1080p picture resolutions, are able to render all of the lines that make up a picture in succession in a single pass, similar to a paint brush brushing across the screen. This type of scanning format makes the HD picture and content in general a lot smoother and provides a more precise representation of the image, especially when displaying motion-based content such as sports and action films

When it comes to selecting the right HD TV, these are some factors to consider. Other important points that can affect the overall resolution include the color settings and backlighting technology. This is essentially true when comparing various HD TV types like plasmas and LCD based HD TV. Though screen sizes may vary, because 720p and 1080p HD TV resolutions are native, the larger screen size doesn’t really make much difference in terms of picture quality, though the larger screen does expand the viewing space.

HD Content Platforms

HDTV has helped shape and change the landscape of how content is displayed. High definition resolution is considered superior and the accompanying audio performance is on a par with CD quality. Digital broadcasting has an important part in how high definition television, or HDTV, has evolved. Today, there are several video compression codecs, or computer coding, that are used to display and store HD quality content. There are several major video codecs that are used today, among them the VP6 codec.

Although considered a largely unheard of video compression codec, the VP6 format has been adopted by the Chinese government to use alongside their EVD, or enhanced versatile disc, format. Since other formats have royalty charges, the VP6 format benefits from the fact that it doesn’t attract royalty fees for recorded media. VP6 did receive royalties for player devices at a cost that was on the level of other codecs. Soon after the announcement that VP6 would be used on EVD, the consortium pushing for EVD to become a standard, reached a breach of contract. The EVD format never really took off and today Blu-ray is the worldwide next generation disc technology.

Blu-ray supports the same three video codecs that HD DVD supported in its disc design.  Specifically, these are known as the MPEG-2 Part 2, VC-1 and H.264/AVC. Although Blu-ray beat the HD DVD format, it does have to overcome challenges such as high royalty costs. But there are other options for encoding digital HD content, including the DiVX digital video format, the WM9 or VC-1, as well as the widely adopted H.264 video. H.264 is used by most broadcasters as an open standard, as well as for many movie trailers. H.264 is also used to encode podcasts, which rely on QuickTime coding from Apple Computers. 

The H.264 format was chosen for several reasons. It was certified as meeting the open standard a year before WM9/VC-1 was seriously considered as a potential contender.  There’s also a lot of uncertainty on the levies Microsoft may want to impose once the algorithm is adopted. H.264 is used by Digital Video Broadcasters, or DVB, including European and U.S satellite providers.

Understanding how to choose the right HD TV

Because of the nature and maturity of the industry, it is clear that the HDTV industry is still in its early stages of development. That means like any other technology industry, there will be some major developments that will occur in the coming years. One of the big changes that may go mainstream, should prices allow, is 3D TV. Given that most HD TVs today already support full HD 1080p, this will most likely be the next big thing in HD TV. When selecting an HD TV, you might want to consider where the HDTV will be placed, the amount of daily viewing time that you will spend on it, the main features you will need. Then you should also consider and weigh the advantages and disadvantages together.

Screen size is often a big deciding point but it might be better to instead focus on overall viewing experience, when it comes to certain HD display technologies like LED and LCD, the viewing angles can appear distorted or less detailed when viewed from outside of the recommended viewing range which is usually closer to the TV. Other HD TV types like Plasma and projection HD TVs will provide better viewing angles. In defense, LCD and LED TVs can consume less power than plasma and projection HD TVs, while plasma and projection HD TVs will perform better in darker lighting settings. These are just some examples of how each display technology may differ from another display technology.

To future-proof your purchase you may want to invest in an HDTV with enough digital connections to fit your content sources. The standard number of HDMI connections for a standard size HDTV (32-42inch) HD TV is about 3, if you are lucky enough, you can find 4 connections although that number is usually found on HD TVs above 42 inches. Also consider where the HDTV will be placed, if you plan on wall mounting it, you might want to get a lighter HDTV like an LCD or LED HD TV. If you plan on setting it in a home theatre room, be sure that you are picking an HD TV that has good viewing angles in a darker room setting.

Understanding about HDTV resolutions

There are many benefits that HDTV offers to consumers. By many standards, HD TVs are the replacements to standard TVs that were large and did not have an adequate resolution to be able to display HD content. The HD (high-definition) resolution is one reason why HD TVs look so much superior to Standard TVs. HD TVs are able to display up to 2 million pixels of colours that create images that are both more detailed and appear more real than other TVs. Although the resolution is one major thing that sets HD TVs apart, there some things that go into making an HDTV resolution what it is.

So what makes HD TV resolution what it is? Well there among the things that make the resolution what it is, are the contrast ratio, the aspect ratio and color saturation as well as color accuracy.

Contrast Ratio – The contrast ratio is a measurement of how the HD TV displays the blacks, whites and RGB (red, green and blue) colors and how they adjust to the content that is being displayed on the HD TV. For most HD TVs, the contrast ratio is usually measured by the system refresh rate.
Aspect Ratio – Although a similar term to that of contrast ratio, the aspect ratio has to do with the viewing range and angle of the HD TV. Standard TVs used an aspect ratio of 4:3 which required picture resolution to be reduced and often distorted the real picture quality. With HDTVs, the aspect ratio was increased to 16:9 which was the same as that of the human eye, making HD TV viewers feel more “into” the content that is played on an HD TV.

Colour Saturation – Color Saturation is used to create a more rich color mixture on an HD TV. Color Saturation is similar to color accuracy, although color accuracy deals more with displaying the correct the blacks, whites and RGBs.

These factors together combine to influence the overall difference of the resolution. Because HD TVs only have several HD resolutions, 720p, 1080i and 1080p, the HD resolution is not any different on different HD TV screen sizes. The real advanced different is in the four factors as the display is what really makes the difference.

When deciding which HDTV to pick, consider that resolution is not everything, although it is important to make sure your HD TV can support various HD resolutions, also place into consideration the other factors, contrast ratio, aspect ratio, color saturation and color accuracy.

Understanding LED Technology in HDTVs

HD has been adopted as the digital standard of the future and around the world, many consumers are cashing in on the HDTV market. There are a number of different types of HDTV sets including the recently introduced LED TV. LED TVs may be marketed as a new type of HDTV but LED TVs have been around since 2007. As the decision over which HDTV to get becomes more complex, there are some things about LED technology that anyone should know before picking their next HDTV.

LED is a backlighting technology that was designed to replace the LCD TV CCFL lighting that was not environmentally friendly and consumed a lot of power. LED stands for light-emitting diodes.

LCD technology is very different from plasma and OLED display technology, which are emissive display technologies. For OLED/Plasma Displays each pixel is its own discrete light source whereas LCD and LED use lighting technology where each pixel has to be illuminated or lit from behind, hence the term backlit. LCD technology is commonly used for IT and computer products although it has also been used successfully with HDTVs and LCD based HDTVs are the most common type of HDTVs available. So what does one need to know about LED TVs?

LED HDTVs are based on LCD technology. LED TVs use a trans missive technology where each pixel has to be illuminated from behind, or backlit.
LED TVs have two types of backlighting. LED TVs have two main types of backlighting that are used by different HDTV manufacturers. These two types of LED lighting include “full-lighting” and “edge-lit”. Full-lighting refers to LED lighting that goes across the back panel of the HD TV set, just like the CCFL backlight. For thinner LED TVs as those available, the edge-lit is used. Edge-lit is set into four main side of the HDTV and light is sent and displayed towards the middle of the HDTV using light guiding.

LED HDTVs are today taking emergence alongside other types of HD TVs. Edge-lit LED TVs are the most common type of HD TV available today.

How computer technology influenced the evolution of HDTV

HDTV have roots tracing back to the beginning of television in the 1930s but todays’ HD television sets borrow they’re technology from more recent technology developments. The term resolution is borrowed from PC monitors.

The first version of color based computing, Windows 95 relied on a screen resolution, then dubbed VGA or 640 x 480 (the standard DVD resolution), over the years as computing evolved, so did the resolutions available. Today what we consider HD has been common place for some years. The highest available resolution today is ultra high-definition which is 4320p, most HD resolutions are way below that with the 3 most common being 720p, 1080i (used for broadcasting) and Full HD 1080p. Up until late 2006, it was thought that 1080p was the highest resolution, that is until 2009 when at the largest consumer electronics show in the world, graphics manufacturer Nvidia and computer maker Dell demoed 30 inch displays with resolutions of 1440p or Extreme high definition at 2560 x 1440.

Since then several computer companies have developed and released 1440p native resolution PC monitor displays, most recently the Apple 27 inch iMac. Although there is no visible benefit of 1440p over Full HD, it has contributed and influenced the development of HD television by two main factors:

Display perception: Because HDTVs work on the perception of the human eye or the retina, a more detailed picture quality allows the eyes to feel immersed into the picture being displayed. 1440p and Full 1080 use the same aspect ratio 16:9.

Monitor Display Technologies: When Apple introduced its 27inch iMac, LED display technology came centre stage. The debate around LED and LCD has mainly been one of environmentally friendliness with LED being a clear winner. But there are some other points that make LED better than LCD, LED uses less electricity than LCD and is capable of producing a brighter more detailed picture on than the same display resolution of an LCD HDTV, which adds to the overall human retina display perception.

Today although two separate categories, HD televisions and computers still share technology and the influence of PCs on HDTVs is evident in the release of LED based HDTVs that offer a realism that is close to that of a 1440p Monitor although not entirely.

How to pick the right Accessories for your HDTV

Whether you are planning to take full advantage of your HD experience or on the market to replace some accessories for your HDTV, picking the right accessories can be complex. Although there haven’t been that many changes in the HD accessories market, finding the right companions for your HD television is can be decided by several factors. This article will discuss these factors and act as a mini-‘guide’ for picking the right accessories.

Get a List: Get a list of what you need specifically. Do you already have a sound system? Does it support surround sound? Is there an HD ready set up box? Are you going to access other kinds of content from a computer? These are all questions you need to ask before heading to the store. This will help you find out what accessories you need specifically for your HDTV.

Pick a set up box. Depending on where you get your HD content from, you should select a set up box that can handle all your media in one unit. For example if you have content on a computer, a mobile device and optical discs (e.g. DVDs/Blu-ray) you should consider getting an all in one multimedia system to handle all your media. If your HDTV has more than 1 or 2 HDMI ports and you have no free ports, getting an all in one system that can act as a hub for your content, it can save you a lot of cables, connections and space.

Pick the right sound system. After you have picked a set up box, unless it comes with a sound system (such as a home entertainment system), the next thing on your list to pick would be a sound system. Given that 5.1 Surround sound is the most affordable, you can go for this option or if you are in a tight space, you can select a sound bar which can produce the 5.1 equivalent using virtual sound that bounces off the walls and creates the surround effect.

Next you will need to pick the right connections. This may not be necessary if you already have another sound system in place but if it is your first purchase, choose to go the HDMI route. HDMI was designed specifically for HD video and surround sound and can help cut the cable clutter.

Picking the right accessories and electronics to enhance your HD experience can be made simple if you get a list of your specific needs, pick the right set up box, check the sound system and put the right connections in place to plug into your HDTV.

Understanding HDTV & HD Broadcasting

High-Definition Television, also known as HDTV, is a television capable of receiving a higher resolution and quality than that of a Standard Television (Standard Definition TV). This article will look into how HD Televisions benefit from HD broadcasting standards used as well as being a short ‘guide’ how HDTV and HD broadcasting work. A lot of consumers are making ill-informed decisions about buying HDTVs and sometimes end up not exploiting their HDTV’s full potential.

HDTV benefits directly from digital television and the digital broadcasting platform that is being adopted around the world. Digital HD broadcasts can allow a user to view multiple channels on the same feed without losing quality because the signal is compressed and reproduced on each HDTV receiver. Some HDTVs do come with built in tuners and cable Card slots.

HD Television broadcasting has other advantages to both consumers and broadcasters allowing broadcasters to transmit up to 16 individual channels on an analogue broadcast transmitter equivalent’s bandwidth without losing HD quality as well as seven separate channel feeds. Users are able to also interact using subtitles, multiple languages and electronic program guides (EPGs) all on the same transmission feed.

High-definition televisions (HDTVs) can also produce a much better video image quality by using more lines of resolution than that of analogue and standard definition TVs, which at most use about 576 lines, whereas Full HD Televisions can use 1080 lines of resolutions. The lines help reduce the image pixels visible to the human eye making the picture displayed seem more real and detailed than ever before.

HDTV digital receivers allow for better reception of content as well as color enhancement and visual clarity that is anywhere between 2 – 5 times that of analogue TV broadcasts. The sound quality is also on par with CD quality because of the individual audio channels employed, a lot of HD television systems can produce and output Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. With HD broadcasting and content and an HDTV system, it is possible can enjoy broadcast programming, movies, sport events and in the same resolution as they were recorded on film (35mm) without the need for additional up scaling or resources, all in the comfort of a home environment.

Interesting Facts about HDTV

HDTV stands for High-Definition Television. HD has been around for some time, first used on the analogue broadcasting platform. Today HD is used on the digital platform and is widely being adopted by a number of broadcasters, electronics companies and media regulators. There are a number of interesting facts about HD:
HD has its roots dating way back to the beginning of TV: HD has a long history having been first developed and implemented in the early 1940s. It was implemented in different resolutions and platforms, the most notable resolution was between 480p and 576p. At the time, most consumers this offered superior quality and yet there were still ground to be conquered.
Digital HDTV does more than Analogue HDTV in the same bandwidth: One of the underlying feature of digital HDTV is that it can broadcast up to 16 more channels than analogue using the same bandwidth, in some instances using even less. Also because the signal is delivered using computer code, it is processed and displayed in optimal format by the HDTV instead of the broadcaster. This is a big leap from analogue.
HDTV can multitask: This means you can watch more channels and do more on the same feed of HDTV than you can with analogue. Not only can you watch more channels, HDTV brings enhanced features, subtitles, language changes, picture resolution adjustments and others. Some HDTVs even allow you to connect to the internet while watching TV.
HDTV is bigger: Todays’ HDTVs have more screen space than Analogue HDTVs which were limited to 42 inches on the CRT platform. With LCD/LED HDTVs, that number can jump to as many as 90 inches. The viewing experience is also more detailed, requiring a closer viewing ratio as compared to analogue, creating more realism than ever before.
HDTV is cheaper and environment: Compared to CRT HDTVs which affect the environment, LCD/LED HDTVs are environmentally friendly. They are also cheaper to make and use less materials than older generation HDTVs.
HDTVs are future proof: Aside from the hype about 3D, buying an HDTV today can fool proof you for years to come as the industry evolves. It may take up to 6 years for Full HD resolution to become commonplace in the broadcasting/media platforms.

Understanding Interlace Scanning vs Progressive Scanning

Watching TV is a past-time that a lot of people and has been around for a very long time. For some the recent introduction of HDTV has brought a new era to TV viewing. In fact some consumer reports have suggested that since the introduction of HD Televisions, more consumers have purchased and began watching TV.
Originally used on analogue platforms, HDTV was able to produce picture resolutions of up to 480p or 480 lines progressively. There were some TVs that were capable of producing up to 576p which at the time was considered true HD. Most HD Televisions use progressive scan technology to process picture resolutions, it is also known P-Scan.

A brief history
P-Scan or progressive scan has been used for a number of picture displays including all LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitors, most CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors and most HDTVs. Other types of displays including SD (standard definition) TVs use interlaced scanning technology.
Major Differences between Interlaced & Progressive Scanning:
Both interlaced scanning and progressive scanning use different methods to scan and reproduce pictures and images on the HDTVs. This is often identified by the letters I for Interlaced Scanning and p for Progressive Scanning. For example 1080i and 1080p, although having similar resolutions, the actual quality of the picture resolution will be different because of a number of things that make the two scanning technologies different.

Interlaced scanning was used with most analogue and standard definition TVs that were based on the CRT platform. Although the benefits of interlaced scanning may appear to be more attractive, there are a number of disadvantages and reasons why the technology has not being adapted worldwide. Most HDTVs support progressive scanning, there are few that support interlaced scanning. Most film production companies produce their content in 24p. It is easier to use progressive scanning because it makes reproduction of recorded content easier as compared to interlaced scanning which needs to be displayed on a deinterlacing display.

Also interlaced scanning requires that video is uncompressed whereas most digital broadcasting and technology compresses video to maintain and fit to bandwidth requirements. DVDs use progressive scanning.

Most HD TVs use progressive scanning and are able to display top quality images but for those with a desire to experience uncompressed video, interlaced HDTV displays are available and these two can display both progressive and interlaced content. The main reason interlaced HDTVs are not mainstream is because of the technologies that have been adopted by major media companies.