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High definition television offers stunning video images with excellent sound. You can view HDTV via over-the-air broadcasts, cable and satellite. Both major satellite providers, DirecTV and DISH, offer special HD satellite receivers and systems to view HD signals.
The HD Standard
HDTV standards provide for a 16:9 widescreen aspect ration with at least 720 lines of resolution. This is commonly called 720P. Other HDTV resolutions include 1080i and 1080P; "i" refers to interlaced imaging and "P" to progressive scan imaging. Progressive scanning, where an image is "painted" in a single scan, generally looks smoother than an interlaced image, where an image is broken into odd and even lines. Interlaced imaging is disappearing, as it causes problems on LCD and plasma displays. As to audio, the HDTV standards defined by the ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) specify Dolby Digital.
Compression
Early satellite HD systems had trouble with the bandwidth required for HD video. Initially, the high bandwidth of HD video limited the number of stations satellite providers could offer. That has changed with MPEG-4 compression, which effectively doubled the available bandwidth for HD transmission over the previous MPEG-2 standard.
The Antenna
Satellite dishes for HD video are bigger than those for standard video. The dish is 20 inches in diameter, as opposed to 18 inches, and has three LNBs (low noise blocks or low noise connectors) as opposed to one, to support reception of the additional satellites that were launched to accommodate HD bandwidth.
A high definition (HD) Ready TV is a television capable of displaying high definition signals but relies on an outside source, such as a cable or satellite receiver, to process and convert those signals.
History
HDTV has been in development in the United States since it was first demonstrated in 1981, based on a format created in Japan. The high bandwidth needed, competing manufacturers and the prohibitive costs of producing not only the television sets but the infrastructure needed to create and transmit the signals slowed the process.
Development
The first public HD broadcast in the United States was in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1996. The creation of digital compression technology and the Federal Communications Commission's Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC )'s adoption of a national HD standard paved the way for commercially viable HDTV sets.
Specifications
HD Ready TVs can display up to 1,080 lines of resolution, far more than the 480 of standard TVs. They allow for a frame rate of up to 25 frames per second and must have a digital, composite video or high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) input to receive HD signals.
HD Ready vs. Full HD
As with most new technology, early HDTV sets were quite expensive. The higher-end models were Full HD, which included an HD-capable tuner, while the HD Ready TVs needed a device with an HD tuner, such as a cable or satellite receiver, to decode the HD signals.
Advancements
With the United States switching to digital-only broadcasting in June 2009 and the growing popularity, technological advancements and shrinking prices of HDTV sets, more TVs are now Full HD, phasing out the HD Ready TV sets.
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The HD Standard
HDTV standards provide for a 16:9 widescreen aspect ration with at least 720 lines of resolution. This is commonly called 720P. Other HDTV resolutions include 1080i and 1080P; "i" refers to interlaced imaging and "P" to progressive scan imaging. Progressive scanning, where an image is "painted" in a single scan, generally looks smoother than an interlaced image, where an image is broken into odd and even lines. Interlaced imaging is disappearing, as it causes problems on LCD and plasma displays. As to audio, the HDTV standards defined by the ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) specify Dolby Digital.
Compression
Early satellite HD systems had trouble with the bandwidth required for HD video. Initially, the high bandwidth of HD video limited the number of stations satellite providers could offer. That has changed with MPEG-4 compression, which effectively doubled the available bandwidth for HD transmission over the previous MPEG-2 standard.
The Antenna
Satellite dishes for HD video are bigger than those for standard video. The dish is 20 inches in diameter, as opposed to 18 inches, and has three LNBs (low noise blocks or low noise connectors) as opposed to one, to support reception of the additional satellites that were launched to accommodate HD bandwidth.
What Is an HD Ready TV?
A high definition (HD) Ready TV is a television capable of displaying high definition signals but relies on an outside source, such as a cable or satellite receiver, to process and convert those signals.
History
HDTV has been in development in the United States since it was first demonstrated in 1981, based on a format created in Japan. The high bandwidth needed, competing manufacturers and the prohibitive costs of producing not only the television sets but the infrastructure needed to create and transmit the signals slowed the process.
Development
The first public HD broadcast in the United States was in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1996. The creation of digital compression technology and the Federal Communications Commission's Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC )'s adoption of a national HD standard paved the way for commercially viable HDTV sets.
Specifications
HD Ready TVs can display up to 1,080 lines of resolution, far more than the 480 of standard TVs. They allow for a frame rate of up to 25 frames per second and must have a digital, composite video or high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) input to receive HD signals.
HD Ready vs. Full HD
As with most new technology, early HDTV sets were quite expensive. The higher-end models were Full HD, which included an HD-capable tuner, while the HD Ready TVs needed a device with an HD tuner, such as a cable or satellite receiver, to decode the HD signals.
Advancements
With the United States switching to digital-only broadcasting in June 2009 and the growing popularity, technological advancements and shrinking prices of HDTV sets, more TVs are now Full HD, phasing out the HD Ready TV sets.
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