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HDTV as a Glorified PC Monitor Why Bother

With high definition television becoming increasingly popular, many consumers wonder if the extra price for an HDTV set is worth the money. After all, many critics of the HDTV say it is just a glorified PC monitor so why bother? Here are reasons why consumers should take a second look at high definition television before making the next television purchase.

The technology for high definition has been around for years. The Japanese were the first to perfect high definition back in the 80s. The United States wanted to get in on the “high definition race” and several American companies formed a “Grand Alliance” by inventing digital HDTV.

As a result, the FCC announced that all analog televisions in the United States would become obsolete by 2006. Consumers and broadcasters would have to make the switch from analog to high definition. To give the broadcasters a nudge, the government issued every network a high definition channel to be used alongside their traditional channel.

The idea was to give television broadcasters additional channel space to broadcast in both analog and digital. The old channels would then become obsolete. To make this work, all televisions would have to convert to digital. All televisions made since 1946 would suddenly become obsolete unless a converter was purchased and installed.

Now, as the switchover date approaches, many companies are giving consumers more choices in HDTV. When high definition first arrived on the market, the televisions were usually very large and very expensive. Smaller and less expensive high definition sets are becoming more available to consumers.

There are many advantages to HDTV. There are real advantages of high definition. The picture definition of HDTV is about twice the vertical and horizontal picture resolution of analog televisions. This makes the picture twice as sharp as tradition television. Another advantage of HDTV is that it has a screen ratio of 16:9 as compared with analog television which has a ratio is 4:3. There is also less ghosting and dot crawling on an HDTV screen. HDTV can also be broadcast in wide-screen and has superior audio to analog stereo audio.

For true home theater buffs, high definition is preferred because it works very well with a good surround sound audio system. Also, the new DVD movies that are available today work better with high definition televisions. On a traditional television, the movie is cut off at the top and bottom of the screen. This is not the case with a high definition set. No part of the movie is missing, giving the viewer a truer viewing experience. Movies can be viewed as they are in a theater, the way moviemakers intended.

Another great benefit of using high definition television is that HDTV has over twice the sharpness and clarity of analog TV broadcasts. The color resolution for HDTV sets is far superior. For consumers who have already made the switch to HDTV, they feel this is the biggest advantage of high definition.

The lack of imperfections in the television screen often seen on traditional television is another reason why many prefer high definition to analog. With HDTV, problems such as snow caused from a weak signal, double images from ghosting or multi-path and picture sparkles from impulse noise are a thing of the past. These problems often seen on a conventional television broadcast just do not occur on HDTV.

It is important to do some research into high definition products and available broadcasts before making a large purchase. While most channels do offer broadcasts in HDTV, not all shows are available. Some networks often offer viewers certain prime time specials and sporting events in HDTV rather than their entire broadcast. The four major networks usually offer professional football, championship baseball, basketball and NASCAR in high definition. In addition, they offer television specials and awards shows in HDTV.

To view any high definition broadcasts an HDTV-ready or an HDTV capable television must be purchased first. There are several to choose from. Rear projection, plasma and LCD are all types of HDTV. When a television is labeled as HDTV-ready that means the TV has an HDTV tuner built in. This enables the TV set to get over-the-air high definition signals from local networks. HDTV-capable means that the TV set is able to receive high definition signals, but only with the use of an HDTV converter box that is available from the cable or satellite company, or a digital tuner and over-the-air antenna. A converter box usually rents for $5 or $10 per month, or some are available for purchase for several hundred dollars.

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