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Ultimate Hdtv Buying Guide Article

Receiver Readiness for HDTV


HDTV or high definition television offers many benefits over traditional analog television. High definition television has excellent digital superiority, crisp detail, progressive scanning, digital audio, a wider viewing area and better quality DVD playback. However, the days of simply plugging a television into an outlet and calling the cable companies are over. Now, you must make sure your television is compatible with the type of service you want.

When you are ready to receive HDTV service you first need to check into a few things before making the switch. If you have a traditional analog television, you can receive digital broadcasts by purchasing a converter for your television. The converters for enabling traditional analog televisions to digital cost around $100. The picture resolution will not be the same, but you will still be able to see the broadcast.

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More and more consumers are getting connected to high definition. As the technology to make smaller HDTV sets rises, the cost of these televisions come down enabling more people to purchase the sets. In addition to the cost of the actual television, the price of enhanced cable or satellite service must be considered before getting connected to HDTV.

High definition does have its benefits besides a better picture resolution. HDTV has none of the imperfections caused by a traditional analog broadcast. There is no snow from weak signals, no double images from ghosting and no picture sparkles cause by impulse noise.

Screen resolution from a high definition TV broadcast is almost five times as sharp as conventional broadcasts. High definition has double the lines of resolution compared to a traditional analog TV set. While a traditional analog set can only display 525 lines of resolution, HDTV technology takes this one step farther. HDTV broadcasts can display 1080 horizontal lines of resolution. This makes a huge difference in the picture clarity and quality. Often with big screen analog broadcasts, the picture is severely degraded because of the resolution lines.

To get your home ready to receive high definition television, you must first purchase an HDTV-ready or an HDTV capable television. 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.

The next step in receiving high definition service is to acquire a converter box. A converter box usually costs between $5 and $10 per month, or some are available for purchase for several hundred dollars. Many HDTV sets available on the market now have built-in digital tuners that allow you to view the free digital broadcasts of major local networks. Additionally, converter boxes that are compatible with analog televisions can be purchased. These special converter boxes or adapters cost around $100. The picture will be similar to analog, but will be in digital format. The only downfall to this is if there is a weak digital signal, there could be no picture on the screen at all.

Next, when converting to HDTV, you must make sure that the channel you want to watch is broadcast in high definition. All major networks currently broadcast in both analog and high definition, but not all of their programming is in HDTV. The FCC recently gave networks channels in both analog and high definition with the hopes that networks would also make the switch to all HDTV. Besides the major networks, many of the movie channels also broadcast in high definition. Be aware that not all channels do broadcast in high definition, so if you have favorite channels it is important to call your cable or satellite provider beforehand to see what is and what is not offered. Some who receive high definition television are sometimes disappointed to learn that while all the major networks broadcast on a high definition channel, not all programs are in HDTV. Most networks will broadcasts popular sporting events and primetime specials in HDTV.

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