New Technology TV

It is time to start living the High-Def lifestyle!

A recent study suggests that one reason consumers are reticent about jumping into HDTV is that they suffer from an information deficit when it comes to this relativity new technology. HDTV has been available since the late nineties, and the price of the equipment has been dropping steadily.
The obvious advantage to HDTV, for anyone who has seen the wall of video screens on display in stores, is the extreme, even shocking, clarity of the picture. The basic unit of the TV picture is still called a pixel (short for pixel element) and HD televisions supply six times the pixels that a regular delivers! This enables the viewer’s eye to perceive edges of objects, such as your favorite actors face, with incredible, life-like detail. The images are much sharper and the colors are brighter.

HDTV utilizes a “progressive-scan display” which can be used with the newest DVD players and other broadcasts. Interlaced scanning, the old analog method, is to TV as double spacing is to the typewritten page. The old way was to refresh one-half the screen at a time; first, the odd lines then the even ones. Your eyes can barely see it, because it refreshes each half of the screen in 1/60th of a second. If you stick your nose up close to an analog set, you will notice quite a bit of flicker in the image.

The amazingly cool benefits of progressive scanning arise from the fact that it is twice as fast as the old way! The progressive-scan covers all 480 lines in just 1/60th of a second and that is why the picture is sharper, fuller and much brighter. Your eyes are receiving twice the light, since the scan is twice as fast! Thus, the picture is solid, real, and almost lifelike. The “flicker” effect is greatly reduced, which means less eyestrain for the viewer. It’s easy on the eyes.

The interlaced way of doing things can’t handle fast moving things across the screen. (Because the moving object is often caught between the double-spaced lines as they are refreshed.) This inability to faithfully track moving objects, leads to what are called motion artifacts. Progressive scan allows you to track moving objects with much greater clarity and less distortion. There is very little fuzziness and your eyes don’t lose focus. This means that everything is improved and certain fast-paced sporting events will be seen in incredibly lifelike detail.

The HDTV allows a truer movie experience since the set is wider than it is taller. This is called a 16:9 aspect ratio. The old way is 4:3 ratio and is not nearly as good for movies, sports and other events. HDTV also boasts another great benefit—great sound. If you have the capability to hear DVD movies in surround, then you can enjoy Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound.