Saturday, July 19, 2014

HDTV - Part 4 - HDTV Fact Versus Myth

HDTV: Myths and Realities
There are a lot of things to be considered when shopping for a HDTV. Given the fact that there has been a significant amount of confusion created with the conversion between the old analog broadcasts and the new digital TV signals. Most of these are misconceptions created by the technical issues and others are nothing more than simple myths.
Let's dispel these most popular myths and clear up any common misconceptions regarding HDTV.
Myth: DTV is the same as HDTV
Reality: No. DTV is just the abbreviation for Digital Television. DTV is a technology where the television signal is created, broadcast or received in a digital format versus the old analog standard. HDTV is but one "resolution" standard contained within the DTV transmission. As discussed in previous issues, there are also Standard Definition TV (SDTV), the lowest resolution standard and Enhanced Definition TV (EDTV), a medium resolution standard.
By its very definition and increased bandwidth capacity, DTV, regardess of which resolution standard, improves picture and sound quality over analog signal counterparts and HDTV resolutions standards offer the highest resolution picture.
Myth: Digital cable/digital satellite is the same as HDTV
Reality: No. Digital cable is just an improvement of picture and sound quality versus a cable provider broadcasting in regular analog. This is not HDTV, but DTV. SDTV at that...in most cases.
Myth: Non-HDTV programs cannot be viewed on a HDTV set
Reality: Not true. You can view non-HDTV programs on an HDTV set. You simply will be viewing it in Standard Definition. Think of it this way - you can watch color programming on a black and white television set. Works great...you just cannot see the colors.
Since the original non-HDTV signal will be of a different display resolution, some clipping (black or gray bars at the sides or top and bottom) may occur since they were intended on a television viewed in 4:3 aspect ratio. Also, black and white contrast tones will suffer a little with a lack of definitive contrast. Also, you may see black or gray bars on the top, bottom, left or right side of the screen to try and set the majority of the image in 4:3 aspect ratio instead of the native 16:9 resolution on an HDTV set.
Myth: All Digital TVs are HDTV compatible
Reality: No, this is not true. All digital TV's are DTV capable. They are able to display a non-analog digital signal. The important question here is "what resolution DTV signal will they display"? Not all Digital TVs are HDTV compatible but can display SDTV or EDTV signals. Remember, there are SDTV and EDTV sets available with each having a maximum resolution of its own. While most programs will be backwards compatible, it is best to buy a set for the resolution you will be most often viewing. (More on resolutions later...)
Myth: The quality of HDTV varies with satellite, cable, and antenna
Reality: The biggest contribution to quality of picture will be with the specifications and quality of the HDTV set itself and those most important consist of:
  • Contrast ratios
  • Screen types: LCD, Plasma, Backlight, DLP, projection, etc
  • Refresh rates
  • Scan Mode: Interlaced or Progressive
  • Ambient room lighting
The "HDTV" standard will be the same from one device to another irrespective of the source from where you are receiving signals whether it's an antenna, satellite, or antenna.
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