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A guide to the new world of digital TV | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper
Posted on: Tuesday, February 7, 2006

A guide to the new world of digital TV

By May Wong
Associated Press

Steve Forman watches a display of wide-screen televisions showing musician Kenny Loggins, at a Costco store in Mountain View, Calif. When it comes to televisions, the term “high-definition” is often misunderstood, overhyped and misused.

PAUL SAKUMA | Associated Press

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The digital TVs that will eventually replace today's analog system bring a whole new language, leaving consumers who are eyeing or buying new sets scratching their heads.

Digital television, or DTV, offers astonishing, super-sharp, wide-screen pictures and better-quality audio, closer to a theatrical experience. The images are sharper than analog versions because there are more pixels, or dots, making up the picture.

Plus, digital signals can be compressed, so while images are sharper, the same amount of radio spectrum can carry more channels as well.

Consumers getting ready to invest big bucks in a new set should know there are three main categories of picture quality with DTVs. Standard-definition is good, enhanced-definition is better and high-definition is the best.

So HDTV is not the same as DTV, and not all DTVs are HDTVs.

Before 2005, there was a mix of EDTV and HDTV sets, especially with plasma flat-panel displays, but these days, HDTV sets are the big sellers as production costs drop. Retailers also are getting better at indicating in marketing materials whether a television is HDTV or EDTV. Still, consumers should take note, especially when shopping in the lower-price range.

Many Web sites, ranging from those of TV makers and electronics retailers to the government's Federal Communications Commission, offer consumer guides, too.

Here are some terms to know:

  • Aspect ratio: Refers to the width and height of a display. A traditional TV is 4 to 3. A wide-screen TV is 16 to 9.

  • Interlace vs. progressive scan: Describes how vertical lines are scanned onto a TV picture. Interlace scans all the odd lines first, then instantaneously fills in the even lines. Progressive scans all lines consecutively. The corresponding notation, "i" or "p," follows the number of lines scanned, such as 480i or 480p.

  • SDTV (Standard-definition TV): A basic digital TV that displays fewer than 480p scan lines in a 16x9 or 4x3 format. This kind of set usually displays 480i, the same quality as today's analog TVs. SDTV provides 150,000 to 300,000 pixels.

  • EDTV (Enhanced-definition TV): A better-quality picture with 480 progressively scanned lines, or 480p, which is the quality used by most DVD players. Delivers Dolby digital surround sound. Could be in a 16 to 9 or 4 to 3 format. Provides 300,000 to 400,000 pixels.

  • HDTV (High-definition TV): The highest resolution of DTVs, with a wide-screen format and scanning lines of 720p, 1080i or higher. Some of the newest sets on the market are 1080p. Delivers Dolby digital surround sound. Provides 900,000 to 2.1 million pixels.

  • HDTV-Ready: Describes TVs that can display high-definition TV but only when connected to a separate HDTV tuner. An HDTV-ready TV may sometimes be referred to as an "HDTV monitor."

  • Integrated HDTV: An HDTV set that has the digital tuner built in, so it can receive over-the-air DTV signals without a separate set-top box.

    Although the federal government has ordered a nationwide switch to an all-digital TV system by Feb. 17, 2009, old, analog TV sets will not become obsolete. Digital converter boxes can be attached, allowing viewers to get a digital picture — but it won't show high-definition pictures.

    To get the full benefits of DTV, you'll need a DTV set. And to get highest-resolution pictures, you'll need an HDTV.
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