What Is HD Ready Television?
The first HD, or high definition, television hit the market in 1998 and by 2010 it was the popular television format in the world. In general, an HD ready television is any television that can display a high definition signal. A high definition signal carries more data than a standard definition signal and therefore requires special technological components to transmit, decode, and display that signal.
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HD Tuner
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Many high definition televisions are not "HD ready." They are unable to display high definition imaging without a cable or satellite HD connection. An HD ready television has a built in tuner that can be hooked into a users standard antenna to receive HD signals.
HD Resolution
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A TV must be able to display 720p or 1080p to be considered high definition. These numbers refer to the amount of lines used to make up an image. The more lines used the higher the definition will be. Standard definition televisions display only 480 lines of resolution.
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HD Inputs
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The inputs, or connections, of an HD television allow it to connect to HD ready devices. Three popular high definition connections are the component cable, which consists of red, blue, and green connectors that transmits audio separately; the HDMI cable, a small, rectangular, digital connection that carries both audio and video from one connection point; and the DVI, which is used mainly to carry the video signal from a computer.
Most HD ready televisions will have several HDMI and component connections. These are the primary connectors for items such as DVD players, gaming systems, cable/satellite boxes, and other HD technologies.
Types
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The most popular types of HD ready TVs are plasma, LCD, and DLP. LCD and plasma televisions are the two most popular due to their light weights and thin sizes. They are easily wall mountable and come in various sizes. DLP televisions, while lower in cost, are much larger and heavier.
Considerations
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Not all HD televisions are equal in features and resolution. Some have a resolution of 720p and some have a resolution of 1080p. Broadcast television displays images on720p. Blu-Ray, however, can broadcast at resolutions of up to 1080p. If your television can only display 720p it will not be able to take full advantage of a Blu-Ray disc capable of displaying 1080p resolution.
HDMI cables started being used in 2003 and replaced component cables as the primary HD transfer medium. Having a television with more HDMI connections is advantageous if you need to connect several HD ready devices.
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References
Resources
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