How to Choose an HDTV

HDTV and High Def, have become the new buzzwords when shopping for any sort of video device, from televisions, to game machines, to DVD players. What does this mean to you, and is it time to jump on the high def bandwagon?

High definition, as a television standard has been around since the beginning, but in recent years has become to mean something very specific. In terms of today's video outputs, high definition means a wide screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio vs. the old 5:3 ratio. It also means a resolution of 1080 lines of output. This gives the wide screen picture and very sharp images you may have seen shopping at the electronics store.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Before you go plunk down money on an HDTV, you need to understand that this is just the output device. If your input isn't HD, then you are wasting your money on HDTV. HDTV input can come from a variety of sources. First, with the switch from analog to digital broadcasts in February or 2009, many over the air stations will broadcast their signal in HD. To receive this enhanced signal, however, you need an HD tuner. Most HDTVs will have this; otherwise you need a separate set top box.

2. Also, most cable and satellite TV companies offer HDTV broadcasts, but require an upgrade to your system or plan, including a special set top box to receive the HD content. This, of course, is an extra charge and something you need to take into consideration. If you have plain cable, where a coaxial cable plugs into the back of your TV, VCR, or DVD, you are not getting a high def signal.

3. Newer video game systems, such as the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 have HD signals using different cables to plug into a HDTV. As far as DVDs go, Blue-Ray won the high def war in DVD players, so you will need one of those to watch movies in true high def. It should be noted that the Playstation 3 has Blue-Ray built in.

4. If you have made the decision to purchase a flat screen HDTV, the other main consideration is LCD or plasma, since tube televisions have become all but extinct. A complete discussion of the differences in these two is outside the scope of this article, but for most people, LCD has become a better choice.

5. In closing, if you have or will soon have access to high definition input and enjoy watching TV or movies, you should consider HDTV for your next television purchase. The quality of the picture will be far better than what you have been used to with your standard TV picture.