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High Definition Television (HDTV) is a family of digital broadcast formats that deliver up to six times the visual and sound information of the standard-definition analog broadcasts you’ve grown up with. All that additional information adds up to some seriously enjoyable viewing.

Of course, to truly experience it, you need a widescreen HDTV set capable of displaying the HDTV content in high resolution. HDTVs offer incredibly sharp images along with CD quality audio and surround sound like you hear in movie theaters.

Do you have questions about the DTV Transition in June 2009? Watch a playback of our webinar (30 minutes) that includes great information about HDTV and the DTV transition.

Why Widescreen?
The familiar, "square-ish" shape of your childhood television is history. HDTV content is shot in widescreen, and that means HDTV sets are widescreen, too.

Conventional televisions typically have a 4:3 aspect ratio. On a conventional screen, high-definition movies, television images just don’t fit the screen.

What is Resolution?
TV images are composed of dots of light called pixels. Resolution is the number of pixels a TV screen can display horizontally and vertically.

Known as...	Actual Resolution (in pixels)	Is it HDTV?	Typical Content Sources

1080p	1920 x 1080 progressive video format	Yes	Blu-ray Disc^TM ; PlayStation 3
1080i	1920 x 1080 interlaced video format	Yes	HD broadcast television, Xbox 360^TM
720p	1280 x 720 progressive video format	Yes	High-definition broadcast television
480p	640 x 480 and 720 x 480 progressive video format	No	DVDs
480i	640 x 480 or less interlaced video format	No	Standard-definition broadcasting

What do all these I’s and P’s mean?
These letters stand for either “interlaced” or “progressive” video. Progressive video presents one complete picture to your eye at a time. Interlaced video builds each frame from two fields that are presented in sequence — first the even, then the odd pixel rows.

Which is better?
Progressive is better. It makes moving images, like sports, sharper and more fluid. But interlacing is more economical to transmit programming and to build electronics that can manipulate and display the picture.

What resolution should I buy?
The good news is that any modern HDTV can display content sources in any of the five common video standards listed above. Your HDTV will simply upscale or downscale content sources as needed to create the best picture it possibly can. Compared with standard-definition TVs, all high-definition content looks fantastic on HDTVs — regardless of the native resolution of the set.

HDTV vs. HD-Ready
If you come across a great price on an HDTV, stop and double-check whether it’s an actual HDTV or an HD-Ready TV. There’s a difference.

True HDTVs have a built-in digital tuner (an ATSC tuner) so they can receive and display free high-definition signals from local television broadcast sources by simply adding an HD antenna. HD-Ready sets require an external high-definition set top box. For better access to more high-definition content, make sure you get an HDTV.

Are you ready to go all-digital in June 2009?
Find out more about the DTV Transition with Sharp's downloadable PDF, DTV Transition for Dummies.

Bottom Line
It’s well worth making the switch to a widescreen HDTV. Get the biggest screen size your space can handle at the best resolution you can afford, connect with some good high-definition content sources, and have a blast in your home theater. The results will simply blow you away.

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