Ok so this transition from analog to digital is finally being advertised and talked about on TV, but what does it mean? My local TV station is boasting about being HD? What the heck is HD and how is it different from digital? What kind of TV do I need to buy to watch this new digital signal?
All of these are questions that I have heard or anticipate hearing over the next year. Let's start with explaining what analog and digital are. Analog technology has been in use for the past 50 years to transmit conventional TV signals to consumers. Most current television transmissions are received through analog television sets. Analog signals vary continuously, creating fluctuations in color and brightness. Digital TV is the umbrella term encompassing High-definition Television and several other applications, including Standard Definition Televison, datacasting, multicasting and interactivity. I recommend that the reader check out the governments website about the transition from analog to digital programming
dtv.gov. So what is SDTV and HDTV?
Digital television Quality Levels
There are many quality levels of digital television programming. The most common are:
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Standard Definition TV (SDTV) - SDTV is the basic level of quality display and resolution for both analog and digital. Transmission of SDTV may be in either the traditional (4:3) or widescreen (16:9) format.
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Enhanced Definition TV (EDTV) - EDTV is a step up from Analog Television. EDTV comes in 480p widescreen (16:9) or traditional (4:3) format and provides better picture quality than SDTV, but not as high as HDTV.
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High Definition TV (HDTV) - HDTV in widescreen format (16:9) provides the highest resolution and picture quality of all digital broadcast formats. Combined with digitally enhanced sound technology, HDTV sets new standards for sound and picture quality in television. (Note: HDTV and digital TV are not the same thing -- HDTV is one format of digital TV.)
If you do not plan to buy a new television by February 17, 2009 then you will need to buy a digital converter to watch any over the air programing on an analog television. The government is offering a $40 credit towards a digital converter box via the
dtv2009.gov website.
If I want an HDTV which one should I buy? This is the real question and it really comes down to the following items.- Consider your peripherals (sound system, DVD player, VCR, XBox, Playstation, etc...)
- Will you be using RCA connectors, composite, or HDMI?
- Viewing habits
- Are you watching network programing or do you want more of a theater like feel for watching movies?
- Lighting in the room where the TV will be
- Is there a lot of direct sunlight or ambient light?
- Viewing distance (wall mounted or not)
- Is your couch or recliner 2 feet or 1o feet away from TV?
- Will you need to buy a mounting kit?
- Will you need to buy new furniture for the TV to sit on?
- Size of screen (26 inch or 72 inch)
- How big is the room where the TV will be?
- Do you have a 15 ft wall to fill?
Narrow your choices down to a half dozen by visiting your local BestBuy, CircuitCity, or Fry's and watch all the HDTVs and determine which picture looks the best to you.
Read some owner and profession reviews:Narrow your choices to the top 5 and select the
best price. Don't just check prices at the retailers listed above because some of the best deals may be found at places like: Wal-Mart, Sams Club, or Costco (granted you need a membership at the last two retailers), and don't forget the web, search
pricegrabber to see if an online retailer has a better price.
If I would have wanted a smaller TV say a 32 up to 47 inches I would have chosen an LCD TV and would have most likely purchased a Westinghouse or Vizio model because of price. Compare the specifications on each of sets in detail paying special attention to Resolution, Contrast ratio, and NTSC and ATSC compatibility and of course all of the above items.
Here's what I did. I have a large room that has four large windows and an empty wall, so I knew Plasma and projector/screen technologies were out do to lighting and size/price. I wanted at least 50 inches. I also wanted a great sound system to compliment my picture and since I did not have a surround sound system I needed one of those. I wanted to utilize HDMI connectors whenever possible to get the best sound and picture available so I needed a AV Receiver with at least two HDMI inputs (one for DVD and one for Satellite box) and a TV with at least one HDMI input. I decided that I did not want to mount my tv on the wall so that narrowed my choices to DLP or LCOS technology. DLP is very good but it does cost a little more and I wanted to keep the cost down. I decided on the
JVC D-ILA or Direct-drive Image Light Amplifier
technology instead of DLP. The price is what convinced me. I got the JVC HD-61G887 with 720p resolution instead of 1080i, and it's 61 inches with 2 HDMI ports and optical sound output! Most programming today is still on 720p resolution and DVD upscaling is only to 720p on most DVD players, so I really didn't need to pay for the 1080i or 1080p resolution. I am very pleased with my purchase and enjoy watching HD programming from DishNetwork and via my upscaling DVD player. Always wait until the next years models are out and then buy something that is being discontinued that will meet your needs/wants. The newest models are always more expensive!
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