High Definition Television (HDTV) Explored - Pros, Cons, and How do I Get HDTV, If I Want It?
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Pros
- Wider images
- Much more detailed pictures
- 5.1 channel CD-quality Dolby Digital (AC-3) surround sound
- The ability to send data directly to a screen or to a PC as a download (The actual HDTV transmission is based on a 19.3-Mbps digital data stream.)
Cons
- To really take advantage of HDTV today, front or rear projection HDTV sets or plasma sets are recommended, which can go as high as 5000$.
- Not all service providers support digital television
- HDTV sets require room
- Bandwidth limitations
How Do I Get HDTV in My Area?
To really take advantage of HDTV today, front or rear projection HDTV sets or plasma sets are recommended
Be sure any television receiver you purchase has input jacks that match the connectors on the VCR, cable box, DVD player and video game console you currently own. For many years, you will have to straddle the digital/analog fence, using, for example, an analog VCR on your digital TV. At the moment, there are no "standards" for what connections will appear on the back of an HDTV set. Therefore you should look for composite, S-video and component video as a minimum set of analog jacks so you can use your existing analog equipment with the new set.
Many early purchasers will have to "go back" to a traditional outside UHF television antenna to receive the over-the-air (OTA) HDTV signal. The HDTV transmission system is an eight-level vestigial sideband (VSB) technique that uses UHF channels. Your antenna rotor setting for reception of HDTV signals will be easy to adjust. You either have a picture or you do not -- there cannot be a snowy image with digital technology. There also will not be any "fringe area" reception.
The least expensive way to see HDTV shows right now is to buy an HDTV converter for your current analog TV. However, the HDTV shows you see will look no better than DVD on your analog TV -- you will get none of the resolution and format benefits of a real HDTV set.
HDTV conversion will be a process that unfolds over several years. For example, major networks still have to agree on what resolutions they will use. There is no FCC mandate on resolutions for the networks to follow. We are witnessing a merging of three huge industries: personal computers, entertainment, and consumer electronics. Many companies have turf to protect, and a lot of money will be spent on the conversion. That means that the process will be slow and sometimes uncomfortable. However, the ultimate destination is a significant advance -- remarkably better pictures and sound for both your TV and your computer!
Consumers have to buy new equipment, either a set-top box (to convert digital signals to analog signals) or a whole new TV set. Broadcasters have to spend a considerable amount of money to switch to HDTV. They have to buy new cameras, new titling and editing equipment, new tape machines, new rigs for their news vans -- its a big investment. Cable operators have to convert all of their equipment and all of their set-top boxes. Communities need to agree to have new towers built for broadcast channels.
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