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There are many reasons to get HDTV, from stunning picture quality, to enhanced programming, to HD sound—not to mention the upcoming national transition to digital.
Invested in the quality of your entertainment? Get richer color, deeper blacks, and sharper images when watching your favorite TV, movies, or the big game on HDTV.
TVs old and new are made up of a series of horizontal lines, which in turn are comprised of tiny dots, called pixels. The number of these lines and dots make up a TV’s "resolution," or picture clarity.
Check out our interactive HDTV Viewing Distance Calculator to find the perfect TV for your room.
Enjoy a bigger, better picture—and cinema-style viewing—with a widescreen TV. With a 16:9 format, you get the full benefit of watching "true" widescreen television. And digital widescreen is the future of TV. Roll over the 4:3 and 16:9 links at right to see the difference.
Many high-definition programs are broadcast in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound—the very same high-fidelity sound quality found in Dolby Surround movie theaters.
Today, there are dozens of high-definition programs transmitted to American homes every hour—day or night. HD Programming is available via cable, satellite, and over-the-air broadcast. Programming can vary by station and delivery type. For example, satellite currently does not deliver the TNT network in HD, though some cable systems do.
Broadcast networks provide a large portion of their primetime programs in high definition. They also provide some major sports in HD, including weekly football, regional baseball (as well as national playoffs and the World Series), basketball, and NASCAR. Many specials and major awards shows are also available in HDTV.
Satellite companies are continually expanding their HD offerings. Currently these include movies on HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, The Movie Channel, Starz, HD Net Movies, and Encore. Additionally, they offer networks that provide a variety of content, such as HD NET and ESPN HD. Arts and music are mainstays of Bravo HD. And channels devoted to Animation, Extreme Sports, Travel Logs, and Music Videos are also available in HD, round the clock, via satellite. In some markets, ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX HD programming are provided as well.
Cable systems have joined the HD initiative as well. In addition to local channels, many cable operators now offer premium HD movie channels and HD regional sports. Cable also offers its own exclusive networks, In HD and In HD 2, providing movies, music, and other varied programming.
Currently, television stations in markets across the country are airing digital TV programming, though they may continue to provide analog programming until the target date set by Congress for the completion of the transition to DTV, February 19, 2009. Until this transition is complete, television stations will likely continue to broadcast both digital and analog.
Go to the government’s DTV website for more information on the federally mandated digital transition.