My Cart - If you’re shopping around for a new TV, chances are you’ve been bombarded by acronyms, right? LED, LCD, HD… The list goes on. Well, thankfully, we’re riding to the rescue of the televisually confused out there and looking at precisely what HD is.
Ok, you probably already know that HD stands for high definition. But… what is high definition?
Definition of the Highest Order
HD isn’t just magically created out of thin air. There are a lot of different factors to ensure you receive high definition programming. First of all, for true HD, the film or TV show needs to be shot with HD cameras; and then you need a set-top box that’s capable of receiving that HD transmission. And what does that offer? Sharper picture quality, greater clarity and super surround sound. Which is pretty cool, huh?
Ok, so we know what HD offers, but what does it actually mean?
A H-Different Perspective
Believe it or not, there are two types of high definition, and they relate to the number of pixels – those are the little blocks of wonder that make up a digital picture. Essentially, the higher the pixel-count, the higher the definition.
Back in the old days, television sets used to run at 720x576i – so that’s 720 pixels wide by 576 pixels high. It’s the height that was important back then, since TVs were scanned line by line – think of static scrolling down the screen.
And then we made the jump from 576i to 720p. 720p wasn’t just a re-run of the standard, or SD, definition. It gave us images that are 1280×720. That’s a pretty substantial increase.
And then we jumped again. This time, to 1080p – or 1920 pixels wide by 1080 high.
So the two HD TV types on the market these days will either by 720 or 1080. While 1080 will be able to show clear images right up to this resolution, the ol’ 720 can’t. Typically, the ‘720’ sets will be cheaper, and come marked as HD Ready. On the other hand, the 1080’ types are defined as full HD sets.
That’s not to say 720 is worse – if something has been filmed in ‘720’, it’ll display far better on a 720 set, and likewise for 1080 signals. Blu-rays, for instance, are built for full HD sets, so while they’ll play just fine on your ‘720’ set, you’ll see far greater definition on a ‘1080’ TV.
To ‘p’ or Not to ‘p’
Checking out the available ‘1080’ sets, you’re likely to see two types – and you’ll probably be fairly confused by them. What’s the difference, you’ll ask yourself, between 1080p and 1080i?
These little letters suffixing the pixel-count do actually mean different things. The ‘i’ stands for interlaced scan; the ‘p’ means progressive scan. Ok, that might not mean a lot to most people, but it’s all about how the TV displays the image.
Interlaced scans put the image up in vertical lines, and that creates the illusion of a higher frame rate. Progressive scan, on the other hand, displays the picture all at once. And convert ‘i’ to ‘p’ automatically. Truth is, though, you’re unlikely to even notice the difference – unless you’re watching totally live TV, when there’s a sort of flicker with ‘i’ broadcasts as the TV works to render the image on the fly.
The Definitive Answer
When it comes to HD TV, the size of the screen matches the pixels. For bigger TVs, you’ll definitely want a full HD 1080p television set. Otherwise, you’ll notice a severe depreciation in picture quality. So, by now, you’ve probably made up your mind which HD TV is for you, based on use, and budget. So why not check out our awesome HD Ready LCD TVs so you don’t miss a thing. Just contact us on 0121 327 3273 and our staff will be delighted help with all your television needs.
