The screen resolution of High Definition television broadcasts is nearly five times as sharp as conventional broadcasts.  HDTV has double the lines of resolution compared to North American analog television broadcasts.

Digital-based HDTV can display 1,080 horizontal lines.  Conventional televisions in North America can display only 525.  The analog broadcasts in Europe use just over 600 lines.

Put another way, the highest resolution HDTV format has approximately 2 million pixels compared to about ½ million pixels in analog television in North America.

The huge improvement is screen resolution that is possible with HDTV allows us to enjoy very large television screens without picture degradation.  Thanks to HDTV technology, we can now enjoy sporting events on big screen TVs, without leaving our homes.

If you require a small-sized television, the advantages of HDTV is negligible.  Picture quality is significantly superior, however, on televisions screens 26" and larger.  One should not consider purchasing a television sets that is over 27" unless it is capable of displaying HDTV broadcasts.