High Definition Television
(HDTV) is a digital broadcast signal that delivers a wide-screen, high
resolution picture with six channels of digital sound.
The most apparent
difference between HDTV and conventional television broadcasts is that the
High Definition Television screen is much wider.
The second noticeable
difference is that High Definition has over twice the sharpness and clarity
of conventional TV broadcasts. The color resolution is also much
superior.
The third significant
difference is that the picture imperfections such as snow (weak signal),
double images (ghosting or multi-path) and picture sparkles (impulse noise)
don't occur with High Definition Television.
The transition from the
conventional television system to the new high definition model began a few
years ago. In the United States, the majority of
prime time programming is now being provided in high definition. The
FCC has mandated that all US TV stations broadcast DTV signals by May 2006.
The migration from analog
television to high definition television is expected to accelerate as more
HDTV programming becomes available and the cost of high definition TV sets
fall at a projected rate of 20% per year.
