Introduction
Why you should upgrade
Size considerations, HDTV |
Connectivity options
Design issues
At the store |
Why you should upgrade
There are five primary reasons why upgrading to a digital TV set is the right way to go:
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1. Better image quality 2. Clearer sound 3. Widescreen |
4. The forthcoming HDTV revolution 5. Versatile content delivery |
1. Better image quality
The main benefit of digital TV lies in its increased resolution. A typical analog PAL TV signal features 576 lines of resolution, but this is decreased somewhat once you take into account interlacing. On the other hand, a digital TV signal boasts as high as 1080 lines of resolution.
Unfortunately, Australian law dictates that broadcasters can classify any digital signal above 576 lines in progressive scan mode (576p) as being high-definition (HD). As a result, ABC, SBS and Seven all broadcast their HD content in 576p, while Nine and Ten use 1080i and are therefore the only free-to-air broadcasters that offer a proper, high resolution HD service. Standard definition (SD) signals vary between broadcasters, but can be as low as 576i, which is the same effective resolution as a regular analog signal.
576p only offers a slightly better picture than regular analog signals, so if you're primarily watching channels ABC, SBS and Seven then a super high-resolution TV may be overkill. Thankfully, many of our country's largest consumer electronics manufacturers are currently pressing the government to increase the minimum HD resolution. We'll keep you updated on their progress.
Regardless of the current broadcasting climate, to gain maximum benefit from digital TV it's imperative that the tuner you use is capable of receiving 1080i signals. It's also important that the TV itself boasts a high native resolution, preferably with as close to 1080 horizontal lines as possible (i.e. 1024x1024 features 1024 horizontal lines of resolution). Don't worry if the resolution isn't exactly 1080 horiztonal lines, because digital TV sets also include a converter to bring the pure 1080i signal down to a resolution that the set can handle.
Overall, the increased resolution when compared to an analog TV set results in each on-screen object being made up of a greater number of pixels, ultimately increasing detail and picture quality. More information regarding the differences between SD and HD broadcasts can be found here.
2. Clearer sound
All digital broadcasts offer MPEG-1 Layer II audio (the same as that found on a regular audio CD), with some programs using Dolby Digital 2.0 and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. This is far more vibrant than regular analog audio and brings us even closer to a cinematic experience at home.
3. Widescreen
An advantage that all HD and many SD television sets offer is a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. The 'widescreen' moniker was given because a 16:9 image boasts sixteen inches of width for every nine inches of height.
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 4:3 Aspect Ratio |
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 16:9 Aspect Ratio |
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Analog and certain SD TVs use a 4:3 aspect ratio and as such, produce images that have four inches of width for every three inches of height. Not only is a widescreen format more immersive, but it also results in additional content being displayed to the left and right of the frame.
All free-to-air digital TV broadcasts use a 16:9 ratio, except for older content that was filmed using a 4:3 aspect ratio. In these cases, instead of extra content to the left and right of the frame, you'll get black columns. This is known as pillarboxing.
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 An example of pillarboxing |
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4. The forthcoming HDTV revolution
In Australia, all shows are broadcast in at least SD resolutions, while a select number of programs are shown in HD. Thankfully, HD is on its way up and we can expect a gradual increase in HD programming, however, broadcasters have yet to make a commitment to showing major Australian sporting events in HD. A complete widescreen and high-definition program schedule can be found at the 'Widescreen TV' website.
Current DVDs aren't capable of carrying high-definition content, but this is only until the Blu-Ray and/or HD-DVD formats enter the Australian market sometime this year. What's more, many current and most future games consoles (e.g. the Xbox 360) also support HD signals, so our advice is to spend the extra money on an HD-ready set to ensure that you're completely future-proof.
5. Versatile content delivery
The increased bandwidth that's resulted from the switch to digital has meant that broadcasters can send more than just audio and video down the pipe. Some available enhancements include electronic program guides, multicasting (multiple camera angles), datacasting (text and pictures) and even additional channels.
Datacasting and multicasting are yet to really take off in Australia (due mostly to legislative issues), but a list of all of the extra content currently available can be found here.
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| CNET.com.au Related Articles | Broadcasters and Official Bodies |
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Gregan Curteis
03/04/2006 10:29 AM
I think you should include advice such that no current televisions digital or otherwise will support connections for Blu-Ray or HD-DVD for HD content yet. As many computer users are aware, they'll be forcing us to upgrade all of our hardware if we want to watch a High-Definition version of any HD-DVD or Blu-ray, else the image will be a scaled down version (I've heard mention of 640x480 res?), all due to copy-protection restrictions. Also worth mentioning is that Foxtel digital doesn't support High-Definition, so if you're a Foxtel cusotmer there's little reason to upgrade to a HD-TV at this time. My advice to people would be either stick with their analogue sets for now, or if they *need* to buy a tv, to buy a cheapish (less than $1000) widescreen SD-TV and use either Foxtel digital or a SDTV set top box. At least then they'll be enjoying good picture and audio quality in widescreen. It'll be years yet before 1080i content will be widely available on free-to-air, and it's yet to be seen whether Foxtel will offer HD content at all. And the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD standards war is a good war to stay out of unless you wanna risk being on the losing side. Also if the regulations change and they allow multichannelling on free-to-air then there'll be no HD content whatsoever - you'll be buying your HDTV prematurely as it won't be displaying HD content free-to-air and won't have the copy-protected connections for HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. Xbox 360 in HD can't be THAT good by itself... Best to stick to SD for now and save your money until everything HD is worked out. I'd stay out of the game for the next 5 years at least.
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bleh
11/04/2006 09:57 PM
sadly a HDTV IS required in order to experience the xbox 360 PROPERLY.... the resolution can be (depending on the games)heavily squashed on an SDTV.
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