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HD TV Buyers Guide

Don’t let ‘technical TV jargon’ stop you joining the HDTV revolution! This straightforward buyers guide will explain some relevant technical terms to help you make your purchase of a High Definition TV.

 

 

1080i   (High Definition)

The 1080i system is an HD format. A 1080-line system has 1920 horizonal pixels and 1080 vertical pixels with has up to five times the picture quality of a standard definition picture. The "i" is for interlaced and represents the method the picture is displayed on the screen.

Resolution

The measure of the amount of detail an image can show.   This is related to the number of pixels in the screen. The more pixels, the higher the resolution – the better the resulting image.

HDMI

High Definition Multimedia Interface is a digital connection for video and audio data. It ensures a high-quality video signal is delivered to your display via a single cable. More and more electronic equipment is using HDMI and   it will become the standard connection for the foreseeable future.

Aspect Ratio

This refers to the ratio of a pictures width relative to it’s height. The aspect ratio of a standard television is 4:3, whereas HDTV has an aspect ratio of 16:9, for a more intense viewing experience.

Brightness

Expressed as candelas per square metre ( cd /m2) brightness simply indicates how much light is emitted by the screen. A higher candela means a brighter picture.   Any figure over 350 gives exceptional picture brightness.

Contrast Ratio

Essentially contrast ratio is a comparison of a screens blackest black and whitest white. A higher contast ratio indicates that on screen colours will be richer. Any figure over 800 gives exceptional picture contrast.

LCD TV

Liquid Crystal Displays are flat-panel televisions designed to offer superior images. A liquid crystal solution is sandwiched between two panels and electrified and the electrified crystals form the image on the LCD TV.

Pixels

A pixel is literally a single dot on the screen and the pixels form the image on your display. The more pixels, the better the picture. With HDTV there are many more pixels than with Standard Definition TV   giving a crisper, clearer and sharper picture.

Plasma Display

A compatible plasma TV is one way to display HDTV. The image is created by hundreds of thousands of tiny cells filled by ionized gas in a plasma state.   Be sure not to keep a stationary image on your plasma screen as it may cause screen burn.

Standard Definition (SDTV)

This is the traditional definition television system, which will soon be an outdated standard. A standard definition picture is 720 x 576 pixels.

Viewing Angle

LCDs were originally designed as computer monitors, and as such were designed for head on viewing. Viewed at an angle these early screens lost much of their contrast and brightness. In response to this manufacturers are continually increasing viewing angles for TV use where the quality is retained.

 

This is intended as a guide only. You should make your purchase of an HD TV using your own criteria and judgement. Elonex cannot be held liable for the information on this page.