HDTV FAQ
All about HDTVs
How much do HDTVs cost?
Back in the late 1990s, you couldn't buy an HDTV set for less than S$10,000 (US$7,362.52). In the last few years, however, prices have dropped dramatically. For mere hundreds, you can pick up a 29-inch CRT TV that's capable of displaying HDTV images or HD-compatible. That said, you can still drop the big bucks on an HDTV, especially a large LCD or plasma TV.
What kind of HDTV should I buy?
The right HDTV set for you depends on your budget and the size of screen that you need. For a small room such as a kitchen, an LCD TV is a good choice. If you'll be sitting more than 2m from the screen, you'll want a 32-inch or larger set to appreciate the detail of HDTV. Both flat-panel TV types (LCD and plasma) save space and can be hung on a wall but are relatively pricey. For larger rooms, the best value is a rear-projection set--you may see them referred to as DLP, LCD or SXRD rear-projection. They are bulkier than a flat-panel TV, but these 42-inch-or-larger sets offer a lot more screen real estate for the money. If that's still not big enough, you may want a front-projection TV or, more accurately, a home-theater projector that can fill a 100-inch diagonal screen.
Why are HDTV screens wider than regular TV screens?
For decades, our TV screens have been slightly wider than they are tall; specifically, their ratio of width to height is 4 x 3, known as a 4:3 aspect ratio. Most HDTV screens, on the other hand, have an aspect ratio of 16:9, the same as many movie screens. That means television shows shot in widescreen will look more cinematic, and many movies will fit on an HDTV screen without letterboxing (horizontal black bars at the top and bottom of the screen). There are exceptions, namely ultrawide "scope" movies such as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, which still have letterbox bars on a widescreen TV. Remember that not all HD programming is widescreen, and when viewing either standard or high-def 4:3 programming on a widescreen HDTV, you may get the opposite effect: Vertical black bars on the left and right of the screen.
How will regular TV shows look on an HDTV set?
It really depends on screen size. Some standard-definition programming may look a little sharper and cleaner on your HDTV set, but more often, it looks worse. That's because all the little flaws and murkiness inherent in regular TV images become that much more obvious when blown up to larger sizes, especially when compared to crystal-clear HD channels. In addition, because SD programming has a narrow aspect ratio of 4:3, you'll see black bars on the left and right sides of the picture if you're watching on a wide-screen 16:9 set. If the black bars bother you, adjustments on all HDTVs can make 4:3 programming fill a 16:9 screen, but when doing so, they crop or distort the image.
How will my DVDs look on an HDTV set?
Excellent, if not quite as good as a true high-def images. Today's DVD players generate between 450 and 480 lines of horizontal resolution, which still counts as standard definition. However, DVDs are very high-quality image sources compared to standard-definition broadcast or cable channels. If you have a widescreen TV, look for anamorphic or enhanced for widescreen DVDs to fully utilize the extra screen real estate.
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