Full HD TV Guide

High definition TV has been booming in recent years because of the widespread availability of digital TV broadcasts and the affordability of HD TV sets. HDTV is named so because the resolutions of the images produced are far more detailed than that of standard definition televisions. The pictures produced on the screen are made up of rows of tiny dots or pixels, the greater the number of rows the higher the resolution of images.

Common formats that televisions are capable of are 720p, 720i, 1080i and 1080p. This refers to how the images are made up on the screen. The number refers to how many rows of pixels make up a frame and the letter is the scanning method. As more pixels means higher resolution 1080 is better. With regards to scanning ‘p’ or progressive scanning is the better method, it results in smoother images with less flicker. This is because when each frame is refreshed every row of pixels is redrawn rather than alternate rows as is the case with ‘i’ or interlaced.

Now that you know 1080 lines is the maximum horizontal resolution and the best method of scanning is progressive, obviously the best standard available is 1080p. This format is commonly called Full HD TV. The 720i, 720p and 1080i standards are still high definition, these are some times also referred to as HD Ready. But to enjoy the maximum benefits of HDTV then the 1080p or Full HD TV standard is needed.

Purchasing a Full HD TV is not the only step required to achieving Full HD viewing, this is because your are going to require a 1080p signal to input into your TV. If you think that subscribing to a HD TV provider is going to enable you to watch your favourite shows in 1080p then think again because most HD TV channels are broadcast in 720p/i or 1080i. In order to make the most of your Full HD TV set your will need to be using a BluRay player, the latest games consoles, a PC or some other 1080p capable device.

The Full HD TV Online Guide