Production Glossary
HDTV
HDTV, the acronym for high-definition television, is a video format that displays a much higher resolution compared to standard TVs (i.e. SDTV or SD). Comparatively, HDTV boasts 1 to 2 million pixels per frame, nearly 5x more than SD. All HDTV broadcasting is now digital and made possible through video compression. HDTV is viewed in widescreen and treats the viewer to the sharpest, most realistic picture that can be attained through a television screen.The technology that enabled HDTV was presented by the Digital HDTV Grand Alliance in the 1990s. By 1998 HDTV was being used by several television broadcasting companies in a limited fashion. Acknowledging the format’s superior quality, the United States Congress declared that as of February 17, 2009, broadcasts would be digital, not analog. This mandate requires that homes must purchase HD capable televisions with satellite or cable service, or a digital-to-analog converter box to attach to their existing TV. Without those devices, the picture quality of an HDTV channel on a standard TV will be in full screen format with fuzzy picture quality.
In order to transmit in HDTV, a digital signal (from a satellite or cable) must be received via a high gain antennae that is specifically designed to broadcast HDTV frequencies. The absence of the correct signal will result in a blank screen.
Three features identify HDTV: frame size, scanning system, and frame rate. The frame size refers to the number of horizontal pixels x the number of vertical pixels. The scanning system is noted by the letter p (progressive scanning) or i (interlaced scanning). And finally, the frame rate refers to the number of video frames per second.
Currently, every TV show is not broadcast in HDTV. But, TV networks are slowly adding more and more shows to the list of HD broadcasts. For the most part, sports and primetime shows are viewed in the HDTV format. A great feature of HDTV is that it can be viewed using a personal computer. Since flat screen monitors possess a higher screen resolution than TVs, PC and Macintosh devices provide free applications to enable HDTV viewing on their computers.
