Confused by EDTV vs HDTV? We don't blame you. The number of acronyms floating about with regard to digital TV is frightening. What's even more worrying is that very often they are used by people who have little or no knowledge about what they mean. If the person selling you doesn't know the difference between EDTV vs HDTV, how are customers supposed to decide which TV or projector to go for?
In our guide below, we've tried to distill the technical info into as few words as possible and make it as straightforward to understand as we can.
To properly explain EDTV vs HDTV, we need to step back a bit. Traditional TV has 525 lines of video which are interlaced. Interlacing just means that every frame of video is split into two fields and each field is shown alternately. Although there are 525 lines in the signal, only 480 lines contain video, so it is sometimes referred to as 480i (480 lines interlaced). This is known as Standard Definition TV, or SDTV. While this has worked well enough for fifty years, as TV sets have got bigger and projectors more popular, the quality deficiencies have become increasingly apparent.
The ultimate answer to improving the quality of the image displayed on your TV is hdtv, however, as a step on the road to HDTV, the industry came up with Enhanced Definition TV, or EDTV. This system contains the same 480 lines as SDTV, but they are progressive scan. Hence EDTV is also known as 480p. Progressive scanning just means that instead of splitting the signal into two fields and showing half the lines at a time, all 480 lines of video are shown at once. This results in a noticeable improvement in the quality of video.
The bad news in relation to EDTV vs HDTV is that you need a completely new TV or projector to display both EDTV and HDTV. Most DVD players on the market today are progressive scan, meaning they output EDTV signals, however, in order to view the progressive scan picture in all its glory, you need a TV or projector capable of displaying it and that, unfortunately, means getting a new TV.
In terms of content, there is very limited TV content available in HDTV format, and there is still wrangling about the standard for HD DVDs. However, every DVD disc on the market can be displayed in EDTV right now.
Bottom line? Pretty much every HDTV projector or TV on the market today will display EDTV as well. So even if you live in a country or area where HDTV content is limited or non-existent, it is worth it to watch your DVD collection in EDTV, the difference between SDTV and EDTV really is that big.
Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of hdtv - a guide to the kit, the technology and the programming on HDTV.
cleaning team near Winnetka ..File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a protocol that is part... Read More
I am going to assume that you are running windows... Read More
Most people think that all you have to do to... Read More
Are you looking for an MP3 player but am not... Read More
Flow Text Around a GraphicQuestion: I have inserted a photo... Read More
One of the most confusing parts of beginning your Cisco... Read More
MP3 players are everywhere! It seems that the number of... Read More
Cookies, not the kind that Mom makes, but the computer... Read More
Windows Media Player 10 has been full of bugs from... Read More
Tip #1 -- Rebates: A rebate is not always a... Read More
I have always been interested in computers, but in the... Read More
Peoples' private information needs to stay private, even after it... Read More
I got my eyes set on a iPod mini, as... Read More
Computers have replaced typewriters, but two-finger, hunt-and-peck typing can never... Read More
Freezing is also known as crashing or hanging. It's frustrating.... Read More
I have a love-hate relationship with my computer.In fact, often... Read More
The Internet is an awesome tool, but be careful and... Read More
Maybe you always wanted a feature that hasn't been available... Read More
Unless you place your faith in internal search engine software... Read More
Not sure what Windows registry is or how it works?... Read More
Nothing is worse than having to negotiate all kinds of... Read More
What is a Refurbished Computer?Refurbished Computers. Remanufactured Computers. Reconditioned Computers.... Read More
"Automated Testing" is automating the manual testing process currently in... Read More
Feeling overwhelmed in selecting a new TV? With all the... Read More
If you've been kicking around the idea of building your... Read More
family-safe home cleaners Northbrook ..How long do you think DVDs have around? 20 years?... Read More
Feeling overwhelmed in selecting a new TV? With all the... Read More
The year is 1981. IBM has just released the Personal... Read More
System File Checker is a great utility that is typically... Read More
First and foremost before I begin my ranting it is... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions is on the way to popularize it's... Read More
Freezing is also known as crashing or hanging. It's frustrating.... Read More
Yes, it's true. You may have inadvertently invited a spy... Read More
After another security hole recently surfaced in Microsoft's Windows operating... Read More
The United States Of America citizen feels that games is... Read More
Not sure what Windows registry is or how it works?... Read More
One of the most confusing parts of beginning your Cisco... Read More
In my humble opinion nothing makes a long trip easier... Read More
This tip is on sharing files and folders on a... Read More
Getting started with video editing is very simple you only... Read More
What is a Refurbished Computer?Refurbished Computers. Remanufactured Computers. Reconditioned Computers.... Read More
Tech support tells me to type 'regedt32' as opposed to... Read More
I recently took a good look at what was keeping... Read More
Most of the web applications have a lot of images... Read More
Having two operating systems is not as difficult as many... Read More
Confused by EDTV vs HDTV? We don't blame you. The... Read More
In this era of Internet, most people are frequent users... Read More
I have always been interested in computers, but in the... Read More
Computers are available in different shapes, sizes and weights, due... Read More
Using SQL Server 2000 and above versions you can retrieve... Read More
Personal Technology |