HDTV Fiction – 10 ridiculous myths

The HDTV is relatively new type of TV technology and for many people represents the future of modern television. However, the fact that not all the people are able to understand the way that this type of television works makes it possible for all kind of myths to circle around. Here are the 10 most common myths related to HDTV:

1. You need cable or satellite TV subscription to be able to watch HDTV content. The truth is that most of the channels today offer their broadcast in HD and the only thing that you will need to watch it is HD ready TV.

2. You can buy HDTV, which will have 1080i resolution. This myth comes from the fact that there are many people, who mix the format of the broadcast with the resolution of the TV. The truth is that your flat panel TV will display the video progressively without there is matter what is the source.

3. You are not able to record HD video on regular DVDs. There are many new DVD players such as the Blue-Ray and the HD-DVD ones, but you do not necessarily need them, because the regular DVD recorders can do the work too. The size of the video you will be able to record on the DVD depends on the software and codec you are using, if you use the new MPEG4 codec you will be able to record a whole HD movie on regular DVD.

4. If you buy 1080p TV, it will be way better than the 720p one. Again this myth comes from the fact that most of the people misunderstand the meaning of the pixels. The 1080p TV will have higher resolution than the 720p TV, but the importance of the resolution depends on how far you will stay from the TV. For example, if you sit more than 8 feet from 42 inch Plasma TV or more than 10 feet from 50 inch Plasma TV, you will not notice any difference in the quality of the picture at all. To make the right choice for you, consider the types of television you are regularly watching.

5. When you have an HDTV, you will be able to watch all TV channels in high definition. The truth is that the HDTV is able to stretch standard television to fit its screen, but this do not means that they are adding resolution to the picture. Usually, the quality of the picture will be worse than if you are watching it on non-HD TV

6. All TVs that have flat panels are HD ready. Most of the flat-panel TVs that are available today at the stores have resolution of 1024x768 pixels, but the standard HD broadcast comes in 1280x720 pixels or 1920x1080 pixels. This means that the standard flat panel TV will give you between 85 and 38 percent of the pixels you need to watch HDTV.

7. To receive the best quality of HDTV, you have to buy really expensive cables. The price of the cables you will need to watch HDTV have nothing to do with the quality of the picture you will receive. Therefore you will get the same quality with both expensive and cheap video cables.

8. The term HDTV means consistent quality of the picture. To be able to transmit the HD broadcast, all the broadcasters compress their signal and usually some shows are more compressed than others. This can worse the quality of the picture you will receive and usually there is nothing that you can do about it, except call your TV provider.

9. All 1080p HDTVs accept 1080p input signals. The truth is that there are only a couple models of HDTVs that are able to display the 1080i (1920x1080pixels). To find out what are the capabilities of your TV, simply read its owner’s manual.

10. The Blue-Ray and HD-DVD discs are always offering the highest resolution possible. This depends mainly on the way that the discs are mastered from the original movie. There are no instructions related to the quality of the broadcast in the Blue-Ray and HD-DVD discs manuals, but you can spend some time and read the reviews of other customers on the internet.