High-Definition Television –compatible TV- features only the high-resolution display and can only receive digital broadcasts if connected with a separate HDTV tuner. HDTV-ready TVs can have the 16:9 widescreen ratio or the square like 4:3 aspect ratio.

High-Definition Television has arrived and here to stay given surging popularity of crystal-clear broadcasts in US television TV. Analog television’s shift to an all-digital system has heralded a new age in the 65-year history of TV.

Hours of High-Definition Television can be viewed almost nightly. Viewers can easily determine if a show is presented in High-Definition Television if the message “Presented in high definition where available” is shown at the start of a program.

Choosing the right TV is important in the High-Definition Television experience. A TV with a 4:3 screen will be a good choice if local and network dominate programming are common in your market and over-the-air or cable High-Definition Television programming is sparse.

However, with the arrival of new technology also calls for viewers to adapt to the situation. Those still using traditional TV sets will not be able to get the most out of the High-Definition Television experience.

For this you need to have a tuner to receive and decode High-Definition Television signals from a source, and a high-quality screen that can reproduce the outstanding details and colours from an High-Definition broadcast.

The higher resolution of High-Definition Television makes its pictures crisper and clearer compared to traditional television. Traditional TV pictures only possess 480 lines of vertical resolution, while High-Definition Television has 1,080-line interlaces scan and 720-line progressive scan. The best quality that can be given by analog TV is 480i, which in contrast is the lowest quality signal offered by digital TV.

Getting started in High-Definition Television is not as expensive like during the time it was introduced in the market. Prices of tuners and HDTVs continue to decline but the quality constantly improves rapidly.

To help you maximize your High-Definition Television setups without spending your life savings here are some important tips to avoid costly mistakes and help you experience High-Definition Television at its fullest.

Over-the-air-broadcasts: Nearly 1,500 local station across the US are transmitting Digital TV signals today. About 90% of digital station broadcasts are made in the UHF range an these can be accessed with the use of a normal UHF antenna. For this scenario you need:

- HD-compatible TV
- High-Definition Television tuner-
- Outdoor or indoor UHF antenna
- The High-Definition Television broadcasts in your area

Digital Satellite TV: High-Definition Television via satellite is available for those living the US and has a clear view of the sky. In short, this service is available almost everywhere. High-Definition Television channels are already available from the top satellite TV providers DIRECTV and the DISHNetwork. Those lucky enough to live in major cities can even get local stations in HD via satellite. For this setup you need:

- HD-compatible TV
- HD-compatible satellite dish
- HD-compatible satellite receiver
- HD programming

Top High-Definition Television receiver in the market today

DIRECTV HR10-250 satellite receiver

The DIRECTV HR10-250 High-Definition Television satellite receiver is the ideal for those that want to get the most out of watching crystal-clear HDTV broadcasts. The HR10-250 can receive and decode digital signals from DIRECTV’s high-resolution broadcasts. The satellite receiver also features a built-in hard drive digital video recorder.

HD-broadcasts feature images rich in detail and surround sound makes a room alive and vibrant. HR10-250 HDTV satellite receiver can be connected to any HD-ready TV and home audio system.

Specifications:

» HDTV DIRECTV tuner — receives and decodes digital High-Definition Television signals from DIRECTV’s satellite broadcasts and local free-to-air broadcasts with the use of a compatible antenna.
» receives digital TV broadcasts in 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i
» dual ATSC tuners
» can record up to 200 hours of standard-definition digital TV with its built-in hard disk digital video recorder and up to 30 hours of HDTV
» manual timer recording by channel and time
» Season Pass™
» 1 set audio/video outputs (composite, S-video, component video, HDMI)
» Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down buttons — ratings system from TiVo
» HDMI, HDMI-to-DVI, component video, S-video, composite video, and telephone cables
» 1 year warranty