TABLE OF CONTENTS High definition television (HDTV) is arguably the most important innovation in television since the introduction of colour. Commercial HDTV services have become a reality and HD broadcasts are now commonplace.
HDTV is not new and HDTV broadcasts have been going on in the USA and Japan for a number of years. However, what was lacking was an internationally agreed standard. Europe did not enter the HDTV market till recently and that delay was utilised to reach an agreement on a unified standard. The first step was to agree to a common interface format (CIF) for HDTV. HDTV is invariably associated with digital television, and although this is not necessarily the only way it can be delivered, without the processing capabilities of digital technology, HDTV would be impractical.
The two most prominent television systems, PAL and NTSC produce a moving picture with a quality referred to as standard definition (SD). While picture quality using SDTV is very good and has served television users very well over decades, it does suffer from noticeable degradation in quality in large size displays. To keep up with customer expectations and maintain picture quality, higher picture definition, i.e. high resolution must be used. The following summarises the advantages of HDTV:
HDTV offers a step change in picture quality, delivering a home viewing experience similar to that offered in cinemas.
Viewers will see greater depth and tone of colours and textures. The improved clarity of HDTV broadcasts will bring an even greater sense...
