High-Definition (HD) is a revolutionary digital technology for broadcasting and displaying programmes in widescreen format and in finer detail, as compared with analogue TV. An HD-Ready TV displays 16:9 aspect ratio images, also known as Widescreen, which means that the screen is 16 units in length by 9 units in height, compared with analogue TV which is 4 units in length by 3 units in height. High Definition (HD) uses the latest technology to bring clearer and sharper television pictures to your home. When presented with Surround Sound, it will give you a cinematic experience.

• Superior Quality:
  HD’s greater number of lines brings greater clarity such as smoother motion, richer and more natural colors. HD delivers a minimum of 720 horizontal lines, up to 1080 lines currently, whereas the analogue PAL format which is used in Singapore delivers 576 lines. When compared with the analogue PAL format, the resolution of HD is approximately five times sharper.



• Full Widescreen:
  Similar to the movie screen, HD-Ready TV has an aspect ratio of 16:9 which gives you a more cinematic experience.



• Surround Sound:
  Audio will be transmitted with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound where available. With an appropriate home theatre system, the sound effects of the HD programmes will be vastly superior.

Not immediately. Broadcasters will continue to offer analogue programmes for the next several years. The analogue TV can also display HD content, however, limited by the resolution of the TV set, the content displayed will be of lower quality than HD. To enjoy the quality of HD, an HD-Ready TV is required.

Following is the minimum display requirements for HD-ready TV set and you can check the User Manual of your TV set to see if the TV display is HD-ready:

• Minimum native vertical resolution of the display must be at least 720 physical lines in aspect ratio 16:9
• The display must be able to resolve either 720p, 1080i or 1080p. 1080p is sometimes referred to as Full HD.
• HD capable inputs must accept the following HD video formats
• 720p: 1280 x 720 @ 50 Hz progressive
• 1080i: 1920 x 1080 @ 50 Hz interlace
• Component (Y-Pr -Pb ) or HDMI input must support content protection, High-Bandwidth Digital Content protection system (HDCP).

HD-Ready TVs can also be used to watch HD content such as those found on Blu-ray discs, HD DVDs and HD console games. You can also enjoy your high-resolution videos and photos through HD playback solutions, such as those from SnaZio.

Consumer digital video cameras with HD recording capabilities have recently been introduced. Also known as HDV (High-Definition Video) cameras, these video cameras currently allow you to record HD content with a resolution of up to 1920x1080i, which has five times higher resolution than a standard camera. Depending on brands, HDV video cameras store videos in various formats such as hard drive, flash memory, mini DVD or the more traditional DV tape.

Content and media such as VHS, VCD and DVD can be viewed on your HD-Ready TV. However, you will not experience the full quality of HD. To view HD quality, the input source must be in HD.