High definition satellite receivers

by editor@text4price.com @ 03 May 2006 - 14:15:47

Buying a television used to be a relatively simple task.

You could have a black and white or colour, a big screen or tiny portable, and a posh looking wooden cabinet to disguise it when the vicar came calling. There were 4 channels and no such thing as digital and satellite receivers.

How times have changed. You can now choose from LCD, Plasma and HDTV, satellite, free-view, terrestrial or cable and there are enough channels to keep even the worst telly addict distracted, if not entertained and informed – more quantity usually means less quality, but that’s another story.

HDTV by satellite receiver is the latest innovation on offer. So what is it and why should you consider buying it? To answer this we first need to understand the difference between the old analogue standard and the new digital TV.

Analogue TVs usually show 25 images per second by writing image lines horizontally, 625 lines in one image on the screen. The number of pixels on one line is about 500. This would be a definition of 500 pixels per line by 625 lines. Compared to modern computer monitors this is pretty poor. Even the lowest resolutions monitors have higher resolutions (640 x 480) than an analogue TV.

HDTV or High Definition television is high resolution Digital Television combined with Dolby Digital Surround Sound (AC-3). There are 18 digital television formats of which 6 can be categorised as HDTV. You need a satellite receiver to view HDTV.

Within these six formats there are two technologies, Progressive and Interlaced which build the image in different ways. Interlaced technology is, arguably, inferior because it effectively splits the image every 1/60th of a second. It shows the odd lines first and then the even lines. So every 1/60 of a second you see a half image which can cause a discernible flickering. Progressive technology shows a complete image every 1/60 of a second, resulting in a smoother picture and less eye strain.

Where HDTV really makes a difference is in the quality of the image. Standard TV has a resolution of about 210,000 pixels while an HDTV screen has nearly 10 times more at a resolution of up to 2,000,000 pixels.

Standard TV normally comes with an aspect ratio where the width is 4/3 the height or 4x3. HDTV screens have an aspect ratio of 16 x 9, otherwise known as wide screen.

So, if picture quality is your paramount priority, not to mention the dolby stereo that accompanies it, HDTV is the way forward. You can research the best UK deals online and compare prices here at text4price.

Filed under: TV and Video

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