High Definition TVs

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A 'High definition TV' is defined as a television screen which can display vertical resolution lines numbering 720 and above. Currently there are four standard resolution formats for HD. Which are listed below,

  1. 720p - there are XGA, HD Ready and WXGA variants. The data below is for HD Ready.
  2. 1080i - the 'i' stands for interlaced, a non standard form of HD used for plasma TVs.
  3. 1080p - the standardised version of the 1080 line display.
  4. 2160p - currently only used by digital cinema initiatives 'DCI'.

Below for your convenience is listed the attributes of each of the formats,

Native resolution (width x height)

  1. 720p - 1280 × 720
  2. 1080i - 1280 × 1080
  3. 1080p - 1920 × 1080
  4. 2160p - 3840 × 2160

Total amount of pixels supported

  1. 720p - 921, 600
  2. 1080i - 1, 382, 400
  3. 1080p - 2, 073, 600
  4. 2160p - 8, 294, 400

Aspect ratio

  1. 720p - 16:9
  2. 1080i - 16:9
  3. 1080p - 16:9
  4. 2160p - 16:9

Currently you cannot purchase a TV with a HD format of 2160p. The technology does exist, but at the time of writing it's only been introduced into cinema complexes. Estimates suggest it could be over five years until consumers will be able to purchase a 2160p television.

Currently only BSkyB in the UK offer any high definition television broadcasts. Expect this to be expanded in the future when the likes of ITV and the BBC begin a HD service.

Currently production studios in the UK are digesting the SMPTE 296M, 292M, 259M or 344M signal protocols which can transport uncompressed digital data. The BBC has also been experimenting with the compression codec 'MPEG-4 AVC'.

But at present it appears to be a work in progress, with terrestrial viewers waiting with baited breath for the HD revolution.

 screen resolution stats