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What is HDTV?

HDTV is an acronym for High Definition Television. HDTV is the new standard in technology in a digital television format, delivering theater-quality pictures and CD-quality sound.

HDTV signals are transmitted in the form of data bits. Because these data bits are transmitted with parity checking and error correcting ability, the picture is always perfect - as long as you can receive the data stream you will get the best picture without ghosting, noise, sparkles or static.

HDTV provides high resolution programming. A current analog TV picture is made up of horizontal lines on the picture screen; an HDTV picture can have more than twice as many lines, allowing for stunning picture detail.

HDTV uses a widescreen format, which refers to an image's aspect ratio - a comparison of screen width to screen height. Analog television has an aspect ratio of 4 by 3, which means the screen is 4 units wide by 3 units high. The aspect ratio of HDTV is 16 by 9, similar to a movie theater screen. HDTV programs can include Dolby Digital surround sound, the same digital sound system used in many movie theaters and DVDs.

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What is HDTV? / HDTV in Widescreen / What is 1080i HD? / Read the press release / Frequently Asked Questions / History of NewsChannel 5 / Back to NewsChannel 5's Guide to HDTV

Information from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at  dtv.gov. Click HERE for more information.