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HDTV isn't the easiest thing in the world to figure out -- you may have been dealing with HDTV for years and still run into advertising and marketing mumbo-jumbo that makes you say, "Huh?" To help you wade through the marketing manure, here's a list of HDTV danger zones to keep an eye out for:
- Digital confusion: The biggest (and most prevalent) myth in HDTV is the notion that any kind of digital TV signal (such as digital cable, digital satellite, or DVD) is HDTV. This simply isn't true -- a TV signal must be 720p resolution or higher to be considered high definition.
- EDTV confusion: EDTVs (Enhanced Definition Televisions) are TVs -- typically plasma flat-panel models -- that cost a lot and can display progressive-scan images, but don't meet the minimum requirement of 720p, so they don't display true HDTV signals. There's nothing wrong with EDTVs, just don't be fooled into thinking you're getting an HDTV when you're not.
- Image scaling: You may see some new marketing being applied to an old concept -- image scalers that can convert video signals from one resolution to another. These devices are now being marketed as "HDTV upscalers" (yeah, right), with a promise that they make any TV signal into HDTV. Don't believe it. Image scalers can improve SDTV and NTSC images with an HDTV, but they don't make those images into HDTV images.
- The DTV tuner: As HDTV (and DTV in general) becomes more prevalent, DTV tuners will become common. These tuners let older TVs "watch" DTV broadcasts. DTV tuners do not turn older analog TVs into HDTVs. They just convert DTV signals to NTSC for display on an analog TV.
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