Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Does My Cable TV Company Provide High Definition Channels

By Jamie Bessman

High-definition television, also referred to as HDTV, is a digital television broadcasting system that a larger portion of the world has begun to adopt. This new system has started to replace analog, or standard-definition broadcasting systems.

As bandwidth and standards for television programming have changed over the decades, high definition television options have been adopted by the Federal Communication Commission and TV industry.

With limited initial standardization, HD's early adoption was slowed by technical and economic factors. It was only distributable by satellite with recording and reproduction of signal proving to be a technical difficulty early on. Japan was the first country to successfully offer public broadcasting in high definition, and in 2007 the country abandoned analog service.

HDTV came to the United States in the 1990s and was first introduced by the Digital HDTV Grand Alliance, a conglomeration of television companies. The first high definition broadcast occurred in 1996 in Raleigh, North Carolina and later launches followed. The TV system was first broadcast in 2004 with the launch of the HD1 channel and broadcasting of its Vienna New Year's concert.

The three main aspects of high-def TV are frame size, scanning system and frame rate, all of which are specific to this type of broadcast. This influences resolution, which is twice that of standard-def TV, allowing for greater detail.

Potential HD viewers will need to invest in an HD-specific television set and any other equipment that may be necessary to view it in their home or business. This can mean anything from cable boxes to tuners, and should be confirmed with cable companies.

This more advanced television system can be recorded to VHS or a specific digital video recorder. Many cable boxes come ready to receive or record more than one broadcast simultaneously, the most famous being TiVo.

In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission requires that cable companies provide customers with a set-top box for HD customers as a means of recording and storing.

While online purchases of televisions and cable boxes is growing in popularity, many U. S.-based customers are continuing with the traditional method of in-store purchase for their equipment. This typically comes with in-home installation as well, allowing experts to come into a customers home to provide services.

HD-ready televisions have been starting to drop significantly in price; however, the price range remains huge and varied. Some televisions can be purchased for as little four hundred American dollars, while others are selling for as much as fifteen thousand dollars. The good news is that lower prices are also making HDTVs more available to consumers.

Although the major disadvantage of HD is its inability to work with preexisting analog equipment, the better picture quality and ease of recording has made it popular. Signals and decoding are impossible between the two systems without converters and buying more equipment. HDTV is characterized by the ability of broadcasters to produce several signals simultaneously and with the same bandwidth. It also has better picture quality, even on smaller displays, which is appealing to many viewers. As a result, more and more households and businesses are beginning to adopt this new digital system

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