Why many people prefer HDTV to standard analog TV is the former’ ability to provide superior picture quality which is so visible to any viewer. When you watch HDTV, the picture looks much clearer, sharper and more-detailed. Added to these qualities, you will find HDTV offers extra-ordinary smoothness, rich colour tones, superb, true-to-life colours and three-dimensional sound effects. With a HDTV television, you usually get various connections that include S-video, AV input, HDMI inputs, SCART inputs, PC input and even a USB slot to connect camrecorders, digital cameras and so on.

However, the optimum results of a HDTV television largely depend upon the video source that is connected to it. Usually HDTV sources like HDTV broadcast, HDVD or Blu-ray discs offer excellent picture quality. Also it should be born in mind that the HDTV-enabled television set should be compatible with the input devices used and sometimes both the devices need to use proper settings to ensure the best HD picture quality.

HDTV Vs Analog TV
HDTV broadcast is digital in contrast to standard TV broadcast which is analog. Analog TV signals, when interfered or when they become weak, they usually produce pictures which appear rolling from bottom to top over the screen. This is what is generally called vertical rolling. However, HD broadcast does not exhibit these effects on the screen when the signals get interrupted. In such circumstances, HD signals stops showing picture in herringbone patterns and usually show a frozen image till the signals become normal.

Being digital, HDTV broadcast does not display fuzzy pictures or over-lapping images or gitters like old analog signals.

HDTV has wider images
One of the distinct features of HD picture is its 16:9 format which refers to its dimensions in terms of width and height. HD shows picture whose width is nearly twice the height, so the image looks rectangular compared to standard 4:3 image which appears a bit squarish by contrast. Standard television screens and older movies usually have 4:3 aspect ratio which makes the screen look square like. When movies were made in 35mm or 16 mm films, this aspect ratio was the standard as they both matched well to provide a satisfying TV viewing experience for viewers. However, the rise of 70 mm movies and its growing popularity in the last three decades, made the TV makers to adopt a new image aspect which can produce theatre-like image quality.

The major advantage of 16:9 image format is its ability to show extra details on either side (horizontally) when compared with the standard 4:3 image. This is like a panoramic view which is used in a camera. The extra width that a HDTV has, provides life-like picture quality to what we see on the screen.   Thus, the 16:9 aspect ratio of the image became standard for HDTV although all HDTVs are capable of showing 4:3 image using their zooming feature which can fit such images to their screen size.

When you watch movies (which are shot using 70 mm films) on standard analog TVs, the picture is made to fit to its square frame either by cutting the extra width of the original image or by using a method called ‘letter box”. In the first case, you will see a cropped image which will lose picture details on either side. If the ‘letter box’ is used, you will see a dimensionally-reduced, rectangular image with horizontal black bars both at the top and bottom of the image. However, HDTV, since its screen has 16:9 aspect ratio, shows the original image with all picture details.   

Superior picture quality
No other digital TV can show as much true-to-life colours as a HDTV can. This is because HDTV signals can store much more information or details which is usually expressed as bandwidth. Typical HDTV can show as many as five times more details than a standard TV picture. It can display billions of colours and since the scanning lines are so close to the extent that they are hardly visible to the viewer, the picture looks razor-sharp and much more detailed than any other image. Remember a HDTV screen can accommodate more than two million pixels or picture details which is ten times greater than standard television set. This is the major reason why HDTV picture looks crisp clear combining the natural colours with superior picture details.

HDTV images are sharper
The resolution or the picture details of an image is expressed by presence of tiny dots (or pixels) in a square area. The resolution of HDTV is usually denoted by number of lines followed by the letter ‘I’ or ‘p’. These letters tell us how the image is being scanned – whether interlaced or progressively.

Although a typical Standard definition Television (which is analog) has better resolution (330 lines) than a VHS recording or a video captured using a VCR (240 lines), it is still quite far behind a DVD in terms of resolution. A DVD is a digitally recorded video which can show better resolution (480 lines) than a standard analog television set, which is why DVDs require better display than a standard television set. In contrast, a HDTV is capable of showing minimum 720 lines thus it can outperform both analog TV and other digital TVs as far as resolution is concerned.    

Progressive images have better quality than interlaced images as interlaced scanning display all the scanned lines in two frames while progressive scanning does the same at one stroke thus reducing the screen refresh rate. Due to this, a standard HDTV which has a resolution of 720p can show pictures superb picture details combined with excellent smoothness.

HDTV can provide theatre-like audio quality
HDTV offers better sound quality as most HDTV sets feature Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound which uses five sound tracks instead of two and which is normally adopted by movies. Compared to this, standard television sets use old Dolby surround to produce stereo-phonic effects and the sound quality produced by Dolby Surround is usually a bit inferior to its advanced version as it uses just two sound tracks.

Standard Definition TV (SDTV), Enhanced Definition TV (EDTV) and High Definition TV (HDTV) represent the evolution of TV over the period since J.L. Baird invented the first ever television in 1936. Standard Definition TVs have less than 480 lines of resolution and can display images at 4:3 format. In contrast, EDTVs are digital and have a minimum resolution of 480 lines but less than 720 lines of resolution. An EDTV image can have either 4:3 aspect ratio or wider aspect ratio (16:9). DVD is an example for EDTV source since it has a resolution of 480 lines (or 480 pixels when the image is scanned vertically).

However, HDTV, which is digital and has a standard 16:9 aspect ratio, can show the highest resolution up to 1080p (which provides picture quality than 1080i image). Despite its ability to provide the image quality in terms of sharpness, natural colours and smoothness, HDTV display invariably depends on video sources it is connected to. If the video sources are too HDTV and configured to the TV, we get true HDTV viewing experience. What happens when you receive SDTV signals through your HDTV-enabled television set? The answer is your HDTV still shows the picture depending on the source as it cannot enhance the original picture quality. On the contrary, if you are in a place where you can get HDTV broadcast either via cable or some satellite HDTV service, you are supposed to use a HDTV with in-built HD tuner or with some exterior HD tuner to enable your HDTV process the HD signals. This is to have true HDTV experience.

HDTV materials or sources can be accessed by following ways:

1. HDTV broadcast via air or by cable
HDTV broadcasters send HD signals over the air using transmitter or via cable network. However, to process HD signals, you should have HDTV television sets which come with in-built HD tuners. While these sets are a bit expensive, HD Ready television sets, although they are cheaper, need external set-top tuner boxes to enable them to display HDTV images. In the same way, HD signals broadcast via cable require similar set-top box which is often provided by the cable operator. The QAM, as it is called, often comes with a high end plasma TV or LCD TV.

2. HDTV broadcast using satellites
Television services like Sky and Virgin Media in the UK transmit HD signals using satellites. Again, the viewers need to use satellite dish and receiver box to receive and process the HD signals.

3. HDTV Home Video materials
While most of conventional home videos are yet to be upgraded to HDTV, some of the video sources like High Definition DVD, Blu-ray are HDTV and can provide HDTV materials where HDTV broadcast is not available.

4.  Video games compatible with HDTV
As the computer games and video games are becoming the biggest market, new games like Playstation 3 and Xbox series come with HD compatibility and offer superb visual and audio experience.

Toshiba 20VL63 LCD TV is the newly launched LCD TV by the company TOSHIBA. This firm is a world class firm for the manufacturing of plasma as well as LCD TV. They have their own name in the market. This model of LCD TV contains a lot of new technologies. Mainly it won’t give eye irritation even if you watch the TV continuously for a very long time. For this advantage the whole system has been adopted by a new technology.

Toshiba 20VL63 LCD TV has no compact flash card. The contrast ratio of this LCD is 500: 1. The interfaces DVB-C, DVB-S, DVB-T are not attached with the system. The system does not contain DVD player or recorder. The system does not contain EPG (Electronic Programme Guide). The system is not supported with energy saving trust feature. The frequency needed by this system is 50 hertz. The HD Ready option is unavailable with this LCD. The HDMI interface is not aided with the system.

The horizontal resolution of the screen is 640 pixels. Toshiba 20VL63 LCD TV has loud speakers for the audio unit. The memory stick, multimedia card are not available with the system. The total number of SCART sockets in this TV is 2, which is more than sufficient for the integration of your TV with camcorders, game console, etc.  The PCMIA interface too is not available in this system. The screen format of this system is 4: 3. The screen size of this LCD is 20 inches.

The vertical resolution of this system is 480. The system does not have the XD card.

Toshiba LCD TV does not have any additional attachments. The system is good at the resolution. The picture quality from this system is just excellent. The audio set used in this system is really amazing. Generally the resolution of the screen is measured in pixels. It is always advisable to have a television set with higher solutions.

Maintenance guide for LCD TV  

LCD TVs are highly expensive TV sets or even may sound luxury to most of us. As you go for larger screens or high end models, they will definitely cost more. Such expensive products should naturally be cared well to make your investment long lasting.

Here are some tips to increase the life of your LCD TV:

Put your LCD TV in a clean, dry place. The dust-free, moisture free surroundings are very vital for the long life of your TV. This applies to all electronic products. Dust and moisture are great enemies for LCDs, computers and other electronic products

Extreme room temperatures can affect the performance of LCD TVs. LCD TV uses liquid crystals for its display technology. Liquid crystals are materials in twisted shape when they are in their natural state. Once electricity is made to pass through the crystals they begin to untwist and this is the principle used in the LCD technology.

However, excessive hot or cold environment can make the liquid crystals go bizarre and the essential features like refresh rate, contrast ratio can be altered by these factors.

When you handle LCDs, keep in mind their screens are very prone to scratch. Make sure they don’t get scratched while you install them. Also make sure the electrical installation is proper and safely done.

Follow all the instructions printed in the manual book, whenever you use or leave your LCD TV unused.

Sharp LC32RD2E LCD TV is a HD Ready LCD TV with 32” screen. This LCD TV has come with innovative 100Hz Double Frame Drive which produces smooth, crisp and crystal clear pictures. This LCD is supported by four-wavelength backlight system which can provide high brightness up to 450 cd/m2. It has beautiful piano black, glossy frame and thin table top stand that add elegance of its design. Its superb picture quality combined with attractive price makes it one of the hot products in LCD market. Its excellent specs, HDTV compatibility and nice sound quality are quite amazing, and most importantly the stunning picture details and good black levels are quite impressive.

Main Features:

• Screen size 32”
• Native resolution 1366×768 pixels
• Aspect ratio 16:9
• IDTV Freeview DVB tuner
• Response time 4 ms
• Brightness 450 cd/m2
• Contrast ratio: 1800:1
  
• Viewing angle 176 degrees
• Picture-in-Picture feature
• Two SCARTS inputs
• Two HDMI sockets
• One AV output
• One PC input
• Two speakers with 10 W output
• Nicam A2 digital surround sound system

Although this LCD TV has a native resolution of 1366×768 pixels, it is capable of producing excellent picture quality when you access High Definition sources. The DVB tuner ensures that the images look smooth, clear and more detailed. This LCD TV is able to show deeper blacks so pictures

To get the best out of your LCD TV, you need to use the various picture settings provided in this LCD like brightness, contrast and colour temperature settings. Furthermore, there is also a provision for controlling the backlight to reduce the noise levels.

Usually the great specs ensure the optimum picture quality. The contrast ratio of this TV which is 1200:1, offers good black levels. The shadow details while this LCD displayed dark scenes are impressive and there is no sign of graying to our surprise.

Of course, this LCD TV has the best possible response time (6 ms) among the high end LCD TVs. Indeed, there is no blurring to fast moving objects. A very quick response time ensures that fast movements as in sports broadcast look natural.