High-definition is in your future
In order to find additional space for emergency communications and advanced services, Congress mandated TV broadcasting to move towards more modern and efficient "digital" techniques as of February 17, 2009. After that date, your local television broadcasters will be making only "DTV" or "digital television" broadcasts. DTV signals are sent from local transmitters to homes by modern digital techniques, as opposed to older analog signals. If you have TVs in your house that are not hooked up to your cable or satellite service, and rely on an antenna to receive conventional broadcasts, you will need to make alternative arrangements to keep watching these TVs.
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Finding HDTV programming & content
Most cable and satellite programmers offer HDTV packages. If you don't have a cable or satellite package, HD programming is available for free over the air – if you have an integrated HDTV, or a HD-ready TV plus a tuner, and an antenna. Thousands of hours of HDTV programming are available weekly, including football, auto racing, primetime programming, movies, documentaries and more.
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HD-ready TVs vs. integrated HDTVs
An Integrated HDTV has a tuner/decoder built into the TV, and can receive over-the-air broadcasts through an antenna. HD-Ready TVs typically don't have a built-in tuner, and an external tuner must be purchased to receive over-the-air broadcasts through an antenna. Whether or not your TV has a built-in tuner, you may still need additional equipment from your cable or satellite company to receive more than locally broadcast channels.
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1080p technology vs. 720p technology
The "p," or "progressive scan," means that the entire image seen on the television screen is repainted at once, rather than line by line, which is typical in older interlace technologies. This results in a higher-resolution picture, increased image detail, and smoother action.
DLP® 1080p is the next generation of HDTV technology, offering 2 million pixels on screen. That is twice the resolution of 720p. With a DLP® 1080p HDTV, you can experience the best that HDTV has to offer today and be ready to enjoy all of the 1920 x 1080p sports and entertainment content that's on the horizon.
- Game consoles and DVDs will increasingly move toward 1920 x 1080p resolution allowing highly realistic action and environments.
- Film converted to 1080p format for home theater delivers the image quality the director envisioned.
- Major TV networks are already broadcasting in 1920 x 1080i format and future broadcasts in 1080p will be a natural evolution in digital TV.
DLP® 1080p HDTVs are ready to accept all the current DTV content offerings, as well as whatever additional 1080 content lies ahead.
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Your HDTV display choices
DLP®
DLP® technology delivers crystal clear, razor-sharp and lifelike images for the ultimate HDTV experience. At the core of every DLP® projection system is an optical semiconductor, which contains more than a million microscopic mirrors. The ultra-fast DLP® chip has an unparalleled 16 microsecond pixel response time, making it ideal for sports, action-packed or fast-moving scenes and gaming.
CRT
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) technology, are historically what TVs were based on. The tube in a CRT system is a vacuum through which electrons pass, striking a phosphorescent surface on which the projected image is created. CRT projectors output three identical images in red, green and blue. These are then combined to create the final projected image.
LCD
An LCD, or Liquid Crystal Display, consists of a liquid-crystal solution suspended between two glass plates. When electric current is sent through the liquid crystal, it causes the crystals to align in a certain configuration, creating the projected image.
Plasma
A flat-panel plasma display that consists of millions of phosphor-coated miniature glass bubbles containing plasma. To produce an image, an electric current flows through the screen, causing certain bubbles to emit ultraviolet rays, triggering the phosphor coating to produce the proper color (red, green or blue).
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