HDTV Answer Guide

HDTV Answer Guide, page 2

Q. Aside from an HD-capable set, what will I need to get HD programs?

A. You'll need an HD video source: an HD cable or satellite box, an HD-capable video card (so you can use your PC as a TV tuner), or an HD antenna for over-the-air broadcasts.

If you're a cable or satellite customer, you'll need a new set-top box. Standard satellite and cable boxes--even digital cable boxes--cannot process HD signals. Whether you are a new customer or an existing one, most satellite services will make you buy the equipment. Voom, for example, charges $749 for its starter package, which consists of a dish, an HD antenna for local programming, and a tuner with remote. Cable companies are likelier to rent the box to you than to sell it: Comcast, for instance, says that it typically charges $5 per month for an HD-capable set-top box.

If you are contemplating purchasing a new television set, you might want to wait a few months for a new plug-and-play HD cable-ready set. These sets will have the circuitry of an HD cable box built in; all you'll need from your operator is a PC Carda??like Cable Card, which will include the descrambling info for your particular service package. After inserting the card in a slot on the back of your set and attaching the cable, you'll be in business.

If you decide to buy an antenna, you'll be presented with several choices. Fortunately, the Consumer Electronics Association has guidance on the Web. Go to AntennaWeb.org and plug in your street address; you'll receive a list of stations and the antenna type required for each one. The site uses the same technology that TitanTV uses.

Q: How do I switch among these antennas?

A. You don't. The set-top box takes care of this--the process is seamless to the user.

Q. I know HD pictures will look better than today's analog ones. What about audio?

A. The ATSC ED and HD standards require support for Dolby 5.1-channel audio. Of course, to enjoy the improved sound quality, you'll need a 5.1-channel sound system.

Q. Will I be able to record HDTV on a VCR, TiVo, ReplayTV, or other video recorder?

A. Yes, but probably not in HD. Most HD sets have analog outputs for this purpose. The set converts a digital HD signal into a standard-resolution analog signal that today's video recorders--whether cassette or hard drivea??based, like TiVo and ReplayTV--are designed to record.

If that kind of money scares you, wait a while. Your cable operator will likely step in with a less expensive (though less capable) alternative: an HD cable box with an HD-capable digital video recorder built in. Expect a smaller hard drive than you'd get on a third-party box, but at a much smaller price. Comcast, for example, says that by year's end its customers who use Motorola digital cable boxes will have the option to upgrade to an HD-capable box with a built-in DVR that can record up to 7 hours of HD programming.

Q. Do any HD-capable DVD burners exist? How about movies recorded in HD?

A. Hollywood and the consumer electronics industry are still wrangling over the technology for HD-capable optical drives, so you might not want to spend big bucks on an HD-capable burner until the format fight is settled. The leading contenders are Blu-ray, named for the blue laser that it uses (traditional burners use red lasers, which have longer wavelengths and can't pack data as tightly), and HD-DVD. Once this standards war is settled, experts anticipate motion picture studios will start making HD versions of their films available on disc the way 480p ones are now. You can already get HD versions of a handful of movies recorded in Windows Media format, but so far you can play them in HD only on a very fast PC with a display capable of HD resolution.

Q. What about the analog programming still available?

A. Today's digital TV sets are equipped to display analog content, too. But the FCC's plans call for stations to relinquish their rights to the current analog spectrum to the FCC by 2006, or when 85 percent of households in their markets can receive digital TV--whichever is later. At that point, people who hang on to their analog sets will need to get digital-to-analog converters. Most external HD tuners can perform this conversion, but by the time the mandated digital TV transition takes effect, less-expensive set-top boxes may be available.

Q. Is there any downside besides price to the technology?

A. Analog programs don't look that great on big-screen HDTVs. Artifacts, jaggies, and other flaws become much easier to see on a more-detailed display (and even standard- definition format has greater pixel density than today's analog image), especially if you have a large screen that magnifies the image.

Television Formats: Digital TV by the Numbers

Digital TV standards set by the ATSC governing body encompass 18 different transmission formats, of which these are the most common. An image's aspect ratio has no effect on its total pixel count; to display a wide-aspect picture, broadcasters simply stretch the image to fit the screen. The older National Television System Committee format (for reference) covers analog broadcasts only.

Yardena Arar is a senior editor for PC World.