Next Gear: HDTV on the Cheap

Learn The HD Lingo

When shopping for TVs, you are likely to encounter a number of similar-sounding terms that are hard to keep straight. Let's look at three key ones.

HDTV: This term technically refers to a set with an internal tuner that complies with new digital-TV standards made by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), and to a screen that can display the high-definition formats of 720p (720 lines of progressive-scan video) and 1080i (1080 lines of interlaced video).

Some newer HDTV sets also accept CableCards, which allow you to plug a digital HD cable directly into the set (but you'll still need a set-top box if you want to get video on demand or other interactive features).

HDTV-ready or HDTV monitor: This describes a display that can accept signals from an HD source and display pictures at HD resolutions, but that lacks an internal ATSC tuner. (It may have an NTSC tuner, the kind found in TVs for the last half-century.) This isn't necessarily a problem: For $300 or more, you can buy an external ATSC tuner to bring in over-the-air HD programs; and if you plan to get your HD programming via satellite or cable, your service will sell or rent you a box that will handle HD decoding (though you could opt for the CableCard, mentioned above). In fact, if you have to purchase a cable or satellite set-top box anyway, you might as well save a few hundred dollars by getting an HD-ready set.

EDTV: Particularly when you are shopping for a flat-screen digital TV, be wary of the term enhanced definition (ED or EDTV for short). It denotes a screen that can display only non-HD resolutions of up to 480p--about 852 by 480 pixels. That's the format used by today's DVD movies, and it's clearer than analog; but while these sets might be featured in a store's HD section and may be capable of processing an HD signal, they will downscale HD images to the lower-resolution screen format they use, so you won't end up with the quality of true HD.