Since some of you apparently need an education about HDTV, a few comparisons. (Dial up warning.)

[TheWraith]

This image is the kind of quality that you'll get in ordinary TV.



This next one is "EDTV" resolution: more or less what you'd get from a good progressive-scan DVD player hooked up to a good quality TV.



And this is HD, either from broadcast/satellite/cable or a Blu-Ray disc.



Any questions?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. So HDTVs are just really big TVs?

:P

[Deja Q]

2. Take the teenie peenie pic and resize it to the big juicy pic and compare both those.

That'll knock peoples' socks off in terms of quality and detail.

[TheWraith]

8. Good recommendation. See inside.

Standard TV:



HD:

[Billy Burnett]

3. I get it now. HDTV is like a sewer line running straight to the ocean.

:+

[TheWraith]

6. That's a collapsed pier, clown boy. :) nt

[Kaleva]

23. LOL!!! That made my evening.

[jdlh8894]

4. Still looks Black & White on mine eom

[SpiralHawk]

5. What time is it kids?

[jkshaw]

7. When I reduced the HD version to the same size as

the regular tv picture, I couldn't see much difference, wraith.

[TheWraith]

9. Check out post 8, and you'll see the difference. nt

[Greyskye]

10. Try increasing the size of the non-HD versions to the HD size instead

That would be closer to a real life scenario, I'd think.

[MiniMe]

11. In a nutshell, more detail

You have more lines of pixels, so you can get finer detail.

[stray cat]

12. I like HD

[Speck Tater]

13. My very first TV had a 4-inch diameter ROUND screen.

Needless to say, it was black and white. There was one TV station in town (Grand Rapids Mich), and they were off the air for more hours each day than they were on the air. A lot of times all you could get was a "test pattern" with a picture of an Indian chief and of a bunch of criss-crossed lines. Just like this one: http://www.moderntv.com/modtvweb/special/freegif-bw1i.htm

[LeftyMom]

14. The difference is real obvious on some shows/movies.

Not real significant on some things, but I love nature documentaries and the difference is huge. It's great for sports to, my Dad called me up the first time he watched hockey in HD and was just thrilled how easy it was to see the puck at all times.

[Blue_In_AK]

17. Did you watch that Journey to the Edge of the Universe

on National Geographic HD? That was fantastic.

[RC]

15. Instead of working on bigger sharper pictures, How about working better programing.

200 channels and the most intellectually stimulating is the cooking chanel.

[TheWraith]

21. Watch HBO.

Deadwood, Rome, Generation Kill, Band of Brothers. All of them over and done, but they get replayed sometimes. Best shows on television.

Also The Tudors on Showtime and Battlestar Galactica on SciFi. Both coming back early next year, though you might want to go back and watch both from the beginning, so they're more accessible.

Oh, and The Shield from FX.

[RC]

24. I don't have cable. I can't see the expense.

I know what's on because my friends have various tiers of cable.
My entertainment is reading non-fiction and occasional movies (and DU).

[JVS]

27. But "Ow My Balls" won't be funny without a clear picture!

[AndyTiedye]

16. What If You are in a Fringe Area?

You can say goodbye to that snowy picture,
if the signal isn't strong enough, you get no picture at all!

[TheWraith]

19. That's digital, not HD.

Digital TV exists independently of HD.

[Skittles]

18. so?

what is your fucking point?

[dysfunctional press]

20. the EDTV pic looks best to me...

the HD pic is way too bright on the eyes.

[blogslut]

22. HD makes the picture bigger?

j/k :)

The mantis shrimp can see 100,000 colors. I'm just sayin'.

[Swamp Rat]

25. I like the small one best.

:)

[Mari333]

26. so, basically,with HDTV

I will be able to see the electron spinning in the atom thats whirling in the cell of the hair follicle on the gnat sitting on the goat's tail atop Mt Everest...right?
:P

[SoCalDem]

28. I'm ok with my picture on my 13".. $50 Magnavox

I don't see all that well to start with, so SoooperDoooper HD would be wasted on me..and hubby usually watches the war Channel.. or the Dead-Movie-Star channel...all B & W..:)

[drbtg1]

29. Yeah, here's a question: Do you feel, like me here sometimes, that it would be more productive....

...just to bang your head on a wall? Yeah, I put a couple of posts in that "WTHeck is Blu-ray?" thread too, but with some people around here, the response runs from apathy to disrespect.

Your attempts are worthwhile, as educational efforts often are. I thought that should be noted.