HD TV converter for computers?

[GoSharks]

Originally posted by: rosco6912
so you're saying DIGITAL TV = HIGH DEF TV?

gosh i remember a circut city guy telling me they were different a few yrs back...

thanks!

if you look up a few posts, i linked to the definitions/different forms of DTV.

only HDTV=HDTV

 

[buleyb]

Originally posted by: Boogak

Originally posted by: rosco6912 Can someone tell me the difference between DTV and Digital Cable? Is HD only on the latter? Thanks, in reading reviews and stuff I'm totalyl confused now. It seems DTV can be picked up using an antenna (?) ... if so ... will cable be eliminated in the future? or will it remain to provide stations like comedy central? (I love CC )

HD (High Definition) is really just a new resolution standard for tv's (I'm oversimplifying it I think). I think satellite TV and even Digital Cable still run on the NTSC standard, which I think have 480 lines of resolution interlaced (meaning every other line is drawn with each screen refresh). DVD's have 720 lines of resolution, but can be interlaced or progressive scan (meaning the entire screen is redrawn each refresh). HD can have 480 progressive, 720 progressive, or a whopping 1080 lines interlaced for better clarity. A HD signal can be carried either by satellite (DirecTV has some HD channels), digital cable (I believe some cable networks have HD channels), or through over the air antenna if you have a special HD tuner (I know here in Dallas most of the channels here have a HD signal going out as well). So really, HD is here just to replace NTSC, which is our current TV standard. In the future, all broadcasts (be it satellite, cable, or over the air) will be in HD format. Anyway that's how I understand how HD works and I'm probably oversimplifying things or just got some things flat out wrong. I'm sure someone more knowledgable will correct me.

Close...if you are watching TV without a special SDTV/HDTV tuner, you're getting 480i (interlaced), but usually not at full resolution. DVDs are 480i at full resolution, unless played on a progressive scan DVD player (typically also needing component connections to TV) where it becomes 480p. SDTV (like some stations are broadcasting) is 480p, or 720p (which is HDTV, typically). 1080i can also be HDTV.

heres a good reference

http://www.crutchfield.com/infocenter/S-3DswLfnax7B/home/tv_hdtv.html