Here in the United States, the broadcast industry is struggling with the wholesale conversion of our analog television system over to digital and ultimately to HDTV. Originally the conversion process was supposed to be fully implemented by 2006 which is when all stations were supposed to turn off their analog signals, but we are way behind and that won't happen as planned. If you read my article "How High Definition Works," you are already aware that HDTV does two primary things. It increases the number of scan lines on the screen which gives you a sharper, clearer and more life-like picture. Second, it widens the aspect ratio of the screen from the standard 4:3 ('square' image) like most existing televisions, to 16:9 or widescreen image. The wider screen format has a more theatrical look and is what all of the future HDTV programming is formatted for.

The most popular HDTV format is 1080i which means 1080 scan lines interlaced. This system works just like our existing 525i NTSC system, painting the odd lines first and then the even lines in a second pass. But since there are so many more scan lines (more than twice as many), both the lines themselves and the jagged motion artifacts are much less visible.

An alternative and co-existing HDTV format is 720p or 720-lines of progressive scanning (you might see this label at the start of shows broadcast in HDTV). Though it has fewer actual scan lines, the native progressive scan format eliminates motion artifacts that originate in interlacing, and are still visible in large screen 1080i. So for subject matter that contains a lot of fast motion like sports, you can get a clearer, cleaner, more stable picture from 720p than you can from 1080i. The Interlaced flip side - for subject matter that has very little motion, 1080i is capable of revealing greater detail in the picture. You will notice that most of the HDTV demo clips shown in stores on HDTV channels are broadcast on HDNet and show very slow pans of incredibly detailed scenes. They are gorgeous images, but those slow pans are intended to mask the de-interlacing flaws inherent in the 1080i format.

The bottom line is that 1080i and 720p are both very good HDTV formats. Neither one is better, rather they are just each better with particular types of subject matter. However when they are done right, both are dramatically superior to the 480-line NTSC format we watch today. But if that's still not good enough for those seeking perfection, you can add a $$$$ video processor to your mega buck video projector and convert your 1080i signal all the way to 1080p. Then you will enjoy the ultimate in picture quality be it for fast action or for revealing inner detail from still shots. You can have it all but it's a hefty price.

HDTV is the solution for great picture and sound quality and is available today with is limited but a steadily increasing amount programming. But qualitatively HDTV signals are dependent on many things, and the almighty dollar is at the forefront. Broadcasters need to minimize production costs and to save bandwidth whenever possible. But one thing is certain and that is broadcasters will not increase their production costs just to satisfy the wishes of a small group of video buffs. They want to spend just enough money to make picture quality 'good enough' because HD broadcasting dictates replacing the entire production studio with expensive new digital equipment. Hopefully you can understand why we need your support during pledge drives because new programming and high definition hardware is so expensive to replace.

That being the case, don't imagine that HDTV will always be as glorious as the perfect demos you might see on properly calibrated sets in electronic showrooms. Just as there are variations in picture quality between channels and between programs, the quality of HDTV production can vary as well.

Meanwhile, the quality of the 480-line system continues to improve. There are a host of video processors: decoders, de-interlacers, and scalers which have all gotten much better over time. The video transfer quality on DVDs has improved dramatically since DVDs were introduced. So even without HDTV, large screen projectors today look amazingly good compared to similar products sold just a few years ago. And occasionally we will even see DVD material that is superior to some of the broadcast HDTV we are getting, especially if it's an HD conversion from some old film or video. So as long as HDTV continues to set new benchmarks for quality, the industry will have a reference to keep measuring existing quality against.

The unfortunate thing is that if you on the sidelines waiting for HDTV to get serious, it's time to get into the game. If not you will be missing out on the single, biggest advance in video picture quality since color TV first made it on the scene. So whether you buy an HDTV set with 720p or 1080i, or EDTV with 480p, you will still get a dramatically improved picture over what you already have at home. Be careful because once you watch a show in high definition, you won't be satisfied to go back and watch it in regular 480i. You get spoiled.

This article was written by Charles O'Meara, Jr., President & CEO of Absolute Sound, Inc. in Winter Park, FL - an authorized LG dealer.