By now most people are aware in some form of HDTV. To put it simply, high definition televisions allow viewers to view images that are much clearer than on regular televisions. HDTV allows you to view your favorite programs in a way that you have never been able to do so before. You can see all the action on the football pitch in much greater detail, those explosions in action movies are more ferocious and your those wildlife programs we love to watch give us images like never before. This article will aim to take a look at how HDTV works and the advantages that it brings.

To understand why you get a clearer picture you need to understand how the images you see on a regular television (SDTV) are made. SDTVs are also called 480p because they contain 480 rows of pixels. Meanwhile, HDTVs are either 720p or 1080p depending on whether they have 720 or 1080 rows of pixels. This means that top of the range HDTVs have more than twice as many pixels as SDTVs, giving a much sharper picture. It’s not just the picture that is better when watching HD programmes however: with the right audio setup you can also benefit from much richer sounds.

When HDTVs were first launched many customers couldn’t benefit from the clearer pictures when they were watching television. While you could play a HD game on your PlayStation 3 or watch a HD movie on a Blu-ray disc, you couldn’t enjoy regular TV in HD because barely any programmes were filmed or broadcast in this higher standard. However, now that HDTVs have become the norm rather than the exception in living rooms across the country, more and more programmes can be watched in HD.

Many people may have bought an HDTV to watch films, programmes and sporting events that are broadcast in HD without actually benefitting from the superior quality, however. This is because you don’t just need an HDTV to get HD pictures: you also need a receiver capable of transmitting those pictures and a subscription to the HD channels.

So for example, if you’re looking forward to watching the Australian Open in HD on Sky Sports between 14 and 27 January, you’ll need to make sure you have a Sky+HD box and relevant subscription. This way you’ll be able to see every individual string on Andy Murray’s tennis racket, every drop of sweat from Novak Djokavic’s forehead, and every stunned face in the crowd at the Rod Laver Arena.

HD channels don’t just make sport more enthralling; they also bring fantasy worlds to life. The difference between watching something like The Lord of the Rings in HD and SD is phenomenal, but you’ll only be able to see the difference if you’ve upgraded your package.

Once you’ve got used to HDTV you’ll soon want to watch all your favourite programmes in this format. Luckily, even shows like Eastenders and Coronation Street are now filmed in HD. Once again however, unless you make sure you have the right HD package that fancy HD television will be going to waste.