Is HDTV for me?

With digital television (DTV), which will soon be the new standard for television, the picture and sound quality are greatly improved from analog television. High-definition television (HDTV) is the next step up from DTV. Although HDTV signals use about the same bandwidth as analog signals, HDTV transmits more than six times the information, leading to the huge improvement in sound and quality that you hear about with HDTV. Additionally, you can view programs in the 16:9 wide-screen format as you would see in movie theaters.

To get all the benefits of HDTV, you will need to get some equipment, but the price may be lower than you think. Specifically, you would need an HDTV-ready television as well as an HDTV converter box.

Kagan Research recently conducted a study that found that the average price of an HDTV-ready television will be $1,139 by 2010, which is a 38 percent decline from current prices. The price decrease may come as a result of a hard date finally being set for the switch to all digital TV, which has caused the production for HDTV sets to go up.  You can read more about this study in SkyRetailer in the article Report: HDTVs to Top TV Sales in 2006.

As for the second piece of equipment, your cable company can provide the HDTV converter box with your service.

If you enjoy watching high quality TV programming, as well as watching your TV programs in widescreen format, then you would enjoy having HDTV in your home. As prices lower, this may be the time for you to upgrade your television watching experience.