HDTV | Definition, Meaning, Resolution, & Facts

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<div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/HDTV">HDTV</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <span class="toc-extra-link selected link-gray-900 mt-15"> Introduction </span> <a class="toc-extra-link 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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-03-01T00:00:00CST" >Mar 1, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/HDTV/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 module-spacing js-inline-ai-ask-button p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>In full: </dt> <dd>high-definition television</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Key People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Isaac-Shoenberg" topicid="541404">Sir Isaac Shoenberg</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/technology/television-technology" topicid="1262241">television</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>On the Web: </dt> <dd><a href="https://ijirt.org/publishedpaper/IJIRT142673_PAPER.pdf" target="_blank">International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology - A review of the implementation of HDTV technology over SDTV technology (PDF)</a> (Mar. 01, 2025)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/HDTV"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref1016885"></span>HDTV</strong>, a digital <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/broadcasting" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">broadcasting</a> standard that offers picture and audio superior to that of traditional standard-definition <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/television-technology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">television</a> (SDTV).</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">By the early 1990s, long-running international development efforts aimed at creating a higher-quality television signal had converged on digital transmission in place of traditional <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="analog" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/analog" data-type="MW">analog</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/radio-wave" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">radio waves</a>. In 1998 <span id="ref1294801"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Glenn" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">John Glenn</a>, a former <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/astronaut" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">astronaut</a> and then U.S. senator, went on a spaceflight with the launch broadcast live in high definition to specially equipped museums, electronics stores, and other locations. By the middle of the next decade, many broadcast networks and cable outlets offered HDTV channels, and HDTV sets were widely available to consumers.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">HDTV—broadcast by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/cable-television" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">cable</a> or satellite or over the ultrahigh frequency (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/UHF" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">UHF</a>) portion of public airwaves at a bandwidth of 6 megahertz (MHz)—offers video resolutions as high as 1,920 by 1,080 <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/pixel" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">pixels</a> (1,920 columns by 1,080 rows), many times greater than that of SDTV. The lowest high-resolution standard is 720p, or 720 progressive scan, for resolutions of 1,280 by 720 in which all the rows are refreshed together in each display cycle (typically 50 or 60 Hz, depending on country, though televisions with faster display cycles have been introduced). The next higher resolution is 1080i, or 1080 interlaced scan, for resolutions of 1,920 by 1,080 in which only <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="alternate" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/alternate" data-type="EB">alternate</a> rows are refreshed in each cycle. While 720p gives slightly better images than 1080i for scenes with a great deal of motion, 1080i gives slightly greater details, which result in crisper static images. Finally, 1080p combines the progressive scan of 720p with the greater <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/pixel" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">pixel</a> count of 1080i.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">HDTV’s picture mimics the “wide-screen” shape of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/motion-picture-technology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">motion pictures</a>, with a rectangular aspect ratio of 16:9; SDTV typically appears in the nearly square 4:3 aspect ratio. Because it is digital, HD allows multicasting, whereby a single television station may broadcast different programs on several channels simultaneously. HDTV is capable of broadcasting audio in 5.1-channel “surround sound,” which is more <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="nuanced" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nuanced" data-type="MW">nuanced</a> than conventional stereo.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The U.S. government <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="mandated" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mandated" data-type="MW">mandated</a> that all full-power over-the-air television stations switch completely from analog to digital—though not necessarily HD—signals on February 17, 2009, but in early February the deadline was extended to June 12, 2009. This conversion, along with HDTV’s requirement of a digital display screen, drove traditional <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/cathode-ray-tube" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">cathode-ray tube (CRT)</a> television sets into <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="obsolescence" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obsolescence" data-type="MW">obsolescence</a>. The most common type of HDTV is a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/liquid-crystal-display" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">liquid crystal display</a> (LCD) backlit by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/LED" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">light-emitting diodes</a>, called an LED TV.</p><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature font-12"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span><span class="md-signature font-12">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Erik-Gregersen/6723">Erik Gregersen</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-simplify-root"></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":265176,"pageLength":395,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.48"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.48' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true,"hasAiTopQuestions":false,"hasSimplifyButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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HDTV | Definition, Meaning, Resolution, & Facts | Britannica